Home Waters, Hard Work
Hi everyone, I’ve wrapped up my training block at home in Clearwater and just sailed my first day in Cadiz, Spain! I wanted to send out an update about what I have been up to these past few months.
The training in Clearwater was incredibly fruitful, and I am so excited about the progress I made. After my time in Long Beach and our cross-country drive, I settled into a new routine back home. This consisted of as many hours on the water as possible, countless hours in the gym, and instructing sailing lessons at the Clearwater Community Sailing Center (CCSC).
Clearwater brings incredibly inconsistent weather with several cold fronts bringing over 30 knots and a lot of days with barely enough wind to foil. After the champagne conditions in Long Beach, this is exactly what I needed, and my confidence and skills in a much greater range of conditions greatly improved.
Although the days over 30 knots were wild, and often followed by remarks from people thinking I’m crazy, they are some of the most beneficial days on the water. Pushing your absolute maximum conditions certainly makes every other condition easier, and it is a constant goal to keep pushing the breeze amount you can sail in. Also, Clearwater is known for its chaotic waves since it is so shallow. They get super steep and the peaks are very close together, which makes the sailing about as technical as it can be. But again, these extremely hard conditions are the best ones to train in to improve overall performance.
On the other hand, the extremely light wind days brought their own challenges. It is certainly a battle of mental toughness to look out on the water when you get to CCSC and know you may not foil and walk over to your board anyway to attempt whatever breeze you’re given. I had a couple of sessions when I did not foil even once and just waited for the breeze that never came. But each and every one of these sessions made me better. Without a doubt, I will encounter days like these at competitions, and bringing my wind minimum as low as possible and building up my mental resilience are crucial.
But Clearwater conditions weren’t all bad, we had several days of the conditions you dream of. Gulf bumps and 12-15 knots that you can work on any skill you can think up. Throughout these amazing ranges of conditions over the last 4.5 months, I was able to push my skill level to exactly where I hoped it would be when I reentered international competition.
Just two weeks ago, I competed in my first regatta since the Long Beach Olympic Class regatta. A small local Open Foil Midwinters at CCSC, this showed me the fruits of my labors during the long months alone. I finished third at the event just behind Noah Lyons and Garret January, both Olympic campaigners in the men’s iQFOIL. Even though I was the only woman at the event, I think I represented well!
Overall, these months were hard, rewarding, and pushed me as a sailor, athlete, and person. It’s unusual to train alone for so long, and I am proud to say I woke up every morning sure that I was doing everything I could to improve--pushing my limits even when no one else was watching.
Now, as I sit in my apartment in Cadiz, I look back on the months with overwhelming gratitude. Gratitude for my home venue, my parents, my friends, my coach, and everyone else who has continued to support this campaign. It would not be possible without each and every one of you.
I’m so excited to test everything I built at home here in Spain, and I’ll keep you posted.
With gratitude,
Bryn
