Lessons from Long Beach
Hello all! I’m currently back home in Clearwater and finally have a chance to sit down and write about the five and a half weeks we just wrapped up in Long Beach, California.
We got to Long Beach before any other girls arrived, so the first week or so consisted of some days alone on the water. These days were much needed and incredibly helpful, as they gave us time to work on specific skills we had been meaning to focus on. Once the entire international fleet arrives, we spend much more time racing, so having that extra time to work on individual skills was invaluable. The biggest highlight was finally getting my first fully foiling tack! This is an elusive skill that many of us work on for years before achieving, and I had been getting very close for a long time. Finally getting one (and even getting it on video!) was incredibly exciting and felt like proof that all those hours of work were paying off.
Then, people from around the world started showing up in Long Beach to gain experience on the future LA 2028 Olympic waters. Since it is relatively expensive to travel to California, especially for Europeans who typically travel within Europe, only the best countries send sailors, and they typically only send their top two. That meant the girls in Long Beach this summer were undoubtedly some of the best in the world. Even though the regattas were small in numbers, they were incredibly high in skill, creating some of the best learning opportunities I have had.
It is pretty rare to be on a starting line with twenty or so girls who have all finished within the top ten at major international regattas. It also created some difficult moments that I haven’t experienced in a while. I found myself unable to get a good start, unable to hold a lane, and occasionally unable to execute certain maneuvers under pressure when I needed to. When the fleet is as dense as it was in Long Beach, a single tiny mistake can put you all the way in the back. Even though it was certainly hard at times, it was incredibly helpful to identify these mistakes and have the opportunity to learn from them. I thought I had developed these skills enough because they weren’t causing me problems at Europeans, but I quickly realized that when the entire fleet could realistically win the next Worlds, no small error goes unnoticed.
Having such a competitive fleet also came with incredibly rewarding moments. Throughout the pre-regatta practice racing, the Long Beach Olympic Class Regatta, and the iQFOiL North Americans, I had several races within the top three, showing that I can compete with the best in the world. I had some excellent starts, including some good reaching starts, which have historically been a weakness for me. I made lots of good racing decisions, had much-improved tacks, and my straight-line speed is definitely some of the best in the fleet.
One of the most important parts of this training block was reminding myself that sometimes the person who beat me just won Europeans, but the person right behind me won the gold medal at the Paris Games. I belong in that group, and Long Beach gave me the opportunity to prove that to myself.
Therefore, my time in Long Beach was truly invaluable. I was able to line up with the best in the world, identify my weaknesses, and demonstrate my strengths. At the end of the training block, some of the best coaches in the world told me that they were impressed with how quickly I have improved. That means a lot to me, and it also makes a lot of sense from their perspective. To the international fleet, I just showed up in March of this year and am already able to compete with the best in the world. What they don’t see is the countless hours I have put in on the water over the last six years.
Regardless of what the international fleet knows about my past, I am stoked that they are seeing me now. They are seeing me as someone who can push the best girls in the world, and someone they need to keep an eye on.
Now, I’m putting in the final touches at home before heading to the UK for the World Championships in Weymouth. This is the peak event of the year, and I want the entire international fleet to leave knowing who Bryn Muller is. So, I’m working on the weaknesses identified in Long Beach, continuing to hone my strengths, and mentally preparing for the event of the season.
