Bienvenido a Miami
Miami, Fl - October & November 2021
We arrived in Coconut Grove in early October and settled in for two months of good training. We sailed 12 days in October and November respectively, and spent much of our time training with teammates Chris and Duncan Williford and with coach Lior Lavie trailing us closely on the coach boat. Lior went on to win the U.S. Development coach of the year, in part due to his work helping us for those two months. During our training, we created a simple schedule that helped build good habits: a 3 hour morning sail, lunch and video debrief, then gym session. We incorporated more technology than we had used in the past, and it made a noticeable difference. We sailed with headsets that gave us direct Comms to Lior on the coach boat. Lior could hear real time how we communicated and gave live feedback. Lior’s great camera work allowed us to be very reflective on our boat handling, footwork, and ability to move in sync.
These two months were spent earning our stripes and gaining style. We had a great launch this summer, and now it was time to pick up our boat handling and join the winter training with the whole team feeling confident. This meant a commitment to the gym, nutrition, boat maintenance, and a continuous goal of improving our boat handling. Throughout the two months of training, several Canadian friends joined us to work on boat handling and kept us moving quickly.
We ended November with a four day ODP training camp with Lior and former 49er crew Dane Wilson coaching. The camp brought a split of two 15-18 knot days and two light wind days. After working with a small group for several weeks, it was great to stretch our legs in bigger breeze and a bigger group. In this camp in particular we learned to embrace the fear of failure, and to continue pushing regardless of how successful each day of training was.
49er sailing is exciting, and it’s easy to slip up - we certainly did a few times this fall. Without the strong community and support we have in Miami, we wouldn’t be able to take risks and improve.
