Return to Action in Annapolis

~Casey

On the last day of the U.S. Team training camp in January Reed broke his 5th metatarsal. Twenty days later, I tore a second hernia in my stomach and received a quick surgery. Two tough injuries and we were out of the boat together for four months.

Less than a year into our campaign, we knew this would be a tough challenge. However, our time out of the boat led to several good things. As a team, we needed to improve our upper body endurance and to increase weight, and with more time away from the boat we hit our fitness goals faster than expected. I also had the opportunity to helm for several weeks with 49er crew Abie Griggs which improved my awareness and balance in the boat. 

Reed and I returned to the water together for the first time in four months at my home club in May. The West River Sailing Club gave us three great weeks of great sailing to get our feet back underneath us. We spent five days training with Olympic 49er coach Evan Eras and the next two weeks working on maneuvering and mark roundings. Feeling more confident than expected, we pushed hard and confirmed our plans to compete at the European Championships this July in Aarhus, Denmark.

5 49ers and 15 days of sailing made for an excellent training camp. We’d like to thank West River Sailing Club for being gracious hosts and making the camp possible. We’d also like to thank our Canadian training partners from the West Coast, Dylan Jones and Jon Kelly, for making the trip. Thank you as well to our American training partners Charlie and Scott, Liam and Abie, and JC. Thank you to our neighbors Charles and Marilyn for cooking an endless supply of delicious food for the group. Most importantly, thank you to my parents for hosting the boys and providing the coach boat. 

At the end of our training block we organized an afternoon lesson on the 49er for the high school sailing program at WRSC. It was a great way for us to thank the club and to share some of our experience in the boat from the past year. As a junior sailor at West River, I spent several days in albacores, Nacras, and Lasers. I know how impactful that was for my career, and I hope experiences like this can have a similar influence on the next generation of junior sailors.