I apologize for not updating the blog while we were there... for all of those who have been to Caseville, MI, which is likely nobody, you would have known we would not have had internet access. There was NOTHING there, this included internet access, I think there was spot in the corner of the booth in one bar the the town that if you sat in exactly the right spot you might pick up a weak signal but that was it.
It was quite the trip, about 28 hours round trip.
The sailing conditions at this event were great. Almost every race we were double trapezing.
We had our ups and downs throughout the week. We did very well in light to moderate air which included leading 2 races. However, we the lightest team there at exactly minimum weight and had a tough time keeping the boat going fast in the heavy stuff.
We ended up 10th but we learned a lot! It was great to hold our own with guys who have been on the boat for years in our first Nacra North Americans.
I think the highlight of our week was the last race, when we were over early and Kirk Newkirk was nice enough to yell to us about 2 minutes after the start that we were over so we turned around and went back to restart. We decided to sail the hardest we had all week and try to catch back up to the fleet with a few minute late start. We ended up at the windward mark ahead of two boats and right on the tails of the lead pack. This felt really amazing as it confirmed that we had improved our boatspeed over the course of the week.
Going to the Nacra North Americans was much more about sailing for us. It was a great opportunity to pick the brains of great sailors such as Nigel Pitt, Alex Shafer, Captain Kirk Newkirk, and etc. These guys are all awesome as they are more than willing to help out and offer their advice, this is what sailing is all about!
We can't wait until next year's NA's in Fort Walton Beach, FL.
