Mantra 2. Go for the Gap : “When you’re on top of your game, change your game.” – All Blacks
Our camp by the numbers:
- 13 Days
- 280 Miles
- 30.73 Hours
- 780 Racing Tacks completed
- 390 Racing Gybes completed
- Top Speed hit: 21.53 knots
- Epic Wipe Outs: 3
After 2.5 weeks of some amazing sailing in Santa Cruz, California, our 2nd 49er training camp of the summer is in the books! We came to Santa Cruz in hope of getting some epic conditions, and even though it wasn’t firing everyday, Santa Cruz still delivered a couple classic days of 20+ knots and plenty of swell to match!
Santa Cruz gave us the opportunity to Go for the Gap. We finally had the conditions to challenge ourselves, find out what our strengths and weaknesses are as a team and really push the envelope of what is possible in speed, boat-handling and tactical situations for the first time. There is nothing quite like pushing to the limit and keeping it there for as long as you dare! Everyday, we looked for ways to self-improve from the day before and pushed to never becoming complacent.
During this camp, we centered our focus on learning how to maneuver in sync with each other and the conditions. Having three boats on the water at the same time really increased the level of training and really pushed us to develop our game quickly in order to keep up with the other teams!
Once again, the learning curve has been steep!! and it has been fun learning from each other and seeing the gains and confidence increase from day to day. Up next, we are looking to send it up to skiff mecca, the legendary Gorge! We will be looking to getting back on the water in about a weeks time in Cascade Locks, Oregon and take on some more of some big breeze training!
We would like to give a big thank you to Santa Cruz Yacht Club for hosting us for the last two and a half weeks. We truly appreciate all the help and support and how open and welcoming Santa Cruz Yacht Club has been to allowing all of the US 49er Teams to come train as a Squad. We all had a fantastic time and look forward to coming back soon! Thank you to “Big Wave” Dave Liebenberg for coaching our squad and providing great insight and expertise on our sailing! As well, we would like to thank Trevor and Mara Baylis, and Quinn Wilson for coming out, chasing us around, taking some great shots of our sessions, providing some much needed help in terms of boat repairs, world class advice and some of the most excellent post and pre sailing snacks and desserts! Thank you! Finally, we would like to thank Morgan Larson, Greg Haws, and Peter Phelan for pulling all the last minute logistics together to help make this camp possible for us to put in some quality hours on the water with the US 49er Squad. Can’t wait to come back again!
Barrows Henken Racing 