Team Barrows Henken Racing is back with the U.S. Skiff Squad in Lanzarote, Spain! We are looking forward to starting our Spring Training and European Racing Season with the highly anticipated Lanzarote International Regatta, which starts tomorrow!
During the next 9 weeks, we are going to be on the European sailing tour. We will be training in locations such as Lanzarote, Barcelona, and Weymouth and we will be racing events such as the Lanzarote International Regatta, and the Spanish National Championships. We are pumped to put into practice all of the things we have been working on over the previous 9 months and see how we tune up against some of the worlds best.
Why the Lanzarote International Regatta?
- Lanzarote has become a training hub for the majority of European Teams over the last 4 months
- Since it’s a small remote Canary Island off the coast of Africa, it has been ideal for teams to maintain high quality training while being safe with the unpredictability of COVID-19
- Since the Olympic Games had been postponed, many qualifying events for different nations had to also be rescheduled, which led to Lanzarote being chosen as the best fit venue
Here are some of the things we are looking to work on while in Lanzarote:
Racing:
- Focus on direct and clear racing communication both around the race course and during the pre-start
- Working to being decisive in our decision making and trusting our instincts with what we see and feel
- Finding the balance between being on the attack and being on the defense when making judgment calls
Training:
- Stability and balance in tacks and gybes: control the exit out of maneuvers with smooth footwork and steering, be precise and deliberate with our actions.
- Continue to hone in on our light air and big breeze tuning and techniques from the experience learned from finally sailing against some new teams!
- Settling time and driving out of accelerations: minimizing the time it takes to get up to full speed and focusing on locking in quickly
The Lanzarote International Regatta starts tomorrow, March 21st, and will continue through March 26th.
Follow along at: https://www.lanzarotewinterseries.com/international/index.php
With 52 49er teams registered and a great forecast lined up for the upcoming week, we are stoked to get after the racing! Stay tune for more updates and photos! throughout the next couple weeks both on facebook, @barrowshenkenracing, and on instagram, @hanshenken, #49erUSSkiffSquad and @us49ersquad.
Barrows Henken Racing 