Worlds RECAP and Moving Forward

After a couple weeks to regroup after an eventful and draining World Championship (18 races over 6 days), we are keen to get back in the 49er. We did manage to squeeze a few nice days in Rome (easily saturating our history thirst!) with our parents, before heading home. Jesse also pit-stopped at his old college, St Mary’s, to help their team prepare for ICSA Team Race Nationals. On Monday, we continue our push for London as we head to Weymouth for a month of training, which includes the Sail for Gold Regatta and the ‘Coaches Regatta’.

But back to the Worlds! It was a tremendous event for us seeing us stamp our ticket to the Games with a 9th place finish (BER 9!). We were pleased we could continue improving after an incredibly productive month in Palma in March/April that saw its fruition in our 13th place. It was a confidence booster knowing that we have the pace to hang with the Worlds’ elite in <15knots. Also, the Worlds saw us gain our first experience into the Medal Race, which hopefully will benefit us down the road… All in all, we are ecstatic about the Worlds’ finish, but the mission is not over. The goal remains London. There are certain facets of our sailing we can improve upon, and all qualifying did was give us more time. There is no room for contentment or complacency with our current level and we will be hungry to get better. We need to clock some more time in windy conditions between the facts that Weymouth can effortlessly RIP, and that we have been breeze starved most of our time in the Mediterranean this spring. We can also say, that Mark Asquith, ex-49er British Skandia team member has joined Team Bermuda as our coach. We are excited to get him on board with the island nation from Sail for Gold thru the Games! The dream remains alive thanks to all our supporters. Keep posted as we continue our final push for London!

9th at Worlds!

The 18 race World Championship (17 races and 1 Medal race) is in the books after 6 days of tricky sailing in the light to moderate winds off Zadar, Croatia. The 74 boat fleet had sailors from 32 countries. We finished 7th country. It was a huge event for us! - First Gold Fleet qualification at a 49er World Championship (this is our 3rd Worlds) - First Bermuda team in the 49er Class at the Olympics!!!! May this continue - First Medal Race appearance in a 49er event - First Gold Fleet Bullet The other countries that qualified with us here were: Italy, Japan, Canada and Greece. We will reflect more when this has sunk in, but for now we will recharge after a draining, stressful week of sailing. We still have 2 more months before the Games and look to continue the learning as we head into the Olympics. We would like to thank our dedicated friends (both who were here and elsewhere), who have helped make this seemingly giant task a reality for us. We couldn't have done it without you...THANK YOU! Stay tuned and Go BERMUDA!! -Zander

Gold Fleet at Worlds and Olympic Qualification!

more news to follow, but we made it into GOld fleet and have qualifief Bermuda in the 49er class! 3 days of Gold Fleet racing now Thanks for all your support! Couldn't have done it without you! best, Zan and Jess

Just Another Regatta

Everything is ready to go for the upcoming World Championship, our Olympic Qualifier for London. We arrived here in Zadar, Croatia a week early to acquaint ourselves with the local conditions and to make sure our boat and us are primed for the event. After some productive days on the water in different breezes, we feel good about our speed and maneuvers around the course. Ramon joined us a few days into our training, and will remain with us through the event. His insights and thoughts for the week will no doubt be invaluable. So, as this important regatta approaches, our mentality will be to treat it like any other. There is no pedestal for this event. We will not lionize the qualifying side of it unless it is necessary. Our objective here is to sail a good World Championships. To do that, we must stick to the fundamentals that we always apply when racing…sail high percentage moves, good starting, lane management, observe wind patterns etc. We are really excited to get out there and start racing. It begins Monday, so stay tuned for results! You can check our facebook page for updates. Thanks again for all your support that has gotten us to where we are today, with a chance to represent Bermuda at the Olympics in London!