Thank you for selecting me as a recipient for the ADF fund this season.
I just got back from beautiful British Columbia with my new sailing partner, Audrey Staples, where we competed in two 29er regattas as well as a 29er development camp with an Argentinian 29er expert, Pepe. I made the transition from the i420 to a 29er this past winter to develop different skills and test out new boats to help me learn and improve for my future sailing endeavours.
The first regatta we did was WAVES at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club where we went in as the underdogs being new to the boat and to each other and we wowed everyone the first day with some great finishes. Our goal at this regatta wasn’t to win but to have good starts and do our best.
Next, we traveled up the road to the infamous Squamish, BC home of big winds, for a development camp, and they were right—the first day we got there it was a steady 25 knots with gusts to 32 knots and one even hit 36 knots! The camp was a success and we nearly perfected our heavy wind gybes.
Now came our target event, 29er North Americans—a three day event. The first day was windy again and we got a hole in our boat so we had to retire for two races but we still had fun and we were more eager than ever to get back out racing the next day. The next day we fought hard and were stoked to end that day with a bullet!
I am off this week to Halifax and St. Margaret’s Bay, NS for another development camp and then i420 Canadians to sail with Andreas Steinitz who just competed at Opti Worlds in Antigua. We hope to learn more techniques with former Olympian, Oliver Bone.
The support of the ADF fund from all the RCYC members has been essential in covering my travel costs all across Canada for my training and racing. Without your support, I would not be able to pursue my sailing goals and represent Canada and RCYC at big regattas. So thanks again!
- Tate Howell