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Professional Development
Its been sometime since I last posted an up-date or an article. The holidays and work seemed to take over for a short time!
But thats not to say that I wasn’t busy sharing and enjoying my love for all things wind and water. Top of the list was being able to enjoy SUPing with my sister who came home from Germany, where she works in the Army as a 1st Lieutenant. December delivered some really awesome weather for stand-up paddling and she was over joyed to be able to get some sun. We did a bunch of stuff and paddle some really great places; including Weedon Island (which never fails to amaze me), Davis Island Sea Plane Basin and Hillsborough Bay, and we even got to explore the mangrove tracts at the south end of Picnic Island.
A couple of times in the mists of family holiday gatherings I got the anxiety provoking realization that there was a kiting session to be had, thankfully everyone understood and were happy to see me go. I have been mostly kiting with the course board lately as its a sure way to get in a session and to be honest its the biggest challenge I’ve faced so its keeping me engaged.
The youth sailing program at DIYC is growing and the sailors are progressing nicely. I traveled to Miami on the 26th of December to coach one of the programs many talented sailors at the Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta. We saw two day of warmer temperatures in the upper 70’s and lower 80’s and winds in the 15-18 knt range. Challenging conditions but this sailor in particularly did well securing two top ten finishes in a fleet of 80 of the nations top in her peer group. The following two days were a bit on the cooler side with much lighter conditions. The breeze didnt cooperate fully with the Race Committee and no races were complete on Wednesday and two on the final day of competition. Over all it was a good outing for the sailor finishing 29th in the competitive fleet.
Finally and most recently I too sometime from work to sail a very competitive Snipe regatta in Miami, Fl. The Snipe is a two person dingy, very heavy almost 38o lbs rigged, technical and very competitive. This particular Snipe event was by invitation, all of the sailors were under the age of 30. This made the event different that most Snipe regattas but fun and equally competitive. I sailed with a member of the US Sailing Team Alpha Graphics (USSTAG) Match Racing Team. I learned a bunch and was thrilled to be asked to crew for her at the event. Sailing with a member of the Olympic Team, I gained insight as to what they do as athletes to continuously prepare themselves for the echelon of competitive sailing and competition. The dedication to fitness and nutrition was something that I did give the proper level of importance to as it both prepare mind and body for the stresses of physical and mental competition.
The regatta consitsted of 7 races, two were completed on Saturday and five on Sunday. We finished third overall, winning the 5 race and also a tie breaker. Brain Kamilar (a fellow college sailor and kiting buddy) with his crew Enrique Quintaro won the event qudos to them and their hard work.
From here, its back to my daily routine of continuing to promote Fl Boarder and its goal of helping people interested in Wind and Water sports and also helping the DIYC youth program succeed as a top level destination for sailing and seamanship skills.
Hoping the wind may always be at your back,
Tim
floridaboarder 