It’s 10:00 pm here in Miami. Rod Hagebols and I just shut it down for the day. Our day began at 7:30 am today, like it has since last Thursday. We were very productive over the Easter weekend, albeit busy, but ticked quite a few items off our to-do list.
Rod arrived at the team house last Thursday morning on the red eye flight from San Francisco and I arrived that evening from Gulfport to Ft. Lauderdale.
The weather in Miami has been heinous! Raining non-stop thunder and lightning (one of my favorites) and for a change, it is cool. The front finally made its way through South Florida today and it started to clear up this evening, so hopefully with a bit of luck we might see the sun tomorrow!
You’ll see from the pictures that it has done nothing but rain – even the pool is overflowing! There is more than one way to skin a cat, so instead of getting wet working on the masts outside, we brought everything inside! We rigged, measured and tweaked nine masts, we also put together a new mast (this took five hours alone after Rod and I built new runners and checkstays, installed the spreader bracket, cut a new hole for the jib halyard exit point, etc). ALL INSIDE THE HOUSE!
Other than that, things are moving right along, the rest of the team arrives on Wednesday and JD will arrive on Thursday morning. We plan to get out sailing in the afternoon with our tuning partners Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada. Bruno is possibly the funniest guy I have ever met! He is Brazilian and his motto in life is “to look busy doing nothing”.
Coach Rod and I have been riding the bike and hitting the gym, which included a three hour session in the gym today. While I was trying to shed a few pounds, Rod put the new mast in the boat along with all the sponsor logos on the Star boat for the upcoming Worlds that begin on April 11th.
Speaking of partners and suppliers, I am pleased to say that Oakley has just come on board our program. We’re really excited about having Oakley as a partner and are happy to be wearing their cool glasses on and off the water.
The next social event on my calendar is the Olympic Auction and Fundraiser on April 1st at St Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. The St. Francis Foundation has had a major impact on my sailing career and I am really excited to attend the event and help the club raise money for future Olympians! The St. FYC has a huge tradition in producing some of the best sailors in the world. I just want to be a part of something special and hope to be on those legends’ level one day!
It will also be a great opportunity to see some of my family, my friends and meet sailing enthusiasts!
Well, I’m off to sleep because before I know it the Australian team will be pounding on the door at o’dark hundred to go for a bike ride! Judging from the past few rides with these guys, they aren’t slow and won’t wait around!
OUT