Some Parting Shots

Clean Up, Awards, and the Beach

Congratulations to the team as everyone kept working hard, doing their best and having fun. An amazing, exhausting and enriching experience for everyone. After the usual cleaning and packing of sails, boats and gear the regatta hosts put on a heartfelt awards presentation. Romain made it to the podium, they actually had a podium which was super fun, with a third place in Blue. After awards the four hit the beach for some more skim boarding and kayaking supplemented with a little high diving off of the roofs of two committee boats (one anchored in deep water)!

Day Three Racing

Three races were sailed in lighter conditions. All three sailors had a good day. The challenge for Kristopher on this day was to be over early. Sounds odd, counter intuitive, but the only way to ensure a good result is to get a jump on the starting line. Being "on" the line is paramount and if a sailor feels over and is not, then there is more distance still to be gained. The challenge really pushes that feeling of Being Over the edge as a process of getting comfortable with being on the line. Good lesson for the day.

Manny at Work

Island Musings

The Ritz serves a nice lunch, Manny relaxes by beating his friends at tennis, it’s been hot, good starts make winners, running soothes, people that work in hospitals are nice, most sailors don’t wear hats, the Ritz is fancy, everyone loves Manny, confidence is everything – especially when wearing a bikini, International sailing events are all about the sailing, Manny caught a lobster, not sure if he ate it though, only eat spicy foods at home, food’s expensive in St. Thomas, yacht clubs don’t feed kids well, the kids staying in St. John arrive a little later in the morning everyday, Romain likes to eat pretty much anything (except mushrooms and Indian food), Kristopher is the easiest and best traveler… just make sure he gets his regatta shirt, more people get killed by coconuts falling on their heads than shark attacks, living simply is complicated.

A Night to Remember, Forget?

The day of sailing done we thought a team dinner in St. John would be a good idea. We packed up our goods and rushed to catch the 5pm ferry. The plan was to have dinner and meet Kristopher and Dane’s host family after dinner and hand them off, then the rest of us (cw, th, rs, and qw) would head back to St. Thomas and get to bed early. Good plan. Good dinner (Marvin’s Mango if you ever get a chance, virgin pina coladas are good). However, our host went MIA and after dinner Quinn started feeling a little nauseous. First priority was getting Kristopher and Dane to their home for the night so we elected to put them in a taxi with the odd chance they’d be able to navigate the driver to the right house. With that done we attempted to make the 7pm ferry. We couldn’t leave the island until we heard from the boys so the clock was ticking. Tracy gave the taxi driver a healthy tip to deliver them safely and quickly. The 7pm ferry sailed and 5 minutes later Dane gave us a ring. “We made it.” So now we had an hour to kill. Quinn’s belly didn’t feel great and he was none to happy about being sick again. By the time 8pm rolled around Quinn was a little bit itchy, a little sleepy, but looking forward to getting to St. Thomas. It’s dark now, that’s important because Tracy only had her prescription sunglasses with her so Romain was walking her around like a blind lady. 8:15pm, the ferry is cruising home, Romain is mellow and enjoying the trip. The remaining Wilson’s were stressed, but we were soon to be at the dock in St. Thomas, but no wait, the ferry is turning around and oddly seems to be headed back out the harbor. Then, bam, a huge ruckus breaks out below decks and on the upper deck where we were sitting. Apparently somebody was getting unruly and the captain decided they needed to go back to St. John, but some of the locals (passengers) were not going to have any of that. They wanted this @#$% boat to dock, and now. The argument was intense and definitely woke Quinn up. One of those situations where your mind quickly debates the options at hand: hiding, fighting or jumping over the side and swimming for shore. As the boat heads back out of the harbor we then turn North and slow. We now have no idea what is going on and because the captain is so deeply immersed in his confrontation with the passengers the boat is really sort of idling in no direction whatsoever. Then the whole conflict rises to a new height initiated by the mother and father of a young family. They completely loose it and come close to fist to cuff with the captain. The nice couple sitting behind us from North Carolina ask us where we are going and I’m asking the local lady sitting in front of us what’s happening. We’re all confused. Bit frightened. And with Quinn getting more and more itchy, the whole situation is surreal. Then by divine providence the captain decides he’s parking this tub and within 5 minutes we’re against the dock. The argument never really dissipates as we quickly disembark and head for our car. Glad to be out of the weeds, we’re anything but out of the woods. Back in our apartment Quinn strips and jumps in the shower to get a good look at his skin. He’s red. Like a lobster. Tracy’s eyes light up. I’m of course in denial. Quinn walks out of the bathroom and Romain, not really knowing in detail what to look for says, “Wow, you’re really red.” That’s it. Find the hospital. We dash upstairs and grab our hosts, get on the phone with the emergency room and head out. Chris (our host) rides along with us to give directions as his wife connects us on the phone to the emergency room. Quinn downs 37.5 mg’s of Benadryl and twenty minutes later we’re in the hospital. All is well. 12:30am we’re back home, Quinn’s got a liter of sea water (saline) in him and all is back to normal. Good trip, eh.

Day Two Racing

All four sailors are on the water. Mom and Dad actually got a ride out in the afternoon to witness the 3rd and 4th races of the day. Nice ride too, a Tiara 36 with a professional captain unafraid to put our big boat within very close proximity of the sailors. The photos are not downloaded, but should be pretty. More challenges for everyone starting, some great lessons for those that did get out in front, and encouraging for all four sailors as they showed great efforts, and are sailing well... just from tough spots at the outset of each race. Getting a chance to see the conditions first hand was excellent. The chop and swells were significant making for some very excellent sailing: Breeze is shifty, can range from 10-15 in the same race and the race courses are a good size so very tough to stay ahead when you are ahead and challenging to find lanes for big comebacks. Also, lots of talent on the water. All in all a great place to be.

Day One Racing

Big waves, big chop, long race courses, 74 boats (minus 2), 10-18 knots and some challenging starting conditions. Romain rallied late in the afternoon with a confidence boost in the lighter breeze. Coach's opinion. Romain should be even faster in 13-14 knots because he is fully hiking while the bigger kids are still just half hiking. His speediness should extend through a bigger range. Lesson learned: Gotta believe. Kristopher is sailing well and going fast, but still struggling getting off the starting line. Tough crowd. Lesson learned: Gotta execute.

Lessons learned from land

The clinic coaches provided a nice packet of strategic and tactical insights, which makes good reading while recuperating. Highlights are...

• Sailing is "about what we are about to have." You must always look and think ahead, to anticipate changes making decisions at the right time. Act rather than react.
• Avoid laylines and keep your options open until the final moment. Laylines are for the most part "forbidden zones." Once on a layline all options cease. Any change in the wind you can not take advantage of. Any competitor approaching is in control of the tactical decision.
  
• Stay away from packs downwind. Packs of boats can only go as fast as the slowest boats in the pack. As the speedy boats move ahead the slower boats cover those in front holding them back. Stay clear and avoid these crowds.
• When covering think about the next shift. The next coming shift determines where you position your boat relative to the boat (or pack) you are covering.
  
• The race is not over until you cross the finish line. Never give up. For every good decision or bad decision made there is always another one to follow, so keep putting your past decisions behind you and keep concentrating on the upcoming opportunity until they are all exhausted.
  

Wilson Brothers Ill'n

Dane out with a fever, but on the mend. Quinn seasick. Fingers are crossed they'll be back.

Team Racing Regatta Day

Thirteen teams set out in two flights of round robin with the top four movin' on to the semi finals. Unfortunately our team fell a bit short of the semi's, but for their first time out they made a solid showing. Lessons learned were many, this is the short list:

Romain
• When you’re in first place make sure you stay in touch, so you can help when necessary
• When being covered upwind, try and find one of their team to cover so you occupy two of their guys.
• Always approach the weather mark from starboard

Dane
• When engaging in a potential protest yell “Umpire” to get their attention so when the situation occurs the Umpires will be watching. Especially port starboard situations. Then say protest once you have the Umpire’s attention. The umpire then will respond if the word “protest” was used.
• When on starboard and a port tacker is crossing, you have to clip the other boat to prove they were crossing too closely. No contact may leave room or the Umpires to interpret the cross as “ok;” however, remember no injury or damage.”
• Waiting at 30-45 seconds on the start, make sure you don’t wait where you are a potential barger.
• When the leader says tack, think first, then tack, because a couple times our guys tacked into worse situations than they were in when the team leader suggested a tack out.

Quinn
• When crossing on port you must be certain you can cross, if not, the risk is too great that you’ll get flagged for a port starboard. “If it’s a maybe, make it a no.”

Kristopher
• Don’t ask your team mate if they need help. Just help. You don’t have to ask.
• Stick to the plan. Listen to the leader… confirm with the leader, or ask what to do next. And, pass along the information so everyone has the same plan. Also, if the plan has to change, only change when everyone understands.
• Never approach the starting line on port. Too difficult and risky. Starboard competitors will attack.

The Weather is Beautiful...

BTW, we've neglected to give any details regarding the weather. We've had squalls, lightening, big thunder, rain, and wind. The nights are beautiful but we tend to scurry inside to escape the Mosquitos. The basics are as follows... water feels like it's in the mid 80's, the air is the same and the breeze for the sailors is shifty, puffy and ranging between 8 and 15 knots. When a big dark cloud rolls through it can get a bit windier. The heat is incredibly comfortable due to the steady breeze off the water and the clouds roll through pretty regularly bringing shady relief.

Clinic Day Three and Lessons Learned

On the water early today with some drills focusing on upwind strategy. Tricky to explain here, but the idea was to force the sailors into making three key decisions upwind: 1) The favored side, or first shift; 2) How and when to consolidate your lead; and, 3) how to take advantage of the last shift and approach the weather mark. Good stuff, and the primary "sailing" lessons learned for the day.

In the afternoon session Romain and Quinn elected to sail with the Silver fleet and do a bit of a tour of the islands with a simulated Volvo Ocean Race -- Four legs each with different characteristics. Kristopher and Dane remained with the Gold fleet and worked on some big course strategy and downwind speed.

Lessons of the day are many and the stories complex, so for tonight we'll keep things brief and simply list the lessons:

1. Do the right thing
2. Stand up for your rights
3. Be true to your own integrity

That's a heavy list... But, a good environment to learn these three.

Reports from the Water

Two days in a row we've conducted interviews of the sailors fresh off the water. Lunch is served and the interviews commence. First day it went like this... So, Dane how was your day? "Okay." Kristopher? "Good." Quinn? "Good." Romain, your day? "Okay." Day two we thought we'd get a bit more detail, but actually got a little less variety with "Good" being the response all around.

Nature At Work...

Lots of amazing creatures here in the islands. Here's the short list of "stuff we've seen:"

• Hawkbill Turtles
• Flounders
• Sting Rays
• Sea Urchins
• Iguanas
• Frigate Birds
• White Tailed Tropic Birds
• Brown Booby (Very pretty)
• Man-o-War (purple, like a hotdog sausage; i.e. the jellyfish was in the form of a hotdog... according to Romain)
• Banana Quit (Pronounced "Keet")... it's a little bird.
• Little blue fish (like a finding Nemo fish)
• Huge frogs
• Zillions of lizards (Anoles, Geckos, Chameleons, etc.)
  
• Mangrove trees
• Centipedes
• Lots of Mosquitos
• A torso attacking fish (Quinn and Romain as witness)
• Sea Stars
• Coral
• Squalls (not a wildlife... Nature, but not a wildlife)
  
• And much, much more
  

Urchins, blisters, bites, and chicken butt

Adventures abound. First day Quinn brushed a sea urchin (black ones are not poisonous) within 2 minutes of swimming, right in front of the Ritz Carlton no less. The locals were very helpful removing the tiny spine and washing it down with vinegar. Next up are blisters. Lots of sailing means lots of blisters so nightly surgery and tape are a standard. Treament also applies to Mosquito bites as it's unusually rainy which is breeding lots of mosquitos. Chicken Butt? It's akin to diaper rash, but sailors all over the world sailing extended days prefer a more seaworthy name. Lucky we have a well stocked first aide kit! All is well.

Look Mom -- Watermelon!

Clinic Day Two and Lessons Learned

Today started with the coaches outlining three great starting drills as the entire morning was dedicated to an earnest approach to owning a good start. The kids listened intently for about 45 minutes, then it was on the water at 9:45am. Not sure if it was the approaching storm, listening to thunder all night, or some questionable tap water, but Quinn was feeling a bit queezy. He was the last on the water, but rallied for a good morning session. Lunch was spent reviewing video. Post video everyone headed out for the afternoon, but a lightening storm erupted sending the fleet scurrying back to the beach. Masts down and inside the YC for an impromptu round table and Q&A with a couple of past Opti World Champs that were sailing 420's. Good seque to lessons learned for the day:

Quinn and Romain

1. Keep your cool when the pressure is on. No need to worry, just keep focusing on what you know.
2. Whether you believe you can, or you believe you can't, either way you're right.
   
3. Or, you're like a grape... you're either on one side of the road or the other side of the road, if you're in the middle of the road you go squish. Which means, you either do or you don't, there is no maybe.

Kristopher and Dane

1. Do what you gotta do. If there's someone in your way or keeping you from your strategic goal, you have use your tactical ability to get around or through them to get to the place you want to go.
2. Go with the flow. Stay in rhythm with the shifts and trust yourself.

The afternoon included a single qualifier race and team Westside had a great showing with everyone finishing in the top 11. After sailing Kristopher and Dane were wooshed off to St. John leaving Quinn and Romain to their kayaks and a pool party with the teams from Texas and ISV.

Clinic Day One and Lessons Learned

June 15… Day one of the clinic. Understated is all I can say. A relaxed morning, somewhat light conditions, and a smallish collection of sailors made things seem like it was no big deal. But as the day progressed it was all summed up by one of the coaches in a meeting after the day was done, “this group is much tougher than at trials, don’t kid yourself.” The sailing began business as usual, but at the end of the morning session a squall blew through that carried a lot of wind, but more intimidating was the intensity of the rain, prompting an urgent call from on the water to the yacht club to send help asap. To those of us on shore it seemed like an over reaction, but the locals said Argy never calls for help. The few coaches on shore responded quickly and rushed to aide, but when they arrived the crisis was over. As I said the wind never really presented too great a challenge getting to the low 20’s, but the visibility dropped to just a15-20 feet as the rain (some described it as hail) was so intense many of the sailors didn’t know what to do. The fear was they would capsize and be lost with no one to help them. Although it only lasted 5 minutes the experience was intense for pretty much everyone. Back on shore the sailors relaxed, had some lunch then were divided into Gold and Silver groups and sent back on the water for speed drills for the remainder of the afternoon. Lessons learned from the day include:

Lessons Learned from Clinic Day One:
Romain and Quinn…

1. Never start next to somebody good. How come you say? Quinn says you’ll get worked. Another question, who do you start next to? Someone you know you are faster than.
2. We learned what a squall is today. So, what is a squall? Scary! We’ll explain the scenario… it was the morning session and we were finishing race #2 and all of a sudden without warning (all you could see was a kind of dark cloud) it starting blowing 20 knots (it was blowing only 10) and pouring like never before. I’ve never seen it rain so hard. You could only see about 20 feet. WE both got scared because no one could see us and it seemed like there could be lightening and that’s bad. But then it was over as quick as it began… well not really it lasted about 5 minutes and the rain was just dumping and it was really windy. But once it was over the wind went down to about 5 knots. We all came in for lunch after that. Pretty amazing… squalls.
3. Fish hide in the reef and kayaking builds your muscles right on the spot.
   

Dane and Kristopher…

1. In chop steer very little, but use your upper body A LOT! The rhythm works you through the waves, but the trick is being quick and aggressive with your upper body so the affect is directly on the boat. Basically you’re steering with your body instead of with the rudder.

For the mom’s and dad’s on shore it was a pleasant day of exercise with some brisk walks and runs a little swimming and paddling. Mix in a little grocery shopping and that was pretty much the day. Thankfully we didn’t realize the craziness brought on by the squall until it was all over and the kids were all laughing and smiling about it. Paradise took on a whole new personality today. Dane and Kristopher were swept up by Manny et al and sped off to St. John while Romain and Quinn took on their second challenge of the day, free diving the reefs looking for urchin and schools of fish. They both paddled their way out to a couple reefs and dove overboard with their swim goggles diving as deep and close to the urchins and fish as they dare. Pretty big adventure. Swim, dive, paddle and sail. Watermen.

Day Two Team Race Practice

June 14… Day two of team racing practice. Another “Island style” start, as the kids slowly rigged and mostly played on the beach while they waited for Christopher and Manny to procure a new boat from McLauhlin… who was again slow to get moving in the morning. On the water at noon and back at speed testing and team racing. Tracy and I took a nice long swim and found some spots with schools of fish cruising the small reefs along the edges of the bay. Not lots of coral, but plenty of urchins and colorful fish. Romain and Quinn took a kayak out around the point of the bay looking for a little surf on the reef. Only one foot, but still tricky as they discovered the reef was covered with jagged rocks and urchins. I swam out to them after a bit and was ATTACKED by a fish. Romain didn’t believe me until he paddled up and watched a huge (10 inches) fish nibbling at my “torso.” I had to get a ride back on the kayak to avoid any more serious wounds. For dinner we broke our rule of never Mexican food outside of Mexico or Southern California. Rule still holds. Dinner was mediocre, but filling. Then off to the second half of Marley and Me and bed by 9:30pm.

Day One Team Race Practice

June 13… Day one of practice. Manny lets us all sleep in and we convene at the club at 10:30am. After a quick little spin back out to our already favorite café, the Cag….BLAH BLAH, we hurry back to the club to meet Kristopher, Manny and Dane. Not much action at the club. Mostly some locals and a locked up McLaughlin trailer. After some searching about we get the trailer unlocked, 6 boats unloaded. The lessons are already getting dolled out by the coach as the 6 kids are working as 6 individuals and anything but team like. Lots of squabbling over who gets which boat, how to put dollies together, etc. We’re also realizing it’s pretty warm. Somehow they get it together, we find the coach boat, everyone has lunch and the team’s on the water by 1pm. Christopher Williford comes in early having torn his mast collar out of the boat. He flipped during a drill, but had neglected to tie the mast in… oops. Nevertheless, looked like great sailing 11-13 knots. The report when the kids hit the beach at the end of the day:

• “Best place I’ve ever sailed.” “

• “OMG! 15 knots, wet and warm! It’s awesome here.”

• “We saw a man-o-war, well a baby one.”

After sailing and a team meeting all six kids spent the remainder of the sunlight swimming, wrestling on the trampoline and having kayak wars.

Final Travel

June 12… Sunny and warm San Juan Puerto Rico. Good morning. It’s 9:15am and we’re on the ground. Next up St. Thomas. The flight to St. Thomas is quick, beautiful and uneventful. We pass on the complimentary Rum (Coconut or Pineapple) as the greeter welcome us to the Virgin Islands (named after the missionary nuns who were the first Europeans to occupy the islands) and make a beeline to the rental car and a half hour drive to the east end of the island and Red Hook. We find a nice little outdoor café with a few Iguana begging for scraps and enjoy a couple veggie burgers and salads. We settle into little apartment and check out the St. Thomas Yacht Club, grab a swim. Oh man, the water is beautiful, azure seas don’t do justice, warm, tasty… perfect. Ten minutes in the water and Quinn finds the pointy end of an urchin barb. The locals grabbed us some tweasers and vinegar (the acid dissolves the crystal encasing of urchin spines) and we performed minor surgery on the beach. Not a big deal luckily and Quinn was back in the water in no time. Back to the airport to pick up the team. Manny, Romain and Kristopher. After a nice dinner in “Yacht Haven Grande,” the local parking lot for mega yachts, we end up cruising the backstreets of downtown before making it over to the airport. At the gate we bet if Manny will partake in the free shots. Quinn says “oh yes, definitely.” Dane votes no. Dane wins. We sign all the papers and load up the car and drive the windy road back to the east end. Bit treacherous as we weave and bob on the left hand side. It’s still day one of driving and the rhythm of driving on the left on a little two lane wiggly, hilly road at night has the full attention of the kids in the back seat. Good fun had by all. We make it safely to Red Hook and unceremoniously drop Dane, Kristopher and Manny at the Ferry. They catch the 11pm boat to St. John. Romain, and the three of us head back up the hill to our little apartment perched on a hilltop overlooking BLAH BLAH bay, the Ritz Carlton Resort and off in distance the St. Thomas YC. Must have been a great ride across the bay as the moon was just rising and lighting up the night.

Where's Esteban?

We all miss you Esteban! Get well soon!

Getting There

Actually June 11th... Waiting to take off. Super crowded LAX, lots of folks flying the red eye. We’re tired, wondering who won the Laker game. Yikes. No seats together. We have to scramble to rearrange with other passengers, luckily there’s a nice fellow with his wife and two daughters that sacrifice a seat and wiggle around the seating for us. Long night for the Dad, but Quinn and Dane both asleep before we reach cruising altitude.

June 12th. We made it!