Hello!

A lot has happened since our last July 21 update. Here is our latest:

Nikki is currently in Miami /Ft. Lauderdale working with the Coast Guard to get her boat crew qualification. Lara is in San Francisco setting up boats and camp for the next month where Nikki will join this Thursday.

Aarhus: We accomplished what we set out to: 1. acquire a solid race boat that we will use for all racing in Europe. 2. Develop our system and routine for racing in general, and for travel outside of the states (which equipment travels back and forth, what tools we need duplicates of, creating our pre and post race jobs, etc.). 3. find training partners.

We wanted better results, absolutely, but had certain moments that built our confidence. The value of racing with 47 boats and having analytics to debrief our speed and tactical decisions was more than we could have imagined. It is clear that racing experience is a must and we will build our spring/summer schedule on this fact.

San Francisco training: We made the decision to spend September in San Francisco to work with a single coach for a longer period of time. Udi Gal is based in San Fran and currently coaches the Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation. His top world ranking as a 470 sailor was 3rd, he competed at the games twice (2004, 2008), and finished 3rd at three consecutive World Championships, in addition we have heard excellent feedback about his coaching. We will be staying with a host in Belvedere and commuting to Treasure Island Sailing Club where there are 2 470s (both last used in Japan one year ago). We have use of a car, but were recommended a commute by boat will be much faster.

We will sail Monday-Friday with Udi, by ourselves for the first half and then will be joined by Germany 24, the female team that placed 3rd at the 2018 Europeans.

Here is our Schedule for the rest of 2018/ beginning of 2019:

September 1- October 6 San Francisco

October 7- 12 Newport, RI

October 13-14 Oyster Bay, NY (Oakcliff Triple Crown #2)

October 15-19 Newport, RI

October 20-21 Oyster Bay, NY(Oakcliff Triple Crown #3)

October 22-29 Newport, RI

November- January Miami, FL

January 27-February 3 Sailing World Cup Miami – qualification for USST

(as a new feature on our website, we are listing the events ahead for us – the schedule is located at the bottom of most pages)

Equipment:

Shortly after taking ownership of the Ziegelmayer in Europe, we found out there is a sister ship in storage in Australia. There will be three events in Japan next summer, one being the 470 world championship and the 2nd Olympic country qualifier, we think having a boat we are accustomed to is a must. Our next big project is to make sure we can purchase and ship this boat to Japan.

Our European boat is in storage in Germany, in a great and trustworthy facility, and is mostly ready to race come spring 2019.

The two boats in the US (the ODP boat and our donated Mackay) are our short term projects. While we are in San Fran, the ODP boat will be getting serviced so it is mostly ready for Oakcliff, we have brought some of the rigging to the west coast so that both Udi and Malcolm can help make sure we are on the right track.

We have been working with Chris Takas to build an inventory of spare parts, and to organize a list of what sails are needed long term and when delivery dates are.

That’s all for now, thanks everyone for your support and wisdom before, during, and after the Worlds!

All the best,

Lara and Nikki