Posts about how we are training.

Quarantine!

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After a month and a half of hard training on the water in Palma, Spain we have traded our water training ground for the mental and physical classrooms in our homes in Miami, FL. Over these past two weeks of quarantine we have participated in daily webinars, multiple daily team calls and daily workouts.

As a team we try to maximize our time on the water, with the quarantine we have been given the opportunity to study other aspects of our sport and become experts in the rules, starts, tactics and strategy. We can’t control the situation we are currently in but we can use it to our advantage and grow stronger as a team. ? ??

There are a lot of unknowns at the moment but we are adapting to the situations! We want to give a big thank you to all the people who believe in us, push us and help us determine our next steps!

 

“I’m always asked, ‘What’s the secret to success?’ But there are no secrets. Be humble. Be hungry. And always be the hardest worker in the room.”
– Dwayne Johnson

Team Perfect Vision Sailing’s Lt. j.g. Barnes & Dallman-Weiss Sets Sights on Next Phase of 2020 Olympic Campaign

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Miami, Florida, USA (November 19, 2018). Learn, build, grow…and win. This describes the latest evolution in the U.S. Coast Guard’s Lt. j.g. Nikole ‘Nikki’ Barnes and Lara Dallman Weiss’ Perfect Vision Sailing campaign to represent the U.S. in the Women’s 470 at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Japan. Since making their international debut as a team at the World Sailing Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, and arriving back to the U.S. with a clear idea of what’s needed, Barnes and Dallman-Weiss immediately set about the next steps. This started with spending a month campaigning and training in San Francisco, California.

West Coast Campaigning & Training

Nikole ‘Nikki’ Barnes and Lara Dallman-Weiss training with Coach Udi Gal in San Francisco Bay Credit: Udi Gal.

“Our initial goal for the San Francisco trip was to meet with a donor from the St. Francis Yacht Club (SFYC). By remaining flexible, yet goal-oriented, we were able to accomplish much more on the trip west,” says skipper Barnes, a native of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands and member of the St. Thomas Yacht Club, bronze medalist in the 420 at the ISAF Youth Championships in 2011, Quantum Sailor of the Year in 2016, and 2017 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, in New London, Connecticut, who is currently stationed at USCG Sector Miami in the Incident Management Division.

Indeed, the visit quickly expanded into networking with other potential donors, participating in a give-back opportunity to teach high school girls from across the nation about high performance sailing at a clinic hosted by SFYC, coaching by former Men’s 470 Olympian, Udi Gal, and partnering with German 470 Women’s team Nadine Bohm and Ann-Christin Goliass, in some of Gal’s training sessions.

“My coaching style and demands are quite high. This style is not suitable to every athlete, especially the newer generation. Nikki and Lara are reacting very well to a tougher, higher-demanding work ethic — together we nailed down lots of big steps in their progress in very short time,” says Gal, three-time 470 World Champion bronze medalist and two-time Olympian representing his native Israel in the Men’s 470.

More than One Way to Lead at Sea

L to R: Lara Dallman Weiss, Lt. Cmdr. Krysia Pohl and Lt. j.g. Nikole ‘Nikki’ Barnes after the Leadership Conference at USCG Sector San Francisco. Credit: Perfect Vision Sailing

The worlds of an elite athlete and Coast Guard officer came together when Lt. Cmdr. Krysia Pohl, chief of the inspection division at USCG Sector San Francisco, invited Barnes and Dallman-Weiss to speak as part of the service’s Leadership and Diversity Advisory Council’s (LDAC) speaker series. LCDR Pohl, a 1997 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, is a fellow 470 sailor who was named the 2000 Coast Guard Female Athlete of the Year.

“I think that by Nikki telling her story to shipmates whenever possible, the Coast Guard can see some ROI that aren’t just sailing results. There were some tangible takeaways that units received when Nikki and Lara came to speak. For example, one of the basic leadership teachings includes self-leadership, not just leading others. Nikki is an outstanding example of leading self and is an inspiration. I wanted others to feel inspired by her duty, that we can do it all, especially when we work hard enough, that we can have a military career and also achieve success in our personal lives,” says Pohl.

Top Competition at Oakcliff

Back on the East Coast, Barnes and Dallman-Weiss competed in Stages 2 and 3 of the Oakcliff Triple Crown Series, in Oyster Bay, New York. These events were held on the back-to-back weekends of October 13-14 and October 21-22. Having just returned from an intense month of sailing in San Francisco, the duo didn’t make the appropriate transition into racing and ended the weekend with a fourth place Stage 2 finish. Monday morning, joined by coach Eyal Levin, the duo regrouped and shifted their mindsets. They approached Stage 3 with a whole new perspective and it showed in a win.

“Last year, Nikki competed in the Triple Crown Series with Oakcliff‘s High Performance Fleet Manager, Robyn Lesh,” says Dawn Riley, Oakcliff Sailing’s executive director and the first woman to manage an America’s Cup sailing team, America True, as captain and chief executive officer. “This year, Nikki returned with Lara Dallman-Weiss and they were the only team to defeat three-time Olympic competitors Stuart McNay and Dave Hughes throughout all three stages of the 2018 series. We are extremely impressed with Perfect Vision Sailing’s inherent talent and expect big things to come.”

What’s Next

Barnes and Dallman-Weiss returned to Miami in late October to train for their next major competition: World Sailing’s World Cup Series – Round 2 in Miami, January 27 to February 3.

“Throughout this campaign, our only limit is time, and because of this we need to be ruthless about setting priorities. Since we have a heavy training and racing schedule over the next year, we have recently taken a step back to analyze learnings to date, seek continued advice from our strong team of mentors and adjust our overall plan as needed to assure we are right where we need to be when our country qualifiers take place. That said, this month starts a heavy training phase in Miami,” says Dallman Weiss, a member of the New York Yacht Club, three-time skipper and crew of the year at Eckerd College, U.S. Sailing Development Team member in the 470 class in 2013, and North American champion in the Farr 40 class.

Support Team Perfect Vision Sailing – 2020 Olympics

To support Barnes and Dallman Weiss, donate to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association’s Elite Athletic Excellence Fund (www.cgaalumni.org/eliteathlete). Or, send a check made out to Windmark. We ask that the memo DOES NOT include any names, this will ensure that donations can be used towards any of our budgeted items! Checks can be sent to: Lara Dallman Weiss or Nikole Barnes, P.O. box 263, Newport, RI 02840.

For more information about Barnes and Dallman Weiss’ Olympic campaign, visit www.perfectvisionsailing.com or Email: [email protected]. Follow on Facebook www.facebook.com/perfectvisionsailing and Instagram @perfectvisionsailing

Onward to Denmark

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USA Olympic Hopefuls ENS Barnes & Dallman Weiss Set Sights on World Sailing Championships in Denmark this Month

Photo: L to R: Lara Dallman Weiss and ENS Nikole ‘Nikki’ Barnes in a training session off Newport, Rhode Island. Credit: Cate Brown Photography

Newport, Rhode Island (July 19, 2018). They’ve sailed competitively almost all their lives, officially teamed up four months ago, and now are ready to take on the world. The USA’s Nikole ‘Nikki’ Barnes, ENS, U.S. Coast Guard and Lara Dallman Weiss, Team Perfect Vision Sailing in the Women’s 470 for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, have arrived in Aarhus, Denmark, to compete in the Hempel Sailing World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. Set for July 30 to August 12 and one of the biggest global sailing events, these World Championships will include 10 Olympic boat classes and serve as the first qualifier for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

“This is our first World Championship together. We will be racing against the rest of the world and the top athletes in the game. Our goal is to learn as much as we can, soak up the knowledge and gain training partners. We both are competitive, so we must remind ourselves that we must learn to walk before we run. However, I can guarantee we might try to run a bit during this event,” says skipper Barnes, a native of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands and member of the St. Thomas Yacht Club, bronze medalist in the 420 at the ISAF Youth Championships in 2011, Quantum Sailor of the Year in 2016, and 2017 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, in New London, Connecticut.

Barnes, currently stationed in Sector Miami’s Incident Management Division where she was awarded a Coast Guard Achievement Medal in April for her efforts as a Marine Environmental Response Branch Director during Hurricane Irma, is supported by this maritime service in her Olympic campaign. This support is in recognition of Barnes sailing talents and for the exceptional added skills she will bring back to the U.S. Coast Guard in her role as an officer after the Olympics.

A Busy Four Months

Since officially teaming up in April, Team Perfect Vision Sailing’s Barnes and Dallman Weiss have lost no time in kicking off their campaign in three key ways.

First, the duo assembled a brain trust of advisors to offer feedback on immediate and long-term campaign strategy. This advisory board includes past Olympians and spans nationwide with members from Florida, New England and California as well as Coast Guard and non-Coast Guard members.

Secondly, Barnes and Dallman Weiss accepted the donation of a hurricane damaged 470. They started repairs in Florida, lashed the vessel rooftop and drove to Newport, Rhode Island, where they successfully splashed the fully rebuilt 470 in June. The ‘Fletch’ is now ready for Olympic-level training partners to spar with the women as they train. Earlier this summer, the women practiced one-on-one against the USA’s three-time Olympic Men’s 470 helmsman, Stuart McNay, and crew David Hughes.

Photo: L to R: Lara Dallman Weiss and ENS Nikole ‘Nikki’ Barnes in a training session off Newport, Rhode Island. Credit: Cate Brown Photography

Third, and most importantly, Barnes and Dallman Weiss have and continue to follow a strict and well-organized daily schedule that includes trainer-led muscle-building gym work and on-the-water practice. This strategic routine first started in Florida, where the duo sailed from the U.S. Sailing Training Center in Miami and continued as they followed the seasonal breeze north since May where they have sailed out of Sail Newport, in Newport. Along the way, the team’s hi-caliber coaches have included Bill Shore, Skip Whyte, Larry Suter and Lucas Calabrese.

Success in Long Island

Photo: L to R: Lara Dallman Weiss and ENS Nikole ‘Nikki’ Barnes after the first leg of the Oakcliff Triple Crown Regatta. Credit: Oakcliff Sailing Center

In their first regatta together as a team, Perfect Vision Sailing’s Barnes and Dall-man Weiss finished first in the Women’s Division at the 470 National Championships and second overall after McNay and Hughes in 470 Men, in the first leg of the Oakcliff Triple Crown Series. This event was held July 14 and 15 out of the Oakcliff Sailing Center in Oyster Bay, New York.

“The Nationals provided a great opportunity for us to see how well we do as a team and how we measure up against the other U.S. teams,” says Dallman Weiss, a member of the New York Yacht Club, three-time skipper and crew of the year at Eckerd College, U.S. Sailing Development Team member in the 470 class in 2013, and North American champion in the Farr 40 class. “We learned a lot and had some big takeaways before heading to the Worlds in Denmark.

Aarhus & After

Like Oakcliff, the Hempel Sailing World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, will enable Barnes and Dallman Weiss to evaluate themselves as a team and benchmark themselves against competitors who crucially will be the other Women’s 470 teams they may meet in Tokyo. The women will not only honor the U.S. at this event, but the U.S. Coast Guard as well. In fact, Barnes plans to commemorate Coast Guard Day on August 4, while in Denmark, by flying the U.S. Coast Guard flag during competition to honor the Long Blue line.

“This fall, we will use the knowledge gained in Aarhus to push hard on what we need to work on and to gear up before we start traveling on the European circuit next spring,” says Barnes.

Upcoming, major events in which Team Perfect Vision Sailing’s Barnes and Dallman Weiss will compete are the second and third leg of the Oakcliff Triple Crown Series, October 13 to 14 and October 20 to 21, respectively, and the 2019 World Cup Series Miami, USA, January 27 to February 3.

See our NEW schedule feature in the page footer!

Shredding the gnar…again.

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Just in from training hard in Newport, Rhode Island. Big waves, lots of shredding the gnar. Less than three weeks until our next event, the 470 U.S. National Championships and first leg of the Triple Crown Series at Oakcliff in Oyster Bay, New York, July 14-15. www.oakcliffsailing.org

Spotted! by the Newport Daily News

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The Newport Daily News spotted Perfect Vision Sailing Team NikkiLara on the water on Tuesday!

At times…we can fly.

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Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect
-Mark Twain
Great image by @jenkrollphotography

Out on the Water – Where we belong.

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“You have won nothing at a regatta if you have not won the respect and friendship of your fellow competitors.” Paul Elvstrom

Photography by the incredible @jenkrollphotography on one of our flat water, warm weather Miami training days.

PVS Weekly update for the week of May 14, 2018:

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Weekly update for the week of May 14, 2018:

  • We arrived in Newport with the Olympic Development Program boat, rigged, and sailed out of Sail Newport for the sendoff of leg 9 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Our intent was to have visibility as a team in front of an audience and it certainly served its purpose. We have received several emails and texts with photos and thank yous for representing dingy sailors. This boat will remain in Newport through August, with the addition of the donated boat we are currently rigging, we will have a spare boat for training partners.
  • Saturday Nikki sailed her Coast Guard Alumni regatta in J/70s and won the day! Lara worked for Martha at Team 1 Newport, where she sold sailing gear and handed out PVS business cards.
  • We are now settled on the North Fork of Long Island (down the road from where Lara used to coach at Mattituck Yacht Club) to rig the donated boat. Before leaving Miami we took the time to write down parts and purchase all supplies needed for this boat. Yesterday Larry and Nikki laid out fittings and drilled holes for the front of the boat, Lara spliced trap lines. We will complete the rest of the boat, mast, and boom this week and will finally get this boat sailing! A huge accomplishment from where it began this winter with holes from hurricane Irma and rotting leaves.

Team NikkiLara in Miami Key Largo Race

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Olympic 470 Women Sailors Barnes & Dallman-Weiss Complete Miami Key Largo & Key Large Miami Regattas

Miami, Florida (April 25, 2018). Time spent in the boat is key tactic in successful sail training. That’s just what USA Women’s 470 hopefuls for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Nikole ‘Nikki’ Barnes and Lara Dallman-Weiss, obtained when they sailed in the 63rd Miami Key Largo Race on April 21 followed by the inaugural Key Largo Miami Race the following day, April 22. In total, the duo completed the 70-mile round-trip in 6 hours the first day with 5 to 7 knots of breeze from the east and a faster 4 hours on the second day propelled by 12 to 15 knots of winds blowing southeasterly. Barnes and Dallman-Weiss were among sailors on some 70 yachts in 9 classes that raced in these Miami Yacht Club-hosted regattas. However, they may have been one of the only entries with an additional ‘crew’ member to join them along the way.

“We had a remora (sucker fish) with us for most of the ride,” explains Dallman-Weiss, age 29, a native of White Bear Lake, MN, who graduated from Eckerd College in 2011, was a member of the US Sailing Development Team in 2013 and most recently raced keelboats. “Nikki noticed something was effecting her steering, but Biscayne Bay had tons of seaweed, so we were unsure if this was the cause. Finally, during one of her weed checks she saw the remora hanging off the back. Each time we went to grab it, the fish scooted forward out of reach!”

Dallman-Weiss, as the Perfect Vision Sailing team’s crew, gained several big takeaways from participating in these two sailing events.

“First, I learned to never ignore Nikki when she talks about something effecting her steering. Since we set our foils up to be dead straight, and are trying to achieve a perfectly balanced boat, how the helm feels is a crucial piece of information. Secondly, we worked on communication by taking turns calling the wind as descriptively and accurately as possible. Thirdly, one of our coaches described the 470 as a boat that feels good when you sail it correctly. During Sunday’s power reach home, we felt this effect for a majority of the ride. We started in 15 knots with 2 to 3-foot waves spaced perfectly apart and the boat felt smooth and effortless – an incredibly rewarding feeling!”

Moving forward, Barnes and Dallman-Weiss will continue training in Miami for a couple of weeks. Then, they will travel north to Newport, Rhode Island, for some bigger breeze and to participate in the Volvo Ocean Race Stopover.

“Our game plan is to get on the water as much as we can and build our inventory and knowledge,” says Barnes, age 24, a St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands native, 2016 Quantum Sailor of the Year and 2017 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. “We are currently working on a schedule for the summer that balances regatta training and time on the water. We are looking forward to some long days of racing.”

To support Barnes and Dallman-Weiss in their Olympic campaign, please make out checks to The Sailing Foundation of New York, a 501(c)3 organization that supports individuals who demonstrate the commitment and the potential to represent the United States of America at the highest possible levels in the sport of sailing. Add to the ‘Memo’ line: Nikole Barnes or Lara Dallman-Weiss. Mail checks to: Lara Dallman-Weiss, 41 SE 5th St, Apt 316, Miami, FL, 33131. Don’t forget to check if your company matches donations to non-profits! For more information, visit: www.facebook.com/perfectvisionsailing