Blind Sailing

[DollFin]

First of all, on behalf of the team, I wanted to thank everyone who has offered support and encouragement this year. We owe you our deepest thanks as we could not be doing this without you!

Newport was amazing! We had a wonderful host family who let us invade their home - the fact that they are partners in the IYAC certainly was a bonus! The weather was a wonderful break from the Houston heat. Having access to the Mojo RIB, our own "Texas Cheerleaders" as well as on-the-water coaching from an Olympic Silver Medalist was wonderful (although I think our competition would tend to disagree). 

Day one of racing gave us wind-o-plenty, starting around 14 and building, with puffs well into the 20's, maybe even a few close to 30. We ran 5 races, took bullets in the first 4 but one of the Boston teams (aka "Beanie Boys") got us in the 5th race. Unfortunately the team that came from Florida had to withdraw when one if their crew fractured her wrist during a gibe, but once they got her off the boat, they asked if they could continue to sail with us if they promised not to get in the way of the boats still racing. We unanimously agreed to let them stay out and play, and afterwards they thanked us all and kept us updated on their injured crew member.

The 2nd and final day of racing was slightly cooler with much lighter winds - a welcome change after the previous wet and wild day, although we had to shift mental gears, tactics and weight placement after all the heavy-weather racing (Thanks again to Charlie for his advice - it definitely made a difference!). We knew that despite taking 4 out of 5 1sts the previous day, there was still a very good chance that the 2nd place team could catch us if we weren't on our game. We took 2 2nds with the first two races, however the 2nd place team took 2 3rds and we were still able to increase our lead. Race 3 gave us another 1st and effectively sealed our 2nd National title, but there was one more race to go. With the final race, we figured we would just take it easy and keep clear of the teams still battling for 2nd. We were a bit late for the start, then tacked off in a different direction from the rest of the fleet... yet somehow ended up back in the lead and finished with one more bullet!

The awards and after party were lots of fun. We still keep wishing we could sneak out the big beautiful perpetual trophy, but I don't think Sail Newport (or TSA, for that matter) would appreciate that.    After the awards it was back to our hosts' home for a cookout with our Texas contingent and much-needed decompressing!

Monday was our play-day up there. We spent the day exploring downtown Newport and helping boost the local economy in the shops before our scheduled charter of the America's Cup 12 meter "Nefertiti". We had a blast sailing on that boat! The captain and crew were extremely nice and accommodating, and were happy to let us have a turn at the wheel - not even worrying about 2 of us being "blind". Of course, they also put us all to work on sail trim - those coffee grinders are a real workout!! One last dinner out, followed by a farewell trip to the IYAC before getting packed up, catching some sleep and heading out to the airport on Tuesday morning, homeward bound.

Now, the REAL work begins as we prepare for the 2013 Blind Worlds next May in Japan! Most of you have been following our adventures via the team's Facebook page, but if you haven't seen it yet, please visit us at https://www.facebook.com/TexasBlindSailingTeam where you can see updates and photos! Thanks again to all of our wonderful GBCA friends!!!