The Ontario Masters sailing team has had several opportunities to be coached by various high-end laser sailors over the years, most recently Canada's 2012 Olympic laser competitor, David Wright. They have been fantastic training sessions and we have learned a lot from David (and other coaches) not just about what we need to improve with our skills and technique in the boat, but also about what it takes to be on top of your game in a laser (other than being young again).
In previous coaching sessions it has been great to have David's no-nonsense advice and suggestions on how to improve boat speed, but it would come from him shouting at us from the coach boat, not alongside us in a competing laser. So frequently, I would have stray thoughts such as "let's see this guy in a laser, I bet he's not so fast" or "sure he could take me in heavy air, but I bet I could kick his a$$ in light wind". Rarely do I attend the same regattas he would attend, since I am normally attending major international events around the world, while he participates in many smaller regional regattas…..oh maybe I have that reversed.
Anyhow, it turns out that David and Canadian national teammate Lea Parkhill were recently training in Toronto for a few days and could use a few additional boats to train with. So invitations went out to several local laser sailors to join them at TS&CC. Its not often you get an invite to go train with the best laser sailors in North America, so from my perspective this was an offer I couldn't refuse. Furthermore, we would finally get a chance to sail alongside David in a small and focused group......
