Anna Tunnicliffe has no equal. With the Gold around her neck, and her jumping into match racing and winning right off the top, you have to believe that her sailing ability has few weaknesses and no peers at the moment. So, when I had the chance to go to Cabarete to sail in her clinic there, there was not much that could have stood in my way. My next big goal is the Masters Worlds in San Francisco in 2011, so I have some time to prepare, but when something like this comes along, even if it is a bit premature, you grab it.
Unfortunately, I could not do the full clinic, but I did enough to realize that Cabarete is one hell of a place to sail and that Anna is amazing.
Every day was a poster for the best sailing I have ever had. The first day I only got out in the afternoon. The wind was pulling something like 22 knots and the waves were fresh from Spain. The forecast was for three meter waves, but for a boy from the Outer Harbour in Toronto, they were towers to climb upwind and rocket fuel down.
To some degree, I was there to watch out for the participants on behalf of Ari Barshi, the owner of the Laser Training Centre and Cabarete Sailing Academy. He asked me to make sure they didn't stray too far and were mostly upright while out there and content at the end of the day. As a result, I couldn't really wind it up. Still, I got a chance to sail with the best sailor in the Radial world watching me, and was as happy as a bear in a bag of bees.
The second day, I could only go out in the afternoon again, and Anna has everyone inside the "wall." In Cabarete, you have the "inside" and the "outside," which designates where the big waves are (outside) and where, behind the reef (the wall), you get flatter water (inside). She stayed inside because she wanted to stay connected to the group and press us with tighter boat handling drills.
For about two hours, I skidded around our very short course, banging tacks with sailors from Aruba, Puerto Rico and the DR in both 4.7s and Radials. In particular, Raul Aguaylo, who represented the Dominican Republic in the last Olympics, was in the pack, and it was fun to see a truly gifted sailors slice though the fleet again and again and again.
The third day was a copy of the second-hot sun, hot water, solid breeze and plenty of boats to miss by inches. I sailed till I was totally out of gas, and missed the straps on the only circuit that I had a chance of getting in front of. My boat landed on Raul, and I apologized, and he said with a broad smile that he was pretty sure I didn't do it on purpose.
The rest of the holiday was taken up shepherding Chris Love of Sailgroove.org around the campus of the Cabarete Sailing Academy. I am involved in getting the academy going, and Sailgoove came to Cabarete on our invitation to take a look at what we were planning.
What we are planning is simply the first of its kind in the sailing world-a sailing academy that provides full time schooling and full time training for high school age students. There are a bunch of academies in other sports; tennis has the Evert Tennis Academy, for instance. There is a big academy that covers a number of sports like baseball, basketball and soccer on the Gulf Coast of Florida. But, as far as we could see, there was no school that provided both full time sail training and US based high school education for semesters at a time.
It is expensive and not for everyone, of course. The school costs $41,000 per year for training, boarding and schooling. It is unique in that it is in the Dominican Republic and so it provides an incredible experience apart from the sailing and the school. I've been to the DR enough realize that it may be about the best place to find a balance between living something a little different without going too far away. The country is Spanish speaking, and that means the students have a chance to gain access to future opportunities beyond the English-speaking world.
And the kids of the high school, who are mostly expats from around the world, are kids like I have never encountered in my life. Most speak at least three languages, if not four. I was watching a baseball game in the schoolyard while I was there. The pitcher spoke in English as he tossed the ball, the batter hollered in Spanish as he hit it to the outfield, and the rest of his team cheered him on in French as he ran the bases. It was truly wonderful and bazaar at the same time.
Finally, Head Coach of the Academy Rulo has some serious pedigree. He coached Anna to the Gold in Beijing, coached Lisa Ross to her representing Canada at the same games, and recently coached the Thai team to a second place finish at the 4.7 Worlds. In fact, he may be the hidden gem of the whole school. Time will tell.
Back in Toronto, I am working on the Race Training program at J Town Sailing Club and the Ontario Masters Racing Team. Evan Lewis is officially the team coach and most of us have set our sights on doing well at the Canadian Masters in July, where he will be coaching us through the regatta. Our first clinic will be with David Wright May 8 and 9. Time to hit the straps and go fast.
Rob Koci races in both the Laser Full-Rig and Laser Radial fleets around District 3. Currently, Rob is the District 3 secretary and maintains a frequently updated race diary on D3Laser.com. Rob's home port is St. James Town Sailing Club in Toronto, Ontario.
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