Clay Johnson Sailing

Today was the final day of the Miami OCR, and we were able to complete our two races on time.  In the first race, I had a good start near the pin and held all the way to the left.  I got a little lefty and some pressure and tacked to port, crossing most of the fleet.  I was able to hold the angle all the way to the mark and tacked around in 5th place.  On the reach, Kristian Ruth was yellow flagged ahead of me, so I was able to gain another boat.  On the downwind, I broke low and was looking pretty good for awhile, but the breeze filled high at the end of the run and a couple guys caught up  I rounded the mark heading to the right side of the course in about 4th place.  I came back left, but probably a little too late and some more guys caught up.  At the final windward mark I was in 6th.  Another decent run and a reach to the finish, and I had a good start to my day with a 6th place finish.

In the second race, I thought the left was favored again, so I lined up down towards the pin.  It was a black flag start so the fleet was a little timid, but I poked my bow out and went on time.  As we sailed out on starboard everyone kept lifting off of me.  I sailed all the way to the left, trying to come back a few times, but to no avail.  The breeze had shifted far right, and I was in trouble.  I rounded the weather mark with only a few boats behind me.  I was able to pass a few boats on each leg, and played some shifts well up the second beat, but ultimately could only recover to 33rd place.

With my 6-33, I moved up to 21st overall.  It was a tough week though with very difficult conditions.  At this point the only thing I can do is take what I've learned about sailing in Miami and store it for the next time.

This week I'll be hanging out in Miami before moving to Clearwater for some training and the Midwinters East regatta in the middle of February.

Final OCR Results

Today was the fourth day of the Miami OCR and also the first day of gold fleet.  Much to its reputation, the racing was twice as hard today as the fleet was cut in half and the best guys were all on one line today.  We sailed two races in about 6-10 knots out of the North-Northeast.

In the first race, I had a great start near the pin and continued to the left.  After a few minutes I got headed and took a good opportunity to tack and cross the fleet.  I was in the top five group looking great as we crossed everyone from the right.  As we continued across, the breeze lightened up a little and our angle began to cave.  I looked over my shoulder and saw guys that I had crossed before looking great with pressure and a nice lift further left.  So I hitched out to the left trying to get some of that.  But things went downhill from there.  When I got there the breeze was gone and then the right came in huge.  I was left struggling to get back and ended up rounding the mark in the 30s.  What was more frustrating was that the guys I was with who continued were in the top five at the first mark.  I tried to fight back throughout the race, but 12th to last place were so close that there wasn't much room on the course.  I limped into the finish line in a miserable 40th place.

In the second race, I again got a good start at the pin.  I tacked and crossed the fleet again with the top group and was looking great.  But again, I failed to get in phase at the top of the beat and the guys from the sides got me.  I had a good second beat, picking up 15 boats, but my downwinds were mediocre today and I ended up giving some places back.  I was 24th in the second race.

Overall, the day was quite frustrating.  I think it's important to stick to your side and be patient, especially towards the top of the beats, but I haven't not been doing that.  It doesn't make things easier that every boat in the fleet is a rockstar, so any mistake you make will be jumped upon by others.

Two more races are scheduled for tomorrow.  The game plan is to just go out and hopefully end the regatta on a better note.

Results

Two more races were sailed today on the third day of the Miami OCR.  I was in blue fleet today and started first, sailing the outer trapezoid course.

After a few general recalls and postponements, our first race started at about 11:30.  I had a great start near the boat and played a few shifts up the middle right.  I did a good job of connecting the puffs and eventually consolidated across the fleet in first place.  I rounded the windward mark in first with Jesper (SWE), Andreas (AUT), and Tonci (CRO) right behind.  Those guys closed a little on the first reach and downwind, but I was able to pull ahead at the leeward mark and escape from the crowded mark rounding well.  On the second beat I maintained a comfortable 5-10 boat length lead and rounded the last windward mark in first.  On the downwind, Andy, Jesper, and Tonci went lower than I did and got some nice pressure to close the gap.  The four of us were duking it out with someone pulling ahead a little and then the others catching up.  Right at the mark, Andy pulled ahead last to round first.  Tonci just got an overlap on me to round second.  I rounded third and reached into the finish for a third place finish.  While I would have liked to have won the race, I was pleased with my decision making and speed, and the race was a keeper.

In the second race, I had another good start at the boat and tacked quickly to the right.  A lot of people tacked to port shortly after the start and the guys at the pin were looking quite good.  As we all sailed to the right, the fleet caved a little, and I thought that I was looking ok.  But at the top the breeze went left again, and I struggled to get back, rounding in 25th.  I rallied a little on the first downwind and caught up to the 12-18 pack.  I battled with those guys for the rest of the race, ultimately finishing in 16th.

Overall it was a better day, but still not as good as I'd like.  It was very tricky sailing again today:  very difficult to see the pressure and pretty shifty.  Tomorrow is the first day of Gold fleet so hopefully with a few good scores I can make some ground up on the fleet.

Results

Today was the second day of the Miami OCR regatta, and the Race Committee ran three races to make up for a short day yesterday.  The breeze was 5-12 knots out of the North-Northeast and was very shifty and very puffy.  The racing was difficult.

All three races I had good starts, but couldn't seem to piece together windward legs.  Sometimes getting leverage on the fleet was important, other times crossing boats when you could was the play, and at time leading the pack to the side worked.  There was no "rule of thumb" for today's racing.  With the exception of a few boats, everyone was pretty inconsistent today.  I tallied a frustrating 13-20-16 and am now in about 30th place.  As of this writing there are definitely some errors in the scores.

Two races are scheduled for tomorrow with similar conditions forecasted.  Hopefully I can turn it around a little.

Results

Today was the first day of the Miami OCR, and it was a long one.  I arrived at the site at about 8:45 with the intention of launching just before 10 AM.  But just as I had rigged my boat and changed into my sailing gear, the RC postponed us ashore in anticipation of some thunderstorms coming through.  We ended up sitting on shore waiting to go for most of the day as classes all around Biscayne Bay were being cancelled and sent home.  At about 2:15, we were finally sent out to a closer race course with the intention of sailing one race.

We reached out to the course in 20 knots, excited to sail a breezy race.  At about 3:30 the RC tried to start the first fleet, but they were thwarted by a 30 degree right shift.  At the same time, the temperature dropped 10 degrees signaling the arrival of the front.  It took awhile to reset the course, and the first fleet was finally started at about 4:15.  I was in the second start today and sailed the inner loop.  My fleet started shortly afterwards in a dying breeze at 4:30.

By the time we started our race, the breeze was about 8 knots and dying to 5 knots.  I had an ok start in the middle of the line, but quickly tacked to port as a lot of the fleet at the pin had tacked and were crossing the fleet.  I was pin-balled around in the middle a little, trying to work out to a side, but the pressure was all left, and I had nothing to get back to them.  I rounded the first mark in about 35th and tried to pass boats from there.  I was able to pass a few on the first run and headed left on the second beat hoping for more pressure.  This time there wasn't an advantage out left, and I bounced around in the high 20s, low 30s for the rest of the race.  I had a pretty good last downwind, catching a few boats and closing some distance to 26th place, but it was certainly not a good first race.  The fleet is very competitive here, so I was hoping not to use my throwout in the qualifying series, let alone the first race.  As we finished our race the sun had already set!  It was a long day!

Hopefully we can make up the extra race tomorrow if the conditions are nice and get back on schedule.  Tomorrow's a new day!

Results

I've been in Miami for 9 days preparing for the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta that starts tomorrow.  The OCR, which is the second stop of the 2010 ISAF World Cup, is a must sail for the top international Laser sailors.  There are 106 Lasers registered, and we'll race 10 races over the next five days before a medal race on Saturday.  Because there are so many boats, we'll have a qualifying series for the first three days, before a gold-silver split for the final two days.  The forecast looks good with breeze tomorrow (despite a chance for thunderstorms) and warm temperatures.

This past week I've spent a lot of time prepping for the event.  I got some windy conditions training with a big group of people last Saturday and Sunday.  On Monday and Tuesday I did some boatwork and organized some things for the event.  Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, I took part in the US Sailing Team Alphagraphics training camp.  We talked about reaching technique, analyazed some medal race tactics, and discussed some rules questions and put them into use with some great on the water drills.  These US camps prior to the World Cup events are a great chance to sail with other US Laser guys, bounce ideas off of my teammates in different classes, and receive top-level coaching.  The camp culminated with the first annual USSTAG Awards dinner.  I was awarded the "Most Improved Fitness" award, which I shared with radial sailor Paige Railey.  It was a nice award to receive, and the dinner was a great success.

Be sure to check back for daily updates during the event!

Firstly, the US Olympic Committee's poll for Male Athlete of the Month of December has concluded, and I'm happy to report that after a lot of campaigning by my mother and girlfriend, I was voted the winner!  I'm pretty psyched to be chosen, and this is a cool honor.  Thanks to everyone who voted and thanks for the coninued support!  You can see the results here:  http://twtpoll.com/wuf60z

In training news, I finished up the camp in Clearwater with a few more productive practices.  We did a few 35 mile bike rides and gym sessions, with lots of upwind speed testing in light air.  The focus was to spend time on upwind speed and technique, and I was really pleased with how it went.  On Friday, I drove down to Miami with Andreas Geritzer (AUT), his coach Jurgen, and Kristian Ruth (NOR), all of their gear, three bikes, a coach boat, three lasers, and tons more stuff.  It was pretty packed, but we made it down.

I sailed the last two days in Miami in great breeze from 10-20 knots.  The weather has finally started to warm up here, and the temperatures are consistently in the upper 70s, so the sailing is pretty enjoyable.  Today was a boatwork day, and tomorrow I'm tying up some other loose ends before the USSTAG camp on Wed-Thurs-Fri.  This three day camp will be a great warm up before the event and will be good exposure to some top coaches in the country.  We'll have classroom briefings and lots of sailing and gym time.  I'm looking forward to it!

The Miami OCR starts on Monday.  Stay tuned for more updates!

I just found out that I have been nominated for the US Olympic Committee's Male Athlete of the Month (December).  What a cool honor!  The poll is among many athletes in all different sports, not just sailing.

You can click on this link and vote!

Vote for CLAY JOHNSON as 2009 December United States Male Athlete of the Month http://bit.ly/5CinHe

Thanks!

I've been in Clearwater sailing for three days already, and the trip can be summed up simply as COLD.  Temperatures haven't risen above 45 degrees, and they have often been in the mid-thirties while sailing.  Despite the freezing conditions, we've managed to have three really good practices so far.  On the first and the third days we stayed in Clearwater and did some boathandling intensive practices, mostly to stay warm.  On the middle day, though, we couldn't say no to a 15 mile downwinder to John's Pass.  It was one of the coldest sails, and even colder tows back up the inner coastal, that I've ever done.  But it was worth it.

Three more days here before heading to Miami to train before the Miami OCR.  Hopefully the weather gets a little better down here!

Check out my recent interview with US Sailing:

http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/Releases/Interview_with_Clay_Johnson.htm