I competed in my second European Championship in Varna, Bulgaria, from the 4th to the 9th of October a few weeks ago. After training in moderate conditions and warmish weather pre-regatta, severe fall conditions set in as the regatta kicked off, bringing colder temperatures, mostly overcast skies, and breeze. Nothing my super warm wet suit and an offshore jacket couldn’t mitigate, but the long waits compounded the adverse conditions on the water as the race committee struggled to efficiently get races going. Some days we spent 6 hours on the water for one race in 18 knots.
As for the racing, it was my first regatta with my new coach, and I am happy with several parts of my regatta. Unfortunately, I missed my goal of making the gold fleet by 7 points due to some costly mistakes made on the first day. I finished 72nd of 115. I felt like I left a lot on the table and could have finished much better, but I do have to appreciate that at my last Laser Europeans in Porto 2019 I placed 127/162.
Progress!