Elise Day 1 - Simpson's Regatta, before the start

Reaching up and down the line - we did have a very good start on that day!  Bang on the line and right at the favored end, just a couple of boats down Bobbing up and down Everyone's hopping on the rail - Boat is a little too far heeled over, but that's so you can see her nice new smooth bottom!!

I thought about yesterday a bit more - I wrote the blog post because I was a little bummed - but then, that's part of sailing. We learn and we fix things up...This just taught me that practice and continuity is key. All the folks are on the boat were super smart, some experienced, some less experience, some with a lot of Elise experience and some with less Elise experience. They can all be as good as the Nationals crew. I think that a lot of the top boats have been racing together for many years...

I need to figure out a way to find a core set of people that are willing to do this on Elise. Come practice, come race on a continuous basis. Doesn't have to be every race, but enough that it starts to make a difference. I would also like to see how Nathan and I can become better and better - on the Express at least. Sailing on other boats for a perspective and to pick up different style is definitely something I do and recommend. Doing race committee with some top PROs actually does help you as you get a whole new perspective on the course and what to look for. Often these PROs will also give you a live commentary of what's going on. If you want to learn about race tactics, that's a great place to be.

But then, there is just driving the boat and trimming the sails. How can we get better at it? How can I find someone to constantly pull us up?