Hawaii Take 2!

I am currently in the Miami airport about to head to Madrid and am reflecting on my past training camp in Hawaii. I got back home to Tampa four short days ago and have been trying to recover and recharge for this next training block.

Hawaii was full of ups and downs throughout my 18 days there. We started out with a camp for just the US Women and had great conditions. We got to sail out in the ocean in the big swell and had great wind. We focused a lot on speed in waves and tacks during this time. It was also very exciting because it was the first time the women’s iQFOiL squad was together and working alone to better ourselves and each other. The group dynamic was very fun and really enhanced the training as we all shared ideas and inputs on how to get better and faster.

After a few days of perfect training conditions, a system came through that brought huge wind gusts. The first day of the big breeze, we were met with gusts of up to 35 knots and very puffy conditions as the breeze was coming over the mountains. I went out for two sessions, and it was extremely challenging but extremely rewarding. The next day of the system it was gusting 50 knots, so we took a day off as this is too much wind to train. We then had another great day of training in the swell with perfect wind conditions and lots of learning. Finally, to round out the first section of the training we had another rest day, I did a sunrise hike (Makapu’u Lighthouse) and went and explored the North Shore (where the famous surf spot Pipeline is!) with JP, Anna, and Dominique.

The next part of our training was plagued with very challenging conditions. For nearly all the next 9 days of training, we didn’t see over 10 knots of breeze. We spent hours sitting on land waiting for the wind to fill. Despite the light winds, we had several very productive sessions. As light wind is my worst condition, it was very good for me to be forced into working on the skill and I feel I made a lot of progress. We focused a lot on gybes and downwind slalom speed and strategy, and I learned a lot from sailing with all of the women and U19 boys as well.

Overall, even though Hawaii didn’t deliver the typical 15 knot perfect conditions, it delivered excellent training, lots of learning, gorgeous views, and tons of unforgettable memories,