Jan 16 Post - We're Going to London 2012!

We're going to London 2012 to sail in the Paralympics! We qualified at our last event, the IFDS Worlds in Port Charlotte, Florida. We are now sailing in Maimi at the Olympic Class Regatta www.rmocr.ussailing.org. We had a great day yesterday and have moved to 4th place. 2 more days of racing ahead and then back home to Victoria.

Day 2 - Wednesday

We had challenging conditions with winds ranging from 5 to 20 knots.   We had great starts and good speed but had some issues with the strong winds on the reach that lost us several points.   Our results were 6th, 4th and 6th with the Americans (Jen and JP), GBR, and Australians in taking the lead spots.  We feel confident we can make improvements and are looking forward to the rest of the event.

Nature Put on a Show on Day 1

No Racing for Skuds Tuesday

Well Mother Nature did not cooperate Tuesday for the Skuds and Sonars as there was not enough winds to race. After drifting around in the sun for what seemed like hours, the race committee called it a day and sent us in. Foretunately the 2.4mRs got 2 races in and Canadian Paul Tingley pulled off bullets in both races. Today, Wednesday, a cold front has moved through and bigger winds are expected. We're looking forward to some racing.

Racing Begins Tuesday!

Yesterday was measurement day for us and out boat was first in line.  The event organizers brought in a crane to lift the boat and weigh it to make sure all competitors conform.  We've now got 2 more practice days before racing.  It is great to see old and new sailing friends from around the world as we prepare for the 2012 IFDS Worlds.

Oh yeah, check out our digs.  We've rented a house for our team in Port Charlotte, complete with screened in pool.  With the struggling economy in western Florida, there were many rental options to choose from at reasonable prices.  We won't be as lucky when we head to Miami later this month.

Preparing for the IFDS 2012 Worlds

Hi Everyone, We've arrived in Punta Gorda, Florida for the IFDS Worlds, our paraylmpic qualifier. Racing begins on Tuesday Jan 9 with measurement taking place today an tomorrow. 20 countries are represented from as far away as Australia and Isreal. There are 8 teams competing in our Skud class fleet. 9 teams were registered but unfortunately Malaysia was unable to secure a Visa for travel to the US. We expect very tough competition as we race against the top teams it the world including GBR, USA, and Australia. Follow the results and news at

3rd Place Finish in America's Regatta

December 9, 2011

TeamUCan2 finished 3rd in the SKUD 18 fleet at the America's Regatta in St. Pete, Florida.   Jen and JP from the USA topped the fleet while Alex and Niki from Britian came in second.  View the complete results at:

http://www.spyc.org/default.aspx?p=.NET_ArticleView&tview=0&plugid=750807&ssid=217766&qfilter=RSC17538&itemID=263032

 

Most teams have now moved one and half hours south to Pt Chalotte, Florida to continue training for the IFDS Worlds which takes place in January.   It's an interesting place built on many canels.  The weather has been quite comfortable in the 70s and 80s, expect for Wednesday evening when a cold front brought high winds and temperatures near freezing.  Fortunately the cold fronts are short lived around here and it's back to shorts weather.

 

Yesterday John and I had a good training session with the Americans and Brits.  We had good speed and are  now working on consistancy.  That is key for us.

 

Hi Everyone,

We are into our second day at the America’s regatta in St Pete, Florida.   The weather is very comfortable in the 70s and not humid.  John and I are currently in 3^rd place but the final day is tomorrow.   We are sailing well based on the goals we set and seem to have found our speed.  We are keeping pace with two of the top teams in the world, GBR (Alex and Niki) and USA (Jen and JP).  The winds are good and there is chop on the water that we are trying to power through.  Today we had two 2^nd place finishes, the last of which was a narrow loss to GBR.  After rounding the final weather mark 3^rd, we were happy to close in on GBR.  Unfortunately we missed an opportunity to shut them out at the finish and they crossed the line just inches in front of us.  It’s been an exhausting couple of days for us as we are working hard at keeping our focus.  Tonight we’re off to a regatta dinner with the other teams and then early to bed.

Stacie and John

St Pete, Florida Training Camp

Hi Supporters,

We just finished a 12 day training camp with our American training partners in St. Petersburg, Florida.  Both teams learned a lot and we had some very productive training sessions each day. We are now back home in not so sunny Victoria but only for a few more days.  Next it's back to St. Pete on November 30 to prepare for the America's regatta on Dec 2-4.  

Stacie and John

Happy Halloween!

Hey Supporters,

We are back on-line after a few changes to our campaign.  As of July 1 of this year, John and Brenda are no longer campaigning together and Stacie has rejoined John and Team UCan2. 

Please check back for further updates.

Cheers,

Stacie

John and Stacie sail to Bronze in 2008 Paralympics