Bissell Racing

Hey there race fans.  Sorry it has taken me awhile to write the final report for the Snipe World Championship, but it has been hard to formulate words to describe the experience.  It was tough to find something positive to write about the sailing, but after some time has gone by, it’s really not so bad afterall.

Preparing for a World Championship the right way means covering every detail and leaving nothing on the table.  Think of any possible excuse you might have for losing and take care of those things before the event happens.   I believe I did this and so I have no regrets.  Yeah, everything didn’t go my way and I think had there been more races I could have had a better result, but that’s sailing, that’s the sport we play.

By preparing for this event, I became a better sailor.  I know more about tuning, sail trim, and sail design than I ever knew before.  More specifically, I became a much better snipe sailor.  I feel like I really know this boat now which will help me help others as the Snipe rep for North Sails.

I have to give a huge shout out to Danny Pletsch, who I was able to rope into crewing for me, because he couldn’t think of an excuse fast enough when I asked him what he was doing during the month of September.  The Snipe PreWorlds was Danny’s second regatta and by the time the worlds rolled around, he was one of the best crews in the entire regatta.  This summer, he placed 11th at Sunfish Worlds, 8th at Snipe Worlds, and got 2nd at Team Race Worlds.  I was really lucky to have him in the front of my boat.  I think I was really lucky he didn’t strangle me a few times too.  By the way, he broke the 20 mph speed barrier on foot and he has video to prove it!

I’d like to thank everyone that supported my Snipe Campaign.  Without your generosity, we never would have made it to Portugal…North Sails for helping with some expenses and making me fast sails, Steve McManus for your generous support, Harry Legum at Annapolis Sailing Fitness helping me cross off fitness in the excuse column, Annapolis Yacht Club Sailing Foundation for your generous donation, Annapolis Performance Sailing for giving me a camouflage hat and a good discount on gear, Julie Bissell (my mom) for making my hotel reservations, Henry Filter for being my tuning partner and giving us rides in his rental car, Coach Pedro, the US Team and the Newport Harbor Yacht Club for their continued support.

 Last but not least, thank you, the reader, for tuning in and taking interest in my blog.  The amount of comments I have recieved from people about how they enjoyed following the action really surprised me.  There will be more to come. 

Two regattas are coming up, the Hinman this coming weekend and the J24 East Coast Champs the weekend after.  Talk to you soon.