Building from the Hague World Championships

Compete, analyze, strategize for improvement, educate, and back on the water for skill building. This is the process-oriented feedback loop that A1R strongly believes in, and is determined to escalate efficiency.  The 2023 Hague World Championships concluded on August 16th, and 3 weeks later the FX team of Paris Henken/Anna Tobias were back at it in Long Beach, CA, Sept 8-15.  

Anna Tobias and Paris Henken

ABYC hosted the camp, Charlie Mckee and I coached, and Paris/Anna were joined by two of our country's top young sailors, Ian and Noah Hyenhuis from San Diego. This talented brother duo are transitioning from the 29er to the FX and on their way to the 49er. Veteran Olympians training with talented youth champions; pushing hard and soaking up knowledge. The week was fantastic fun, with young smiles flexing skills, and both boats enjoying the classic Long Beach Sept conditions.

But we weren't there to just smile. Charlie and I had reviewed the Hague trackers race-by-race,  and picked the trends and areas of the course that we needed to improve.  The in-depth study, matched up with Charlie’s “Kaizen” approach set the stage for a list of improvements: moding upwind, layline accuracy, sailing in tough layline lanes, perfect  gybe-setting, starting in specific zones of the line at varying set angles, and a deep tactical review every morning were some of the items on the menu.

“We often reflect on how our young sailors would benefit from a wider range of experiences in our sport, rather than just doing more and more in the same type of boat with the same people. Ian and Noah were presented with this amazing opportunity to train in the FX with Paris and Anna, and they absolutely made the most of it. For Paris and Anna the key was their willingness and ability to rapidly absorb the lessons learned from the Worlds, and alter their training focus to reflect that. I think all 6 of us learned a lot from the collaborative coaching and training environment,” said Charlie.

It was incredible to see how much you can improve when you have very specific targets, talented athletes, and an openness to learn and progress.  Many thanks to AmercaOneRacing, Mike Van Dyke, and the team at ABYC for setting up an amazing session.

“Our week in Long Beach definitely helped Anna and I work on our personal and team goals. ABYC is an amazing yacht club to sail out of, and the people were extremely nice. They provided dry storage space for our two boats,  supplied us with a room, white board and TV which was perfect for reviewing tracker data to study tactical scenarios. We sailed in a variety of conditions, from flat water, to chop, to big waves on any given day, which is what I love about Long Beach. Having both Charlie and Luther brought different aspects to the table and we were able to cover a wide range of different focused skill sets. Thank you AmericaOne for believing in us and supporting us! It means the world to us,” said Paris.