Vilamoura Portugal - Training and Racing for America One Racing Athletes Snow/Agnese Finish 6th Overall at European Championships!
The Hague World Championships in August was a peak event for all Olympic sailors in the 2024 quadrennium, as the first round of country qualification for the Paris Olympics in 2024. However, anyone who follows Olympic sailing knows that before you’ve packed up the boat at one event, your focus and plans have already shifted ahead to the next training block and competitions.
The Olympic Trials is indeed the next major regatta in the upcoming schedule, and is of course the path to making it to the Olympic Games. It’s the ultimate competition, which necessitates setting even more specific goals, tightening your focus and skills, and adjusting your game with fresh attention to details.
In November, America One athletes Nevin Snow and Mac Agnese, along with Paris Henken and Anna Tobias dedicated 3 weeks setting up shop in Vilamoura, Portugal; stringing together two regattas and 12 training days. Vilamoura delivered excellent conditions of mostly moderate wind and medium/large waves. The beautiful marina facility hosted in grand fashion as they always do, setting the stage for maximum efficiency and great racing. Virtually every day, a race course was being run by either coaches or Vilamoura RC, which provided the perfect playground for getting to work on specifics.
Nevin and Mac enjoyed working with two expert coaches, Stu Bithell (49er Gold Medalist from Tokyo), and Klaus Lange (49er extraordinaire sailor and coach from Argentina). America One holds true to the strategy of finding the best coaching resources for our athletes, and collaboratively worked with Nevin and Mac to create the coaching plan.
Nevin Snow reported, “Vilamoura was a good opportunity for Mac and I to work with some new coaches and goals that were more specific to our team (as opposed to the group training from earlier in the year). The European Championship was more of a bonus as a good regatta to attach to two weeks of training.”
Mac Agnese was also excited about the additional eyes and approach, ““Our goals for the training camp were to enhance our boat speed and establish a structured routine both on and off the water.”
Nevin elaborated, “Working with Stu Bithell for four days, we focused on our upwind technique and simplifying the priorities for both helm and crew in different conditions. Stu also helped us hone our communications onboard and our pre-race routine. Learning from the current Gold medallist in the 49er about how he would prepare for a day or a race gave us some new ideas and routines to work on.”
Shifting to the European Championships specifically, Nevin and Mac were keen to test their new skills under fire. “We were very fortunate to have Klaus Lange work with us for the Euros and the four days of training prior. Klaus had been at our training in Florida earlier this Fall so it was easy to get on the same page and focus on the lead-up to the event.” Nevin said.
“It became apparent that the conditions were going to be light and lumpy for the racing and we pushed hard on the technique and tuning to be fast in this condition. This is a condition that we have been less confident in and Klaus pushed us to get on the water 1-2 hours before our competitors on the training days so that we could start with basic drills and work our way up to straight line sailing. (For example, we would start sailing in 0-2 kts when everyone else was on land and would simply practice sailing the boat with only skipper on the trapeze or only practice putting our feet in the right locations).”
“Our regatta goal was to put into practice our technique work in the light air with our pre-start and race routine prep. Klaus pushed us to stay open minded and positive through the long, light event and to enjoy each moment. It was rewarding to feel so fresh for each day with the good team dynamic we had.”
Mac’s summation of the long and closely fought battle in a very talent-laden 49er fleet of 91 boats. ““Our 6th place finish was truly the result of the time we put in along with our coaches. In conditions that we’ve struggled in previously, our boat speed and routines were strengths that allowed us to perform at a high level for five days of challenging racing.” https://49er.org/events/2023-european-championship/
Paris and Anna continued to work with Luther, while also utilizing Charlie Mckee virtually thru tracker data and daily check-ins throughout the month.
We focused on working together as a squad, with both 49er and FX, as well as coaching staffs interacting, sharing what we were each working on, and how we were approaching similar team dynamics, speed, and techniques. The Olympic challenge is about detail, and the best way to get there is to live in a world sharing those “little things” that make the difference.
Anna reported the early goals of the 3 week trip, “The Euros was our first event back after the Worlds and we had multiple goals going into it. Our primary goal was to get the new boat, mast and speed dialed in leading into the upcoming season. We feel we accomplished this goal very well by the end of the trip and was a major check off the list.”
The glamor conditions for the first two weeks were perfect for tuning up the equipment, honing the wave technique, in the medium to over-powering conditions. We found new tunings and speed/height working with Italian, German, and Maltese training partners, as well as racing every day. However, November is a transition month all across the world, and we witnessed “two” seasonal wind changes, as well as “two” time-zone changes (one in Europe, followed a week later by one in the US). Vilmaoura definitely gave us the opportunity to test our skills in many departments!
The Europeans brought very light conditions from varying directions. The wind was hard to predict, and demanded flawless execution on the starting-line and course. “We were immersed in a week of light air sailing. It was quickly realized that starting was the main priority of the regatta. With such little wind all over the course, a bad start made it extremely hard to come back from the back of the pack.” Paris reports.
After a disappointing Day 1, we rebounded with swift analysis and adjustment, and came out swinging in Day 2, opening with two solid races. Just when we were on a roll, the wind died as the sun sank to the horizon, and we learned two more hard lessons on finishing the runs strong.
Day 3 Paris/Anna put it all together sailing extremely well in another delicate set of light air races, flexing starting, speed, pointing, smarts, and downwind savvy and speed. That was one of those days that had “validation and confidence” stamped!
The event concluded with a final three-race performance with similar success. “For the final series we made sure we were doing all our starting line homework and continued to push the line, making big improvements and ended the regatta with a 2,7,1.”, Paris reported. Anna agreed with the positives to carry forward, “ We were able to take away some major focus points heading into the next few months. Sometimes the hardest losses are the ones you learn the most from.”
Four sailors, a handful of focused coaches, virtually a month of sailing almost every day, and notebooks filled with small but essential details! It seems like a lot, but that’s what this period in the quadrennium is all about. The cream rises to the top, and it doesn’t happen without massive evaluation, adjustment, desire, and execution. They don’t give Olympic medals away, and the same can be said for winning the Olympic Trials.
Many thanks for the America One Racing support to keep these programs going full speed ahead, and providing the wide range of expertise to keep it fresh and on point.
49er Olympic Trials: January 6-13, Miami YC
49er FX Trials: 49er World Championships, Lanzorote, March 4-10, AND Palma Regatta, March 29-April 6.