SAILGP INSPIRE

MY EXPERIENCE: SAILGP INSPIRE

BY OLIVIA SCHMITT

As I walked over to the Inspire container at Monroe station for the first time, to say I was nervous would be an understatement. I had been thrilled when I learned I was accepted to the SailGP Waszp racing program a month ago, but as it approached, I became steadily more apprehensive. I had looked up my fellow participants and discovered they were nearly all experienced Waszp sailors and had excellent results in the high performance classes. I, on the other hand, had never sailed a foiling boat. I had plenty of experience in dinghies, but everyone I knew who had sailed a Waszp emphasized the major differences between foiling and non-foiling sailboats. I was not sure I would be able to learn fast enough to race that weekend. The first day of training, I spent a large portion of my practice time in the water, righting my boat after a capsize. The wind was heavy, which made foiling very fast but also challenging for beginners like myself. I got up on the foils a few times but crashed soon after each time.

However, I learned to quickly pull in the mainsheet after capsizing and climb into the boat using the hiking strap, which helped limit my time in the water. By the end of training that day, I was able to ease and trim the mainsheet quickly enough to avoid several capsizes. I was becoming used to the changes in boat handling. I learned that using my weight to control boat heel was much less effective than sheeting in and out. I saw more improvement the next day, and could foil for longer periods of time. On Friday, the wind was light, with only some puffs in which we could foil. We practiced boat handling, and I started to feel confident in my ability to sail the boat.

Saturday morning, I raced the Waszp for the first time. The conditions were excellent for foiling, with steady wind at just the right speed where I could control the boat without it being overpowered. For me, the starts were the biggest challenge. Since Waszps can travel distances very quickly, I could not just park my boat on the line and wait for the seconds leading up to the start. I tried starting further from the line and accelerating at different times with varying levels of success. Once the races started, I was able to sail on the foils to the first mark in the slalom course, gybe off the foils (sometimes capsizing), and start on my way to the next one. I focused on performing better each race and was happy with my improvement at the end of the day. That afternoon, we watched the F50 and Waszp gold fleet races from the water. On Sunday, there was not enough wind for us to sail, so it was really exciting to see the F50s up and foiling. We watched the awards ceremony right next to the stage and were sprayed with champagne by the Australian team. Seeing a team win at the highest level was an inspiring way to end my week in the program, and is an experience I will never forget. I feel so lucky to be included in the Inspire program. Without an experience like this, I might never have sailed a foiling boat. Thanks to our excellent coaches Ross, Aug, and Violet, I was able to learn rapidly and make progress that I am really proud of. In addition, it was great to meet driven sailors from across the US and Canada and learn from them. We also got to see behind the scenes at SailGP, and meet the accomplished sailors that we all look up to. It was especially exciting to meet Nina Curtis from the Australian team and Hannah Mills from Great Britain, and see how much these women have achieved. They were optimistic about the future of women in sailing and encouraged us to stay in the sport. All in all, the Inspire program was an experience unlike any other I have had in sailing. I am looking forward to foiling more in the future and I cannot wait to see how many others the program impacts positively. ✶