A-Cat Worlds: Ravi Parent earns a Silver Medal
I spent the first week of October in Pensacola coaching the A1R Waszp Squad at the Annual Foiling Camp. The remainder of the month I trained from Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach. These last few weeks of prep focused on keeping skills fresh and testing 2 potential Worlds sails. I like to avoid long breaks between sailing blocks close to a peak performance event. It also takes a few days of use to dial in the batten settings and learn each sails’ unique shape before choosing a favorite.
Upon arriving in New Zealand the first challenge was getting my boat. With Lena’s help, we fully unloaded and repacked our US container of 6 boats for inspection. New Zealand’s unique regulations require extra care and cleanliness when packing equipment, especially gear used outdoors. Once passed, with the help of new NZ friend Derek Scott, we trailered my boat to the regatta venue, Milford Cruising Club. The remaining 5 US boats would be delivered to the venue later on.
The week of training before a Worlds is always very productive. It’s a rare time when all of the best sailors are together without the constraint of racing. As I spend most training time on my own, I used this opportunity to see what modes to use from my quiver and identify the strengths of my competition. During the Pre-Worlds regatta I prioritized racing practice, developing a playbook, and energy management over fully completing each race.
The World Championship schedule was to hold 2 races each day over 6 days, for 12 total. The first half of the week had a mix of conditions. On Day 1 we had light to medium wind, at some times strong enough for upwind foiling which occurs over ~10kts. I started the week strong with a 1-3 finish in the first 2 races. Day 2 was unfortunately cancelled because of too much wind and sea state, so the fleet had an extra rest day. We all took down our masts in preparation for a 50kt overnight squall. Day 3 was lighter and unstable with many passing squall lines and rain. I finished 1st in the only race held that day.
By Day 4 we had only completed 3/12 races, so even though I was leading halfway through the regatta I had to remind myself that there was a lot of racing left. This race day brought my weakest condition, 25-30kts of wind. In the A-Class we have rules around a max wind and this day we ran races 4-6 at and above the limit at times. However, the wording of the rules requires an average above the limit for 15 minutes, quite a long time, and as a class we are considering lowering this in the future.
Incredibly, the fleet suffered minimal breakages and nearly everyone finished all 3 races. This shows how far the class has improved the durability of equipment, as 10 years ago the result would have been very different. I placed 2-3-4 in the 3 races held, and while these may seem like good finishes it was hard work! After Day 4 I fell to 2nd place. Now I know where to focus more training next year. Day 5 was a more normal day in medium strength wind, all races with upwind foiling.
Conditions were actually so ideal, the top of the fleet was averaging high 25-30kts downwind! I performed progressively better each race with a 5-3-1, not a great day but also not too bad and keeping me in the top of the fleet. Day 6 brought a slowly building seabreeze, perfect conditions similar to every day of training we had before Worlds began. Race 10 was held in patchy breeze and unfortunately at the top of lap 2 I sailed into a big lull, taking a long time to get up on the foils. This was my worst race of the week; however, after taking a mental reset I finished the day strong with a 1-2 in the next 2 races.
Overall I finished 2nd, the only sailor under 30 years old in the top 8, and am proud of this result. It is great to be back on the podium after 3 years and I could not have done it without your help. This year’s Worlds fleet was small but mighty. As New Zealand is quite far from our biggest fleets in the US and Europe there was lower overall attendance. The top sailors still chose to make the trip, so racing was incredibly close and the level of the fleet was very high. 1st place averaged a 1.9pt finish, 2nd (me) a 2.1, and 3rd a 2.8. To win the A-Class Worlds you need to win most of the races which is different than some other classes.
Ravi
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