Leading up to the Weymouth stop I was training to peak at this particular ISAF World Sailing Cup event.   Next year, this event will be the first regatta of the US Olympic selection.  Additionally, this is the venue of the 2012 Olympic Games.  Therefore, I was putting a large emphasis on this regatta and treating it as my most important event of the season. 

 

A few days before the regatta started one of my best friends, Jamie Shepherd, passed away after a terrible boating accident.  Jamie and I grew up sailing 420s together and we grew to become best friends.  Upon hearing this news, I experienced a lot emotional distress.   I seriously pondered heading home, but I was fortunate to have a handful of friends with me in England to support me through the difficult times.  For me, the regatta was obviously an emotional event and Jamie was constantly running through my mind.  I wrote a shore eulogy about Jamie here: 

http://bobsails.com/article/post/show/id/15-IN-HONOR-OF-JAMES-MILES-SHEPHARD-III

I arrived to the venue a few days early to get some pre-race training in and finalize all of the logistics.   My initial impression of the Weymouth area was rather grim.  The weather is best described as “typical English weather.”  Throughout the 10-day trip, it was cloudy 8 of the days and rained 5-6 of the days.  The temperature never rose above 75 degrees and the water was cold.  However, as the event progressed I slowly warmed up to the quaint, under-developed town, and now, I think the city is one of my favorite stops on the tour. 

 

The town of Portland, where we ended up staying, is about 2 km south of Weymouth and is situated on a large rock island.  Portland is the closest town center to the sailing venue; therefore, the ideal situation is to stay in Portland and walk to and from the site.  Unfortunately, the accommodation options in Portland are very limited.  There are at most, 8 small Bed and Breakfast style hotels and 2-3 hostels.  Due to the limited housing options, most teams resort to renting houses for an extended time.  This option, however, was not available to us and we (my coach, Peter and I) landed in a hostel with one American laser sailor, and two American 470 sailors.  As you can imagine, a hostel is not the ideal living situation, especially for a very important event.   We had to share the kitchen with a handful of other international sailors and come dinnertime, 7 or more sailors occupied the kitchen and we would be reaching around each other in order to prepare our meals.  The hostel, similar to the town, grew on me and it turned into a very enjoyable and entertaining living situation.

 

The racing conditions and venue were undoubtedly the best of any of the ISAF World Cup stops.  The RS:X fleet sailed inside a break wall, we consistently had flat water and no current.  All of the other Olympic classes were outside the break wall with lumpy conditions and a lot of current.

 

Despite barely missing Gold fleet, I had some stellar races in the qualifying rounds. The second day, however, I ran into some issues.  The second day we were blessed with 20-25 knots, conditions that I am usually very strong in; however, I ended up swimming a lot that day.  The first race, I was in top 15 for about 65% of the race, but I fell three times on one leg.  The first fall was when I tacked at the windward mark, the second fall was when I gybed at the leeward mark and the third was right after the leeward mark as I  “blew up” sailing upwind.  A blow up is best described as a pretty big wipeout.  Specifically, it is when you are sailing upwind and you hit a piece of chop and board lifts out of the water.  From that point, the breeze lifts the board up from underneath and you continue to elevate.  This may seem cool, but the end result is usually rotating the rig into the wind and having the sail come down on top of you, or getting ripped over the boom.  This is what happened to me. Fifteen sailors passed me in this 5-minute period.  The second race was nearly identical; I was doing well until I went swimming twice.  Unfortunately, these mishaps kept me out of the Gold fleet.  If I had just gotten two top 20s, I would have been in.

 

Other than that bad day, I had a very good regatta.  There were a handful of instances where I was top 10 in the qualifying rounds during particular parts of races.  I still, however, had some problems closing out a top 10 finish, as my best race was a 16^th.

 

In silver fleet, I didn’t have much trouble putting up two good results.  The first race was a three-way battle between the Canadian, Dave Hayes, a Brit and myself.  I was able to pull a second that race.  The second race of that day, I ended up on the wrong side of the course and had to battle back.  I finished 7^th, but was one small shift away from winning. 

 

All in all, this was a very solid result at the 2012 Olympic venue.  I will be back in Weymouth a couple of times prepping for the Olympic trials. 

 

I will always remember this week.  Jamie was a great friend, a great sailor and an even better person. 

 

Thanks again to all who have donated to my campaign and have allowed me to live out my dream.

 

Best,

Bob

 I first met Jamie at the Columbia Yacht Club when he began his sailing career; however, our relationship didn’t blossom fully until we started sailing together. When we first got into the boat together, I was 14, and Jamie was an athletic twelve-year-old, eager to learn and exemplifying a disciplined and smart approach to sailing.   Initially, our relationship was centered around sailing, since we spent the Chicago summers sailing and traveling together.  However, as the practice days greatened and the number of sailing trips accumulated, we found ourselves becoming more than sailing partners, we quickly called each other best friends.  Our friendship transitioned from on the water to our daily life as we often enjoyed playing golf, attending Cubs games, and spending time together in the city we called home. 

 

Jamie was one of the most optimistic and motivational individuals in my life.  He was consistently more organized than I, and on the water he was my eyes, my coach, my tactician, my motivator, my partner in crime, my best friend and in many cases, my voice.  It is difficult for me to express how much I enjoyed spending every minute on and off the water with Jamie.  Looking back onto the time that we spent together, traveling and sailing with him made me fall even more in love with the sport of sailing. 

 

After Jamie and I stopped sailing together for Junior Sailing and we continued or sailing careers in other arenas, my love and appreciation for him continued to grow.  I can’t tell you how many during times during regattas that I have sailed without Jamie I have said, “Damn, I wish I was sailing with Jamie right now.”   My brother, Jess Willis, who sailed with Jamie a lot in V15s also found himself feeling similarly.   Throughout Jamie’s sailing career, he consistently impressed his fellow sailors, coaches, students, friends and family with his skills and also his poise.  Everybody who I have ever introduced Jamie to took a liking to his charismatic and outgoing enjoying personality.

 

Jamie was one of my closest friends, and somebody I could share anything and everything with.  I loved sitting down with him and chatting about our different sailing and life experiences, especially as we got older. 

 

I am in Europe right now attempting to continue on with my training.  Now what I am doing seems so minuscule and unimportant, however, I know Jamie would want me to stay over here. Fortunately, I have had the support of many good friends here to help me through these troubling times.

 

From this point on, I am dedicating the entirety of my 2012 Olympic Campaign to James Miles Shepherd III.  I will display the emblem (soon to come) on all of my campaign gear up to the 2012 Olympic Games.

 

Jamie was an amazing friend, and will forever ever be missed.  My thoughts and love will always be with him.

 

 

Here are a few memories that I have had with Jamie over the years:

 

 

1)   A testament to his optimism and poise on the water:

             This was a regular conversation we had while sailing together….

 

(As we sail out to one side of the course during a race, usually happened when we were having a bad race)

            Me: Jamie, how are we doing over here

Jamie: Oh man, we are looking really good.  Definitely top 5 at the windward mark

            Me: Awesome, looks like a nice comeback

 

            (a few minutes later)

            Me: Are still looking good?

            Jamie: Oh yeah. Making our move from mid fleet all the way up to     top 5

           

            (After we tack)

Me: Uhh, Jamie.  It looks like we are more like…bottom half of the fleet, definitely not top 5.

Jamie: No way dude, Just hike your ass off and we will cross all these boats.

 

2)   I remember, one of the first times we sailed together during a regatta was in Madison Wisconsin of the ILYA Championships.  I think it was 2002.  We were getting really into racing and we had a handful of incidents with other boats.   A few of these incidents required me to vocalize my disappointment as we nearly missed colliding. Firstly, I would say something to the impeding boat as we sailed away frustrated.  Secondly, Jamie would shout more or less the same thing at the same boat only seconds after I did.  The opposing skipper didn’t look around when I yelled at him; however, he immediately turned his head when Jamie yelled at him.  I looked up at Jamie and said, “We have to coordinate who does the yelling here, because I don’t think many people are going to like us, if both of yell the exact same thing to him within seconds of each other.”  So, we decided to switch off from that point on.

 

3)   A testament to Jamie’s skills on the water…

 

When Jamie and I coached together last summer at the Columbia Yacht Club, we had a handful of good laughs and spending the day out on the water with him was so incredibly enjoyable.   I coached last year, because I wanted to be around younger sailors and give back to the sport.  However, the ultimate reason I decided to coach at Columbia Yacht Club was because Jamie was coaching there as well, and spending another summer on the water with Jamie was so appealing. It definitely turned out to be the best summer of my life and I owe a lot of that to hanging out with him nearly every day.

 

There was a specific incident that I remember, there was a boat on the break wall and I was unable to successfully pull the boat away from danger. Jamie, who was extremely good at maneuvering a coach boat blasted down the channel to help me and the ailing sailors.  In less than a minute Jamie successfully pulled the boat off the rocks and saved my boat from being destroyed and maybe even my job.

 

4)   Last April when I came home from my 1^st Europe trip of the year.  Jamie was the first person I contacted.  I immediately fell asleep when I got home and woke up at 5am the next morning.  I rolled over onto the side of my bed and texted Jamie, “dude, golf today?’”  Since it was 5am, Jamie didn’t respond. So I had to call him a handful of times a little “later” in the morning, say 630 or 7am.  Sure enough I got his attention and we played 9 holes of golf.  We spent the entire day together, enjoying laughs, food, beer and golf.  The other day (before Jamie’s accident), I thought to myself, “I can’t wait to get home and play another round of golf and hang out with Jamie the day that I get back.”  Writing this now, it is so unbearably disturbing and sad that I will not be able to experience those moments again with my best friend.  I know, however, that he will be with all of us in spirit and he has left an astonishing legacy as one of the greatest people I have and will ever know.  I love you Jamie, rest in peace. 

Bob

Prior to the World Cup event in North Germany I spent 10 days with the Polish team touching up on a few skills.  The training consisted of 3-5 practice races a day, which proved to be extremely productive.  I arrived in Kiel, Germany three days before the event and utilized the time to rest, prepare and set up the tent that I would be living in for the next 8 days. 

 

Kiel Week is slightly different from the other World Cup events.  The regatta takes place in coordination with the largest festival in Northern Europe.  Approximately 40 million people from all over Europe travel to North Germany to enjoy the music, food and the various entertainment events that the Kiel Week festival provides.   The tourist attractions coupled with the sailing regatta is a great event every year and the tourists wandering around the boat park looking perplexed by what we do, makes us sailors feel somewhat important.

 

The sailing in Kiel is driven by inconsistent weather patterns and nasty chop; however, a “typical Kiel day” is 40-50 degrees, rain and 25 knots of breeze.  Fortunately, we haven’t had that yet; otherwise, my home ($85 tent) would be seemingly inefficient.

 

The racecourse is inconveniently situated about 3 miles off shore for the RS:X class.  Therefore, sailing out to the racecourse takes 45-90 minutes, which is a long haul for the board sailors. The 90 minute sail out slightly impedes on my recovery process (sleep!).

 

Day One:

 

The conditions on the opening day were great, except for the 55-degree air temperature.  We had a solid 15-20 knot offshore breeze and some nasty voodoo chop.   Needless to say, I performed well.  Throughout the three races it was crucial to get out to the right side of the course, because there was a bit more wind and the chop was less vicious.  I had the same game plan for all three races: start on port and win the boat.  To most sailors this strategy may seem a bit un-orthodox; however, I was able to get to the right side of the course first and get off the line with full speed without having to tack.   The first and the third race I had a flawless first beat rounding the windward mark in 4^th both times.  The second race, however, was not as perfect because I fell while tacking. 

 

The first race, I maintained fourth place throughout the race and showed some exceptional speed.   Right after the start, I narrowly missed the bowsprit of a tall ship that was parading through our course, a typical occurrence during kiel week races.  I thought I crossed the finish line in 4^th that race, but the scores have me down with a 5^th.  I think they miss scored me and I filed a scoring complaint but they haven’t fixed the score yet.

 

The second race I had to play catch up due to my poor tack.  This didn’t prove to be that difficult as I was significantly faster than the sailors in the middle of the fleet.  I battled back throughout the race and scored a 6^th, narrowly missing 4^th.

 

The third race was similar to the first.  I was the first sailor to the right side of the course, I made the windward mark in one tack and I rounded in 4^th.   The Korean sailor passed me on the first downwind leg because I over-stood the leeward mark.  He was able to gybe inside of me and ride a nice puff down to the mark just squeezing ahead of me before we simultaneously gybed around the leeward mark.  I was unable to catch him and finished 5^th.  After the first day I was tied for 9^th.

 

Day two:

 

The second day, the conditions were not as promising as the first.  However, we still got in two light air races, both of which ran way too long (about 55 minutes). 

 

I had great starts and was able to stay in the breeze, as there were some massive holes throughout the course.  The first race, I made one tactical error by biting into a right shift too much and 3 sailors who tacked before me were able to lay the windward mark and I over stood it.   After 55 minutes of painfully pumping my way around the course, I finished 14^th. 

 

The second race, I was battling for 9^th with 6 other sailors.  I was holding onto 10^th place for a majority of the race.  However, the other US sailor, Ben, passed me on the reach leg heading into the finish.  I was very pleased with an 11^th place finish in those conditions.  Most people who follow my progress understand that I struggle in light air, and this particular race was a nice confidence boost.

 

Day three:

No Wind – No Racing

 

 

Stay tuned for more updates - we have two more days of racing left

 

Bob

After taking some time away from the board (2 weeks) after the French Olympic Week, I was itching to get back into racing at the 2010 Delta Lloyd regatta. Prior to the event, I was feeling rested, fast and prepared for the World Cup event, and it showed during the first day of racing. 

 

For the first time all season, we finally had some breeze to race in, even though the breeze did not fully materialize until the second race.  However, it was great to plane around the course.  All three races that day went  pretty well.  I made a few mistakes on the last downwind leg of the first race (gybing a bit too much to stay in the breeze on a very short leg).  The second race I was consistently a bit above mid fleet throughout the entirety of the race until the last windward leg when another sailor tacked into me on the starboard lay-line about 2 board lengths from the mark.  Unfortunately, this forced both of us below the mark and both of us had to do a double-tack in order to round the mark.  Unlike generic dingy sailing, a double tack in windsurfing, especially in planning conditions, is an extremely slow maneuver.  This little incident cost me about 10-15 places.  The last race went well and I ended up finishing in the middle of the fleet.

 

The rest of the regatta was up and down.  Qualifying for silver fleet gave me a chance to sail in the front of the fleet, which was a nice confidence boost.  Throughout the last four races of the regatta, I consistently found myself in the top 3 during points of the races.  However, I was having trouble finishing out the races and I would lose about 7-10 boards on the last lap of the racecourse.

 

After the Delta Lloyd regatta, I made the 13-hour trek to north Poland to do a 10-day training camp with the Polish Team.   So far, the training has been very productive.  I have, however, started to seriously think about my agenda for the remaining of the season, in addition to next year.  In order to prepare most efficiently for the trials next year, I will only do a few events and do significantly more one-on-one work with a coach.  This plan will start to go into effect this July, as I have decided to skip out on the Europeans and work with a coach in Long Beach, testing equipment for the next regatta, which happens to be at the 2012 Olympic Venue. 

 

Meanwhile, things in Poland have been increasingly interesting.  Poland provides consistently unpredictable weather patterns.  The other day, for instance, one of the polish sailors said, “this is the warmest day ever…in the history of Poland.”  It was only about 80 degrees, until the wind did a 180 within 10 minutes and it dropped 15 degrees and blew 15 knots.

 

Another interesting note, the other night I was stuck in an elevator with four Finn sailors (three Polish, one American).  The elevator abruptly stopped about ten seconds into our descent.  We were stuck in there for about 2 hours, and ended up fleeing through the roof of the elevator, Bruce Willis style.  We (mostly the polish Finn sailors), kicked and punched through the roof of the elevator in order trail blaze our escape route.  For those readers who are slightly unfamiliar with Olympic sailing, Finn sailors are the largest of the Olympic sailors with an average weight of about 210 – 220 pounds, and often times built like football players.  It was a painful two hours. 

 

Next up: World Cup Kiel

Prior to the French Olympic Week regatta in Hyeres, France I was sailing the best I have sailed all season.  I participated in a training camp with the polish team and I was continuing to improve in light air. Additionally, my heavy air sailing was starting to click.  As the event neared I found myself becoming increasingly tired and my day-to-day recovery seemed to be slowing down.  I understood that these were signs of overtraining, so I trained cautiously the few days leading up to the event.

 

The event, similar to every other World Cup event this year, was light.  I did, however, feel like my light air sailing had improved and I was looking forward to the challenge.   The first race of the regatta, I fell into a familiar pattern.  I started the race very well and sailed very well for the first 50%; however, as the race progressed I slowly drifted back into the fleet.  This was the same issue that I had in Palma.

 

Throughout the rest of the regatta, this pattern held.  Meanwhile, as the light air regatta progressed I felt myself becoming more tired than I did earlier on in the month when I was training with the Polish.  This fatigue proved to be detrimental to my sailing and my results.

 

The next regatta is the Delta Lloyd regatta at the end of May.  In the meantime, I will be taking some time off from the board and trying to rest up and recover a bit from this past 6 week training stint.  The past two regattas provided me with some great light air training and I do feel like I am continuing to make strides in these conditions, albeit they may not be represented in the results.  Ultimately, I need to figure out a way to maintain the same level of intensity and technique throughout the entire race, instead of the first twenty minutes.   During the next training stint, I am going to spend a lot of time eliminating this problem.

 

Thanks again to all the sponsors and stay tuned for more updates!

 

 

Bob

Day three (20 knots, 8-10 foot waves):

 

The forecast for day three was a prefrontal 20-30 knot southwesterly and that is exactly what we got, in addition to 8-12 foot waves.  In the early morning the breeze was manageable and the Race Committee decided to send the Finns out to race.  However, as the Finns were sailing out, the breeze kicked up to about 25-35 knots.  The race committee made the right decision to send the Finns back to shore only after they experienced a handful of breakdowns.  We waited onshore until about 4:30, and the race committee decided it was time for the RS:X sailors to give it a try.  The breeze died down to a steady 20 knots, but the waves were still large and they were breaking at our launch.   All of the windsurfers made it out safely and most of us successfully dodged the breaking waves for the 1^st half a mile off the beach; however, there were a few casualties.

 

For me, both of the races on day three had the same story: I was very fast.  Unfortunately, my course management wasn’t entirely in synch.   My starts weren’t great, and I had difficulty judging the lay-lines.  There were a handful of instances where I would cross a racer, over-stand the lay-line and see the same racer 20 boards in front of me.   My speed, however, seems to be very good in these conditions, I just need to get some more racing time in them!

 

Here is a video of day three:

http://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org/videos.php?idiomaz=3&dia=31

 

Day Four (6-10 knots):

 

Sailing in the RS:X fleet is very interesting, and in some cases very humorous.  In the past two regattas, Miami and Palma, I have noticed a few particularities about the fleet, specifically at the starts.   If 15 of the top 20 boards in the fleet show they are going to start at one end of the line, then 98% of the fleet will start at that end of the line.   This allows massive amounts of starting space for the other 2% of the fleet.  This phenomenon was in full effect on day four.  Fortunately, I was able to take advantage of this in both of the races and have great starts and I was again able to get into the middle of the fleet in both races. I had some of my best light air races during day four.  Albeit, I did fall back every race, but not as much as I did the first day and both races I was in a position to pass 15-20 boards throughout the entire race.  I am continuing to improve in these conditions, which is a huge bright spot in my sailing, as these were the conditions that were seemingly holding me back.

 

Today’s forecast (the last day of the regatta), is for more of the same: 6-10 knots out of the southwest

 

Ciao!

The first two days of the Princess Sofia Regatta in the Bay of Palma saw similar conditions, 4-8 knots out of the southwest.  Going into the regatta I was feeling increasingly confident in these conditions, and throughout the first two days of racing, my light air sailing began to click for parts of the races.

 

Day One:

The first race started off great.  I had a solid start and was able to get a clear lane all the way up the course in a 70-board fleet.   My upwind speed and pumping technique felt very good and I rounded the windward mark in mid fleet, an area that I have been unfamiliar with in the past in light air.  On the next leg, however, I made one tactical mistake by gybing inside and going “low” on the run.  About 20 boards passed me on that leg.  I was able to claw back a bit, but was unable to regain the position that had early on in the race.

 

The second race I had a bad start and I couldn’t get in phase and didn’t have the best race. 

 

Day Two:

The forecast for day two was 10-15 knots increasing throughout the day to 10-20.  Unfortunately, the breeze didn’t quite materialize.  However, this was probably a positive for me, as I need all the practice I can get in light air.  Both races were sailed in a 4-8 knot southwesterly, similar to day one.  The first race I was again able to get a good start and a clear lane up the first beat of the course.   And again, I found myself in the middle of the fleet; however, this race I believe I was doing better than my good race yesterday, maybe in the low 30s.  I didn’t gybe inside this time and had decent speed downwind.  I think I got passed by maybe 3-4 boards instead of 20.  The next upwind leg, however, proved to be unfortunate.  I ended up on the wrong side of a right shift and lost a handful of boards.  From that point on, I was unable to get back in phase with the breeze, and I couldn’t climb out of the back of the fleet.

 

The second race wasn’t terrible.  My start wasn’t great, but again I was in the pack.  Albeit, I wasn’t in the position that I was in the previous race; however, I was still in a position to pick up boards and move up.  Unfortunately, I was unable to take advantage of this. 

 

My speed is improving significantly in these conditions, and I am putting myself in a position to break into the front of the fleet; however, it is becoming increasingly evident that my tactical decisions in these conditions need to be nearly impeccable, as my speed isn’t entirely comparable with the sailors in the front of the fleet.  Out of the four races that we have had, there have been two where I could have potentially broken into the top 20, in light air. 

 

Today’s forecast is for big breeze and big waves, so I am hoping to put up some solid results, as I tend to have good speed in these conditions.

 

Stay tuned for more!

Bob

I am pleased to announce the details of my first fundraising event of the season.  The event will be presented by The Loews Hotel, Paul’s Pasta, Connecticut College, Gill North America, in addition to the various donors listed below.

 

The fundraiser will take place March 6^th 2010, 6-8pm in the Hall of Fame Room at Connecticut College’s Athletic Center.  The event will feature a raffle with exciting prizes including a weekend stay at the Loews Hotel on Miami Beach.  The Loews Hotel is one of the most prominent hotels in Miami and sells out months, sometimes years in advance.  In addition to this incredible prize, other participants will walk away with:

 

·      Wine (1986 Margaux and a 1978 Latour, a $900 value)

·      A Beautiful Belly Cast for expecting mothers, donated by Julia Plante. Julia will have some painted for display at the event

·      Personal training sessions with Lauren Medbery (AFAA-CFT), 4 weeks, 3 days a week for 1 hour sessions.

·      A desk ornament with a globe and a business card holder ($85 value) donated by Dianne Brown from Champion Sports & Awards in Groton, CT

·      Professional organizing and cleaning services donated by Sandra Wheeler

·      Original art work donated by local artist Elaine.

 

In addition to the exciting prizes, all donors will receive official bobsails.com campaign gear, the offers are as follows:

 

Tickets will be $25

Four tickets ($100 donation) - Donors will receive a Bobsails.com technical T-shirt

Ten Tickets  ($250 donation) - Donors will receive a Bobsails.com vest

Twenty Tickets or more  ($500 donation or more) - Donors will receive a bobsails.com jacket

 

All donations, including ticket purchases are tax deductible if you pay with check or pay online during the event (there will be a computer available for donor’s convenience).

 

Paul’s Pasta (Groton, CT) will provide the food and there will be free drinks available (while supplies last).

 

If you would like to attend, buy raffle tickets, donate something to the raffle, or help in any way please contact me at rwillis@conncoll.edu . 

 

Thanks!

After the Miami OCR and the North Americans I was able to isolate a few components of my game that I really needed to work on, light air technique and endurance.   Heading into February, this was what I wanted to devote a majority of my time on.  After three weeks of solid training, I feel like I am getting back to the level that I was at during the Olympic Trials in addition to seeing progress in light air.  I am looking forward to redeeming myself at the next few regattas.

 

I joined a gym called Fight Club Miami, it is an exciting and intense boxing style workout.  I have found, after 3 weeks of punching the bag, that boxing is great cross training for windsurfing.  It engages every muscle in your body, especially the shoulder and core muscles, which are heavily used in windsurfing.  Additionally, it is a great aerobic workout and punching a bag is undoubtedly more exciting than pounding the pavement during a run.   In addition to boxing, I have been biking 4-5 times a week and sailing 4-5 times a week.

 

To cap off the month, I am going to do a 4-day training camp with my coach Peter Wells and potentially a few international sailors.   Finally, in March I am going be hosting a fundraiser in Connecticut College’s Hall of Fame Room. The event will include a high-end raffle with some exciting prizes.  I will update my website early next week regarding the fundraiser.

Windsurfer Bob Willis '09 begins his second Olympic campaign

Windsurfer Bob Willis '09 hopes to qualify for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Photo by John Willis. Sophomores don’t often take a semester off from college, but most sophomores don’t have a shot to qualify for the Olympic Games either. Bob Willis ’09 did just that to spend 10 months campaigning in the RS:X sailboard class for the 2008 games in Qingdao, China. He narrowly missed out on qualifying and ended up second on the U.S. team. But Willis took many positives from the experience. “Leading up to the (U.S. Olympic) Trials, I didn’t really know where I was going to stand,” he says. “But I was pleasantly surprised at how close I was. I felt like if I had put another year into training I could have won the regatta.” Willis graduated in December with a degree in economics and has begun his second Olympic campaign, for London 2012. He hopes his prior experience will help him earn him a ticket across the pond. “One thing I quickly learned from the 2008 trials was how much strength and fitness you need to compete over an eight- to nine-day windsurfing regatta,” Willis says. His 6-foot-4-inch frame makes him tall for the class and well-suited to a stronger breeze, but in light air he has to work significantly harder than smaller sailors. As a result, his training is intense: On a typical day he’ll spend two hours running and lifting and then windsurf for three hours in the afternoon. The Olympic hopeful raced doublehanded dinghies for the Camel sailing team but was already an accomplished windsurfer and a two-time junior national champion before college. When the Olympic sailboard class switched to the RS:X for 2008, Willis thought this more familiar design might give him a chance at the Olympics. “I gave it a try at the 2006 Miami Olympic Class Regatta and the coach I was working with convinced me to take a semester off to campaign for the 2008 Olympics,” Willis says. “I campaigned hard for 10 months and felt I had a pretty successful Olympic Trials even though I didn’t win. I wasn’t completely confident of my abilities then, but I won four races and I think I can be better.” Willis has returned to the circuit full time. His upcoming schedule for March and April includes major regattas in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, and Hyeres, France. - Franz Ritt