Past January, I committed to another year with the Bronco Sailing Team. A pro/am sailing team I have been managing on behalf of our benefactor since December 2008. Although the opportunity has taken me away from much of the high profile maxi yachting I was doing, the tight competitive nature of one design is essential to the sustainability of my career. Furthermore, the opportunity to build and manage a program from scratch has been a goal of mine since I started big boat racing.
In March I moved to Los Angeles to join my girlfriend Grace, who's been on the West coast for a couple years now. I've been pleasantly surprised by West Hollywood and the elimination of the 'long distance relationship' in my life. The weather is great for year round training and Long Beach and Mammoth have been great venues for skiff sailing, kiting and boarding.
I'll be sailing with three teams in January. The 70 footer Pendragon 6 was launched a little over a year ago and has had some structural issues that has kept her in the shed for much of the past season. Next week's re-commissioning in Marina Del Rey will be my first time sailing with the program and I look forward to working toward their goal of a competitive race to Hawaii in July.
Immediately after Sunday's sailing, I hop on a red eye for Fort Lauderdale to join the Denali for the feeder race to Key West Race Week. Denali is a Ker55, recently purchased by an employer I've been sailing with for a little over two years.
Upon arriving in Key West, I shift over to TITAN XV, a recently launched 75 foot sled. She's currently chartered by Bill Koch, who I had the pleasure of sailing with in Sardinia at the Rolex Maxi Worlds this past September.
What a great way to kick off the year!
Safety First.
T
