Cabarete, Domininican Republic is well known as a windsurfer's paradise. Well, its not only windsurfers who love the strong breeze and warm weather that place has to offer! This was my third time to the Dominican Republic, my second time to Cabarete and each time I never want to leave!
This year's Canadian Sailing Team Training Camp was 10 days long and though the weather didn't cooperate like it did last year, it was still a good solid training camp. In the Laser Radial Class we had Lisa Ross, Danielle Dube, Tory Crowder and myself all from Canada with Anna Tunnicliffe of the USA joining us for the first half of the camp. With Coaches Mark Lammens and 'local' coach Rulo we had some really great training in all kinds of conditions. The winds ranged from 5knots to 18knots sometimes with current, always with waves! Though the idea of this camp was to have a big wind/big wave camp in preparation for the worlds, the circumstances were probably better than expected because it really did go to show that you have to expect the un-expected, no matter where you are.
During this camp I worked on my body position in the boat, my hiking fitness (when there was enough wind) and just my overall technique in the challenging wavy conditions. It was really apparent that whoever was able to keep the boat powered up through the waves was going to come out ahead. I really don't think any of us were a lot faster than each other... it had more to do with the technique of powering through the waves. The best part of the training was being able to get lots of video of ourselves sailing. Sometimes things can feel funny in the boat and you can't quite put a finger on it until you have an external eye. The video debriefs really helped me to understand where I can improve on my sailing and also to show me where some of my strengths are that I wasn't aware of.
The other great thing about training in a place like Cabarete is that it is an outdoor playground! Some of the mornings we would all jump on 'moto conchos' (motor bike taxis) and head over to the local surf beach to catch some waves before we had to go sailing. I am by no means a good surfer, but it was still fun and challenging and a great workout... if you can handle getting pummled by waves! On our day off, I did both surfing and some windsurfing! I am still a beginner with the windsurfing as well, but I am quickly getting better which is really exciting.
It was nice to have some other things to try while training to keep active and make the whole training atmosphere a lot more fun.
On the last day of the training camp we were supposed to have a mini regatta. The Cabarete Classic 2007 had to be cancelled due to a serious lack of wind!! It was really unfortunate, but we still managed to make something of the day with a small game of beach volleyball and then much later in the day I went surfing with some of the locals. It was a fun way to finish 10 days of hard training!
I would like to thank all the staff at the Carib Wind Center for all their help and hard work in making this camp take place. Also thanks to Tommy Wharton and Mark Lammens for a job well done. And of course Rulo, the video camera guru... thanks so much for all your work with the camera and your excellent feedback in the debriefs.
