On the comeback (2/2)
The Short Version
Part 3 – Racing in Palma went very well! I finished 54th/ 164 boats qualifying for the Gold fleet after Day 2. It was my second ever gold fleet and percentage wise my best finish at an event of the caliber of all time!
Part 4 – I am going to be BUSY! Coming up in the next 3 months I have 2 weeks Training in Hyeres France, World cup Hyeres with 140 boats, the world Championships in Puerto Vallarta Mexico with 120 boats, Kieler Wocher in Kiel with over 100 boats, and finally the North American Championships in Kingston where we are looking to qualify the country for a spot at the Pan American games in 2023. Take a look at my events schedule on my website if you are interested in following along with dates and results!
Part 3: Racing in Palma
After talking to the Andrew and the guys at SailCoach It was decided that the best course of action would be to start training with Andrew immediately and I would race Palma as my first regatta as part of his team. This was exciting but it was also time to get to work.
Palma isn’t typically known for being a windy venue, but the wind gods delivered a vengeance this year. The first day of racing was 25-30 knots coming from the mountains to the northeast. Our racecourse was a 15 km downwind sail from the yacht club. It was a ride and a half to say the least. My first race turned out to be all I could ask for. Clean start, hit all the shifts, round the windward mark in the top 5 boats, clean reach and downwind, round the second windward around 8th, with only half a downwind to go all was looking good. That is until a 30 knot gust came barrelling down the course and caught me completely off guard. A couple min upside down in the water – then just trying to make it down to the finish left me finishing in 28th. Bloody annoying but at least I knew what I was capable of. Race 2 same thing, great start, top 5 top mark rounding, clean reach and downwind, hit a few wind shifts on the second upwind to stay top 5. This time there’s no way I’m making the same mistake. Sail a conservative downwind to bring it home in 11th. That’s more like it. Day two, more of the same. Cold. Bloody windy. At this stage I think I’m the only one smiling. As much as I hate the cold, I know I’m quick and that’s all that matters. At World Cup regattas qualifying is a 2-day event. That means we get split into final fleets after the second day of racing. I know that If I can sail to my potential, I can make Gold fleet (the top of three finals fleets) which would guarantee this to be my best senior regatta ever. First race day two: Clean start, top ten rounding, hold place downwind, hit a few shifts on the second upwind to move up to 7th, sail a conservative downwind to bring home another 11th. One more race to go and I know If I can have another race like that, I’ll be through to Gold no problem. Pin end start this time, ten or so boats up from the end, right below me, Mickey Beckett, European Champion, forget about him…he’s just like any other boat. Start gun goes, were off, 15 seconds I’m holding, 30 seconds holding, 45 starting to fall, 1.5 min in and I’m hanging on for dear life surfing his wake when he tacks and crosses me and the group to windward. Not ideal, I’m stuck, being pushed out to the left side. Come to the mark around the top and I’m not looking great, mid-thirties at best, I’ve got some work to do. Get past a few on the downwind, hit a couple juicy shifts on the second upwind, past 2 more on the reach and finally 3 more on the last downwind. Manage to finish up 22nd in a big group of boats. Right on the edge. I think I’ve made it but I know it’s going to be very close. The whole tow in I’m doing math in my head, but I can’t say either way for sure. Finally, I’m ashore and straight to my phone to see results … 46th! I’m in! Gold fleet what a feeling. I’m ecstatic but I know there’s still lots of work to be done, 3 more days of sailing and there’s breeze forecasted.
Gold fleet is hard, there’s no other way to put it. I kept making this mistake where I would justify the decision I was making because I would see some best-in-the-world sailor headed in the same direction. We would both execute a similar strategy and come out at a huge loss. It was only after the first two days of gold fleet racing that I realized that every single sailor in gold fleet is best-in-the-world. By using my theory, I could justify just about any decision I made, right or wrong. It takes a serious mindset shift to race at this level.
On the third day of racing the winds were a little lighter and I was able to have my two best gold fleet results, but days 4 and 5 of racing were disappointing. The wind had returned but my form had vanished. I struggled to get off the line and when rounding in a pack was losing boats left and right. I was completely exhausted. There are many reasons why I struggled in Gold fleet but I think that chief among them was my fitness level. Coming back from my injury I missed 2 full months of dry land training. While I was still able to perform in sprints on the first few days by day three my body was unable to cope with the load. I was exhausted, I wasn’t thinking straight, making questionable tactical decisions, struggling with timing on the starts and lacking overall speed. This was bound to be the case and so I know I cannot be too hard on myself. If anything I know that it is something I need to work on and so I am now able to prioritize it in the lead up to World Championships in May.
All in all, I finished up 54th out of 164 boats, Making it my best Senior International regatta percentage wise ever. Something at the end of the day I can’t help but be happy for.
Part 4: What’s Next?
So, what’s next!? Well, Lots. After a few days off, I am headed to Hyeres, France near the city of Nice with the Canadian group. Hyeres, the Mediterranean town in the south of France is the location of our next World Cup circuit event from the 25th to 30th of April. We have two weeks of training and fitness there before racing starts at what promises to be another event with plenty of competition (140 Boats!). From there I have 10 days of pure fitness. You can expect plenty of Instagram stories from the bike during this time. I’m looking forward to getting back into proper shape. Then I fly home to Canada for the first time since Christmas! YAY! But mum can’t get too excited because I’m only home for 12 hours, drop off my bike, do some laundry and change for some warmer clothes cause I’m off to Mexico! Racing there for the 2022 World Championships starts on the 23rd of May but I will be heading down on the 10th. Having missed so much time in the boat in the winter waiting for my knee to get better I’m playing catch up with to hit my on-water targets this year. I also have the disadvantage of never having sailed at this venue before so I would like to get down early and do my homework. After Mexico I will be headed back to Canada for two weeks of down time with my family (I also need to finally take my G level driving test after a two year delay due to Covid – well, and living in Europe). Then off to Kiel Germany for the Kieler Wocher regatta which will be another Canadian Sailing Team camp. Now this is where it gets crazy; once Kieler Wocher finishes, I hop straight on a plane back to Toronto, I have 24 hours in Toronto to run around, pick up another boat and get it to Kingston, one day of sailing (and sleeping) in Kingston, and 60 hours after landing I will be on starting line for the first day of the North American Championships in Kingston. Yet another important event as it is the first country qualifier for the Pan American Games in 2023!
Hopefully we will be able to earn Canada a spot there and it won’t be something we will have to worry about later (also first day of racing at NA’s will be my birthday so I’ve already started telling everyone they need to let me win lol). FINALLY, after what will be an insane 3 months of travel and competition I will be settling down for a little while. July is booked off for fitness and sailing in Kingston with weekends at home with family and friends. I am really looking forward to that, it’s been three years since I’ve had a proper summer at home.
And that’s it! It’s going to be a wild ride for the next few months as I race the Worlds, finish up the European season and finally make my way back home but I am looking forward to every bit of it! Feeling eager and ready to continue to show the world what I am capable of! As always thank you all for reading and supporting me along my journey. Please follow along day to day on my Instagram @james.juhasz and check out the Gallery on my website: www.jamesjuhasz.com/gallery for lots of pictures from the past three months of racing and traveling!
Until next time,
James