MICHAELBRADLEYSAILING.COM

Update from Palma

2012-04-06T03:28:24Z

Well, I am glad I got the first day over with. The good news is the bad news in that I cannot do any worse. The silver lining is that the racing is close. I am in the mix, but slowly and surely I am going backwards through the fleet. Hard to believe actually when you consider my starts – they were not pretty, but I always made it up the course alright. Downwind was another story though. It is easy to look at the other sailors and say what they are doing better or worse, but I really need to turn inward and find out what I can do better and what I can stop doing worse!

A good place to begin is my starts. Today I struggled in the middle of the line, so tomorrow I will pick an end and go from there. After that, I need to dial into boat speed. Keep my lane and stay with the boats around me. This is a lot to take on, but that is exactly why I am here.

In other respects, my spirit is well and my health improving. Now it isn’t so much the sickness that I’m dealing with but the aftermath. My weight and appetite are way down, and my strength and energy are all but gone. Tough break when you look at all the effort I put into these two areas the last few months. But so is life, and there are no excuses so I have to move on.

I am hanging in there and appreciate all of you doing the same. I know with a few minor fixes, much better days are ahead.

First Day in Palma

2012-04-06T03:24:05Z

Sailing Instructions – 32 pages

Hours flying – 18

Days sick – 5

The experience of Princess Sopfia SAR – unbelievably Priceless

The moment I stepped off the plane, still worn and sick from the first flight (LAX to LHR), there was the sign “Welcome to Mallorca.” I finally made it. However, the destination is not really Mallorca itself, but the annual Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofia Regatta. This is the 43^rd edition of this popular regatta and the fourth year as a stop on the ISAF World Cup. For me, it is a first. My first time to Spain. My first time racing a Laser abroad. I have heard stories from many sailing legends of their tours through Palma. When I got to the marina, I didn’t get it -- why is this place so great? I thought it was going to be glitzy and glamorous, but instead it is an island that is waking up from winter. After some medicine and a good night’s sleep, I arrived at the boat park and it slowly it came to me – this is a sailor’s paradise. The town sits on the water that is beautifully clear and turquoise. The sun is warm, and the breeze fills in like an efficient clock at midday.

The whole scene is quite overwhelming at first. There are Lasers everywhere. Between the men’s and women’s classes, there are nearly 240 Laser competitors, nearly maximum capacity for World Cup regattas. Many of the teams have vans and trailers covered with logos and national team names, and the marina is littered with the coaches’ rubber dinghies. Eventually I found Christian, a Swiss from whom I am chartering my boat.

Racing starts tomorrow and I have many emotions – anxiety, nervousness, excitement. The one that stays with me is that my health is not 100%. I have developed a bad chest cold that takes a lot of energy out of me, so my plan is to rest as much as possible before tomorrow. In the back of my head, I hear the echo of someone shouting, “We’re racing tomorrow.” Thanks Terry.

March YAK Article

2012-03-13T17:16:54Z

Each month the Long Beach Yacht Club publishes the YAK magazine for its members. I write a regular column and thought I would share my story from the March issue:

Catching up with Michael Bradley on his Laser campaign for the 2016 Olympics.

Will LBYC members see you in London 2012? My campaign is and always has been aimed at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, so you will not see me in London in 2012.

Why 2016? I only recently began sailing the Laser at the end of 2009, which is a relatively short period of time. As you can imagine, sailing at the Olympic level is not something you can jump into on a whim and achieve instant success. Many of my competitors have been sailing the Laser for 10+ years. I used the remainder of the past quadrennial to gain experience, learn about the process, and see just what it takes.

So what does it take? What does it mean to be campaigning for the Olympics? The short answer is practice, practice, and more practice. To elaborate, practice is spending time on and off the water training. This includes getting on the water and sailing my Laser with purpose and focus, targeting specific skills (boat handling, sail trim, techniques) to continuously improve and refine performance. Off the water, there is a significant amount of training to improve strength and endurance. I spend time in the gym and cycling. In addition, there are actual regattas, which I use as a training tool. This is where I focus on the nuances that cannot be replicated in practice: strategy, starting, fleet management, and tactics. Regattas are also good practice to experience sailing in different venues, which includes logistics, preparation, and adapting to sailing in new geographic locations.

Why did you choose going to the Olympics your goal? I think everyone can relate to wanting to achieve something meaningful in their lives. I grew up sailing and had always wanted to be the best in the sport. For over six years, I sailed my way to the top of many keel boat one-design sailing circuits and had the opportunity to sail with some of the most talented sailors on the planet. While I learned a lot about sailing and about myself through these experiences, I realized that I would always be sailing for other people. Instead, I wanted to achieve something for myself, so I set my sights on the pinnacle of the sport – winning a medal at the Olympics.

What’s next? What is the plan? A new quadrennial is about to start, and my plan is to use a tiered approach over the next four years. Currently, my time is split between my Olympic campaign and finishing school. In the short term, I will continue to compete and train for the major North American events. In addition, I will compete for the first time abroad at an ISAF World Cup event this year. In each of the following years, I will add additional ISAF World Cup events, building up to 2014 when I will transition to a full-time campaign. By that time, I will have the necessary foundation and resources in place to train full-time for the 14 months leading up to the 2016 trials.

In the end, I hope to demonstrate and inspire others to follow their dreams. This is an ambitious undertaking to say the least, but I would rather look foolish than never realize my own dreams.

Back in Florida

2012-02-27T17:10:00Z

Last weekend I participated in my first Laser regatta of the year at the Laser Midwinter’s East regatta in Clearwater, FL. There were 48 boats racing, and the regatta featured a particularly competitive group of international sailors. I was anxious to see how I would do.

During the regatta, there were postponements due to fog and cold fronts. All four days saw breeze of 20 knots. This made for 10 great races, but as you can imagine, that much wind can be challenging at times. Some of the specific challenges I faced included not being at my target weight of 180 lbs, a recent lack of time on the water in such conditions, and the starting of a new fitness program. Respectively, I was not as fast, practiced, and fatigued. Regardless, I was there to kick-off my season and get as much out of the regatta as possible.

My goals for the regatta were to improve my results from previous years by qualifying for the gold fleet (top half) and to test new strategies. To be honest, the challenges I faced made achieving these goals difficult. In the end, I finished 29^th and was in the top 60%, just missing the top half by 26 points. Moreover, my boat speed dictated my strategy more than anything else. To make the best of my time on the water, I modified my goals slightly. I used my time before racing and during racing to work on my boat speed. I was able to sail faster by keeping the end, but I still have my work cut out for me. That was the biggest take-away and what I will focus on up through my next regattas, the Midwinter’s West and Princess Sofia.

Big thanks to Mark Ploch for his hospitality and always helping me out in my trips to Clearwater.

Dark Star - Winning

2012-02-20T19:44:00Z

This weekend I raced with Dark Star in the SCYA Farr 40 Midwinter Championship out of Cal Yacht Club. It is great to be sailing again with the reigning 2011 North American Champions and west coast Farr 40 fleet champion. Racing began on Saturday with 9 boats in moderate conditions. We ended the day with finishes of 1, 1, and 2, putting us in first place. The conditions on Sunday were beautiful, with winds around 10-12 knots. We were able to finish 3 and 1, giving us a total of 8 points for the regatta – enough for a first place finish.

Big thanks to Jeff Janov for putting together such a great team and putting us in position to win.

Miami in a Flash

2012-02-13T21:14:00Z

I just returned from the 2012 Melges 20 Miami Winter Regatta, where I was sailing with Dark Star. Having never sailed a Melges 20 before, our team was unsure how things would turn out but ready for the challenge. Doug McLean was driving, with Dave Ullman calling tactics, Yumio Dornberg doing downwind trim, and I was upwind trim. Normally you only sail a Melges 20 with three people, but we decided to use four because we are working with Ullman Sails to develop their Melges 20 product. With almost 40 boats competing in the event, it was bound to be an exciting weekend of sailing.

I arrived on Wednesday night, and we spent Thursday and Friday on boat handling and figuring out how everything on the boat worked. The Friday weather turned pretty bad, so we weren’t able to get as many reps in as we would have liked.

The first day of racing saw a light chop, with winds around 16-20 knots. We were able to get 4 races off. With finishes of 12, 14, 15, and 17, we were right in the middle of the fleet.

The final day of racing saw cold temperatures and some big breeze to start the day. After being postponed for an hour, we were able to get two races off in the afternoon. I was glad I brought my foul weather gear for this one!

The Italian team sailing on BLinsailing took 1^st after some amazing finishes. The last two races we finished 17 and 13, putting us in 16^th place overall to finish the regatta. Having never sailed these boats before, we were pleased with our results. Perhaps more importantly, it was fun to mix things up in a new boat, a new fleet, and a great group of people to sail with.

Welcome to 2012

2012-02-01T21:13:00Z

I can’t believe 2012 is already here and off to such a fast start! I’m excited for this year as I have found a renewed focus and excitement for my sailing. The Laser campaign is already in full swing. This year, I will be sailing in 6 Grand Prix events throughout North America. In addition, it will also be a year of firsts, as I compete in my first international ISAF World Cup event abroad in 2012 – the Trofeo SAR Princesa Sophia MAPFRE in Mallorca, Spain. I have also started working with a strength coach three days a week. It has been a great experience thus far, and I can’t wait to be in top shape for my events this year.

In addition to my own sailing, I have started coaching a group of Junior Laser and Radial sailors. This has been a great way to see sailing from another perspective while giving back to some very promising junior sailors.

Looking forward to another great year for Michael Bradley Sailing!

Rolex Farr 40 North American Championship

2011-06-07T07:18:42Z

LONG BEACH, CALIF. (June 2, 2011) - Memorial Day weekend was anything but tame for the Farr 40 fleet which experienced mixed weather conditions and tight competition at the 2011 Rolex Farr 40 North American Championship hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club in conjunction with the Farr 40 Class Association. The regatta was staged from Gladstone's Restaurant on the waterfront in the heart of downtown Long Beach and proved to be a spectacular venue, with the Queen Mary as a backdrop, for spectators and competitors to come together off-the-water. Winning six of eight races, including all three on Monday, Jeff Janov (Malibu, Calif.) of Dark Star escaped the grasp of West Coast standout and rival David Voss (Marina del Rey, Calif.), skippering Piranha, and returned home with a Rolex Submariner timepiece engraved with the Farr 40 logo.

"We have a very solid team with a wide range of experience and potential, and though the conditions were extremely challenging throughout the course of three days, we were all able to adapt," said Janov who has been involved in the West Coast Farr 40 Fleet since April 2008. Dark Star has already taken the podium three times this year, winning the Farr 40 Midwinters in Long Beach, the Ahmanson Cup in Newport Beach and placing second in the Yachting Cup in San Diego. (Photo: Rich Roberts)

The action-packed weekend kicked off on Saturday with a lighter breeze than forecasted, and was combined with five-foot waves and a challenging chop. Though Dark Star and Piranha led the pack, Viva La Vida (formerly Goombay Smash), started off with a bang, winning her first race in the hands of new owners Bill Durant and Jeff Shew (both from Long Beach, Calif.).

Sunday brought strong winds, gusting to 30, posing a challenge for most of the fleet including class icon Piranha, which dropped out of contention in spectacular style. Piranha, a recent class winner of the Newport to Ensenada Race, was leading the fleet as it approached the leeward gate in Sunday's first race. When its spinnaker takedown went awry and the chute was dragged under the boat, the crew had to cut it loose as the rest of the fleet headed upwind. During race two Piranha suffered a broken spinnaker pole causing the back-up chute to go berserk in the heavy winds near the top of the 1.5 nautical mile course, and the boat rolled into a classic leeward broach. Due to the major spinnaker woes, Piranha placed ninth and seventh out of the ten boats that afternoon. (Photo: Joy Sailing)

Dark Star had the best speed, upwind and downwind throughout the three days and consistently started well, with one exception. On day one, Frederic Scheer's (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) Far Niente slammed the door on Dark Star at the race committee boat, leading to a fifth-place finish. Ironically, Far Niente finished only eighth in that race but closed strong by winning the next race and with no other finishes worse than fourth throughout the weekend, placed second overall ahead of Dirk Freeland's Skian Dhu (Santa Barbara, Calif.).

Catching Up

2011-03-29T05:16:00Z

A lot of time has passed since my last post. After a long and eventful 2010 season I took a break to recuperate and regroup. I learned that one of the areas that seems can always be translated into results is fitness. I used the off season to hit the gym doing nine gym sessions three with weights and six cardiovascular. I have been keeping this regiment for two months now six days a week. I have also added on the water training with Master's Laser sailor Vann Wilson. We have been hitting the water three to four days a week in addition to the gym sessions. So, with the new training regiment I have finished my first two regattas of the Laser season, the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club Olympic Classes Regatta and the Laser Midwinter's West. In the first, respectively, I had a good regatta. There were seven races scheduled and after the first four I was in a three-way tie for second. I lost a point in two races. The first was letting my emotions get the better of me and tacking on a boat one too many times to push him back in the fleet- after I was fouled at the leeward mark. This cost me a one finishing position- one point. In the last race the breeze was dying breeze and on the last leg to the finish I had trouble shifting gears and lost a boat within one-hundred yards to the finish. If I had kept one of these points I would have been alone in second place. This would have earned me a silver medal because the second day of racing, the final three races, was canceled due to a storm that had winds gusting to forty knots. Disappointed, but lesson learned.

At the Laser Midwinter's West I had a flashes of brilliance and moments of gut-wrenching agony. The regatta started off strong for me and I rounded the first weather mark in 3rd out of the 47 boat fleet (pictured right). After a lackluster downwind I was fortunate to hold on for a top ten finish. Top ten was my goal for each race and for the regatta. In the end I finished a disappointing 12th. The low point of the regatta was race seven. In a dying breeze the race committee was determined to stay on schedule and ran a race that turned into a drift match. At the last mark rounding, before the finish, I was in a comfortable 6th place. With the breeze trending left as it faded I headed to the left side of the race course hoping to stretch the last bit of breeze out to the finish, but I could not have been more wrong! Thirty boats drifted past me and doubled my second worst score. Ouch! The positive taken away from the regatta was my downwind. Like the first race this has always been an area of weakness for me, but somewhere between the first and second race something clicked and I was sailing downwind better than I ever have.

A special thanks to Kip Meadows for his kind support without whom this regatta would not have been possible.

Stay tuned for updates throughout the season.

Canada's Cup International Match Race Competition

2010-10-18T05:56:00Z

U.S. WINS 2010 CANADA'S CUP
10/17/2010

Last match hard-fought, but U.S. comes out ahead 5-2; Macatawa Bay Yacht Club challenge issued now for 2011

Chicago, IL -- In one fantastic finale to a hard-fought series, where both teams traded the lead and the tension was always high, Don Wilson's Team Chicago Match Race Center has successfully defended the 2010 Canada's Cup for the U.S. in a three-day challenge made by Grant Hood's Vincere team from the Port Credit Yacht Club. The winning team, which besides Wilson included Brent Ruhne, Mory Matias, Payson Infelise, Caroline Young, Zach Hurst, Michael Bradley, Jennifer Wilson, Mal Parker, and Eric Doyle, prevailed on a final score of 5-2 in the series sailed at CMRC.

Canada's Cup International Match Race Competition

2010-10-16T04:18:00Z

Chicago, IL – Each of the two teams readying to compete in next week’s 2010 International Championship Match Race Series for the Canada’s Cup are both well-armed with talent to engage in three days of match race combat: the crew lists for Grant Hood’s challenging Vincere team from Canada’s Port Credit YC and for Don Wilson’s Team Chicago Match Race Center racing on Convexity bristle with America’s Cup, Olympic, and World Championship talent.

Talent at this caliber is suitable for the Canada’s Cup, a symbol of sailing supremacy on the Great Lakes since its inception by the Royal Canadian YC in 1896 as a challenge trophy between representative yachts clubs of the US and Canada. Competition will be in each team’s Farr 40 class yachts, and will be held over October 15-17th at the Chicago Match Race Center (CMRC). Windward-leeward 4-leg courses will be set off Chicago’s Belmont Harbor, matches will be from 60 to 75 minutes in target length, and no races can be sailed in sustained winds exceeding 22 knots. The club represented by the team who is first to win five matches (weather permitting) will win the Canada’s Cup.Sailing Instructions outlining details of the racing format and crew lists for the event will be posted at CMRC’s website, www.chicagomatchrace.com <http://www.chicagomatchrace.com> .

Team Chicago Match Race Center skipper Wilson, as Founder of CMRC, has a passionate interest in match race sailing and has been pursuing this interest with gusto, having competed in over a dozen international match race events in Chicago and beyond over the past two years. Currently ranked 73rd in the World Open match race Rankings, his recent victories include last month’s ISAF Grade 3 CMRC Autumn Open B regatta, the Grade 3 CMRC Spring Invitational in May, and last year’s inaugural Grade 3 event at CMRC in June. Like Hood, Wilson has assembled a team of high-level talent, including the following: Brent Ruhne at the Bow, backed by Mory Matias at the Mast; Payson Infelise is in the Pit, with Caroline Young as Floater; Zach Hurst will be Jib Trimmer, assisted by Michael Bradley as Tailer and Jennifer Wilson as offside Trimmer; Mal Parker will be trimming Main, and 1999 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year winner and BMW Oracle America’s Cup team member Eric Doyle will be calling tactics.

Yacht Racing Union of Southern California Silver Cup

2010-10-06T02:27:00Z

And it all came down to this...

The final race on the final day between Team California Yacht Club (US 782) and Team Long Beach Yacht Club (US 796). The first boat to cross the finish line wins the regatta. Unfortunately, after a hard fought and well sailed race Team CYC got the better of us. Congratulations to Team CYC. This was a great tune-up regatta for me as next week I head to Chicago, IL for the Canada's Cup Match Race.

Melges 32 World Championship

2010-09-27T05:45:00Z

Over the past ten days I was in San Francisco racing on Kip Meadow's Melges 32 Roxanne for the St. Francis Rolex Big Boat Series and the Melges 32 World Championship. Here is a video of highlights from the World Championship.

Laser District 25 Championship

2010-09-05T21:12:50Z

This year’s Labor Day Regatta, hosted by the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach, CA, served as the ILCA-NA District 25 Championship. The two day regatta was comprised of 5 races and held in overcast skies with a variable breeze of 5 to 12 knots. The District 25 Championship was my last regatta of the 2010 ILCA-NA Grand Prix series and my last chance to earn points for the overall series standings.

After fulfilling a family commitment and getting a tow out to the racecourse, I just made it in time for the first race. But I was glad I did because I had a great start rounding the top mark in third and an even better downwind run rounding the bottom mark in first. I was able to hold on to the lead,winning the first race. This was my first bullet of the summer, and I almost couldn't believe it considering how close I was to missing the start. There were two more races that day, and I finished 4th and another 1st. At the end of day one, I was winning.

Day 2 brought lighter and flukier conditions. I struggled and ended dropping tothird overall behind the two competitors that had been tied and trailing by 1point. I would have liked to finish the regatta better and held on to the lead,but all said and done, it was a good way to end the 2010 season.

Laser District 16 Championship

2010-07-21T23:41:00Z

Last weekend, the team drove to Wichita, KS for the Laser District 16 Championships. The conditions were good and we were up against some great sailors from the Midwest. On the first day, it was apparent that our training had paid off. Since we have been training on Lake Okoboji, we had a good feel for the wind shifts on the lake and were familiar with sailing in the light air. I had some smart races and finished 4, 5, and 2 for the day. This put me in fourth place overall, with only one point separating me from third place.

Training partner Ben Leibowitz, Coach Rob Coutts, and me having our team meeting before racing began.

On the second day, the conditions were light again and I was over early on the first race. I was able to recover well and ended up finishing 4 and 2. I ended up finishing second overall for the regatta and I was happy to see my improvement. More importantly, District events count towards the Grand Prix standings. I will get 19 points, which should boost my overall ranking. The team will continue on to train in Spirit Lake, IA this week. However, I am headed back to California to race with Mark Noble in Santa Barbara for the Fiesta Cup. Looking forward to being back in the Golden State!

Training in Iowa

2010-07-14T04:28:04Z

I arrived in Spirit Lake, IA a week ago to continue training in the Laser. I met up with my training partner and coach and we have been going non-stop since we arrived. To stretch the budget I have been camping while in Spirit Lake and below there are some pictures of the campsite, fire, and campfire cooking. A typical day has been waking up, eating a huge breakfast, hitting the gym, going for a morning sail, eating again, having a team meeting, going for an afternoon sail, eating again, and sometimes throwing in an evening sail for fun. It is really hard work, but I am learning a lot and our team improves each day.

The past few days we have done a drill where we sail without the rudder. I hadn't done this before, and it was really beneficial to see just how much body movement affects boat handling. I have been working on my technique more, as well as downwind sailing, which was a sore spot for me at the Gulf Coast and North American regattas.

Later in the week the team is headed to Wichita, KS for the District 16 Championships this weekend. I think we are well prepared and I am hoping to see big improvements at this regatta.

On the Road, Again...

2010-07-05T19:26:00Z

A string of bad luck -- After a severe episode of food poisioning on the lastday of the Laser North American Championship's my car broke down. Here it isbeing towed. Not the picture I had in mind when I planned the summer. But, aftera breif delay, waiting for parts, I am back on the road. A special thanks to LaRoche Chevrolet and Appel Dodge for all their help.

Laser Update

2010-06-21T19:54:00Z

This summer in preparation for the Olympics, I have turned my focus to the Laser and will be doing mostly Laser regattas. I have been training with a coach and a training partner over the spring in Long Beach, and now we are putting our training to the test out on the water.

The summer was off to a fast start with the Laser Pacific Coast Championships in late May. The PCCs in Santa Cruz served as my starting off point for the summer. After seven races, I finished in 6th place.

Now I am down in Kemah, TX preparing for the Gulf Coast Championships and the North American Championships.

The Gulf Coast Championships were held last weekend, andthroughout the regatta, I was great upwind, but I still need to work on my downwind speed. Overall, I placed 16th out of 39 boats.