Dear Friends,

Since you last heard from us after winning the Silver Fleet at the Worlds Championships over a month ago, we have been very busy. We have had some fantastic training, and are now racing at the Pre-Trials in Long Beach, CA. There is a combined fleet of 12 boats, six women's and six men's teams. Currently we are in 2nd place overall and leading the women's fleet. The Pre-Trials are the first of three regattas that determine the ranking for the 2007 US Sailing Team. The rankings are significant because the 1st place team will qualify for the Pre-Olympics in China in August 2007, and the rankings also determine the level of funding we will receive from the US Olympic Committee and US Sailing.

First, about the training. We sailed one weekend out of the Yale Corinthian Yacht Club, affectionately known as YCYC, in Branford, CT, concentrating on our boathandling. After brushing off the rust accumulated in the 24 hr trip home from China, we headed out to Long Beach, CA, for three fantastic days of training over Columbus Day Weekend with coaches Paul Foerster, the 2004 470 Gold Medallist, and Kei, our sail designer from North Sails Japan. We were training with Stu McNay and Graham Biehl, and Canadians Jen Provan and Carol Luttmer. The weekend was fantastic, one of the best weekends of training either of us has ever had. We were training with three teams that were essentially the same size using similar equipment, with two of the best coaches in the world. Focusing on upwind speed, Kei and Paul together were able to help us establish new settings for our sails through a variety of conditions. We left California feeling much faster.

This past Saturday we were back on the water for five days of training leading up to the Pre-Trials. Still working with Paul and our training partners, joining US Sailing Team Coach Skip Whyte and other 470's, we focused on racing and regatta prep, putting the finishing touches on our new boat, "THE CORNER OFFICE", a step up in the world from the boat we sailed at the Worlds, "THE OFFICE"! The sailing conditions in Long Beach are great. Generally, the wind builds from nothing in the morning to mid-teens by the afternoon with nice big ocean swells, so you can pick your wind velocity!

Racing started yesterday, Thursday, October 26, in entireley different conditions, of course. The Santa Anna arrived, a strong northerly wind coming off the mountains that generally stays for a couple of days. This wind worked against the sea breeze, resuling in a weaker and less-stable sea breeze than we'd been training in.

We had a solid day, finishing third in both the first and second races, passing boats the entire race. Our three-boat tuning group was looking very good in those races, finishing 1-2-3 in both of them. Attached is a photo of us going (relatively) fast downwind in the first race. In the second race we were in fourth most of the way around the race course, gaining slowly but surely on the 3rd place boat. We finally passed them at the leeward mark onto the last reach with a perfectly placed and executed gybe around the mark. Both teams were gybing around the mark, and we did it better and faster! We finished fourth in the last race.

We have 7 more races in the next three days, and are expecting to sail three races today and tomorrow, leaving one last race for Sunday. Check out the regatta website for scores and photos: http://www.ussclb.org/

Thank you so much for your support! All donations are tax-deductible and can be made out to the Sailing Foundation of New York, mailed c/o Isabelle Kinsolving, 150 East 73rd Stree, Apt. 6D, New York, NY 10021-4362. We appreciate them very much and could not be here without your help! Special thanks to our sponsors: RBS Greenwich Capital, SAMSON Ropes, KAENON sunglasses, HARKEN, and the US Sailing Team.

Best,
Erin and Isabelle