We spent 4 weeks training in Auckland before the 2019 Worlds started. There were many international teams who had the same idea. Because of this, there was no shortage of top notch athletes to race against each day. We would spend an hour each day on speed and individual skills before joining in with other countries on a race course. Four weeks is a long time. The best part about this training block is that 28+ days of routine = the best way to build good habits. We haven’t been in one place that long in the entire time we have been sailing together, so that month of training in Auckland gave us the opportunity to greatly improve our routine. We were finally able to see what wasn’t working, change the habits, and then see a result at the end of the racing block. 

Going into Worlds we were the strongest team we have ever been.  It is, as always, a privilege to represent our country at a World level and we also felt a strong sense of patriotism as the event approached. We knew we had leveled up, and were excited to get out on the race course. Just because our team had reached a new level of ability doesn’t mean that we could guarantee that everything would go perfectly. Something will always go “wrong” it’s just our responsibility to consider these moments opportunities instead of obstacles. 

We had some amazing racing as the event started. Unbelievably focused as a team, extremely fast, resilient in mind and body. An injury and some equipment failure on days 3-4 had us begin to stray from the routine and the confidence we had worked so hard to build. We worked through these challenges together, growing and learning the whole time. It was hard but extremely rewarding to finish the last day of the event strong with a top 5 finish.   We ended up 23rd and not satisfied with our results.  We several areas with easy gains moving forward.  

In the middle of January we head down to Australia for a 3 weeks of training before 2020 worlds in Geelong.  This is the 2nd Olympic trials event and the final hurtle in between us and qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics.  We have all the tools we need and are ready to give it all we got!

Happy New Year! We are thrilled to start 2023 off with a bang: spending 6 weeks training hard with the international Nacra fleet in Lanzarote, Canary Islands (Spain) in big wind and waves! The training here has been incredible, and we are proud to say that we have made an immense amount of progress on downwind speed (as was our goal after 2022 Worlds) as well as lots of progress on upwind performance.

Last year was a milestone year for our team. We brought Tom Zajac (2016 Bronze medalist) onboard our team as coach and ramped up our training program by increasing our on-the-water hours. With Princess Sofia Trophy coming up in March, French Olympic Week in April, and the Olympic Test Event, World Champs, and Pan Ams later this year we have much to look forward to, and plenty of opportunities to see our hard work out manifest on the race course.

After an extremely successful 2 year stint together during the 2020 quadrennium, finishing as the top American team and in their best performance ever at their final World Championship, Sarah and David have announced their intention to continue to take their program toward the Paris Games

In their own words:

“Dear Supporters, Family, Friends…

14th at the 2020 World Championship, and top American team in 2020! Geelong was a great venue to race in... although quite weedy! Cleaning the seaweed off the foils became a huge part of racing, as you can see in the photo here!

We came close to making the medal race, but left a few too many points on the table in the last two races to lock it in. We sailed the 2020 World Championship event with enough consistency that we can say that top ten was within arms reach.

What an improvement in just a few months of hard work! This is not an achievement that we are taking lightly. Unfortunately, we were unable to close the 9 point gap between us and our American teammates. We may have come out “on top” at this Worlds, but our performance in Auckland in 2019 sealed the deal, and we are very disappointed to share that we will not be your 2020 Olympic Team.

However, we are SO proud of what we accomplished this quadrennium. Two years of sailing together and we have transformed from a top 25 team to a top 15 team in the world. We get to race with some of the fiercest competitors around, in a class helping to change the landscape of our sport by facilitating a gender equal platform for athletes.

As people, we have grown beyond our greatest dreams. I am not sure I knew what being a teammate was until I met David Liebenberg. He has pushed me to work harder every day. Dave has seen the best in me, and has always found a way to help me get closer to it. It has been my privilege to work with and learn from him.

We have surrounded ourselves with a top notch support system (incredible sponsor The Kolter Group, coach Sally Barkow, an amazing performance coach/ sports psych, and our trainer Mike Kuschner at SPT), and have built a program that we are proud of.

We are happy to share that we will continue to see this program through over the coming years...

Over the next year we will train with the US Olympic Team to facilitate their success at the 2020 Games this summer, continue to race in the Olympic circuit events (next up, Hyeres!), train in the USA, mini-campaign in the A-Class as each others’ training partners, work in some coaching of aspiring Olympians, and spend some much needed time with our families.

We cannot express how grateful we have been for your support and love over the last two years, and we are thrilled to be able to continue to be YOUR team as time marches on… THANK YOU and stay tuned to this page for continued updates!

We would also like to send out a big thank you to our sponsor, The Kolter Group, for all they have done for us this quad. We have been so proud to represent Kolter.

Thank you also to our other sponsors: Hyatt, Kilroy, Moore & Co., Harken, Marlow, Helly Hansen, The Richmond Yacht Club Sailing Foundation, St. Francis Sailing Foundation and the US Sailing Team. We could not have done this without you!

LOVE,

Sarah and David

Check out some video of our best racing here! https://www.sail-world.com/news/226523/49er-49er-FX-and-Nacra-17-Worlds-Day-4

Training in Fort Lauderdale this past month brought a whirlwind of chaos. However, preparation and thinking quick on our feet gave us the opportunity to maximize each day to the fullest.We started off March testing our boathandling skills in short course racing. The pressure was on to execute maneuvers we had been working to perfect since last October. With no obvious pattern to the waves, each tack, gybe, set and dowse was slightly different from last. Heart rates were high as we found ourselves constantly adjusting timing and weight placement through each maneuver. The margin for error was high and having fluidity in our boathandling was the only way to constantly hit the averages.

 Continuing to progress and gain confidence in back-to-back maneuvers, we unfortunately hit a speed bump and stumbled into a bit of bad luck. During one of our sessions, we were barreling downwind on starboard closing in on port layline. Reaching the corner of the course, it was time to gybe and head to the gate. Mid-gybe, the boat bucked beneath us like a wild bull. The new leeward wing caught the water and sent us into an immediate capsize. The two of us stood on the centerboard attempting the right the hull yet, waves kept battering the boat to ad nausea forcing it to turtle. The next thing we heard, shook us to our core. “CRACK.” The mast had smacked the reef. As the boat came up, the carbon top section and spreaders had broken in half and splintered off. Our hearts sank. 

 Having planned for an unlikely yet totally possible event like this earlier in the fall, we had an old mast set-up and ready to go in the backyard. That night, we dropped the old rig and put up the new one like nothing even happened. The next day we launched, headed out of the channel, and were blessed with beautiful 15 knot conditions. We both looked at each other and started giggling. It was like we never hit the reef in the first place. Our organization and preparation saved us from missing a training day on the water. Just when we thought we were in the clear, another curve ball was thrown at us. As we headed out in to the gulf stream, we hit a bad set of waves and the soft shackle on the jib halyard came loose…nightmare. Thinking quickly on our feet, we capsized the boat and tried to jury-rig a tie to avoid canning the practice. With 5-6 foot waves charging at our capsized hull, it took us roughly 15 minutes to rig something up that would hold.

 Once we were satisfied with our new gangster halyard system, we righted the boat. We took off up wind and again, it was like the entire event never happened. In fact, our hard work and quick thinking paid off immediately. The TP52, Hooligan, was ripping downwind. With the jib halyard still holding, we rounded their stern and raced them to the entrance of Port Everglades. Matching gybe for gybe, both boats were bombing downwind at an incredible pace. Holding us to layline, Hooligan put in their final gybe to the harbor. We just crossed their bow before the dowse and took the “W.” Whoop whoop!

 This month we are excited to team-up with Steph Roble and Maggie Shea, the 2020 49er FX U.S. Olympic representatives for a 2-week camp in Miami. After that, we will migrate to the west coast and start our summer training in Los Angeles.

Read more at https://www.wilmotreinekefx.com/