Olympic Games ~ Final Report

I am not going to spend time here analyzing what I could have done better. I do that every night in bed. I would just like to make a few observations and thank a few people.

First, Phil and I are truly blessed to have had the opportunity to race in the Olympics and represent our country. With so many people around the world experiencing difficult times, this must not be overlooked.

For me, the biggest reward out of this will be if I succeeded in demonstrating to my children how much hard work goes into trying to achieve lofty goals. After all, as parents, our biggest job is to set an example, and I hope that my children, 14 and 15 years old, know a little bit more about what it means to work really hard for something.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who supported and followed our efforts over the past few years. I have seen it written in several articles that I spent over $100K of my own money on this effort. This is true but that money was spent just preparing and winning the Olympic Trials. I want to make it known that since I won the Olympic Trials, all my expenses have been covered. These amounted to another $125K. The bulk of this funding came from US Sailing and the St. Francis Yacht Club Foundation with an additional $10K raised around the Lorain OH area, Phil’s home town. Also, the New York Yacht Club fundraiser in May was a great success and needless to say, all these funds were very much appreciated!!!

What’s next?

After resting for a couple of days I am back to Farr 40 sailing this week with the Samba Pa Ti team. We have a warm up regatta this weekend at San Francisco Yacht Club then the World Championship starts September 8th-11th at St. Francis Yacht Club. Should be a great regatta with about 30 boats from all over the world participating. After that, I am going to Sardinia for the Swan Cup sailing with my friend Leonardo Ferragamo. As I write this, is realize that I need to take a step back, out the moment, and realize that I am blessed to have this life.