Canadian Olympian Sailing for Gold in London 2012 http://www.lisaross.ca Yesterday afternoon we saw the 'N' over 'A' flags raised at the Largs Sailing Center signaling the end of the Championships. After only one race in the final series, the regatta was over. I placed 17th overall a very respectable finish but a bit bitter sweet as I might have been able to move well into the top 15 if the weather would have cooperated. I am very pleased with the way I am sailing and have definitely solidified that my goals are well within my reach! http://www.lisaross.ca/blog.php?id=37 We have just come in after the final day of qualifiers here at the World Championships, and a bagpiper is piping in some haggis for our dinner at the club... classic! After 5 races the fleet is now split into gold and silver fleets and I am sitting in 15th overall. http://www.lisaross.ca/blog.php?id=36 Today is the practice race day here in Scotland. I will be heading out with Ken Dool, our Team Canada Coach, to watch the practice race and get the coaches perspective on the racecourse. It has been great training here over the last week. We have had very windy conditions making for fantastic days of practice racing in the areas of the bay we will be racing in. There are definitely some tricks to this place with current and wind bending around islands. The racing will be tricky, but lots of fun I think. I am definitely looking forward to getting things started tomorrow! http://www.lisaross.ca/blog.php?id=35 Hello from sunny Scotland… well, apparently it was sunny for the past 2 weeks, but the classic Scottish drizzle has started today and it looks like it is going to stay for a while. What would a trip to Scotland be like without cool, rainy conditions? Sunny and warm I guess, but not a true taste of the country! http://www.lisaross.ca/blog.php?id=34 Last night I finished my epic travel, 2 days and 5 connections later arriving home from Estonia and was very happy to see my roommates and my own bed! My trip to Europe was a success and I am very excited to put in the two weeks of preparation in Nova Scotia before heading off to the World Championships that start in early July. http://www.lisaross.ca/blog.php?id=33 After finishing up the regatta in Holland (10th place overall!) I travelled with fellow Canadian Sailing Team laser sailors Luke Ramsay and Lee Parkhill, to Tallinn, Estonia. With a coachboat and two lasers in tow, we drove to Copenhagen and then on to Stockholm where we caught the overnight ferry to Tallinn. The view from the the ferry was pretty spectacular. We were traveling through an archipelago of islands for over 4 hours with the setting sun going down for hours (we are so far north, the sun doesn't set until after midnight and is really only down for a couple of hours!). Sweden is a beautiful place. http://www.lisaross.ca/blog.php?id=32 After a trying day on the Ijsselmeer yesterday, I was able to rebound today with two strong finishes putting me in tomorrow's top 10 medal race! http://www.lisaross.ca/blog.php?id=31 Hello from chilly Holland. We have avoided the rain so far, but definitely not the cold! Two days of racing down and two more to go before the top 10 is split from the rest of the fleet for the medal race. We have had varied conditions over our 5 races, from puffy and shifty medium breeze with lots of steep chop on day one, to flatter lighter breeze with slower, big shifts on day two. http://www.lisaross.ca/blog.php?id=30 My trip to the Holland ISAF World Cup Event and the Laser European Championships has begun and I am very happy to announce that High Liner Foods has joined the support team as an Event Sponsor for this trip! Their support has gone specifically to help me compete in these two events and hone my racing skills against the best in the world. Thank you and welcome to the team! http://www.lisaross.ca/blog.php?id=29 Hola from Puerto Vallarta! I am back training in Mexico, and this place has been delivering wind, sun, warmth and wind! A rolling group of Laser sailors have been coming through the International Sailing Academy, here in La Cruz, just outside of Puerto Vallarta for the past few weeks. The group is mostly Canadians, with a few American sailors who were stranded in North America after their flights to the World Cup event in France were cancelled due to the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud. http://www.lisaross.ca/blog.php?id=28 Hola Amigos! http://www.lisaross.ca/blog.php?id=27 Recently, I did an interview with Chris Love from Sail Groove. The interview will be posted on www.sailgroove.org in 3 installments and Part 1 is up... take a look. http://www.lisaross.ca/blog.php?id=26