Small Boat Scene
Aiming High and Learning along the Way
J
ust because you have a dream doesn’t mean achieving it will be easy. But, as the Chesapeake Bay’s own Joe Morris and teammate Thomas Barrows are discovering, even the challenges along the way can be rewarding. Joe, who lives on the Severn River and grew up sailing and coaching at Severn Sailing Association and Annapolis YC, and Thomas met on the sailing team at Yale University. Joe, class of 2012, and Thomas, class of 2010, each skippered in college sailing; both have had winning a medal at the Olympic Games as a longterm goal since they were young. Thomas already has a taste of the Games; he represented the U.S. Virgin Islands in Lasers at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Soon after Joe graduated, the stars aligned for these former college teammates to get on the same boat to start a campaign in the speedy and demanding 49er class. “The boat is just so extreme, it’s hard not to love it,” Joe said. “On a day that is breezy and wavy, it pushes you beyond your limits, and we love that. It’s a perpetual challenge.” Recently, the duo competed in the Miami World Cup Regatta, and sailed well, but not to a noteworthy finishing place. “We had a few kinks in our qualifying series that needed to be worked out. We’re very close to where we want to be by the trials, but we have a lot of hard work ahead to get there. The gains get harder and harder to come by as you move up the ladder!” Joe noted. ##First day of the ISAF Worlds at Puerto de Santander
90 March 2015 SpinSheet
by Kim Couranz
##Thomas Barrows and Joe Morris training for the ISAF Worlds in August, 2014.
That positive and focused attitude will serve them well as they work toward their goal of representing the United States at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janiero; that representative will be determined by finishes at the January 2016 Miami World Cup Regatta and February 2016 49er World Championship in Clearwater, Florida. Striving to represent the United States at the Olympics is at least a full-time job. Joe emphasized the demands of sailing training, fitness program, fundraising, and logistical planning. To help them pay the bills, they do some professional sailing in the Melges 20 and J/70 classes, but they try to focus as much as possible on 49ers. Any focus so intense has its share of highlights, both good and bad. “The low point was in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, in spring 2013,” Joe recounted. “We had basically no money, were living in a one-room house with no heat and five beds in it. We got in from training one day, and our Fiat 500 rental had all the windows smashed in. Everything was gone. Wetsuits, hard drives full of our training video, backpacks, etc.” But other experiences make it all worthwhile. “Summer 2014 at the European Championships in Helsinki, Finland. We had a 20-25 knot northerly, and the race committee ran four races. Two three-lappers, and two four-lappers. That is sort of unheard of in 49er sailing, and extremely physically taxing,” Joe recalled. The team reveled in the conditions, and had the second-best day of any team at the event.
“Knowing we could compete on the world stage put a huge smile on our faces.” So how do they plan to get “there” from “here”? A lot of hard work, every day. “I manage most of the off the water stuff like funding and planning, while Thomas heads up all the boat work and prep. Training sessions are usually three to five hours max. That is followed up by an hour and a half to two-hour session in the gym,” where Joe describes their program as a blend of cardio and weight training circuits. “The physical aspects of sailing and, in particular 49er sailing, have become so important that our gym time is something we call a ‘non-negotiable.’ As long as you aren’t injured, you go, period. We have a great trainer in Dr. Chris Herrera of Jaguar Fitness, who runs the entire U.S. Sailing Team fitness program.” Their demanding training and regatta schedule will take them to Spain, France, Italy, Germany, England, Portugal, Argentina, and the British Virgin Island in the next nine months. And those challenges along the way? They are learning great lessons from them that any sailors can use—Olympic campaign or not: “1) Time is your most valuable asset, so deciding how to use it well is the most important facet of the campaign. 2) Being a good teammate is just as important as doing your own job well. Always try to be the best teammate you can be.” To learn more and support the Barrows-Morris 49er Team, click barrowsmorris49er.com. To follow Joe and Thomas: facebook.com/barrows.morris spinsheet.com