Hi!

This update is a little different. If this is the first time something like this is landing in your inbox, chances are you know Henry. If not, you probably know Andrew. As of 2026 we've teamed up to learn how to race the 49er. We now have six weeks left before our first World Championship together.

Neither of us are new to high-level racing. But we are very new to this boat.

The 49er is a small sailboat, the Men’s Olympic skiff, and it has a reputation for being a bit of a handful. Two sailors, twin trapeze, and a hull designed for speed more than stability. We are early on the learning curve but working to figure it out as fast as possible.

In about six weeks we're racing the 49erFX Junior World Championships in Medemblik, Netherlands. We gave ourselves three months from start to start line, and we are halfway there.

Here’s how it's going:

Andrew, driving the boat, is from Belleville, Ontario. He’s spent the past few years racing the WASZP - a small foiling boat that mostly tries to throw you off it - and during that time became WASZP Junior World Champion and two-time National Champion.

Henry, trimming the sails, is from Halifax and grew up racing the 29er, the 49er’s smaller sibling. He's a Canada Games Gold medalist, a Collegiate National Champion, and has raced everything from J70 keelboats to wing foilers.

Neither of us have raced the 49er before this campaign. We're figuring it out in real time, and we’re stoked with the progress we’ve made so far.

We started training in Halifax at RNSYS during April. The water was 2°C. The air was also 2°C. You can see Andrew going for a quick swim. Our coach Trevor told us this would "build grit," which we’re pretty sure is what coaches say when they’re freezing too.

After three weeks in the cold and wet, we learned what everything on the boat does mostly through the good ol’ process of elimination. We capsized a lot, but it was all worth it. Our Forward WIP gear was the only reason we could stay on the water long enough for any of it to stick. Turns out wetsuits do come in 5 mm.

We flew to Italy two weeks ago. The water here is a good bit warmer, which is a relief, and the breeze is supper consistent. We're training with Fede Garcia, who is drilling us on maneuvers over and over until we stop looking so panicked through the boat.

The jump between week one in Halifax and week one in Garda is bigger than we expected. Things that used to take all of our concentration now mostly happen on their own, which frees us up to think about racing more than just survival. None of that would have happened so quickly if we hadn't been freezing our butts off in Halifax first.

Week two in Garda has been all about learning to sail inside a small course. This adds time pressure with the same marks coming up every minute, there’s no room to be sloppy. The goal: simulate what Junior Worlds will feel like.

One week left here. Then a week off. Then we're racing IODs at the Worlds in Marblehead with Peter Wickwire and the MacMillan siblings; slower boats, and smarter sailors. The plan is to soak up tactics from people who've been doing this for decades, then bring it back to the 49er. Afterwards we’ll train in Kingston before heading to Medemblik for the real test.

We're racing the FX rig at Junior Worlds, which has a smaller sail plan than the full 49er. The full rig requires more bodyweight to handle than either of us currently have. So as we pack on the pounds, the FX will give us a few months to learn how to sail the boat before we add the extra power.

Also, we are sailing for Canada. Our practice sails just happen to be from an American team.

We need help, and saying that out loud is uncomfortable, but pretending otherwise would be a waste of time.

Junior Worlds is the biggest expense of our summer. On top of travel, accommodation, coaching, and registration, we need a new (to us) set of sails. We've found a quality used set we'd like to pull the trigger on:

If you'd like to put us closer to that sail set, any amount helps. Canadian donations come with a tax receipt.

The sails are this summer's most pressing piece, but they're one part of a longer campaign. Junior Worlds is the first of several milestones on this 49er journey. If you'd like to talk about supporting at a higher level, or your company might want to partner with us, drop us a line and we'll get back to you within the week.

If you know one person who'd find this interesting, forwarding this email genuinely helps. Most of how this list has grown is one person at a time.

And if you have any thoughts, on sponsorship, training, anything, please hit reply. We're figuring this out as we go, and good advice keeps us from making costly mistakes.

To everyone reading this, and everyone who’s helped along our journeys: thank you. We don't take any of it lightly.

A special thank you to RLS Construction for backing the campaign, WPG Canada for keeping our gear race-ready, and the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron and Bay of Quinte Yacht Club for being home to both of us.

We'll write again in a few weeks. By then we'll be back in North America and a lot closer to the start line.

Andrew & Henry