Summer Break – No Time to Rest

If you blinked, you probably missed me this summer. It’s been a whirlwind of airports, boat parks, regattas, and barely a day to catch my breath. This “summer break” has been anything but a break—but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The first half kicked off with a series of back-to-back events that had me bouncing between the West Coast and East Coast, often with less than 48 hours between travel and competition. From early morning training blocks to long regatta days, every stop brought new challenges and opportunities to grow.

In the Spring, I enjoyed the U.S. Sailing Women’s Youth Single-Handed clinic (Leiter Cup) in New Orleans at the Southern Yacht Club.

Paloma Arrigo (left) and Marina Wardlaw, two tall ILCA single-handed sailors teamed up in a C420 for the Ida Lewis US Sailing Youht Women’s Double Handed event. They were fast in big breeze but the Chesapeake light conditions prevailed on regatta days.

Then the last week of school was pretty light, so I checked out early and jumped straight into some heavy air ILCA 6 training in Cabrillo Beach, where the 2025 ILCA Youth World Championships will be held. That rolled into a three-day training block with my Texas crew at the US Sailing Youth Match Racing National Championship (Rose Cup).

Two days later, I was on the starting line at the ILCA North American Championships in Long Beach, racing in the ILCA 6 fleet. It was intense. I racked up four UFDs—yes, four—which, believe it or not, was part of my coach’s plan to push my aggression on the starting line. He was happy. I was even happier with the gains I’ve made in upwind speed.

The next day, I flew east to the ODU campus in Virginia for the US Sailing Ida Lewis Double-handed Championship, teaming up with my good friend and fellow single-handed sailor Marina Wardlaw from Miami (pictured). We were the tallest team on the water (at about 5’9” each), but we made it work, and we were fast in the clinic days in big breezes of 15 to 25 knots, but the regatta itself brought classic Chesapeake summer conditions—light and patchy, under 5 knots most of the time.

Then it was right back to California for the Rose Cup, racing with the Texas squad —this time on the bow. Usually, I’ve got the tiller in hand, so learning the intricacies of the “pointy end” was a great challenge. I walked away super motivated to come back next year as a skipper.

Paloma Arrigo jibes the end-for-end spinnaker pole, U.S. Sailing Rose Cup 2025 in Newport Beach, CA

The next day, I launched into a five-day training block in Long Beach to prep for the Olympic Classes Regatta (OCR). I lined up with the British team for a few training races and trained with the Polish team and two-time ILCA 6 European Champion Agata Barwińska, who shared some tips (pictured).

ILCA 6 European Champion Agata Barwińska and Paloma Arrigo share some laughs in the boat yard after a practice day before the U.S. Sailing Olympic Classes Regatta in Long Beach, CA

And that was only the first half of summer.

Next up: the OCR itself, where I’ll get a front-row view of what Olympic-level ILCA racing looks like. Then it’s straight into the ILCA 4 Youth World Championships at Cabrillo Beach, followed just days later by the ILCA 6 Youth Worlds—a quick transition in both equipment and mindset.

So far, it’s been an incredible run—exhausting, rewarding, and completely unforgettable. I’m beyond grateful for my coaches, teammates, family, and everyone cheering me on from near and far. The second half of this wild ride is just beginning.

Now… maybe a nap?

#NoTimeToRest #PalomaArrigo #ILCA6 #ILCAYouthWorlds #OCR2025 #RoseCup #IdaLewis #YouthMatchRacing #SummerOnTheWater