This article is reprinted from the February 2012 SpinSheet, a magazine about Chesapeake Bay sailing. The monthly "Small Boats, Big Stories" column focuses on dinghy sailing.

Anna Tunnicliffe-Funk is, undoubtedly, one of the fittest sailors on the planet. Hard work in the gym ensures that Anna—2011 ISAF Sailor of the Year, 2011 U.S. Sailing Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, 2011 Women’s Match Race World Champion skipper, and 2008 Olympic Laser Radial Goal Medalist, among other honors—is ready to respond—physically and mentally—when it’s all chips in on the race course.

Ovvero: le barche camminano, sono gli uomini che le rallentano ...

Sabato ero a Talamone. Impaziente come un bambino di risalire sullo Snipe dopo lo stop invernale, per me, in fondo, neppure tanto lungo.

Nel corso del weekend, ragionando a posteriori, ho maturato (o riscoperto) alcuni convincimenti che è buona regola tenere sempre presenti.

Dunque. Sabato è previsto un bell'allenamento con altre barche ed Alessandro Testa, quale coach.

Racing sailboats is a wonderful sport. It’s always available for you when you are ready.

I find myself constantly training for training, constantly trying not to fall too far from the competition, so that when I am ready to train, I won’t have so far to go. I am not sure when that day that I have some time to train and race regularly will come, but I’ll be ready.

Since 2007, I have been too busy to regularly race, but I believe that life will change in the future. My time will free up. Therefore, in the meantime, here is what I do to get ready for that day, and it has been this way for me since my last Olympic effort, 1980. If you will remember, USA boycotted the Olympics in 1980. After training for 18 months, instead of going to the our Finn Olympic Trials, I went back to law school that summer. Since then, my sailboat racing life has been on and off, twice off for as many as seven years.

Text in Italian

Text in Italian