I Quit!
When I signed on to work with Sailing Anarchy to cover the Melges 24 Worlds, I CLEARLY had no idea what I was getting into. See, I’m a simple pen-and-paper kind of person – I’ve never worked with video production equipment, unless my Blackberry counts. So when I found myself surrounded by video cameras, computers, lenses, microphones, cables, antennas, modems, hard drives, and professional photography equipment, I literally geeked out. Can we talk about sensory overload?
By the way, "On the Water Anarchy" is the biggest misnomer I’ve ever heard. The Anarchy isn’t just on the water; it’s on the dock, at the house, at the parties, in the car, in the kitchen, at the store…it’s shopping, cleaning, changing fuel filters, fueling up, organizing and hooking up equipment, loading gear, taping lashing, networking, editing, programming, drinking, smoking, and dancing. And there I was, completely clueless, just trying to get a grasp on a job I was responsible for, and one that that changed with every new challenge and condition. Was I a good fit for OTWA? Well, I definitely know that following the Melges 24 Worlds so closely gave me a new determination to become a better competitive racer, and that’s pretty much the idea behind the concept; to get people more exciting about racing. And based on the feedback I’ve received, we did just that.
It was definitely not easy for a minute, but was working with the OTWA crew fun? Well, any week-long event that culminates with my waking up Sunday morning on a 63′ luxury yacht still dressed in a pumpkin costume must have been a lot of fun, whether remembered or not! I have no idea how I found the energy to go sailing on the R/P 45 Sjambok that same day, but I bet it had something to do with being amped after watching the Melges fleet battle it out all week long. It felt great to step on a sailboat after watching some of the top sailors in the world battle it out on the Chesapeake Bay, only 120 miles north from my hometown. I only wish there could have been more wind – I feel kind of embarrassed for my home waters. It never blew more than 15 knots all week, and even that only happened for one race on the last day. Truly disheartening, especially since just a couple weeks ago, when I sailed on Stephen Murray, Sr.’s TP-52 "Decision IV" it blew 25+ knots. Where did that damned breeze go during the M24 Worlds? I’m at a loss, and I feel like apologizing for my Bay to everyone that traveled so far to race Worlds.
I know that Clean is working on his Worlds report right now, so check back tomorrow for a story that includes all the links to each day’s coverage. While the live coverage was certainly groundbreaking and a huge hit, since I was there it’s not as exciting to me as the insanely good highlight videos from Petey Crawford and the gorgeous shots captured by Meredith Block.
Congratulations to Chris Larson, the 2009 Melges 24 World Champion, and to Bruce Ayres, the 2009 Melges 24 Corinthian World Champion. Thank you to all of our sponsors, especially Point Loma Outfitting and Atlantis Weather Gear for my pimp-ass jacket that everyone is totally jealous of.
Anyways, it’s been ultra-real and very fun, and I hope you guys liked my part in OTW Anarchy from the M24 Worlds. Thanks for all the nice emails and PMs, and stay tuned for my next crazy story, whatever it is. Hopefully it doesn’t involve Afghanistan, but right now, you never know. If I can stay out of that, I’ll be looking for another new adventure, if anyone knows of one…
Much love,
Katie Burns
