Hi Team!

To catch you all up, we’ve spent the last month in Long Beach, California, our home waters and the future site of the 2028 Olympic Games!

It’s been a packed training block with racing in between, and every day on the water here has brought us closer to understanding this venue inside and out. Training at the actual Olympic venue is a surreal experience, and we’re making every moment count.

Leading into the 2025 Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta (OCR), we spent two full weeks preparing. The first week on our own and the next with the US Sailing Team during an Olympic Development Program (ODP) camp. The conditions were ideal: consistent 15–18 knot sea breezes, long Pacific swells, and blue skies. It was the classic Long Beach welcome and a 470 sailor’s dream.

Each training day ranged from 3.5 to 4.5 hours on the water with intense, high-tempo sailing from the time we launched to the time we docked. Our focus was laser-sharp, with drills centered on:

• Tightening our downwind transitions
• Crisp mark roundings under pressure
• Dialing in our starting sequences

We also trained alongside other top U.S. 470 teams, making every session feel like a mini Team USA camp. The level of competition pushed us further, and our improvement was tangible.

Just as the saying goes, “The wind during training is never the wind during racing”, the OCR brought an entirely different set of conditions. While we trained in breezy perfection, the regatta delivered light and tricky 4–10 knot conditions across four long days of racing. This was a welcome challenge, allowing us to work on one of our current weaknesses: light-air performance.

Despite the shift in breeze, we came out strong:

• Won 3 races
• Led the 470 fleet for three consecutive days
• Showed our best starting execution yet
• Made big gains in downwind coordination and tactical discipline

A highlight of the event came on Day 2, racing inside the Long Beach breakwater next to one of the oil islands. Just as we set the kite, a curious seal popped up off our stern!

Between wildlife sightings and tactical battles, it was a regatta to remember.

We ultimately finished 2nd overall, just missing the win on the final day. But we left with confidence and clarity: we’re on the right track!

If there’s one thing this training block and regatta have reinforced, it’s that we’re not doing this alone.

Thanks to the incredible support from the New York Sailing Foundation, the St. Francis Sailing Foundation, and the generosity of our broader community, we’ve been able to raise just enough to cover our current training block here in Long Beach. That support has gone directly toward coaching, travel, boat work, and key equipment upgrades, allowing us to stay fully focused and present at the Olympic venue.

We’re also incredibly fortunate to be working with Coach Stu McNay, whose Olympic-level insight and steady leadership continue to elevate our performance. Every session with Stu is a masterclass in precision, discipline, and growth.

A huge thank you goes to the Rushing family for generously hosting Ryan and Faith during our time here in California. With housing costs well outside our budget, their support quite literally made this training block possible. John, Lisa, and Jackson have been incredible hosts! We’ve loved hearing their own sailing stories and bonding over a shared passion for the sport. We're beyond grateful for their hospitality and encouragement throughout our stay with them.

While we’ve made it through this phase, the journey doesn’t stop here. We’re always seeking new ways to fund each regatta and training opportunity ahead. Every donation big or small helps us move closer to the start line in 2028 and ensures we can keep showing up, improving, and representing our country with pride.

Off the water, we’re soaking in the Southern California energy. Nikki’s been logging miles through the streets of Long Beach with her son in a jogging stroller, turning workouts into core memories. Ryan’s been keeping his balance sharp by surfing the Manhattan Beach break.

Long Beach is starting to feel like a home away from home. We’re growing into this venue not just as athletes, but as a team rooted in the rhythm of this place!

We can’t wait to welcome American Wave supporters here in 2028 to watch Team USA (and, we hope, Team American Wave!) chase gold.

We’re now heading to Long Island, New York for the 470 North American Championship, taking place August 13–16. This regatta is a key event on our summer calendar, and we’re excited for more high-level racing and a larger fleet to compete against.

We’ve decided to bring our own boat for this event, as we’ve made some significant rigging changes that we’re continuing to refine on our path to 2028. To do that means just one thing… It's time for another cross-country road trip!

Ryan and Faith will be hauling the boat and equipment from Long Beach to Long Island, while Nikki heads to Miami to pick up more gear and meet up with her husband, David Bargehr - an accomplished former 470 sailor who trained through two Olympic cycles, studied sports theory, and whose former crew just won gold at the 2024 Olympics. David is now a highly respected 420 coach with Maximus Sailing in Miami, and will be joining us as our coach for the North American Championship!

We’re thrilled to keep building momentum and can’t wait to get back on the starting line.

Let’s ride this wave together!

With gratitude,

Nikki & Ryan

Team American Wave 2028

Sometimes, sailing seems easy. Off the water, it seems at times as though our work is just beginning. We try to stay fit, we train, repair, and tune our boat, study the racing venues, listen to our coach, keep in touch with family and friends, laugh a little, try to eat healthy foods, keep an eye on our competition around the world, order parts & gear.

And we fundraise!

Sailing is expensive, and we can't do it without you. We pay for everything that is not donated to us. We pay for coaching, clinics, coach boats, sails, 470 boats, boat parts, gear, air travel, communications, insurance, entry fees, and more. So be a sport and help us in our sport. We are thrilled to have you on our team.

Please follow the links below to donate!

Do you know of a brand that wants to adopt a couple of Olympic Athletes?

We would love to form partnerships to help with our campaign and also promote the sport of sailing!



Follow the link below for sponsorship inquiries!

Send us questions, merchandise requests, follow us on Instagram below, send jokes/advice, and interact with us if you see us at your club or in the boat park! This journey is a marathon, and we can only reach our goals with a strong support system behind us. Thank you for your support!