WOW!!!! BERMUDA is AWESOME :)

The crew

WOW! Bermuda is amazing!!!! The best trip I've ever been on!!! Before I start I would just like to make some thank you's. Thank you to David and Jenny Campbell-James for accompanying me on the flight there and back. Thank you to Dede Cooper for organising the event and making everything AWESOME!! A massive thank you to Mary, Rian, Fiachra and Caoilinn Geraghty for hosting me.  You guys made the trip the best ever!!! And last of all thank you to my Grandparents for their help, my Mum and Dad for doing all the stressing for me and last but not least IOCA UK for selecting me! Now on to Bermuda and the RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup - a day to day description on what happened.  ENJOY!!!



Monday- Flight day

Bye bye Britain

I was originally supposed to fly on Saturday but this was cancelled due to hurricane Gonzales but after much stress for Mum I was booked on the Monday flight. The flight was scheduled to leave at 3:00pm (UK TIME), so me and Dad caught the 10:00am Wightlink ferry. We arrived at the airport at 12am so had a quick lunch before David and Jenny arrived, then the goodbye's were said and we did all the check in and security stuff. Once on the plane we settled in to our seats ready for seven hours of boredom!! The sights were amazing leaving London. On-flight I watched Captain America 2 along with a load of Red Bull videos!! As arrival dawned we again got some amazing views. We arrived at about 7pm (Bermuda time, 11pm in UK) which meant I was very tired. I then met up with my host family (and Christian from Denmark who was staying with them as well) and went back to their house, which was shortly followed by bed. 



Tuesday- Training day
After a lovely sleep I was up by 7am ready to leave by 8am. It was a very rushed morning as I had to sort all my sailing kit for the day which happened to be at the bottom of my suitcase!! We dropped off Rian, Fiachra  and Caoilinn at school before me and Christian went down the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. It did feel a bit tough leaving the others at school while we went sailing!! I then did all my sorting out of the boat before all the internationally invited sailors (14 of us in total) headed out for some training. We did some boat speed work along with venue familiarisation oh and getting used to sailing in warm weather wearing only shorts and a rash vest!! Later on we were then joined by the local Bermudian sailors and did some practice starting with them. After sailing we then went to the beach. It was was lovely with massive waves that we had a great time playing in.

Wednesday- Training and Dinner day

Argo Gold Cup press conference

Wednesday brought some windier training in the morning, however, the day was stopped short due to a possible thunderstorm that might hit us. So instead the Yacht Club took all the international sailors sightseeing to see some caves, but sadly they were closed instead we had a game of football outside the town hall in St George which was closed. When we got back the the Yacht club the local sailors were out sailing, which was only fair as they had been at school all day. Everyone involved with the Junior Gold Cup and Argo Gold Cup had a meal at the Club . It was a great evening as we got to meet some of the pro sailors before doing the Gold Cup. 

Thursday- Racing Day 1
It was a slow start as we had a bit of a windy storm which resulted in a postponement of 3 hours. Luckily the wind dropped by lunchtime so we got two good races in light to medium winds. I got a 10th and a 6th which was OK,  however, I felt I could have done better and my mistakes were clear. After racing I had a chat with Iain Percy, which was really nice. It felt awesome to be chatting about the days sailing and results with one of the best sailors in the world. That night was an early to sleep one because the next day was going to be windy.

Friday- Racing Day 2

Me and Caoilinn chillin'

Friday was one hectic day!! 5 races in 17-20 knts! I got a 6th, 17th,9th,13th and 15th. This set of results was again OK but I dropped a few places overall. The 17th and the 15th were especially disappointing because I made some simple mistakes that dropped me the places and with the fleet being so good any mistake you made quickly cost places. But as it was such a windy day and with most of the other international sailors being a lot bigger and older than me overall I did a lot better in the breeze than I have before. 
Even so I went into the next day feeling determined! 

After racing we (my Bermudian family) went to a great restaurant in Hamilton for pizza and had a top night out.

Saturday- Racing Day 3

World's smallest
drawbridge

Saturday was a good day :) Light winds and hot!! I got a good 5th and a 6th before racing was cancelled for the day because the wind went completely, which was a real shame as I would have loved to carry on racing. But not to worry our family had a rib so we went out to see the reef and the shipwreck. The views were amazing, crystal clear water with colourful fish. We then came back in (after seeing turtles). We also saw the world's smallest drawbridge! There was another big party in the Club with Taco's for dinner. We really were very well looked after. Everyone stayed up that night because the briefing was at 11am the next day. So you can guess we had a fun night!!

Sunday- Final Day

A very relaxed morning lead to a very relaxed day. We headed down to the Yacht Club at about 10am. The tradition is 1 race in the harbour in front of a big crowd followed by watching the final of the Argo Group Gold Cup. The race was very tricky because the shifty winds and the mixed water form spectator boats. I had an amazing start, only to pick the wrong side of the course and went round the first windward mark 10th from last! Not ideal in front of a crowd! However I did a good recovery job to get a 7th which meant I finished 6th place overall. Given the level of competition from the international and local sailors I was really pleased with my final result. I just hope I get the chance to go back to Bermuda one day and do even better.

After our racing was finished, the family went out on the rib to watch the Gold Cup final. This was followed by the prize giving. My flight was that night so we had to head off early to the airport. 

It was an awesome week and event which is quite hard to put in words but if you are an optimist sailor and ever get the chance to go make sure you do.

Once again I would just like to say a big thank you to everyone. THANK YOU BERMUDA!!!!!   

From Rutland to Bermuda, oh and a lot of waiting

A quick blog update before I head off on my next amazing sailing experience.

This weekend we had the End of Season Championships at Rutland, which is the third event of the year the counts towards our end of year rankings.

I have to say it wasn't the best weekend ever of sailing but mostly because of the weather. It had been windy all weekend and forecast to be windy this week so guess what - no wind at the weekend!

The trip didn't start too well when our 6pm ferry didn't leave until 7.30pm - unhappy Dad! We didn't get to our hotel until late but as we were staying close by we didn't have to get up too early, which was good as we needed to sort out my new North V4 sail.

When we got to Rutland it was pretty obvious nothing was going to happen in a hurry as there was no wind.  We had loads of waiting around and then more waiting around. It was OK though as I got to spend time with my friends and have a chat with our National Coach about some stuff but what we really wanted to do was get racing.

We eventually got afloat for a slow sail down to the far end of the reservoir for some more waiting around while the race committee set a course and then enough wind to sail. After more waiting around our first race got underway. I had an OK start and was in about 7th place after the second mark when then race was abandoned because the wind had died. So we did some more waiting around until about 3.30pm when everything was abandoned for the day!

Over night in our hotel it was an evening of our usual unusual approach to dinner, Face timing Mum and Freya, a bit of James Bond and then getting to sleep. Why does Dad always get the big bed!?

Sunday morning we got to Rutland early so we would have plenty of time which turned out to be a bit pointless as we couldn't even see the water. Fog, lots of it. We did some more waiting. This was fast becoming the Waiting Season Championships.  By late morning the fog cleared and a little bit of breeze started which was the cue for a rapid launch. Luckily we had enough breeze to sail and got three races in the afternoon although this meant no discard!

Quick little selfie while
doing some waiting

I had a good first race with an amazing start and a nice lift to give me a 3rd (a 1st for my rankings)!  Due to a bad start the next race gave me an 18th however I did recover a lot! I got my emojo back in the next race being just nicked off 1st which was quite annoying however I was happy to settle for 2nd. Overall I came 5th which was alright...! 

Racing over I wanted to wait for the prize giving so we waited and waited, yes more waiting. The jury were doing some jury stuff which meant it was ages before the results came out.   In the end we had to go to make our 9pm ferry so I never did make it to the prize giving.

The drive back was rubbish with really slow traffic which meant we just missed our ferry.  The next one wasn't until 11.59pm.  So you guessed it - we did some more waiting.

My overall ranking for the year is 6th which means I made National Squad again which I'm pleased about!

On Monday I fly to Bermuda for the RenaissanceRe Gold  Cup. I'm really excited and can't wait to go for so many reasons:

• Sailing against the local sailors and a bunch of international entries
• Sailing warm waters in summer kit
• Mixing it up with the sailors from the Gold Cup
• Staying with my host family 
• Just going to Bermuda
• Not being at school (although Mum said I had to take homework!)

I was supposed to be flying tomorrow Saturday but because of hurricane Gonzalo the flight was cancelled so I'm just hoping everything is OK for all the people in Bermuda and for the event.

It's going to be awesome and I'm really glad my school Christ the King let me go, and for my Grandparent's help. 

While we were waiting at Rutland I was talking to Matilda Nicholls and her Dad who have just moved from Bermuda who were telling me all the country, the event and they also know the family I'm staying with. 

I CAN'T WAIT!!

I'll try and put some stuff on my Facebook page while I'm there and will tell you all about it when I'm back.

WOW! Solid September!!

Following on from a brilliant summer of sailing, the Autumn is shaping up to be pretty solid too. In September, I've done training in the Summer Squad, the Spinnaker Open, Bart's Bash and the RYA South Zone Championships.

First up, the Summer Squad training. This was a weekender at Lymington and a super light wind one. On the Saturday we mostly worked on boat handling and light wind speed with a few short races in the afternoon. 

Saturday night we stayed at my Grandparents with BBQ ribs and chips for tea, yum. This also meant we didn't have to get up super early and I got pancakes for breakfast! More yum! 

On Sunday we did quite a lot of team racing. We wanted to race as the Euro Team Racing Team but we were split up but I did have Sophie in my team and we won all our races - the dream team! Despite the light winds it was a good weekend and really great to see loads of my friends who I hadn't seen since the Nationals.

Me with the silverware!

Next up was the Spinnaker open. I was a bit of a last minute entry to this as we decided to go so we could help Arthur who sails at my club and his Mum who were going to their first ever event. It certainly turned out to be a good one for me. It was another light wind weekend and as, always at Spinnaker, really shifty. The starts were epic, with over 50 boats on a really short line, loads of shouting, boats going everywhere. In total we did four races and I got a 1st, 2nd and two 3rds.  

I finished up with 6 points and was the overall winner and the top junior sailing.  It's the first time I've won a regatta in a while so I was really pleased. Great prizes too. A new windex, Spinnaker SC glass, a copy of the Optimist Photo book and two trophies. The overall trophy has some great names on it including Greg Carey, Nick Thompson, Phil Sparks and of course Milo Gill Taylor. Thanks to everyone at Spinnaker for running the regatta.

Tongue out with concentration!!

The next weekend it was Bart's Bash. On the Saturday I went Oppie sailing with Oliver Evans and Freddie Ellis to do a bit of practising with our V4 North Sails and speed work then in the afternoon we went Feva sailing as me and Oliver sailed the Feva in the Bart's Bash race. We thought some practice would be a good idea as I've never helmed with an asymmetric kite before. Guess what it was really light winds again so all pretty straightforward!

Upright and in control downwind!!

Sunday morning for Bart's Bash it was a bit of a different story as the wind was blowing about 15kts and conditions were a bit choppy in parts of the course. With the conditions we had our hands full as we are both small and light, way too much so for a Feva XL. Add to that 100 boats on a shared start line ranking from pico's and toppers to foiling moths and it was game on!

The race lasted for 70 minutes and we did four laps. We did have three capsizes one with the spinnaker up so our overall time wasn't that flash but we completed the race flew the spinnaker on every lap and had a blast, which was the main thing. It was such a good laugh and brilliant race to be in! 

A nice tack!

A flat boat (a rare experience)!

 













Last weekend it was the RYA South Zone Championships at the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy.

There was a big turn out of Optimists with 93 in total. Again, you've guessed it, it was a really light wind weekend! On Saturday afternoon we had two races and a lot of waiting around as we were sharing the course with the Fevas and Mirrors. I had a good start with a 2nd in the first race and a 4th in the second, although I really should have won the first one as I was in the lead going in to the final leg, but still finished the day in second overall. 

Saturday night's dinner was fish and chip dinner (well sausage and chips for me) with Freddie and Cordelia and a bit of table tennis. Apparently according to Dad I should stick to sailing as table tennis isn't my sport! 

On Sunday I felt like I had a good chance to win the event as Vita Heathcote, who was in first place, wasn't sailing the second day. On Sunday we did three races and like Saturday it was a day for sailing up the middle of the course, minimising risk and watching for the shifts and pressure. We did three races and I had two 2nds and a 3rd, but unfortunately it wasn't quite good enough as Henry Chandler who sailed really well got three 1st places. It was really close especially going into the last race where I still had a chance of winning but in the end Henry won with 6 points and I was second with 9. Although coming second was a good result I was pretty disappointed and annoyed with myself as I should have won two races that I was leading but got overtaken. I get a bit nervous when I'm out in front and am probably not making the right decisions so that is something I definitely need to work on.

So It's been a full on September and in the middle of it all we got a call to say I've been selected to go the RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup in Bermuda from 21-26 October  How awesome is that. I'm so lucky to be going and can't wait. But before then we have the End of Season championships in Rutland which is the final ranking event of the year!

Some downwind practise in Light Winds

What a summer of sailing part 2: British Nationals to European TeamRacing Champs

Hello, back again with part 2 of my solid summer of sailing. 

After the European Championship and Gurnard Dinghy Week it was straight onto the British Optimist Nationals down at the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy. I like sailing there because it's such a great racing area and because it's where the Olympic sailing was in 2012.

The nationals were awesome, probably the best one I've done so far with brilliant weather, a mix of wind strengths and tough competition with a lot of international sailors taking part. The year was my last in Junior main fleet and as a National Squad sailor and having just come back from being in Team GBR at the Euros, I felt under a bit of pressure to do well and quite nervous. Also the first six races count towards our rankings for the squad qualifications at the end of the year.

We went to Weymouth as a family as Freya was sailing too. When we eventually got there after an interesting trip I was straight onto the water for a bit of a warm up sail. It was really windy (not my favourite conditions) so it was really good to test myself out against all the other competitors. It was then off to see what the house we had rented was like. It was awesome,  there was a really big  bedroom  for me and Freya and a chill out room in a huge loft. It also had a big pole in the middle of the living room which was interesting! Mum had done a top job on finding this one.

 

Sunday: We started off with a practise race in which I did quite well despite the really windy conditions! I sailed with the other fleet so that I could test myself against the top guys who were in the other fleet. I won the race but stopped before the finish because it is bad luck to win a practise race. Due to the fact that we had time spare we managed to do another two races but these were real!! I got a 4th and a 12th but they left me in 18th position which was not what I wanted :(

Monday: Monday brought some lighter conditions and I had two very good races, a 1st and a 2nd. In the 2nd race a Spaniard beat me so in the rolling rankings it meant that I got 2 1st places!!!

Tuesday: Once again it was a day of very windy conditions (20knts +) so I wasn't able to get the results I needed. In the end I got a 10th,16th and a 4th.

Wednesday: Wednesday brought some medium conditions but it was really shifty and I got caught out many times. The results were disappointing...a 5th, 24th and a 12th. 

Thursday; The next day brought the same conditions as yesterday however I  was able to improve my results: a 3rd, 12th and a 2nd! 

Going into the final day there was no way I could catch Alexandra Schonrock who was leading and had sailed a great regatta but I had a chance of overtaking William Heathcote to be the top British boy.
 

Team Isle of Wight -
Cameron Hook, Freddie Ellis, Me,
Freya, Lily Ellis, Toby Atherton,
Oliver Evans, Mathew Bamber

I was really up for Friday and couldn't wait to get going so when we got up in the morning and the sea was flat calm and no wind it wasn't looking good. We waited and waited but in the end the racing was abandoned at lunch time which was a disappointing way for the event to end but I still finished 7th overall and third British sailor so a good result.

Because we had such great conditions throughout the event, it meant that on a few days we got through the race programme and back ashore early. This meant I could see Freya coming in from being out with the mini racers which I really liked. She had a brilliant week too, came third in her racing and got a coaches sailor of week medal at the prize giving. Nice one Sis.

When we got back from the Nationals we had a couple of days on dry land before Freya did Cadet Week at our club. I wasn't sailing in this but was able to help out with coaching the Oppie fleets. I had such a brilliant week. I really like coaching and helping out other sailors and I got to do a bit of sailing when we had to do some rescues. It was really nice to see Freya out on the water too. Her sailing improved so much over the Nationals and Cadet week. I hope she starts racing soon. We put my GoPro camera on her boat on one day so she could see how well she's doing too.

After Cadet week we had a whole week of not sailing. Hmmmm. But then it was off with Team GBR (Sophie Holloway, Julia Mellers, Oliver Hill and me) to the European Team Racing Championshp in Lake Ledro, Italy. 

Mum, Dad and Freya came to this one too but only after dropping me off at the airport. While I flew over they went all the way by car. It was like some sort of Top Gear challenge ony they were only in the lead to Dover! And during the event while I was in a hotel they were camping at the other end of the Lake!!

Me in action at the
Euro Team Racing Champs, I'm the 2nd boat

Going in to this event we didn't really know what to expect. There were 16 teams in total and quite a lot of the countries have special team racing teams who do loads of training for the event. We had only team raced a couple of times before and had one training session against the GBR worlds team.

On our first day of racing we had three matches and one won against the Spanish.  We were all pretty pleased about this and it gave us a big boost and belief that we could win more. Over the next few days we saw massive leaps and gains in our team racing abilities, personally and as a team. It was really funny seeing the other teams getting told off by their coaches because they had been beaten by us. It just made us want to win even more!
 

Our Team base at the lake

We managed to get just over half wins which put us in Gold fleet which was very exciting! Last year the team didn't win a single race and came last so we were very excited about winning a race and then we made gold fleet. As the week carried on we were able to slowly carry on gaining. Going in to the last day we were 5th overall!! We had a bad day as a team however we were able to thankfully hold our position!

The last night was very memorable with fireworks and a 2:00am bedtime!!! A week of fun.



Gelato time

Lake Ledro was an incredible place to be with the views of the mountains. Our hotel was a bit interesting with electricity plug sockets hanging off the walls and sparking and meals every night that were pasta first course, followed by meat. But the local gelato made up for it.

It was really nice seeing Mum, Dad and Freya in between races for a bit each day and knowing they we're watching me and we all had a big team meal of the final night.



Launching

All in all it was a great event. It was really nice racing as a team and our coach Will and house parent Lizze did a great job in helping us with the racing and looking after us.

With the event over I then joined Mum, Dad and Freya and we stayed on for a few days holiday and some walks in the mountains, swimming in the Lake and lots more gelato. It was then a two day drive back to home but at least I got to watch four hours of the Volvo Race on DVD non stop.





Team GBR at the prize giving -
we got a t-shirt of tiny jar of honey,
Will got a belt and can of WD40!!

So all in all a full on, brilliant summer of sailing. I've had a few ups and downs in the racing,  learnt so much and had soooo much fun. Now the autumn looks like it will be just as good with loads more racing to come!! 

  

What a summer of sailing part 1. European Championships to Gurnard Dinghy Week

Since mid July I've had the most amazing and busy sailing summer spending more time on the water than off it. So sorry for the really long delay in telling you all about it.

First off, it started with the European Championships, which were held in Dun Laoghaire (Ireland) at the Royal St. George Yacht Club. It was a great event with a few ups and downs but I made lots of improvements, learnt a lot and had a great end to the regatta.

It was all very hectic at the start. Most of the team flew over from Southampton with Ella Bennetts mum. I had a bit of a problem as my luggage was a bit over weight so we had to unload some stuff. It all seemed to come down to all the Jaffa cakes Mum had packed in my bag but once we had shared these round the Team I was OK and we were off. When we arrived in Dun Laoghaire we had to wait for Sarah, our house praent to arrive, the rest of the team and our coach, Vagelis, so it turned out to be a no sailing day.

Team GBR at the European Championships

The next two days of training involved a lot of boat sorting out and only some short afternoon training sessions on the water working on rig set up and boat speed but the day after that was a full day sailing. All our training sessions were followed by really long de-brief sessions and talking about the weather much longer than anything I've ever had before. It was so much to take in and understand.

The next part seemed really stressful as our boats had to go through the long and painful measurement process. It was the first time I've seen this.  We had to completely strip our boats down so they could weigh them and every foils and everything was actually measured. Even though you have all the measurement   documents for the boats it's a bit worrying that something might not be right. After all that it was great to get back out on the water sailing. For the next couple of days we had very light winds for training so did some racing with other teams to familiarise ourselves with them. The evening before the event started we had the opening ceremony. I've never seen so many countries  flags all at once with so many sailors from so many nations taking part. It was then an early night to get good long sleep in preparation for race day.

Race day 1 - we started off with a windy day, a complete turn around to all the training days and not what I wanted. The boys fleet (the girls and boys race separately) was split in to 3 groups and I got a 22nd and 43rd which was ok.

Race day 2 - another windy and difficult day for me as one of the smallest and youngest sailors in the event with disappointing results of 41st and 37th which brought a few tears.

Race day 3 - windy again! But I got a 22nd which was ok in the conditions and a 49th. This left me in 121st out 150 and in the bronze fleet at the split. Not where I wanted to be but the standard of competition was so much higher than I had expected.

Race day 4 - a great day. First race in the bronze fleet and I got a 1st I felt good to be leading the fleet. I was very happy.

Race day 5 - another great day.  I got an 8th.

Race day 6- No sailing due to heavy fog :(

Our hotel

Overall it was an brilliant regatta, great experience and I learnt so much. Being with sailors from so many countries was great and we had a lot of fun in Team GBR. Although I would have liked to have done better in the results, my goal for the year was to just go to the European Championships which I did and hopefully I'll go again in the future and be much better with the things I have learnt.

Back home after the Euros I had to go back for the last couple of days of school - boo- before the summer holidays began and loads more sailing.

Me and Oli with our dinghy week trophies

In the first week of the holidays I did Gurnard Dinghy Week, at Gurnard Sailing Club with my friend Oliver Evans in a Pico. It was a great week of sailing , a lot of fun and nice be sailing two handed in between the Euros and British Optimist Nationals.

We were racing in the slow handicap with a fleet of twenty boats including, Fevas, Laser 4.7s and Mirrors. And we did really well. Six races in the series and six wins beating some over the line that gave us  time on handicap so should have been ahead of us. As well as winning the slow handicap, as we discarded a 1st as our worst result, we won  the trophy for the best result overall across all the classes and got a couple of really nice trophies. It was also a good confidence boost for going into the Opi Nationals which I'll talk about in part 2

Europeans, here we come!

Over the next month and a bit I have the most exciting sailing of my life coming up with two European Championships and the British Nationals.Next Wednesday (9 July) I'm off to the European Championships in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland. on a really early 0650 flight from Southampton. We have a few days training before the event starts on 13 July. It's going to be awesome with over over 250 sailors from 44 nations taking part. 

Making the Europeans Team was my big goal for this year so I can wait to get racing. I'm so excited but quite nervous too. I've sailed in Dublin Bay a couple of times before;  last year at the Irish Nationals and in a training week we had at the end of May, so at least I know a little bit about what the conditions can be like. I can't wait to race against so many new really good sailors from around the world and see how I get on but the racing at the Championships is a bit different than what I normally do as the girls and boys are in separate fleets. You can follow the results to see how I'm doing on the Championship website and there is a facebook page for the event too Optimist European Championship 2014 facebook .

When I'm back from the Euorpeans there is only a short time before the British Nationals in Weymouth (with a bit of Gurnard Sailing Dinghy Week in a Pico in between) and then after that a week and a bit before I'm off to the European Team Racing Championships in Lake Ledro, Italy. 

We have a team of four of us going to the Team Racing Championships, two boys and two girls who are all in the Euros Team too. I really like Team racing and sailing in the Italian mountains is going to be brilliant.

Last weekend we had a two day training session in Lymington for the Worlds and European Team racing teams which was great fun but really hard work. I learnt loads as I haven't done that much team racing before.


As well as working hard on our skills we did have a lot of fun and after training on Saturday we took our Oppies surfing on a bit of water in the Solent called Fiddlers Race where wind against tide makes these really big waves. I've never gone so fast in my Oppie and our coach Alan Williams had to go really quickly in the rib to keep up with us but did get some great photos of me.

 








I'm really lucky that I'm about to have such an amazing summer of sailing coming up so thank you to everyone who helps me: Royal London Yacht Club Youth Trust, Crewsaver, Isle of Wight Council talented athlete scheme,  SailSpy UK, North Sails, IOCA UK, my coaches, my grand parents (Nan Nan and GD) and all my family and friends.

Here's a video clip from my SailSpy UK GoPro camera from the team racing training. I hope you like it!

European Championship Team GBR training in Ireland

A few weekends ago I was off to Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, for 5 days over half term for some European Championship Team GBR training. The week was really worth it as we had one coach to 7 sailors and we were on the water everyday.

I was very excited about the week as it was only my second time sailing without my parents with me! We arrived at the airport very early on Monday morning leaving to catch the plane at 9am so it was a tiring, sleepy, start for the team. I haven't flown many times and was amazed by the sight of London as we took off and when you go through the clouds at the bottom it looks fake! 

When we arrived in Dublin it was raining heavily (as expected). After picking up our bags we hurried to a taxi that would drive us to our hotel and once at the hotel dropped off our bags we went straight down to the sailing club to get on with the important stuff - checking out our charter boats and going sailing. Luckily these boats were better than the ones we had when I went to Turkey last year. These ones were almost brand new. That afternoon we went out for a quick sail to make sure everything was working in the boats before heading back to the hotel for a bit of a rest and then our first team dinner. It was a bit of a posh one in their restaurant so I had a big bowl of Prawn Linguine!

Me, Sophie and the Nandos chicken

The next morning we were allowed to sleep in before meeting for a delicious cooked breakfast at 8:00am. It was then down to the sailing club for a morning session in light winds. We were practising on our boat feel and body positioning and working hard so it was very exhausting. After coming in for lunch we decided to have a short afternoon session due to everyone being so tired. Once again we worked on our body positions in the boat. That evening it was dinner at Nandos, very nice, before going to bed early due to a very early start on the next morning.

Wednesday morning and breakfast at 7:00am. Luckily though I was woken up by Oliver Hill (my roommate). He wakes up very early and starts watching videos. Out on the water we again practised our feel in the boat as well as boat speed. At the end of the day we did some team racing boys vs girls. First to 3 wins. And the winners get free ice creams.  And guess who won, the boys. Solid result boys! That evening we went to a burger restaurant but I had a starter due to the massive portions! I nearly cried over my starter due to the intense heat of the chicken wings! It was another night where we were hurried off to bed to be ready for another early start the next morning. 

Thursday brought much nicer winds about 15knts so we had some great sailing with some races and upwind speed work and got in some good training in the conditions we are more likely to get in the Championships. That night we stayed up as it was the last night and had a load of laughs.

  

On Friday morning after a quick bit of bag packing we headed out for a final quick sailing session before setting off for home home and a lot of fun at the airport!!

Overall it was an awesome week. Good sailing and we learnt lots about the venue and had great fun as a team. So the perfect way to spend half term!! Now I can't wait to go back for the Championships in July.

For a bit of look and what we got up to during the week check out our coaches video which includes a bit airport trolley racing with Milo!

Click here to watch the Team GBR Euros training video

My new weapon!

Also more brilliant news. You might have noticed the GBR number on my blog has changed. This is because I bought a new boat which I am very excited about after the Inlands. The number is 6288 so one of the newest boat and it's a McLaughlin Pro racer which Pippa Cropley had.  So far I've only sailed it for a short time last Friday night and it felt amazing and very fast. I can't wait to do a regatta in it.