Autumn 2016

Winning the End of  Seasons

After the Late Summers it was the End of Seasons. For some reason this event has never been my best. I think it was because it was the last event which mattered to the rankings. Some would say most important. My previous results were 25,27,9 which is pretty bad! However this year I knew was going to be different. With my new approach of no stress and also the fact I had already guaranteed national squad I was loving life. The only real reason I was there was because I wanted to win the rankings. The first day wasn't spectacular results wise and sailing wise. It was the start of the cold season along with being super light made to a bit of a miserable day. I had an okay 1st race but struggled a little because I hadn't done any pre race prep as had been messing about with Freya. I had a 2nd row start but managed to get into the phase with the shifts and it all came together with ease. I finished in 3rd in the end but could have easily won if I had spotted a shift about 30 seconds earlier.The next race was quite a simple race as there was really only one big shift. I finished in 2nd this time which was a fair result. The 3rd race was appalling however through a lucky shift I managed to scrape out a 4th. However despite some decent results overall I was sitting in 6th place overnight. I went into the second day with a bit more determination. I had a 4,3 and discarded a 10th. My results were much different however I was able to stay consistent. Coming in I thought I had done ok but not enough to win. However to my surprise I won by a comfy wedge of 7 points. I guess consistency was key. 

The winning squad at the End of Seasons

Winning the End of Seasons means I am now ranked 1st in the country. This is an amazing achievement for me as it gives me a very positive boost. However to maintain this position I need to be at the top of my game all the time so there is lots of hard work to be put in over this winter.

Freya taking over our team's photo. 

After the End of Seasons it was Bordeaux again. However this time in the 420 with William. Like last year we left straight after National Squad. We were staying in the big house again with William's brother Henry and also Finn Rodgers. Despite not much sailing it was a really fun week. It was hot, light winds and relaxed. Like last year we hired bikes. This year me and William managed to get our hands on some mountain bikes. They were so much fun as we could do cool jumps and tracks on the way to and from from sailing. Because of the lack of sailing we had to do something to keep us kids entertained. This meant Surfing!! This was one of the first times I had surfed so I spent most of the time getting pummeled by huge waves. They were the biggest waves I had ever seen! I remember the first wipe out I had. I had got out into the middle when a set of huge waves came along. I remember seeing this massive mountain of white breaking on top of me and I had no idea what to do. Then before I could move the wave sucked me in and ate me whole. I remember getting tossed and turned for what seemed like an eternity and then surfacing back where I started. But for the rest of the week I was a pro!
However the fairy tale had to end somewhere. And it was the sailing. Light winds and fog resulted in only 2 days of sailing completed and only 4 races. However we were on fire. On our first international race together we were 3rd round the windward mark. But down wind was always going to be our downfall. At the end of the regatta though we were very proud to be able to say we were 1st Brits! Awesome!! Thanks to George and Kate Heathcote for taking me and I can't wait to go again next year. 

The next event was the winter champs. This turned out to be a weird but somewhat enjoyable regatta for me. But the first day wasn't. I had lent Freya my drysuit as I had opted for the wetsuit. And lets just say I absolutely froze to death!! Despite this I had an OK day. However I have forgotten my results so I can't tell you. I think I was in 4th place overnight though. The next day was a lot nicer though. I had stolen back my drysuit and was loving life. I had a pretty narly day and managed to climb up to second. However I couldn't bring down Will Pank who was on fire. 

Overall I think I have had quite a successful year in the end despite a rocky start. Once again I would like to thank my Mum and Dad for basically giving up a lot of their life for me. Also could I just say a massive thanks to George and Kate Heathcote who have been amazing! A once again a massive thanks to Crewsaver for supplying my kit!

Summer 2016

I haven't done a blog post for ages so have so much to tell you about starting with summer. OMG!! What an awesome summer I had! In this blog I am going to tell you about: French Nationals, British Nationals, 420 Nationals, the Late Summers and the 420 Autumn champs. Yes the problem with sailing 2 boats!!

French Nationals

Opening ceremony

Squad Photo

I went to the French Nationals with the Development team from the Selections which consisted of 8 sailors. Despite not being the team I was hoping for- I was still looking forward to the event as I knew I had a good chance of doing well and also it was going to be hot! The event was held over the 16th July to the 22nd of July (which also included my birthday). We left for the event a few days earlier to do some training. The training was so good due to the nice weather. For me, training in hot weather makes me feel so much more relaxed and ready to sail. I really liked going to the event a few days earlier as it meant we could relax much more and meant there was much less stress. Also we weren't training for too long each day so it meant we could relax on the beach or go back to the house and play football. We were staying at some massive house about 20 minutes away which was quite cool. I also got my own double bed bedroom to myself which was crazy!! 
The lead up to the event was awesome which Is why I was surprised at my lack of form on the early days of the regatta. It was the group stages and I was struggling to get top 10's. I guess the light,shifty and annoying conditions didn't really help with the pressure I had put on myself once again. Another upset was the lack of racing. In the end we missed 3 days of racing due to light winds. In the end I was 13th going into the gold fleet which was still ok. However I wanted more and top 10 finishes.

But lets forget about the racing for a moment- because it was my birthday. My parents and Freya gave me a scare in the morning when my boat had gone 'missing'. After scouring the boat park for a few minutes they jumped out at me and presented my boat. It was decorated with balloons everywhere, bunting and banners covering the boat and most embarrassingly the band played Happy Birthday. I don't know whether I was crying with happiness or embarrassment! And then it was back to racing. Hard racing. Gold fleet racing. I knew I had to turn it on. And that's exactly what I did! I went out there and smashed it twice over. 2,2,9. I don't know whether it was the fact it was my birthday or just because I knew I had to do better. But whatever it was, please let my have it again. The next day was the final day. I had climbed up to 8th but I still knew I could do better. Unfortunately the racing was postponed for ages so we only managed one race. In the race i got a 6th which I was pretty pleased about. To be able to get all top 10 results  in gold fleet was pretty cool. Then it was prize giving and packing away time. Luckily though we weren't leaving until the next day. The next morning we went down to the sailing club to pick up the boats and typical it was perfect weather. Anyway after that we went to the beach and had some chill time before leaving. Thinking back on the event now I still think I could have performed better but I was still happy with my performance. 

British Nationals 

Haggis crisps

Nationals number 2. Just a lot colder this time. Actually to be fair to Scotland I managed to sail a few times in rash vests- but still not as good as France! This was a fun event because there is no pressure on it anymore and my friend Jamie Cook was staying with us. We made the long trek up a day early so we could get some practice in. I'd being doing lots of 420 sailing recently so it felt very different. Then it was an early nights sleep and getting ready for a busy week of racing. Another reason why it was quite fun was because my grandparents were staying there. This meant nice meals every night! Then the racing started. I was feeling the pressure again defiantly. 18,3,BFD. Not a good day. However I was hoping the up and down winds would suit me. But they defiantly didn't. They made my results very very up and down. For the rest of the regatta I had results ranging from 8 to 44. CRAZY! Despite some disappointing results I still managed to do OK and came 7th brit in the end. I spoke to head coach Alan Williams afterwards and he said that I was sailing very well just  hadn't set up my rig properly for the tricky conditions. This was  a nice thing to hear because at least it made me feel like I wasn't sailing so badly after all. The week in general though was still a success and I have lots of memories from it Can't miss a good Nationals!!

420 Nationals
Nationals number 3. Just in a 420 this time. The next class I am moving into is the 420. This is a two handed boat in which I sail with my good friend William Heathcote (also a beast opi sailor). We are starting to do events and training in the 420 so that when we move into the class officially we're already good enough to compete. We went into this event with no pressure on us which made it so much more enjoyable. The event was at Pwhelli so we stayed in a farm which was really cool. We stayed in a massive house which also had a go-kart place track and wake boarding lake. The 420 events are so much less stressful as everyone is so laid back. In an oppie everyone is waiting centimeters away from the water ready to launch whereas in 420 when the launch flag goes up you launch about 20 minutes later. This was good for us because we were so slow at doing everything. The 420 takes so long to set up as you have to re tie everything back onto the boat from the mast. We spent 2 hours on the first day setting up the boat. Looking forward to the regatta we were really excited, firstly because the 420 is such a cool boat and secondly because the week was looking light.

However the start of the event didn't go to plan. There was no racing for the first two days. This was such a shame because we were so looking forward to some light wind days.However the good thing about it was the fact that it gave us time to catch up with all our old friends. Also on the first day (after sailing was cancelled) we all went out on a rib to go cliff jumping out on the Abersoch islands. This was so fun but also quite scary.
Wednesday brought a better day though. Warm weather and light but sailable winds. PERFECT! Our first race was such as shock that I could really believe it 5th out of 40  round the windward mark beating Milly and Vita( William's older sister who is one of the best in the class)!! We managed to finish in an awesome 10th. Everyone was so shocked with our finish. And the day only got better from there. 9th,11,14,32!!!! We were sitting in 11th overall over night. That night was a celebratory go kart session. And then... no sailing the next day. And then 20+knts the last day. We made the wise decision not to go out!! Luckily for us they only did one race we meant we finished 14th overall. OMG! What a great week. Awesome sailing and awesome fun! I also forget to mention the parties. They were pretty dreads to!! Thanks to Kate and George for taking me and William for being a awesome crew! 

Late Summers
And finally the dreaded Late Summers. This year was defiantly a special and one to remember. 25+knts and a massive swell on the first day and 2knts on the second day! I know this is a bold statement but I think the first day as my best day sailing ever. I have one very distinct memory of flying pass my friend Henry Chandler downwind and then watching him capsize whilst talking to me. I nearly capsized myself I was in such hysterics! I must have been on superpowers that day as I finished the day with two 2nd places. Me doing well in heavy winds!! No not for a second. To be honest though I wouldn't care where I came on that day. The sailing was good enough to keep me happy that day. And then Sunday.... NOTHING. Absoulutly nothing. However it was going to be the test to find the best overall sailor because of two very different conditions. And the first race of the day= Another 2nd place. Going into the last race I was sitting on 2,2,2. However to win overall I would have to have won the race. And... I got BFD. Oops. Despite the disappointing last race I was still pretty pleased with the regatta. I finished in 3rd place which guaranteed me a National Squad position. Not to shabby. 

When I started the 420 sailing alongside the oppie I was worried that I would get too carried away and would want to leave oppies early. In reality it's helping. It has opened up my sailing world and made me realize that there is Life after Oppies. The stress has gone. Another stress releaser is Freya. Having someone that close to me with me has kept me preoccupied and not thinking about results. Instead of looking at my race I'm seeing how Freya is doing and somehow this is a good thing! Sorry about the late blog but keep tuned because a new one is on the way soon!!   

Not so good to great

Lets start with the Selections. Not the best of events once again! Sadly, I cracked under the pressure and I ended up finishing 17th. Despite lots of preparation I still wasn't able to perform. I think this is down to my head analysing everything too much, so Alan Williams, the head optimist coach, is trying to help me. I'm very grateful though that the selectors gave me a place in the GBR Development team to compete in the French nationals - thank you. The other good news is that since then; everything has been good!

Inlands prize giving

The first event was the Inlands. This always seems to be a good event for me. The weekend was pretty bad weather wise though. Light and shifty. However after a while I worked out the pattern and was able to bag in some quality races. My results were 1,5,9,7,5. I was pretty happy with this score sheet as I was able to have consistent results which is quite hard in super shifty conditions. Overall I finished 5th however the points were really close after only managing to complete 5 races. My good friend William won it which was also quite cool. 

After the Inlands there is a big gap until the next main event but thankfully every weekend there is either training or open events to do. I always do quite well in the open events and this year so far is not different. 

The first open event was Parkstone Optimist Open. I had won this event last year so entering I felt a bit nervous. This was also my first time racing with/against Freya which was really cute. It was so funny seeing Freya out there beasting it. On the first day I managed to bang in some quality results in some windy weather which saw me top overnight by one point. However, Saturday wasn't completely perfect to say the least. Rain, Rain, Rain and yes - more rain. It was a pretty wet day. Also a bird pooped on my cap which wasn't the greatest because I didn't realise until Freya told me. Despite the yucky 1st day - Sunday was lovely. Rash vest weather with a gentle 8 knots of breeze. Perfect for Freya. The day started quite nicely with two solid races for me in some consistent wind but after that the day went a bit haywire. Big shifts led to a completely different course in which I couldn't quite get my head around. In the last two races I ended up getting a 4th and a 6th. However luckily I still won by 6 points in the end. 

Lymington Prize giving

The next open event was Lymington. The Lymington Optimist Open is a very prestigious event and is the best open event to win. It was also the Optimist Southern Area Championship event this year. Going into the event I was pretty nervous because there were some quality sailors competing so I really wanted to do well. The day before the event I was off school so I went and did some training with William in the 420, my next boat. The event started off pretty well for me but like Parkstone- I was only winning by one point so going into the next day I knew I needed to be at the top of my game. The Sunday wasn't exactly as I planned it to go. The races were fiercely competitive which was really fun. Luckily though I was still able to win overall by 12 points in all the drama. Also my good friend William came 2nd which was also very good. 

The festival squad 

Then a few weeks break! I had the festival one weekend which was really fun and then I have recently being doing loads of sailing and coaching down at Gurnard which has also been quite cool.

Me and Dad posing with the famous model

Warsash Prize giving

My most recent event since then has been the Warsash Open. Not many people were doing this event so I won overall winning all 5 races. But I completed my main goal of the event in which was to help Freya. And finally we completed our goal!! Freya was on the start line!!!!!! It was such a nice feeling seeing Freya up their with the big boys and I can't wait until she starts winning things. But hopefully she never beats me. That would be embarrassing. I'd never hear the end of that.

Now though, the real sailing starts. On Wednesday I leave for the French nationals. As soon as I'm back from that - I'm off again to William's house for training and selling chickens. Don't worry. No time to explain. Then I'm up to Scotland for the Optimist nationals. Then back to William's for more training. Then up to Pwhelli for the 420 nationals. I'm out of breath. 

A windy Spring!!

Hello guys. Sorry I haven't been able to post in a while. I've been really busy with sailing every weekend and now I am doing stuff almost everyday after school. 

The first event of the year was a 1 day event at Burghfield. Burghfield is a little lake off the M4 motorway, so as you can guess it is very shifty! And to make matters worse the event coinciding with one of the winter storms so we had 20knts gusting 35knts!FUN!! It was a really stressful day on my legs because there was so many gusts and lulls. One minute you'd be flat out hiking hanging on for your life and then almost capsizing on top of yourself because there is no wind! Anyway, I had a really good event coming 2nd by 1 point!

Next was Joint Squads down at Weymouth. This is a two day event-training squad session where all the squads join up together to race. It's supposed to be a bit like the selection trials and a practice for them. Unfortunately there was no wind. So it was an awesome two days of drifting. I ended up coming 4th which would be a worlds team spot if it was the selections. Happy days! 

Now lets move onto. Braass. The Braassemermeer International regatta was a mental event. It was 20knts+ everyday as it was when Storm Katie came through over Easter. Coming into the event I was really excited and had a good feeling about. My goals were to, obviously, win and beat last year score of 28th. Looking at the wind conditions though I was pretty worried. As I am quite a small sailor I have suffered from being really scared when racing at windy events. However at this event I really wanted to prove to myself and peer

s that I am a highly competitive sailor in the heavy winds. And I did that. I came 22nd overall out of 250 sailors, had a few top 10 finishes and won one race. And I was the  6th Brit which meant I've proved I can now sail competitively in the wind. YAY!! It was also a really fun event to do as well because I was staying at Konginshof (which is where everyone else stays) so I went swimming with my friends and was able to turn it into a bit of a holiday. Also the last day was cancelled because it was 40knts+ so as a family we were able to go out. We went down to the beach which was incredibly windy. Below are some photos from our trip!! 

Stormy skies over Braassemermeer

Thinking back to Braass I am very happy. In 2 weeks time I have the  Selection Trials (DUN DUN DUN DUN  DUNNNNN!!!) so knowing that I can sail well in all winds strengths is a real positive thought. Now moving on to my next task.

After spending the rest of the Easter break sailing in Lymington,  I was back onto the water down at Gurnard doing an Assistant Instructor course. By doing this I am now qualified to help teach kids to sail on Thursday nights down at Gurnard. I am really excited to do this because I am a step closer to becoming a Dinghy Instructor and a Senior Instructor so that I can coach children in the future. The course was really fun to do because we got to go out in Pico's to practise teaching. To say I capsized a few times is an understatement. Well you learn something new everyday, and today I learnt that if you show some of the Pico's hull you're a gonner!! 

Team GBR

Then we were on to the painful task that is school again. Luckily though there is a bit of excitement around because we have now finalised our GCSE choices. I chose: Geography, Physical Education, Spanish and Product Design+ Graphics. I can't wait to start!!

Last weekend I was down at Weymouth doing some Pre- Selections (DUN DUN DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN!!!!!) with one of my national squad coaches Tom Hayes- True legend! We were looking at many .... ( don't want to give away tips.) (Sorry). It was a really fun and productive weekend so thank you to Tom and also Chris Evans for inviting me and taking me! 

While I was in Weymouth my sister Freya was doing her first ever main fleet event at the Royal Vic YC on the Isle of Wight. She did really well. Tricky first day in breeze and Solent chop, getting used to being in the main fleet but on day two got a 7th and 11th.

Also big news!! I have just got my new Winner boat. It is so Gucci! All the new stuff! I've also got a new North Sail (the MZX4). We dropped into the North Sails loft on the way to Braass to pick it up, what and awesome place. I love the new sail it de-power's really well in the breeze but still is pacey in the light stuff. Great success! 

 

A Great Start to the Year

It's only the beginning of February and it's already been a great start to the year with being selected as part of the Winner Optimist Team, team racing in Monaco and some really good training.

To start, I am one of four sailors who has been selected for the 2016 UK Optimist Winner Team. Every year, Winner (who make the best Optimists) have a team made up of 3 or 4 top sailors from over 20 countries around the world. In the UK, the Winner Team is organised by Pinnell & Bax. This means that quite soon I will get a new Optimist. I can't wait, it's the first time I'll have had a brand new boat and it comes with all the best gear. You can read more about it in Yachts and Yachting here.

Having to pretend to be Welsh!

A couple of weeks ago I went back to Monaco to compete in the Monaco Royal Yacht Club team racing event. This is the second time I've done this, and this year our team was me, William Heathcote, Jamie Cook and Rhys Lewis and Jamie's Dad took us and was our coach.For the event we were representing Cardiff Bay Yacht Club in Wales which was a bit strange for me and William! For the first two days we had to sail all the other teams (there were 15 in total). After a poor first race, which we lost to the home team, we got going and won the next five races. On the second day we won half and lost half which meant we went through to the final stages in 6th place. We won our quarter final against the hosts Monaco (who beat us in the round robin). This meant we had to face one 
of the amazing Swiss teams in the semi-final.

Our team

We were a bit disappointed at losing in the semis and then had to go straight in to a third/fourth race off. We weren't in the right frame of mind for it really and lost to France which is a shame as we really felt afterwards that we could have won it.

Last year our team came fifth so we did one better and the three teams above us all specially train for team racing which we hadn't done as a team. Overall though it was a lot of fun and I am very grateful to go to all these lovely places. 
Thank you Simon for taking me!!

Monaco a great place to sail

I've also been doing some good training in January with the National Squad at Rutland Sailing Club and at the Royal Lymington YC in a mixture of winds which is helpful at this point in the season.

This weekend, I'm off to Burghfield for their Optimist open. Given how long I've been racing my Optimist and as its not very far away, its the first time I'll have raced there. My sister Freya will be there doing her first event of the year in the regatta fleet so I can't wait to see her on the water with me.