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!