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!!