A brilliant Summer 2018

WOW! What a busy summer it's been. 100% my best summer to date. It was a long one as well, starting on the 25 June because I had finished GCSE's. That was was a massive relief.

Putting in the long training hours

My first event was the Junior 420 Europeans, in sunny Sesimbra, Portugal, which was nice as I was able to catch some rays whilst sailing. I arrived a few days early as Mum and I had a mini holiday before training got into full swing. William arrived a few days later because he was at the Waszp Europeans so during my time waiting I was able to spend time out on a rib and really get to know the venue. So it was a good start to the trip, apart from losing my sunnies! I also had a lot of time to do boat work which was really productive.

Once Will arrived we got training asap. We managed to sneak in a day and a half of intense training before taking the mast down AGAIN and completely stripping the boat for measurement which is just as annoying as it sounds. By now we were in full race mode so our training got more intense. Despite this our evenings stayed just as fun. There was a fantastic sushi shop which I went to nearly every day! The difference between optimist team events and 420 team events is the level of independence. In opti's you have to be with the coaches at all times and follow a strict schedule, whereas in 420's there's a lot more independence. However this means you have to be a lot more self disciplined. 

Going into the event we had no expectations because it was our first major 420 event. We just wanted to gain experience so that next year we can come back and do well. 

A breezy WW mark rounding

The first day was very relaxed. A 1pm launch for a 2pm start. And a beautiful breeze and sun. We sailed two races on the first day and managed to bag a 14 and 21st. We had no idea whether that was good, so we were reasonably happy. Day 2 and 3, on the other hand, proved we should have been a bit disappointed. We had two days of a solid 15 knots, with 25 knots in one race. We managed to get a 5,6,6,7 pushing us up into the medals! However it went downhill from there with some results in the 20s and 30s. This may be because we weren't sailing well, however, I think it was because of our fitness levels. We know now how much fitter you need to be to sail at the front of the fleet for 6 days now and we are working hard to make sure we improve this. Another pointer we found is that we needed to improve on was our trigger pulls. Its always good when you know what went wrong because then you know what to do to make improvements. Overall we came 14th out of 44 which we'e still proud about. A good, fun and worthwhile regatta in the end and a great start to a long summer.

From then, I drove straight from Portugal to France (not fun) for the French 420 Nationals. Unfortunately Will had to go back to school so I competed with Alex Hughes which was a really fun event in a beautiful location: Douarenez. The weather was magnificent and we had wind every day which was perfect. And then I had my birthday which was great fun.... the ferry ride home. 

Next t was a week off before heading to the Optimist Nationals in Pwllheli at which I was coaching the West Kirby Race Team. This was a great first week coaching and really valuable for me. We also had some good results! 

Then another 4 days off before driving down to Lymington for some 420 training with Will. This was really useful as we worked on our mistakes from Portugal as well as receiving some coaching from Nick Rogers (Olympic 470 silver medallist) who happens to be William's uncle. Our training in Lymington is always fun and productive as we get to decide the training plan and the timings for the day. We also get to do other fun things like wakeboarding! This lasted 5 days before we packed up and drove up to Brightlingsea (a new location) for the 420 UK nationals. We were camping which made it really fun too. 

The winners at the 420 UK nationals 

The event was 4 days and is meant to be a fun event with socials every evening. The weather was weird, with two days of super light conditions and two very very breezy days of 20+knots. We grabbed a bullet in the first race which was great and put us in good spirits. We followed that with a 10th which was nice. We then had the two windy days in which we got a good scorecard of 8,18 (we capsized), 5,7,5,3. This put us in 4th going into the last race. However unfortunately on the last day we picked up a Black Flag (BFD) and a 7th dropping us back to 6th overall. However this meant we were still Junior National Champions which is awesome and shows how much we have progressed over the summer. 

Team MUSTO

It was then 2 days off before I went down to Poole for the Optimist Late Summer Championships where I was coaching again. This turned out to be an awesome event for the West Kirby Race Team as every sailor saw huge improvements from the Nationals which is a great feeling. I also gained a lot of coaching knowledge which is good as every time I can be better for my sailors. 

Then it was back for the start of 6th form, which is a lot of work. Thankfully it was only a few days before I was back down in Lymington 420 training for the Autumn Championships. We trained in a group of 4 boats which was great for speed comparisons. The weekend after it was the big event. The 420 Autumn Championships held in Lymington. This was the primary selector event for Youth Squad and Youth Squad A. The weather wasn't great and we had two days of 15+ knots. We were focused and determined and absolutely smashed it grabbing 2nd overall, 1st boys and 1st Juniors. This blew our previous best off the water which was a great feeling and proving we sail best under pressure. Our scorecard was 8,4,4,3,9,1 which is a solid consistent series. The bullet in the last race was nice to as we took the lead on the final downwind which was very close and intense. Overall a incredibly successful event and good to do it in our home waters. 

For now it's back to college but the sailing, luckily, doesn't stop. I have a weekend coaching at the Optimist End of Seasons before the 420 Inlands and then End of Seasons. Oh yes and lots of training. Can't wait!

WKSC Race Team at the Nationals 

RYA YOUTH NATIONALS 2018

Hiya all. Sorry about the late post. I've had this post waiting to be posted for ages I just have forgotten to press the send button. Silly me! Well, here it is anyway and expect another one very soon... 

Training hard

This was William and mine first RYA youths and our first 'important' event. The youths are the final of three 420 events that decide the GBR teams for the Euros and Worlds. The Euros is the harder event to get so is more prestigious (opposite to optimist). William and I had a performance goal of achieving our best performance yet in the UK 420 class and an outcome/result goal of getting at least Worlds team and hopefully Euros Team and therefore Youth Squad (optimist equivalent is National squad). 

The first of the three selection events was in crazy wavy Torbay. We had two days of windy wave sailing which is not ideal for a light, young pairing like me and William. The result was not ideal but we did enough to stay in contention as we managed to just about hold our own in the breeze. Unfortunately for us, the next event was cancelled due to poor weather putting the pressure on the final event- the RYA Youth Nationals 2018. 

A breezy WW mark rounding

The 2018 RYA Youth Nationals were held in sunny Scotland... which funnily enough happens to be very cold in Easter. The event was 5 days long and I arrived two days prior for some practice.  I stayed on a friends yacht which was moored in the yacht haven with no adults which was lots of fun and gave us the opportunity to be very independent. The beginning of the week did not go to plan. Firstly I had my fantastic Musto drysuit stolen which is not ideal in Scotland when the average temperature was in the minuses. And then we had not one but two days cancelled due to high winds and Antarctic-like temperatures. Finally, on the 3rd day, we managed to bag in two windy races where we got a solid 13th and a 7th - a nice start to our regatta in tough conditions. The next day brought glammer conditions. Sun and 10 knots of breeze. We were loving it. We also managed to get our first win in the 420 class in which we lead the whole way around.  We came out of that day with a solid 1,21,4,11 which we were very happy about. The final day brought more narly conditions with 20+knots of winds. We managed to just send it and got a 19th and an 11th meaning we finished 10th overall- a very credible result in which William and I were pleased about. In the end, we managed to achieve all the possible teams but we declined the Worlds team due to cost. This means that soon we will be off to the 420 Europeans in Sesimbra, Portugal which I'm super excited for! 

Winning a race with a beautiful background

Now back to the present day. I've just finished my GCSE's which went really well but meant I missed a lot of sailing which is pants. However, William and I are coming back with a bang and are ready to smash the Europeans which I leave for tomorrow. That lasts until the 11th of July and I get back to the UK at midnight in which I drive home and then have to get up early to catch a boat to France to do the 420 French Nationals with a good friend Alex Hughes as poor Will has to go back to school. So a busy July to look forward to but thanks to Musto I'm set for it. I'll catch up with you guys at the end of summer to inform you of my adventures! 

A bit of a catch up!

Long time no see! I'm late checking in as I have been doing lots and lots of 420 training and a few events. It started off in Helensburgh, Scotland (a week after the Optimist Nationals) with the Scottish Open and 420 National Championships which was a weird trip.

I thought Scottish weather was pretty much the same as English and that it was just a stereo type however I was proved wrong! The day we arrived was warm, sunny and pleasant. Then no word of a lie it rained for everyday from then on and by rain I mean it poured down. Miserable. However sailing wise it was awesome. A good 15knts everyday which was really good practise for William and I as we are quite a light pairing. Neil Marsden and Tim Rush (two top coaches were also up there) which was great for us. However mid way through the event we did encounter a problem... our boat leaked- like big time leaked. We would get back in and not be able to pull the boat up the slipway. In the first race of the day we would be bouncing along the waves but by the last race we would struggle to get over the waves and would just end up going through them! However overall it was a successful event.

Since then we have been doing loads of training so we can get up to a competitive level. We've had up and down results with a slightly disappointing Autumn champs however a great End of Seasons where we were up with the top guys and fighting to be top junior boat. Because the 420 is a new boat for us we've been focusing so much on boat handling (the likes of tacking and gybing) that we forgot skills like tactics, strategy and starting. The point at which you can focus on strategy etc is the point in which you become a world class 420 sailor. 

2018 is a big year for Will and I. Our goal is to make it into youth squad by the end of the year which is a big ask but we think it's possible. We've got a new boat which is going  really well. We've done a few training sessions already this year which have mostly been in heavy winds. We're getting much better at this. The number of capsizes is really down, we're doing well upwind and really starting to get the hang of using the kite in the breeze. There's lots of training still to be done but it's so much fun having new challenges and learning so much all the time. Our first big event is the Spring champs in March, so it will be interesting to see how we're getting on.

Outside of the 420 I've been doing some Oppie coaching helping out with the North Zone squad and later in the year I'm racing in one of the West Kirby Sailing Club teams in the Wilson Trophy team racing event which I'm really excited and honoured to compete in. Oh, I've also got my GCSEs this year so having to do lots of schoolwork and revision too!

Thankfully Musto has been hooking me up with the best kit so I'm ready for this busy year of sailing ahead of me. I recently ordered the foiling thermohot impact steamer which is other wordly! It's so warm but still flexible and usable which I love as it doesn't feel like I'm wearing loads of clothes. It's a good buy which I recommend for anyone. I also got a stacked toolbox for Christmas which is awesome!

Some of my new Musto buys for 2018

My mint toolbox