We've had a combination of training camps consisting of Youth Squads and individual sessions self led by William and I. When we combine these training camps together it gives the best results as we are able to focus on really small things such as maintaining max speed when bearing round a mark. This helps us to really define our skills and make sure they are automatic. Also, we get to do loads of Waszp sailing when we're on our own, which adds some foiling fun to the sailing along with a bit of wake boarding. From the Youth Squad camps we get more training on our rig set up and a a bit of starting practice and then of course all the strategic and tactical learning.
After our training came to an end it was time for the selection series to start. In the 420 we have 3 selection events: the Spring Championships, the Inland Championships and then the RYA Youth National Championships. All 3 event's scores are combined to create an overall ranking which determines whether you make it into the 420 World Championships Team and/or the 420 Junior Europeans Team. The RYA Youth National Championships is also the event that decides which boats go to the Youth Sailing World Championships which is the top boy boat and top girl boat from each class. This is the most prestigious event a youth sailor can do!
After our training came to an end it was time for the selection series to start. In the 420 we have 3 selection events: the Spring Championships, the Inland Championships and then the RYA Youth National Championships. All 3 event's scores are combined to create an overall ranking which determines whether you make it into the 420 World Championships Team and/or the 420 Junior Europeans Team. The RYA Youth National Championships is also the event that decides which boats go to the Youth Sailing World Championships which is the top boy boat and top girl boat from each class. This is the most prestigious event a youth sailor can do!
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| Some intense spinnaker staring downwind |
So the first event: the Inland Championships. This event was held in Rutland Water and was cold and windy! The first day saw too much wind in fact and was blown off to the delight of the parents who could sit down and watch the rugby whilst we all pottered about with nothing to do. FUN! Day 2 came along with similar conditions in the morning however the lulls continued to drop throughout the day creating some crazily gusty and lully conditions which was not fun! We didn't have the best day getting a 5,11,7,4 which we feel was because we were struggling with our rig set up and felt we were either too overpowered in gusts or too underpowered in lulls. We came away with 6th overall, which was a disappointment.
From then it was down to Lymington for two weekends in a row the first being a Youth Squad and then second being some individual training. The Youth Squad camp focused on racing strategy and rules. The next weekend on our own was the final weekend of training before the Spring Championships and the Youth Nationals so we decided to have a boat handling weekend where we went over our routines for each manourve making sure it was as automatic as possible. With a little bit of boat work we felt as prepared as possible.
I then had a few days of revision followed by some Optimist coaching with West Kirby Race Team before I headed down to Weymouth to meet up with William for the 420 Spring Championships. This event saw perfect sailing conditions with no rain and 14 knots (well perfect for England!). Despite this we struggled with our strategy and tactics however we were feeling fast. This was demonstrated by our inconsistent overall results which were 1,9,3,13,12,1,8. These results placed us 6th overall (AGAIN!!). We came away with positives as we had no doubt in was our set up or speed and that we just had to make sure we were taking less risks and staying around the top 5 in every race. William then went home for a week for GCSE revison whilst I stayed in Weymouth and continued training (with other sailors) and doing boat work which ended up being a really productive week as I learnt a lot about how the sails work and the optimum settings and also made our boat more like a racing machine.
Then it was time for the RYA Youth Nationals!! 5 days of racing to decide who attends the Youth Worlds and the final event of the selection series to decide the 420 Worlds and Junior Europeans Teams. I registered 2 days earlier without William because we had to do a full boat measurement which takes a lot of time and effort. This meant once William arrived after his week of revision and some fitness testing we were able to go out training.
Our final training session was in 30 knots out in Weymouth bay which was hairy to say the least but great fun to sail in and glad the boat didn't break. Day 1 saw no racing which was a shame due to all the build up but was a good test of patience.
We finally got out on day 2 in a light breeze of about 6 knots. We managed a 6 and a 2 and were winning the final race but due to some race committee issues the race was abandoned. This put us in 2nd place overall and 1st boys which put us under increased pressure.
Day 3 saw no racing again due to fog but at least it was warm on shore and was a great time to bond and catch up with fellow optimist sailors who had separated into different classes.
Day 4 of the event saw perfect sailing conditions so we were launched early expecting a long day on the water. We had 4 races out in Weymouth Bay followed by one sunset race in the harbour. This day may have been the best day we had ever sailed together as we managed to sail a 2,4,4,5,2 in our most pressurised event yet. Our strategy upwind fell right into place! These results boosted us up to 1st overall going into the last day.
Day 5 saw light airs but still an early start with the potential for a few morning races. My heart was racing on the way out to the racecourse! The first race turned out to be very weird with us being 2nd round most of the course until the wind completely dropped and shifted massively to the right creating a very unfair race however despite this the race committee decided to let it stand meaning we had to discard a 12th. The wind we'd had completely left us and the race committee had to send us in. This meant we had retained our lead overall and were RYA 420 Youth National Champions!!!
This was our first major victory in the 420 and we were over the moon. After lots of photos and interviews we were finally able to reflect and let it all sink in. What an amazing feeling! We'd just like to thank Musto, our parents and our coaches as well!
This means we're having the summer of our lives! We are away from 25 June until 30 July. First we're heading to Portugal for the 420 World Championships. Then we are off to Poland for the Youth World Championships and then to Spain for the 420 Junior Europeans. I am so excited! For now though, William is in full exam mode with his upcoming GCSE's. And as for me, I have my short Year 12 exam period which I'm currently doing before my fitness program starts in preparation for all our events and then I have to start some catch up work for the 5 weeks of school I'm missing for these summer events!
From then it was down to Lymington for two weekends in a row the first being a Youth Squad and then second being some individual training. The Youth Squad camp focused on racing strategy and rules. The next weekend on our own was the final weekend of training before the Spring Championships and the Youth Nationals so we decided to have a boat handling weekend where we went over our routines for each manourve making sure it was as automatic as possible. With a little bit of boat work we felt as prepared as possible.
I then had a few days of revision followed by some Optimist coaching with West Kirby Race Team before I headed down to Weymouth to meet up with William for the 420 Spring Championships. This event saw perfect sailing conditions with no rain and 14 knots (well perfect for England!). Despite this we struggled with our strategy and tactics however we were feeling fast. This was demonstrated by our inconsistent overall results which were 1,9,3,13,12,1,8. These results placed us 6th overall (AGAIN!!). We came away with positives as we had no doubt in was our set up or speed and that we just had to make sure we were taking less risks and staying around the top 5 in every race. William then went home for a week for GCSE revison whilst I stayed in Weymouth and continued training (with other sailors) and doing boat work which ended up being a really productive week as I learnt a lot about how the sails work and the optimum settings and also made our boat more like a racing machine.
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| Cheeky blast! |
Then it was time for the RYA Youth Nationals!! 5 days of racing to decide who attends the Youth Worlds and the final event of the selection series to decide the 420 Worlds and Junior Europeans Teams. I registered 2 days earlier without William because we had to do a full boat measurement which takes a lot of time and effort. This meant once William arrived after his week of revision and some fitness testing we were able to go out training.
Our final training session was in 30 knots out in Weymouth bay which was hairy to say the least but great fun to sail in and glad the boat didn't break. Day 1 saw no racing which was a shame due to all the build up but was a good test of patience.
 |
| Happy times :) |
We finally got out on day 2 in a light breeze of about 6 knots. We managed a 6 and a 2 and were winning the final race but due to some race committee issues the race was abandoned. This put us in 2nd place overall and 1st boys which put us under increased pressure.
Day 3 saw no racing again due to fog but at least it was warm on shore and was a great time to bond and catch up with fellow optimist sailors who had separated into different classes.
Day 4 of the event saw perfect sailing conditions so we were launched early expecting a long day on the water. We had 4 races out in Weymouth Bay followed by one sunset race in the harbour. This day may have been the best day we had ever sailed together as we managed to sail a 2,4,4,5,2 in our most pressurised event yet. Our strategy upwind fell right into place! These results boosted us up to 1st overall going into the last day.
Day 5 saw light airs but still an early start with the potential for a few morning races. My heart was racing on the way out to the racecourse! The first race turned out to be very weird with us being 2nd round most of the course until the wind completely dropped and shifted massively to the right creating a very unfair race however despite this the race committee decided to let it stand meaning we had to discard a 12th. The wind we'd had completely left us and the race committee had to send us in. This meant we had retained our lead overall and were RYA 420 Youth National Champions!!!
This was our first major victory in the 420 and we were over the moon. After lots of photos and interviews we were finally able to reflect and let it all sink in. What an amazing feeling! We'd just like to thank Musto, our parents and our coaches as well!
This means we're having the summer of our lives! We are away from 25 June until 30 July. First we're heading to Portugal for the 420 World Championships. Then we are off to Poland for the Youth World Championships and then to Spain for the 420 Junior Europeans. I am so excited! For now though, William is in full exam mode with his upcoming GCSE's. And as for me, I have my short Year 12 exam period which I'm currently doing before my fitness program starts in preparation for all our events and then I have to start some catch up work for the 5 weeks of school I'm missing for these summer events!
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| The cheesy winning smiles coming out |
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