A BUSY 2019!

WOW! What a busy year it has been! I've had many events, lots of training and endless amounts of happiness. This blog is just a summary of my hectic year and what it entailed! But before that, I'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone that has supported by campaign. This includes Musto for providing me with awesome, comfy kit for whatever climate I was in, British Youth Sailing, the RYA and the British 420 class for support and providing me with my excellent coaches Jonny Mcgovern and Neil Marsden. I'd also like to say a massive thanks to my family and especially my grandparents for supporting me (and paying for me) towards my lifetime goal. And the biggest thank you to my crew William Heathcote because without him none of this would have happened! So, my 2019!!

My beginning of 2019 started with a lot of training towards the spring selection series which would decide the worlds team, euros team and the Youth Worlds team. This was aided by my place in the 2018/19 RYA Youth Squad. The selection series consisted of the Spring Championships, Inland Championships and the RYA Youth Nationals. We sailed averagely for the first two events but we knew we could do better going into the RYA Youth Nationals. It turned out to be a weird event with 3 days without sailing however we managed to put on our best performance and took the win which was awesome and our first proper achievement in the 420! This meant we had qualified for all 3 teams meaning the summer of our lives was looming!

But before that summer we had lots of boring school work and gym work as Will took his GCSE's and I studied hard for my a levels. But before we knew it we were packing our bags for the first destination of our summer- Portugal. This was for the 420 worlds which was the biggest event we had sailed in so far. After many days of training with new sails and a fast boat we felt ready and started with a bang ending the qualification round in 4th overall which was super cool. However, as the wind dropped and the competition hardened we started to struggle ending the event in still an awesome 15th. We were still super happy with the event and found lots to work on however we had little time to reflect because within 2 hours of getting ashore on the last day we were on our way to Poland for the Youth World Championships.

The Youth Worlds is seen as the most prestigious event for youth sailors in the world and we were excited to just be competing. Lining up against the best team from each country is always a daunting task but we felt excited and fast and chucked everything at it. In the end, after a week of tough racing we finished an agonising 4th place losing the chance to medal by one point. But this was an amazing result for us and so far the best result I have ever had in my life of competitive sailing. This was the best British 420 boy result in 10 years so a big celebration was worthy before hoping on a flight to Spain for the 3rd consecutive major event in a row! 

Spain hosted the 2019 Junior European Championships and although we had high expectations for ourselves we were let down by our bodies as we simply crashed after so much sailing. Nevertheless we were super happy with our Summer and felt proud to put our name on the world stage. Now for some time off!

But not too much time off! 3 weeks later we headed down to Hayling Island for the British 420 Nationals which is always a fun event and a great way to spend time with your friends. We finished as 1st U18 boys overall which we were happy with after 4 days of very little wind. Then we changed ship and hoped onto a 470 for the UK 470 Nationals which was great fun and very challenging but a great experience. 

The summer flew past way too quick and before we knew it the college bells rang again. At least it's my last year! The Autumn qualification series quickly sprung upon us consisting of two events; the autumn championships and the winter championships. We managed to take both 1st and 2nd respectively resulting in us winning the qualification series. This solidified our selection for the 2019/20 RYA Youth Squad. Then it was back to school for a bit before heading off to France for the French Armistice event. 

France (in the October half term) bought some much needed sun and training. We had surprisingly breezy conditions and after a week of improving race by race we managed to grab 2nd overall winning the last 3 races- an awesome feeling. We set ourselves some big training goals for that regatta and we managed to hit the goals along with getting a solid result in a strong 70 boat fleet. 


It was then back to the UK for some training and more school work before heading off to our final event of the year in sunny Palamos for the Palamos Christmas race. We went into this event with the goal of bettering last years performance of 10, but we knew in a strong Spanish, French and Italian fleet this was going to be difficult. We allowed ourselves plenty of time to train so when racing came around and we were hit with 2 days of 20 knots plus and massive waves- we were ready. We relished the conditions and fought our way through boat breakages and managed to come away with a 4th place which we were super stoked with. However, we felt we left in a bit in the tank and could have done better after some silly mistakes, so once again more training goals. 

Looking forward to 2020, William and I are entering our final full year in the 420 before moving onto bigger and faster boats. We have lots already in the calendar, and lots more dates to put in but our main aim is to win the 2020 420 World Championships. This is going to require lots of hard work both on the water and on land but we are ready to what  needs to be done. Oh, I also have to do my A levels as well! So another busy year is on the horizon and I can't wait to start it. Once again thanks to everyone who has supported me and who is continuing to support me. Here's to a great 2020 together!