Easter 2017

Freya and I rocking the New Musto Range

WOW- what a fun sailing packed Easter it's been. It all started a few weeks before Easter when Freya and I were lucky enough to get a new sponsor ; MUSTO!!!!! I cannot explain how pumped I am with this new sponsor! Their new dinghy range is amazing. It is warm, comfortable and really stylish. I would like to thank Nick Houchin and Will King for making this deal happen and look forward to being a Musto ambassador along with many great names (the likes of: Ian Walker and Sam Davies)

The first event of Easter was Opti Springs set in Port Zelande - Netherlands. It turned out to be an amazing yet disappointing event. We stayed at the Center Parks surrounding the port, which of course meant lots of swimming, with my good friend Jamie Cook.

The first day was 15 degrees but no wind. We had a boring postponement on shore until midday. Luckily though the sea breeze kicked in in the afternoon which gave us two races. I got a solid 6th and a disappointing late teens. At least we could go swimming after sailing though!

Our beautiful view from Center Parks of the Marina

The next day brought 20 degrees but no wind. Despite the lack of wind the race committee launched us on time and managed to get the first start off. However nobody made it to  the windward mark before the race was abandoned. From then on the rest of the day was bobbing about on a rib and chilling with my friends in the baking heat. Eventually after 4 hours of floating they sent us ashore. However this meant we had only completed 2 races and 3 races were the minimum for the series so the event was abandoned. At least it was a good holiday!

The next event was the Braassermermeer Optimist Easter Regatta. This event was 4 days long set over the Easter weekend. I have been to this event a few times before so my main goal for the event was to simply improve my position. Between Opti Springs and Braass we had 2 days of rest and 2 days of training. On the second rest day went for a 35km cycle with our  friends; the Cooks and the Davidson-Guilds. The dutch bikes are so easy and relaxing to ride! 

Our Brass cycle

The first day of racing started in the afternoon which meant we had a nice lay in. We had a solid 10 knots for the first day so we were able to knuckle done 3 races. But unfortunately that meant we were in at about 6pm! I had a solid 3,5,4 which was a nice and a consistent start to the regatta. 

The next day brought 20 knots of fresh wind. I was able to get a 3,1,1,24 which I was over the moon about. I really feel that I have finally proven myself in the wind! After the second day we got split into Gold, Silver and Bronze fleet. I was in Gold fleet. This meant the racing was about to get a whole lot harder. 

On the podium at Brass

Over the next two days I managed to still stay somewhat consistent with 6,11,16,2,18,32,7. In the end I came 3rd overall out of 200+ sailors! My friend Jamie Cook came 2nd and Callum Davidson-Guild 5th. Overall a very solid regatta and a great Easter and lots of fun on and off the water.

Beasting it at Brass

  

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!!   

Not so good to great

Lets start with the Selections. Not the best of events once again! Sadly, I cracked under the pressure and I ended up finishing 17th. Despite lots of preparation I still wasn't able to perform. I think this is down to my head analysing everything too much, so Alan Williams, the head optimist coach, is trying to help me. I'm very grateful though that the selectors gave me a place in the GBR Development team to compete in the French nationals - thank you. The other good news is that since then; everything has been good!

Inlands prize giving

The first event was the Inlands. This always seems to be a good event for me. The weekend was pretty bad weather wise though. Light and shifty. However after a while I worked out the pattern and was able to bag in some quality races. My results were 1,5,9,7,5. I was pretty happy with this score sheet as I was able to have consistent results which is quite hard in super shifty conditions. Overall I finished 5th however the points were really close after only managing to complete 5 races. My good friend William won it which was also quite cool. 

After the Inlands there is a big gap until the next main event but thankfully every weekend there is either training or open events to do. I always do quite well in the open events and this year so far is not different. 

The first open event was Parkstone Optimist Open. I had won this event last year so entering I felt a bit nervous. This was also my first time racing with/against Freya which was really cute. It was so funny seeing Freya out there beasting it. On the first day I managed to bang in some quality results in some windy weather which saw me top overnight by one point. However, Saturday wasn't completely perfect to say the least. Rain, Rain, Rain and yes - more rain. It was a pretty wet day. Also a bird pooped on my cap which wasn't the greatest because I didn't realise until Freya told me. Despite the yucky 1st day - Sunday was lovely. Rash vest weather with a gentle 8 knots of breeze. Perfect for Freya. The day started quite nicely with two solid races for me in some consistent wind but after that the day went a bit haywire. Big shifts led to a completely different course in which I couldn't quite get my head around. In the last two races I ended up getting a 4th and a 6th. However luckily I still won by 6 points in the end. 

Lymington Prize giving

The next open event was Lymington. The Lymington Optimist Open is a very prestigious event and is the best open event to win. It was also the Optimist Southern Area Championship event this year. Going into the event I was pretty nervous because there were some quality sailors competing so I really wanted to do well. The day before the event I was off school so I went and did some training with William in the 420, my next boat. The event started off pretty well for me but like Parkstone- I was only winning by one point so going into the next day I knew I needed to be at the top of my game. The Sunday wasn't exactly as I planned it to go. The races were fiercely competitive which was really fun. Luckily though I was still able to win overall by 12 points in all the drama. Also my good friend William came 2nd which was also very good. 

The festival squad 

Then a few weeks break! I had the festival one weekend which was really fun and then I have recently being doing loads of sailing and coaching down at Gurnard which has also been quite cool.

Me and Dad posing with the famous model

Warsash Prize giving

My most recent event since then has been the Warsash Open. Not many people were doing this event so I won overall winning all 5 races. But I completed my main goal of the event in which was to help Freya. And finally we completed our goal!! Freya was on the start line!!!!!! It was such a nice feeling seeing Freya up their with the big boys and I can't wait until she starts winning things. But hopefully she never beats me. That would be embarrassing. I'd never hear the end of that.

Now though, the real sailing starts. On Wednesday I leave for the French nationals. As soon as I'm back from that - I'm off again to William's house for training and selling chickens. Don't worry. No time to explain. Then I'm up to Scotland for the Optimist nationals. Then back to William's for more training. Then up to Pwhelli for the 420 nationals. I'm out of breath. 

From summer to sailing in a storm

OK it's been a while since I've done a post on here but I've being doing loads of sailing since the last one so this covers lots from summer through to November storms (which you can watch here). (Check out my sister's vid at the end too)

First off was the the new late summer championships held at Draycote. It was my my first big event after recovering from my broken collarbone, a new event in a venue I hadn't been to and a ranking event. So a bit of pressure. It was a tricky event because the winds were so light and from a rubbish direction for the reservoir. Each race was a case of pick your side and make sure you win your side to get a result. At the end of the weekend I was 9th or 6th depending on how you viewed the protested finale race. Enough said about that! Weeks later it was eventually a 6th!! Despite the hassle of the last race I had a really weekend catching up with my mates and getting back into some serious sailing even though Draycote just so happens to be the most shifty venue ever! 

Even though I was getting some good results in the conditions I did feel I was missing out on something and could be finishing higher up. Thinking about the event afterwards, I realised my problem was I was being reactive in my thinking rather than being proactive. Very annoying but at least I know what to work on this winter. 

One good thing about sailing at Draycote was that I was able to go see my Nan who we don't see so much as she lives in Coventry, so I sort of hope we have another event up there.


After Draycote we had a summer squad training weekend in Cardiff. Despite light winds the training was really useful and we did Bart's Bash on the Sunday. We stayed with Jamie Cook and his family, who had loads of people round on Saturday evening so the whole weekend was great fun.

Next was the RYA South and South West combined Zone Championships at Weymouth. It's a funny event because all the sailors who are moving up from the regatta fleet and trying for the zone squads compete. It means you get followed a lot and there's loads of separation in the fleet. I remember when I first did the event it was really scary being with the main fleet sailors so I know what it was like for them. Overall I came fourth which is always a tough place to finish. That weekend we stayed in the scariest B&B place in Weymouth - there was blood on our room door and fighting outside!!! And England got beaten by Wales in the rugby. At least the sailing was good!!

The End of Season Championships was next back in Weymouth. This was our third ranking event for the winter squads. With two good results already, it meant I could go out at really enjoying the racing without having to worry about the results so much. It was a pretty breezy weekend and I got off to a slow start with a 10,11,13 on the first day but the second day was much better with 5,4,2 so I finished 7th. The Sunday was one of those great days racing where everything just flows and works. 

It meant that I had two 6th places counting for the rankings so I am 6th overall and back in the National Squad.

We had the first national squad training camp from Saturday - Tuesday of half term and I had to use my old boat, which my sister Freya now sails as mine was on its way to Bordeaux! Then on the Wednesday I flew to Bordeaux with Mani (Heathcote) and his Mum to meet up with the rest of his family to compete in a regatta there.

It was great fun. As well as the opi's a load of the 420 sailors were racing too. The conditions were tricky as the event was on this massive lake and the winds were quite light but really gusty. Overall I came 11th which I was quite pleased with as the French national squad were there. I would have done better but I didn't get a result for the first race as all the Brits sailed in the wrong race! Well the French instructions were a bit confusing. As well as the sailing we had so much fun cycling, playing in the Atlantic surf and water fights with the French. Thank you so much to George and Kate for taking me and for everyone looking after me.

As well as all the opi sailing I also competed in the RYA Eric Twiname Team racing championship. Our team was Sophie Holloway, Rhys Lewis, Will Hall, Alex Schonrock, Oliver Hill and me. We competed in the youth event in fireflies against much older sailors which was really hard. We finished 2nd in the silver fleet but were one of the few teams to beat the overall winners. It was really good team racing. Not sure I'll rush out to buy a firefly though!

Along with all the events and national squad training I've also been training at Lymington. We've had a couple of really windy sessions sailing in the storms. I think its some of the fastest sailing I've ever done. Awesome! And last weekend I had my first proper go sailing a 420 with Mani. There is so much to learn and so much more to do than there is in the Opi. But its brilliant, so much faster. Thanks again to the Heathcote family for taking me and looking after me. I forgot to mention too about the  awesome four days I had at the end of the summer holidays staying with Mani and doing loads of Opi sailing.



It's not just me whose been sailing. My sister Freya has done loads too. She raced at Lymington, Hayling Island, Chichester, Zone Champs, End of Season and her results are getting better each time. She's also been training at Spinnaker and Lymington having lots of fun in the stormy weather as you can see.

A no sailing Nationals

I never realised that not sailing at the Nationals could be so fun! 

Because my collar bone was still repairing I wasn't able to compete at the Nationals this year so I thought before we went that I was going to have a bit of a sad week. However, luckily for me Alastair Beardsall came to my rescue and gave me the chance of helping him on the Measurer's Boat for Junior Fleet. 

The fleet of to racing 

Cool, this meant I could spend the week on the water on a rib which is the next best thing to sailing and better than being stuck onshore.  The measuring boat (well the Measurers on the measuring boat) randomly pick boats that have finished in the top 20 to make sure they are safe and not breaking any of the boat set up rules. So we were checking things from a praddle being tied in to a sail being in bands. 

My role on the boat was to be the scribe. I wrote down the sail numbers of the boats we measured along with their  sail button number and then any problems we found with the boat. To say the least it was a busy job however I thoroughly enjoyed it and I can't thank Alastair enough for letting me go  on his rib and help. 

Despite not being able to sail I learn't a lot from the week as well as being able to help out with the measuring, I was able to get a really good view on the racing and think about what I would do in the circumstances of the racing we were watching. I also helped out with giving some of the sailors some hints and tips. And Alastair spent a load of time teaching me how to drive a rib- it's so much fun! 

One of the day's was pretty light winds and I was able to jump in an Opi for a bit of a sail which all went well with no problems for my shoulder.

Despite me not being able to sail, Freya still sailed and had an awesome week. However it was a tough week for her and the rest of the Regatta fleet sailors due to high winds and a big waves! Despite all this Freya powered through and boosted her self confidence. She is so super smiley about sailing. In the racing she did OK, with her best race result being 12th. She won a medal for being the coaches Sailor of the Week in her group. Nice work Freya.

As well as me and Freya being on the water all week Mum spent the week on a boat too. She was on the Committee Boat for the Transition and Regatta fleet. I think the first two days were a bit scary because of the big waves but the rest was good. Mum learnt loads about racing too, it was funny hearing her talk about racing and the rules and stuff!
On another note my collar-bone is healing on track. Once back from the Nationals I did Gurnard Dinghy week in a Pico with Oliver Evans with me helming and all was fine with my shoulder. We were defending the slow handicap trophy we won last year.  Last year we won nearly every race, which we didn't manage to do again but we did well enough to to retain the trophy.

Mum getting to grips with being in Wales

Luxury launch service from Dad

This weekend I'm back in my Opi racing at Chichester and then hope to get some training in before a busy September that starts with the New Late Summers which is our new ranking event(instead of the first 6 races of the Nationals-PHEEW!!). Can't wait!

A bad day sailing is better than no (broken) sailing!

Ouch - no sailing :(

Over the last few weeks some of my racing has been a bit up and down for some reason. I've had some great results, good results and not so good ones. But even a bad days sailing is better than no sailing which is what I now have for the next 3 to 4 weeks or so as I've broken my collarbone!

More about that later but here's the sailing I've been doing. 

In my boat my Dad writes me messages. It started off when I was first learning to sail to remind me of stuff I had to do. Now for regattas we draw on the course and tide information etc. And then he also puts in comments about family jokes and song lyrics. 

When the Selection’s weren't going so well Dad went on about how when you fall off a bike or a horse you have to get straight back on and ride again to build up your confidence. So in my boat he wrote ‘It’s a horse. Giddy up’ 

This is all a bit weird but a couple of weeks after the Selection trials we had the Inland Championships, our first ranking event of the year, so I needed to do well. So Dad’s message made sense to me and the Inland Championships went really well. 

It was another windy event but flat water compared to the Selection Trials so the racing was great. We did six races in total, three on Saturday and three on Sunday and all my results were inside the top 10. Overall I came 6^th so was very happy with that and to be back sailing how I should be. It’s good to have bagged a solid ranking result too.

My prize picture

After the Inlands next up was some training at my home club, Gurnard SC, and then an open regatta at the Royal Victoria YC on the Isle of Wight. It made a nice change sailing at home and not have to get up early and catch ferries to get to an event. The open event was one day with a mixed fleet of non squad sailors up to national squad. It was a perfect sailing day with moderate breeze and sunshine. I won the event which was good as the prizes were excellent – trophy, limited edition print picture of the needles and a SailSpy UK Go-Pro t-shirt. We also all got a free garlic which was a bit random but makes sense if you live on the Isle of Wight!

The Royal Lymington YC open regatta came next. The first day was an epic windy Solent day. Winds up to 30kts and choppy seas. I had a blast and one of the days when my heavy wind technique felt really good and I got a 4, 14, 6 for the day’s three races. We stayed at my grandparents for the night which meant roast lamb, loads to eat and pancakes for breakfast.

On Sunday the conditions couldn't have been more opposite with almost no wind until mid afternoon. We had a couple of races in the super light stuff which were a bit of a lottery and saw some very dodgy tiller wagging and body pumping from some sailors. The first race I got the tides all wrong and came 19^th and then a 13^th. The third race of the day was in a sea breeze so really nice sailing and I came 7^th so finished up 10^th overall.

My sister Freya was also racing in the regatta fleet at Lymington and they used the same course as us. It was the first time ever that we've been sailing together at the same time. It was nice seeing her racing and when we finished we sailed back together which was awesome. Freya came 29^th in her fleet.

After Lymington we had a weekend off sailing to go the Isle of Wight Festival which was brilliant. Then last weekend it was back to sailing this time at the Hayling Island Open regatta. Over the two days my results were a bit mixed and not the best as I couldn't seem to get my strategy quite right. Saturday we had quite a gentle breeze and with the strong tides made things pretty tricky. There were crazy gains and losses being made by everyone. Sunday was pretty breezy again, we seem to be having a lot of windy events this year. I had a better day on the Sunday but a start line capsize didn't help in the first race. With a couple of shocker results and the rest OKish I finished 16^th overall so not my best regatta. Freya raced in the regatta fleet at 

Hayling too. She had her best result yet coming 23^rd with her best race being a 13. Unlike me she didn't capsize!

So it’s been a funny time results wise and all a bit up and down. I like the ups but not the downs so need to make sure I have more of the ups and understand what causes the downs.

Next up I was supposed to be going Nieuwpoortweek in Belgium from 4 – 8 July. I was one of the Team GBR sailors with 5 other boys. But on Friday I had an accident playing football at school which ended up with one of my friends falling on me a breaking my collarbone. Now I can't sail for 3 - 4 weeks. I think the pain of not going to Flanders and not sailing is worse than the break. I've got to take it easy and hope I'm better enough to race at the Nationals at the end of July. 

I've had loads of get well messages from so many people, Which means a lot so thank you everyone.

What a summer of sailing part 2: British Nationals to European TeamRacing Champs

Hello, back again with part 2 of my solid summer of sailing. 

After the European Championship and Gurnard Dinghy Week it was straight onto the British Optimist Nationals down at the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy. I like sailing there because it's such a great racing area and because it's where the Olympic sailing was in 2012.

The nationals were awesome, probably the best one I've done so far with brilliant weather, a mix of wind strengths and tough competition with a lot of international sailors taking part. The year was my last in Junior main fleet and as a National Squad sailor and having just come back from being in Team GBR at the Euros, I felt under a bit of pressure to do well and quite nervous. Also the first six races count towards our rankings for the squad qualifications at the end of the year.

We went to Weymouth as a family as Freya was sailing too. When we eventually got there after an interesting trip I was straight onto the water for a bit of a warm up sail. It was really windy (not my favourite conditions) so it was really good to test myself out against all the other competitors. It was then off to see what the house we had rented was like. It was awesome,  there was a really big  bedroom  for me and Freya and a chill out room in a huge loft. It also had a big pole in the middle of the living room which was interesting! Mum had done a top job on finding this one.

 

Sunday: We started off with a practise race in which I did quite well despite the really windy conditions! I sailed with the other fleet so that I could test myself against the top guys who were in the other fleet. I won the race but stopped before the finish because it is bad luck to win a practise race. Due to the fact that we had time spare we managed to do another two races but these were real!! I got a 4th and a 12th but they left me in 18th position which was not what I wanted :(

Monday: Monday brought some lighter conditions and I had two very good races, a 1st and a 2nd. In the 2nd race a Spaniard beat me so in the rolling rankings it meant that I got 2 1st places!!!

Tuesday: Once again it was a day of very windy conditions (20knts +) so I wasn't able to get the results I needed. In the end I got a 10th,16th and a 4th.

Wednesday: Wednesday brought some medium conditions but it was really shifty and I got caught out many times. The results were disappointing...a 5th, 24th and a 12th. 

Thursday; The next day brought the same conditions as yesterday however I  was able to improve my results: a 3rd, 12th and a 2nd! 

Going into the final day there was no way I could catch Alexandra Schonrock who was leading and had sailed a great regatta but I had a chance of overtaking William Heathcote to be the top British boy.
 

Team Isle of Wight -
Cameron Hook, Freddie Ellis, Me,
Freya, Lily Ellis, Toby Atherton,
Oliver Evans, Mathew Bamber

I was really up for Friday and couldn't wait to get going so when we got up in the morning and the sea was flat calm and no wind it wasn't looking good. We waited and waited but in the end the racing was abandoned at lunch time which was a disappointing way for the event to end but I still finished 7th overall and third British sailor so a good result.

Because we had such great conditions throughout the event, it meant that on a few days we got through the race programme and back ashore early. This meant I could see Freya coming in from being out with the mini racers which I really liked. She had a brilliant week too, came third in her racing and got a coaches sailor of week medal at the prize giving. Nice one Sis.

When we got back from the Nationals we had a couple of days on dry land before Freya did Cadet Week at our club. I wasn't sailing in this but was able to help out with coaching the Oppie fleets. I had such a brilliant week. I really like coaching and helping out other sailors and I got to do a bit of sailing when we had to do some rescues. It was really nice to see Freya out on the water too. Her sailing improved so much over the Nationals and Cadet week. I hope she starts racing soon. We put my GoPro camera on her boat on one day so she could see how well she's doing too.

After Cadet week we had a whole week of not sailing. Hmmmm. But then it was off with Team GBR (Sophie Holloway, Julia Mellers, Oliver Hill and me) to the European Team Racing Championshp in Lake Ledro, Italy. 

Mum, Dad and Freya came to this one too but only after dropping me off at the airport. While I flew over they went all the way by car. It was like some sort of Top Gear challenge ony they were only in the lead to Dover! And during the event while I was in a hotel they were camping at the other end of the Lake!!

Me in action at the
Euro Team Racing Champs, I'm the 2nd boat

Going in to this event we didn't really know what to expect. There were 16 teams in total and quite a lot of the countries have special team racing teams who do loads of training for the event. We had only team raced a couple of times before and had one training session against the GBR worlds team.

On our first day of racing we had three matches and one won against the Spanish.  We were all pretty pleased about this and it gave us a big boost and belief that we could win more. Over the next few days we saw massive leaps and gains in our team racing abilities, personally and as a team. It was really funny seeing the other teams getting told off by their coaches because they had been beaten by us. It just made us want to win even more!
 

Our Team base at the lake

We managed to get just over half wins which put us in Gold fleet which was very exciting! Last year the team didn't win a single race and came last so we were very excited about winning a race and then we made gold fleet. As the week carried on we were able to slowly carry on gaining. Going in to the last day we were 5th overall!! We had a bad day as a team however we were able to thankfully hold our position!

The last night was very memorable with fireworks and a 2:00am bedtime!!! A week of fun.



Gelato time

Lake Ledro was an incredible place to be with the views of the mountains. Our hotel was a bit interesting with electricity plug sockets hanging off the walls and sparking and meals every night that were pasta first course, followed by meat. But the local gelato made up for it.

It was really nice seeing Mum, Dad and Freya in between races for a bit each day and knowing they we're watching me and we all had a big team meal of the final night.



Launching

All in all it was a great event. It was really nice racing as a team and our coach Will and house parent Lizze did a great job in helping us with the racing and looking after us.

With the event over I then joined Mum, Dad and Freya and we stayed on for a few days holiday and some walks in the mountains, swimming in the Lake and lots more gelato. It was then a two day drive back to home but at least I got to watch four hours of the Volvo Race on DVD non stop.





Team GBR at the prize giving -
we got a t-shirt of tiny jar of honey,
Will got a belt and can of WD40!!

So all in all a full on, brilliant summer of sailing. I've had a few ups and downs in the racing,  learnt so much and had soooo much fun. Now the autumn looks like it will be just as good with loads more racing to come!! 

  

Warsash Optimist Open and teaching Freya to sail

Well the Warsash Optimist Regatta was hot and slow. It was great to be sailing barefoot, in shorts and a rash vest but it also meant there wasn't very much wind. There were 40 sailors in the main fleet and even in the light winds it was the older and bigger National and Intermediate squad sailors who were at the top of the fleet so it was tough competition.

On the first day we had three races. Two were good for me with an 8th and a 5th. Getting the starts right and finding the best breeze upwind was really important as it was hard to over take once we were reaching or going down wind. In the other race of the day I got a 12th which I was annoyed with myself for at as I should have made better advantage of my light weight in the conditions. 

On Sunday we only managed one race and there was a lot of hanging around. We had two other races which we started but were abandoned mid race. One was abandoned just as we were coming up to the windward mark for the second time when we thought they were going to shorten the course. No one at the front of the fleet was very pleased with that.

Overall I came 8th which was good but I did feel like I could have done better but I did get a plate at the prize giving to add to my collection!

Me teaching Freya to sail

Dad was out on the mark laying rib on Sunday with our friends Richard Ellis and Nigel Smith. They kept having to move the marks because of the light shifty winds only for us not to race. It looked like hard work in the hot sun. Still, it kept them out of trouble or something like that that grown ups say!

I had my GoPro camera from Sailspy on board so got some great footage of my light winds tacking which I have been watching loads since to see where I can make things better.

Last weekend I took Freya out sailing for a bit of practice before she does mini racers at the Nationals. Dad said that Freya looks a more natural sailor than me at the same stage. Hmmmmm. As it was another  hot sunny day me and Dad both helped her to do some capsize practice too. We got Dad to bail out a completely full Opi and he did admit at the end that he hadn't realised it was such hard work!! I think all Opi sailors should get their parents to do this out on the water so they know what it's like.

Freya learning to bail - essential optimist skill

This weekend I'm racing at the Gurnard Sailing Club junior regatta in a Pico with my friend Oliver Evans which will be awesome fun and a great way to spend my 11th birthday.

Meeting Sam Davies

Awesome news that Sam Davies has been selected to be part of the girls team for the 2014-2015 Volvo Ocean Race!! 

A few weeks ago my Sister, Freya, and I were lucky enough to go and see Sam on the training boat in Southampton and have a good discussion with her about my sailing and stuff. It really inspired me to sail around the world as it seems great fun. I would like to do this after I have won the Olympics and the America's Cup! 

Sam showed us around the boat which was amazing. It was very pink which my sister really liked. Down below was incredible. I didn't realise how hard it is for the crew to sleep or that when they tack they have to move everything to the other side of the boat! Makes hopping across my Optimist seem a lot easier. 

Sam gave me lots of information and I definitely learnt loads from her!! At the time we couldn't say anything about our visit as the training was secret. 

Me on Sam's boat when I was  2 yrs

I first met Sam when I was 2 years old when she was competing in La Solitaire du Figaro on the Skandia boat. My Dad worked for Skandia then but I don't remember the trip, but Sam always comments about my sailing on Facebook so it was great to see her. 

Here are some photos from the visit and also a short video my sister made for a school presentation she gave about about meeting Sam. Freya made the video with her iPod the wrong way up which is why it all looks a bit narrow!

Me learning what all the
buttons on the wheel do

Me testing out the bunks

Sam's lovely pink boat

Freya loved the pink steering wheel

Sam Davies looking very happy