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 

The end of an Optimist era!

Wow, what a brilliant last event. The Optimist Nationals 2017 was probably the best one yet. I went into the event not worrying too much about the result but ending an era well. And I sure did. 

The last squad chat

It was at Weymouth so we stayed in the big house we normally do. Once again we had Jamie Cook staying with us because he wins best when he stays with us so we're clearly his lucky charms!!! ;)  It was a windy week which made the event a bit more enjoyable and fun apart from 2 days when we couldn't sail because it was too windy. I had a really good set of results with only one result outside the top 10 in 13 races. But I think what made it most fun for me was being able to see and say goodbye to my amazing friends. 

Winning in a race on my last day

Overall at the event I finished 5th and 2nd Brit which got me quite a few trophies. My new family member Jamie Cook won the event again because he was staying with the Sewell's! 

My grandparents came down from Tuesday to Friday which was lovely because due to our new house move to Cheshire I don't get to see them so often. We carried on our nationals tradition of Chinese on the last night which once again was delicious. 

The face of a happy man!

So now that Oppies are over, bring on 420's. I am sailing with William Heathcote who has become one of my best friends through Oppie sailing. We have a lot of work to do over the winter to get up to speed and start competing at the top level starting next week when Will and I are up in Scotland for the 420 nationals. Then back down to Lymington for a week of 420 sailing. Wish me luck!

I would just like to say a massive thanks to some people who have helped me so much over the last seven years of Oppie sailing:  Musto and Nick Houchin (for the lovely kit), North Sails, Winner (for the awesome boat), The Heathcote family, The Cook family, The Evans family, Alan Williams/Sarah Williams/Tom Haynes/Kat Colvin/Vagelis Atzemian/Claire Chapple  and all the other coaches who've helped me, Will King, The Ellis family and particuraly Cordelia Ellis for helping me to start sailing and becoming an massive inspiration for me ('win low, lose high' I still remember). IOCA UK and all the volunteers who run the events, the RYA And then most of all my grandparents and parents and sister for supporting this great life and just helping with absolutely everything!!

Proud dad taking a few to many photos

Easter Holiday's - Optimist & Pico Sailing and More

I have had a really busy Easter doing loads of Optimist sailing and other water activities.

It started off on the first Sunday of the holidays, at my local sailing club, Royal Victoria Yacht Club.  It was the open race of the season, the Commodore's Cup. We had a mixed fleet start so I was up against Squibs, Lasers, RS's on the start line which was fun. I was one of the first boats off the start so all the winter training must be paying off. The Optimists had a different course from everyone else. I won the racing by a country mile,  despite getting the course wrong at one point, which secured me a Trophy!!

From Monday through to Friday I was at UKSA, a watersports activity centre in Cowes, with a bunch of my friends doing lots of activities such as: sailing, kayacking, raft building, Easter Egg hunts etc. It was great fun. Obviously I enjoyed the sailing the most but it was great to be out on the water doing other stuff as well!!

Crossing the finish line to win

On Sunday, I went down to Gurnard Sailing club for some Pico racing with my friend Lily. I was her guest helm for the day as she wanted to get her revenge on her brother who had beaten her the week before. AND we definately did that. We beat all the other Picos on the water including some adults with racing mainsails and we won the slow handicap class!!! It was fun to be racing a different type of boat and to go sailing with someone else. HAPPY TIMES!

The winning team with matching drysuits 

Me and Lily being briefed by Lily's Dad

On Wednesday I started some Oppie training at Gurnard with all my friends which finishes on Friday and then I'm straight into more sailing in Lymington! HECTIC!!!!


On Wednesday my little sister Freya had her first go at sailing in her (my old) Optimist on her own for the first time. She was really good. Holding the tiller properly, sitting on the side of the boat and everything. I was really proud of her and pleased to see her out on the water. I hope she loves sailing as much as I do.

Freya winning!

Awesome Optimist sailing from Freya

Great technique

One other good bit of news, We've ordered my brand new North Sail which should arrive soon. I can't wait to get it. I'll have it in time for the Selection trials in Weymouth which is my next big event.