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

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.

Freezing in Farmoor

I normally say every weekend was the coldest but this time will be the last as you can not get colder than last weekend. And to make things even worse,  I had a cough/cold all week! Last weekend I was training with the RYA South Zone Squad on Farmoor reservoir in Oxford (which turned out to be really smelly!)

I had a good week on the sailing front as I got a letter inviting me to take part in the selection trials - a regatta where you race to see if you can get into the British Team for the World Championships, European Championships, or Flanders regatta. I am really exited about it and can't wait for May when the regatta is. The event is treated like it was the Worlds and they even have on the water measuring! Its going to be great competing against the best sailors in the country in the regatta.

Driving up to Oxford in a snowstorm

We left home on Friday to stay at my Grandparents which is always nice and we had fish and chips for tea which was a real treat. When we woke up on Saturday morning the weather didn't look too bad, only a bit windy! As we drove to Oxford, about half way up the journey it started to lightly snow. But then the snow got heavier and heavier and started to settle. Driving up to sailing in a snow storm just seemed mad especially as it's the end of March. By the time we arrived the snow was pouring down form the sky and carried on throughout the day. As we were ready to go out the snow was settling on our boats!
Despite the snow it didn't seem too cold but I did have loads of layers on under my drysuit. We had a good days sailing with training in the morning and some practice racing in the afternoon which went quite well.

I even had ice on my lifejacket!

Sunday turned out to be really, really cold. We had a wind chill factor of about -6C and because we were sailing on freshwater, everything was icing up. My main sheet and and blocks were completely frozen and Dad had to defrost them using hot water and by sucking the blocks - YUK! While we were out sailing things froze up even more. There was a layer of ice on my boom which every time I tacked bits fell off on my head! And by the time I got back in most the ropes were encased in ice.

Snow settling on my sail

Cold conditions in Farmoor

On Sunday my hands got really cold.  I do hope we get some warmer sailing weather soon.  I got very tired and was coughing a lot. In the end I had to come in a bit earlier as I had run out of energy. I hate it when I have to stop sailing but it was the sensible thing to do (so Dad tells me!).

As for the really smelly bit, the reservoir we were sailing on is right next to a sewage works!! But because we were sailing in fresh water my Dad thankfully didn't dunk my sailing kit in the bath with me! RESULT!

Another awesome piece of news this week is that IOCAUK (the class association) and The Pwhelli Yacht Club ( where the last two Opti nationals have been) are bidding to have the Optimist Worlds there in 2015. I would love to go to the Optimist worlds that year!!!!!!!

Ice coating and icicles on my kicker

Ice on my boom

Not So Spring like Optimist Spring Championships

Let's get racing!

Last weekend was the first big event of the year (racing-wise) and it went very well. Not just very well, extremely well. It was the Volvo Gill Optimist Spring Championships held at the West Mersea Yacht Club and Dabchicks Yacht Club. Apparently it was meant to be the ‘Spring’ Championships but with the freezing conditions we sailed in it was more like another Winter Championship! Despite the weather it was a great event and I definitely enjoyed the weekend!

Day 1:

I was very excited about the event but also quite nervous going up against all the older National and Intermediate squad sailors.

We had an early wake up and left my cousins house, where we were staying, just before 8:00am for a 40 minute drive to the venue. Getting ready was a bit chaotic as there wasn't much space at the Yacht Clubs for the fleet of 145 sailors. But there was loads of people to help and even the local policeman was helping with the trollies.

The fleet was split into four groups for racing and I seemed to have lots of the really good sailors in mine. My group had the second start for the first race which gave me more time to do my pre-start routines and to see how the first start got on in the breeze and tides. 

First race: I had a great start with clean air because there was a lot of line sag. I was a bit nervous about being over the line but got it just right and was off controlling both sides of the course. I stayed on starboard tack for a while and eventually tacked because I thought there would be more wind in the middle of the course. BAD MISTAKE! The wind that I had seen disappeared and I was missing out on a shift but if I tacked back I would have been in dirty air. I decided to stay on port until I was in a good place to tack into clean air. Just after I tacked onto starboard I got a big lift which put me on a layline for the windward mark when everyone else ahead of me had to tack and approach the mark on port as they had gone too far left.  I rounded the windward mark in 2nd and stayed in that position for the whole race. 

It was a great start to the regatta. 

In the second race I got another awesome start and went round the first mark in second place again. The person who was leading seemed to be quicker than me upwind but I kept gaining on him on the reaches and downwind. In the end I finished 2nd again by about two boat lengths.

The third race of the day I went round the windward mark in 7th place but was quick downwind again and overtook three people to get a 4th.

At the end of the first day I was lying 5th overall but everyone from 2nd to me had the same number of points. For only my third main fleet event it was a really awesome day sailing. I was very happy and couldn't stop smiling. I like winning but my aim for the event was to finish in the top half of the gold fleet so being right at the top of the leader board was amazing.

Day two: 

Fuelling up on Pasta on a cold Sunday morning

Sunday was much windier and even colder. It was around 15kts gusting 20kts. The temperature was around freezing so the wind chill was about -0.6C and as we set off it was snowing a bit. I had so many layers on under my drysuit . 

We were split into gold and silver fleet's based on our performance on Saturday and I was in the gold fleet. My aim for the day was to stay in the top ten. 

I felt really nervous waiting to go out sailing but very excited too. As it was a much windier day and I'm small and light compared to the older sailors I knew it would be a harder day for me.

The first race started well but unfortunately I got hit by a big gust on a tack when I was in 2nd place and filled up with water. I had to do lots of bailing. I did it as fast as I could but lost loads of places and dropped down to the back of the fleet. I managed to gain a few places after that but still ended up 58th. I knew I could discard this result so had to get on with just thinking about he next one. 

The next race was another good one for me and I finished 7th. I didn't know it at the time but this meant I was in 3rd place going in to the last race of the series. It was really hard to keep going as it was getting so cold and tiring. I tried really hard and was doing quite well at the start but at times I was struggling to hold on to the main sheet because my hands were so cold and I slipped down to finish in 34th place. 

This meant that I finished 9th overall out of 145. It was a great result which I was really pleased with but I was only one place from getting a trophy which was a bit tough.


FREEZING! FREEZING! FREEZING! That all it was on Sunday! 

In my last two posts I've said the weather was the coldest ever but this weekend was much worse. To give you proof about how cold it was I came in crying because I was so cold!! Really!

I had lot of time in the car on the way home though to warm up as it took us ages to get from Essex back home to the Isle of Wight. There was a 9:00pm Wightlink ferry home which was the last one until 12! We just made it. Thankfully it was too late for a bath so I didn't end up with the sailing kit to wash, RESULT!

Overall it was an awesome weekend, great result, good fun with my friends and I learnt loads.

"Aye Aye Captain!!"

Me with my friend Lily who is always smiling too

                     

Freezing Cold Sailing Weekend in Weymouth!

Another awesome weekend sailing in Weymouth for some more South Zone Squad training but it was just soooo freezing cold. This time it was a little bit more competive too! As always I learnt loads and really benefitted from the heavy winds again as I need the practice because I'm so small for windy conditions. I'm always one of the first to have to start hiking when the breeze gets up.

Sunday was the best day because we had a mini all day race series to help us with our build-up to a big event. We were joined by the South Training Squad and South West Zone Squad so had about 50 Optimists racing. It also meant we could put into practice what we had been working on on Saturday: 

•  Boat on Boat Tactics
•  First Beat strategy
•  Using our Pre Start Routine
•  Starting on a busy and biased line
•  Bringing it all together on the race course.

I had an epic start to the racing. We had some older intermediate squad sailors joining us. I had a great start in the first race and was the first person off the line and able to control the rest of the fleet. I was leading at the first windward mark and lead the whole way round to get a bullet. 

Race two was going very well too, but unfortunately someone lost control and ended up capsizing on top of me which tipped me over. Not only did it mean I lost loads of places but it really wasn't a good day for swimming. As it wasn't my fault I got average points for that race. 

Race 3 and 4 were both good with a 3rd and a 5th so going into the last race I was top zone squad boat.

I had a good start to the last race and was doing well in 6th place going up to the final windward mark. I was pushing really hard and then it all went horribly wrong! As I gybed round the mark a big gust hit me, which I had seen, but it hit me faster than I thought it would. I capsized aghhhh. By the time I had got back up and bailed out I was in last place.

I was really upset about it and frustrated that I didn't win however Dad cooled it over with me and eventually I began to start to feel better and I understand that it didn't really matter so much because it was only training and there were some good lessons to learn. Better to make the mistakes in training rather than in a main event. But I do like winning though!

I cannot express how cold the weekend was!  Really, I can't! Try to imagine sailing inside a gigantic iceberg! That's how cold it was on the weekend. I think I had 12 pairs of thermals on underneath my dry-suit! I was probably my coldest time sailing ever and I wore the most clothes ever! However poor Dad. On Saturday he stood still on a rib all day and on Sunday he was outside helping me rig. At least I'm moving! Dad did a better job with getting some video this time but its quite shaky, not sure if that is his video skills or because he was shivering. Probably video skills!

Saturday night we stayed in a B&B in Weymouth and had fish and chips for tea with my friend Lily and her Dad, which was fun.

Once again there was another long car journey home followed by a Wightlink ferry. We arrived for the 1825 ferry at 1823 (think Dad thinks he's a racing driver sometimes) as they were lifting up the car ramp but kindly put it back down for us. Thank you Wightlink. This time when I got home I had a really quick bath before Dad could throw in my sailing stuff in, so Dad had to suffer with the sailing kit in the bath!

Boat building/ racing at my local sailing club

As I was not sailing last weekend, I headed down to my local sailing club (Royal Victoria Yacht Club) for an interesting lesson on boat building. I really enjoyed the evening and learnt loads.

My best part of the night was, of course... the racing! All the cadets at the Club had to make model boats to race against each other to see which designs were fastest. Me and my friend Oliver (who's also a very good Optimist sailor) went for a long thin design so not really very Optimist like. The man who was leading the evening had brought with him a clever race track made out of drainpipes and wires with weights to pull the boats along.

Did we win? Check out my small clip to see...

This weekend I'm pumped up and ready to sail in Weymouth for yet again another windy and wet South Zone squad training session. The forecast is for it to be very cold especially with the wind chill. We are joining up with the South training squad and South West Zone squad so there will be loads of us there which is fun. And it's always great sailing where the 2012 Olympics were. Makes me even more determined to get a gold medal one day.

Another awesome weekend Optimist sailing

Last weekend started with another ferry crossing from the Isle of Wight to the mainland, thanks to Wight Link ferries, for another wet, wild and windy Optimist sailing weekend in Poole where I was training in the RYA South Zone Squad (weekend 4 of 7 over the Winter). I learnt loads, such as a new sailing and bailing technique and a better hiking position for my feet. In the practice races on Sunday I had a good set of results with a 1st, 2nd and 4th (just missed out on a 3rd due to a clumsy mistake). The main exercises over the weekend were tacking on the whistle and gybing on the whistle. It was a super fast sailing weekend especially downwind and reaching. You should have seen us - we were screaming along and the coaches had to go really fast in the ribs to keep up! On Sunday my amazing coach, Clare Hall, pushed me really hard and I had to do a lot of 360's to put me at the back of the group to practice overtaking every time I was in the lead. I got pretty hot in my dry-suit but that was OK because it was such a cold weekend. This is my first Winter using a dry-suit which I was able to buy because of the support I got from Gurit when I received one of their Excellence Awards. I can't imagine sailing in the Winter now without one.

Saturday morning the wind was 12 to 15 knots gusting 22 knots and in the afternoon it picked up a bit. The temperature was about 4 Celsius so it felt freezing cold in the wind but it was sunny and we had an amazing sunset at the end of the day. On Sunday we had similar wind conditions in the morning but the wind dropped loads in the afternoon.  

We live on the Isle of Wight but thankfully my grandparents live near Poole so we stayed with them on Friday and Saturday night. Roast Beef on Friday then "posh" fish fingers and delicious herby potatoes on Saturday plus croissants and smoked salmon sandwiches for breakfast. Perfect sailing food. 

Dad had agreed to go out on the rib on Saturday which was a bad idea as he was moaning on and on about missing the rugby and about how cold it was! I also asked him to video me. BIG MISTAKE! Typically the only video he got of me was when I fell into the boat and when I wasn't doing so well! However he caught my good start (See if you can spot me. My number is 5877 so you might be able to see 77 at the front of the fleet) and he caught my good quick tack in front of 5700. Just managed to get away with the tack without breaking any rules! I really really need to save up for a GO-PRO camera so I can film myself! That would be awesome.

At the end of the weekend I was really tired and Mum had a hot bath waiting for me but once again this was messed up by all my sailing kit being chucked in too. I must find a way to stop my Dad from throwing salty sailing kit in with me in the bath!