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 

RYA YOUTH NATIONALS 2018

Hiya all. Sorry about the late post. I've had this post waiting to be posted for ages I just have forgotten to press the send button. Silly me! Well, here it is anyway and expect another one very soon... 

Training hard

This was William and mine first RYA youths and our first 'important' event. The youths are the final of three 420 events that decide the GBR teams for the Euros and Worlds. The Euros is the harder event to get so is more prestigious (opposite to optimist). William and I had a performance goal of achieving our best performance yet in the UK 420 class and an outcome/result goal of getting at least Worlds team and hopefully Euros Team and therefore Youth Squad (optimist equivalent is National squad). 

The first of the three selection events was in crazy wavy Torbay. We had two days of windy wave sailing which is not ideal for a light, young pairing like me and William. The result was not ideal but we did enough to stay in contention as we managed to just about hold our own in the breeze. Unfortunately for us, the next event was cancelled due to poor weather putting the pressure on the final event- the RYA Youth Nationals 2018. 

A breezy WW mark rounding

The 2018 RYA Youth Nationals were held in sunny Scotland... which funnily enough happens to be very cold in Easter. The event was 5 days long and I arrived two days prior for some practice.  I stayed on a friends yacht which was moored in the yacht haven with no adults which was lots of fun and gave us the opportunity to be very independent. The beginning of the week did not go to plan. Firstly I had my fantastic Musto drysuit stolen which is not ideal in Scotland when the average temperature was in the minuses. And then we had not one but two days cancelled due to high winds and Antarctic-like temperatures. Finally, on the 3rd day, we managed to bag in two windy races where we got a solid 13th and a 7th - a nice start to our regatta in tough conditions. The next day brought glammer conditions. Sun and 10 knots of breeze. We were loving it. We also managed to get our first win in the 420 class in which we lead the whole way around.  We came out of that day with a solid 1,21,4,11 which we were very happy about. The final day brought more narly conditions with 20+knots of winds. We managed to just send it and got a 19th and an 11th meaning we finished 10th overall- a very credible result in which William and I were pleased about. In the end, we managed to achieve all the possible teams but we declined the Worlds team due to cost. This means that soon we will be off to the 420 Europeans in Sesimbra, Portugal which I'm super excited for! 

Winning a race with a beautiful background

Now back to the present day. I've just finished my GCSE's which went really well but meant I missed a lot of sailing which is pants. However, William and I are coming back with a bang and are ready to smash the Europeans which I leave for tomorrow. That lasts until the 11th of July and I get back to the UK at midnight in which I drive home and then have to get up early to catch a boat to France to do the 420 French Nationals with a good friend Alex Hughes as poor Will has to go back to school. So a busy July to look forward to but thanks to Musto I'm set for it. I'll catch up with you guys at the end of summer to inform you of my adventures! 

A bit of a catch up!

Long time no see! I'm late checking in as I have been doing lots and lots of 420 training and a few events. It started off in Helensburgh, Scotland (a week after the Optimist Nationals) with the Scottish Open and 420 National Championships which was a weird trip.

I thought Scottish weather was pretty much the same as English and that it was just a stereo type however I was proved wrong! The day we arrived was warm, sunny and pleasant. Then no word of a lie it rained for everyday from then on and by rain I mean it poured down. Miserable. However sailing wise it was awesome. A good 15knts everyday which was really good practise for William and I as we are quite a light pairing. Neil Marsden and Tim Rush (two top coaches were also up there) which was great for us. However mid way through the event we did encounter a problem... our boat leaked- like big time leaked. We would get back in and not be able to pull the boat up the slipway. In the first race of the day we would be bouncing along the waves but by the last race we would struggle to get over the waves and would just end up going through them! However overall it was a successful event.

Since then we have been doing loads of training so we can get up to a competitive level. We've had up and down results with a slightly disappointing Autumn champs however a great End of Seasons where we were up with the top guys and fighting to be top junior boat. Because the 420 is a new boat for us we've been focusing so much on boat handling (the likes of tacking and gybing) that we forgot skills like tactics, strategy and starting. The point at which you can focus on strategy etc is the point in which you become a world class 420 sailor. 

2018 is a big year for Will and I. Our goal is to make it into youth squad by the end of the year which is a big ask but we think it's possible. We've got a new boat which is going  really well. We've done a few training sessions already this year which have mostly been in heavy winds. We're getting much better at this. The number of capsizes is really down, we're doing well upwind and really starting to get the hang of using the kite in the breeze. There's lots of training still to be done but it's so much fun having new challenges and learning so much all the time. Our first big event is the Spring champs in March, so it will be interesting to see how we're getting on.

Outside of the 420 I've been doing some Oppie coaching helping out with the North Zone squad and later in the year I'm racing in one of the West Kirby Sailing Club teams in the Wilson Trophy team racing event which I'm really excited and honoured to compete in. Oh, I've also got my GCSEs this year so having to do lots of schoolwork and revision too!

Thankfully Musto has been hooking me up with the best kit so I'm ready for this busy year of sailing ahead of me. I recently ordered the foiling thermohot impact steamer which is other wordly! It's so warm but still flexible and usable which I love as it doesn't feel like I'm wearing loads of clothes. It's a good buy which I recommend for anyone. I also got a stacked toolbox for Christmas which is awesome!

Some of my new Musto buys for 2018

My mint toolbox

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

The World Champs 2017 - what an amazing experience

What an experience!! The World Champs was amazing!!! An experience I will keep for life. Fun racing, hot and friendships. What more could you want?

The squad

It all started off on a very boring 18 hour air trip but it was well worth it. I remember stepping outside in Thailand for the first time. There had just been a rain storm (first of many to come) so when we stepped outside it felt like the hot air was trying to knock us back into the minibus. The heat was crazy!!! 

The hotel was amazing. I was in this massive room with Jamie Cook and Will Pank. There was a balcony, mini fridge (very useful), mini freezer, separate bath and shower and a butt hose!! The hotel had amazing pools which were all connected. Perfect to slowly drift around in for post racing chilling.

Our first day was a rest day. We had a nice lie in and went to visit some cultural stuff like a big Buddha. We then went swimming and chilled out.

The big Buddha

Views

The training days

We had three days of pre-event training to help us to familiarise with the venue. I've never really understood the importance of pre-event training before, so going into the training I was a bit sceptical. However it turned out to be very important.

For the first day we did some individual work like checking over our rigs and boats and just getting into the groove of optimist sailing in the sea of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club. On the second day we raced against other countries (Canada, Finland, Australia,Netherlands). This was useful as we could see just how important the tide was. The tide was so strong that at one point Mathias Capizzano, the event photographer, had to move the mark for us just so that we could get around. The third day consisted of a short morning session sailing before a storm blew in and then boring measurement, which actually for once didn't take too long. 

The hotel!

Wednesday consisted of an unplanned rest day because the plan was to go out for a morning training session then do the practise race afterwards. However wind wasn't in our favour so we spent all morning waiting on shore and then did a very tedious light wind practise race.  We then had a nice rest and prepared for the 1st racing day!

The racing days

The first day of racing was weird? I was shaking on the start line but managed a gnarly start and found myself in the top 10. But a bad second beat resulted in a 23. After first race blues I got into my stride and sailed a solid race getting an 11th. After the first day my thought was that it was easier than I expected. The second day was my best day getting a 7th and a 17th. I believe I got these results because I was less nervous. The final day of the qualifying series was pretty pants for me and the whole team in general. It was one of those days where on the sail back in you just say to yourself; "what was I doing?". However I still made gold fleet being in 52nd place overall so all's good!

Ready to race with Musto

Next on the agenda was 1 or 2 days of team racing. The structure is every team sails on the first day. If you lose two in a row you are out of the competition. If you win 3 in a row you are through to the 2nd day. If you win,lose,win,lose you go into a pool based on points where one team comes out. If you lose,win,lose,win you are through. Got it!!! We managed to get through by winning 3 in a row. However the day wasn't good for me because I had to come in after 1 race because of sea sickness and sun stroke. Luckily though Kieran Young came in for me and did a superb job. The second day consisted of a round of 16, quarter finals,semi finals and the final. As an underdog team I feel proud to say we got through to the quarter finals! We fell out to China who went on to come 2nd so overall the team sailed very well considering we hadn't practised much and we all loved every second of it. Also the bonus was we had the afternoon off. All's well that end's well!

Pretty much a celebrity

Now the fleet racing was about to get serious. Gold fleet. DUN DUN DUNNNN!! The trick for me was about just thinking about the big picture. Theoretically I should have come 52 every race so any place higher is a bonus. I cannot describe how much of a buzz you get when you are sailing around with the best 70 odd sailors in the world! A surreal experience and definitely one I will not forget for a long time coming! I got a 47,59 and 25th which looks rubbish on paper but is actually ok. The final day of racing was abandoned due to lack of wind. I threw up again. And that was it. The Optimist World Championships 2017 done and dusted and I came 52. I would like to thank Sarah McGovern (Coach), Kat Colvin (Team Leader) they were awesome, all the parents and my grandparents for making the trip possible, IOCA UK for their support and organisation. And Musto for my brilliant kit. 

This is how the team got on :

Will Pank= Gold fleet 19th

Haydn Sewell=Gold fleet 52th

Callum Davidson Guild= Silver fleet 8th

Kieran Young= Silver fleet 67th

Jamie Cook= Bronze fleet 37th

My time in oppies is almost up just one event left. The British Nationals next week. I'm sure I will see some of you there!!

On last thing - check out Kat's video from the event
 

Heading off to the Optimist World Championships

So the time has come!! I leave for the Optimist World Championships in Thailand on Thursday and I am absolutely buzzing.

My realistic aim for the event is to get into gold fleet but obviously I would love to win it. You never know if the right, prepared Haydn Sewell turns up anything could happen. I have mixed feelings for the event- a crossover between excited and nervous. To be fair who wouldn't be nervous when you are racing against 280 of the best optimist sailors from 64 countries from around the world (biggest Worlds there has ever been). But excited because this might well be one of the best experiences of my life and I will get to meet some old friends I've met at sailing events in other countries and make loads of new ones.

We arrive in Thailand on Friday and have a rest day to get over the flight. We get our hands on our charter boats on Saturday then it's training for a few days to get used to the local conditions. The Opening ceremony is on Wednesday 12 July and the racing starts the next day through to Thursday 20 July. In the middle of the event there's a couple of days of team racing too. Then we fly back on 21 July which is my birthday. So loads of sailing to be done over the next couple of weeks.

The event is hosted at the Royal Varuna Yacht club in Pattaya (near Bangkok). We're staying at a 5 star resort. I can't even describe how nice it is, but you can take a look here if you like! (Enjoy the music!!!)  Average temperature is 27-30 degrees with a 28 degrees sea temperature and light to medium winds. If all else fails at least I will get a nice tan!
I've got all my new Musto Thermo cool and Thermo light kit ready and can't wait to use it as you don't get many chances over here.

There should be live tracking on the website if you want to watch but it's a bit boring watching lots of coloured dots move slowly about your screen. You can find out all about the event and follow the results at the event website and on their facebook page 

Now I just can't wait to get out there, get sailing and have a great experience. 

I'm going to the World Championships 2017

I haven't done a blog about the Selections for a while due to the fact I haven't done well for ages! This was mainly due to pressure. But for once I was able to deal with the pressure.Why? Perhaps because after my recent outings in a 420 with William Heathcote I have realized that there is life outside of oppies! I found out that my sailing career isn't over if I don't get Worlds team! Anyway, going into this selection trials I was in a much better place. 

Very happy after getting Worlds team with the Musto kit

We stayed in a house with the Hook's and the Woodley's which was really nice as it meant we could have proper dinners, a washing machine to dry our kit and a really nice, friendly, relaxing atmosphere.

The first day of the selections is usually always the worst because everyone is so nervous, however for some weird reason this year everyone seemed so chilled. I managed to get a 14,2,9 which was a solid day for me considering it was light winds. I sat in 6th place overnight which was quite a good position to be in as I had some little people (well smaller than me!) in front of me who would possibly struggle when the wind picked up as forecast. I had a chilled night, watched a movie and for once (at a selection trials) felt relaxed. 

Day 2 we sailed out in the bay in some tricky conditions ranging from 8 to 20 knots. In the varying winds I really stuck to my processes and got a solid 13,5,3,3 which boosted me up to 2nd in the leader board. For me the hardest part about the regatta was not getting cocky and thinking I had it in the bag. I still had to sail a good regatta for another two days in order to keep the Worlds team place. 

My goal for day 3 was to just get the processes right and control the things I could control. I had a bad first race because I had a dreadful start. I was about 40th round the last mark but managed to pull it back to 25th because I kept calm. The next race it all came together and I managed to get a 2nd under some pretty pressurized situations. The final race of the day I got a solid 13th but was annoyed because I had dropped some places. Overall I dropped a place after that day because my good friend Callum Davidson-Guild sailed a blinder of a day.

Selections celebration time

Not gonna lie- I was BRICKING IT going into the last day. I didn't know how much of a point buffer I had on Jamie Cook behind me as I hadn't really been looking at the results, so I was so nervous I would lose my place. Thankfully though there was no racing because of a weird front passing through. This meant I got Worlds team!!!! (after racing I found out I had a 52 points gap!)

The World Championships this year are held in Pattaya, Thailand at the Royal Varuna Yacht club. I am so excited!! My goal since I started sailing has been to get the Worlds so I am over the moon. I would like to say a massive thanks to Musto and Mum and Dad. And a even bigger thank you to my grandparents Nan Nan and GD for paying for the whole Trip!!

I've just had the Inlands, which to be honest I did pretty pants in. It might have been down to the fact that I wasn't feeling well after my jabs for Thailand or that I just sailed a terrible regatta. Who knows.  My sister, Freya beat me in a race as well!! Never going to live that one down!! But it's great to see her sailing getting so much better and competitive and up with some of the best sailors in the fleet.