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.