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.  

Braassemermeer & the Selections!

The Braassememermeer Optimist Easter event was amazing. It was fun, I did well and I made friends. The only thing that was missing was Mum. (She was working). 

Team GBR

It all started with another ferry to the mainland from the Isle of Wight and then a long drive once we crossed the Channel. Luckily though I had the car DVD so at least I was entertained. We took a while finding our holiday home park because when we arrived we didn't think we were in the right place as it was too posh. Having found our home for the week it was time to get a good night sleep for some windy sailing the next day. 

After a relaxed morning we headed down to the yacht club for some windy training but unfortunately it was a bit too windy and sailing was cancelled. So we headed back to our lodge and headed off to the beach. The sand was incredible! Because it was so windy the waves were gigantic. As well as chasing the waves we found and rescued a stranded fish washed up in the storm. 

The next day started early due to having no sailing the day before. Everything was done in an instant and soon enough we were out training. It was a lot windy than I expected so I had to make a lot rig adjustments. I didn't sail so well that day but one thing I did learn is that there can be some big waves on a lake! After debrief we headed back quickly and went straight to sleep ready for racing the next day. 

Morning dawned and nerves kicked in as the realisation of the day ahead came upon me. However the nerves were matched by excitement! It was around 10knts (perfect!) but I couldn't seem to get things quite right. I was being caught out by annoying shifts. Shifts (that day)= worst enemy. Only two races were completed in which I got a 38th (which became a discard) and a 13th. I wasn't really too pleased with the day but I put it behind me and focused on the next day. If I got a good night sleep I might be able to perform, that was what was in my mind. Like they always say; control the controllables.

The next day was definitely a lot better and I scored a 3,20,22,14, I was really proud and happy from the day because I realised that I was able to move on from bad days and treat every race like it was the first. Being able to do this is a great skill. Another advantage from having a good day is that you go home happy. A win win situation. 

When we go up on the next day it was very cold, around freezing, but to perk up our moods it was Easter Sunday!! Freya and I had a quick Easter egg hunt before heading down to the boat park. However the day didn't turn out to be the happy Easter day I wanted. I had a shocking day scoring 32,56, 29. The good news was that I knew what went wrong so I should hopefully be able to improve on it the next time. Despite the bad day I still managed to have a nice evening because we did another Easter egg hunt with Mum on facetime and we had a lovely dinner!

Going into the last day I was full of nerves however excited as well. Despite the day before I was still able to maintain a good position. The day favoured me with light winds so I gave it my all. I worked on my problems from yesterday and I was able to perform well  again getting a 17th. Overall I came 26th which I was happy with. It really proved to me that a bad day doesn't mean anything but I know I could have done better.

The Selections!!!!

I'm going to keep this short because there Is not much to say. The selections didn't go to plan for me. I came across nerves I had never felt before. TOP 14 TOP 14 TOP 14. That was all that was going through my had. I lost my self-belief. On the brighter side I gained a lot out of the event. 

The weather wasn't on my side either. The first two days were really windy, over 20kts and choppy seas. Me and all the light weight sailors really had a hard time making up wind progress. We then lost a day to fog so only had one day left and I was too far adrift to get a Worlds or Europeans place. On the last day I won the first race, which was great, then had two shockers and then another good one, a 6th. So all a bit up and down for me. I've been selected for the Flanders team and learnt a lot from the event which I can use in the future.

So much sailing - Braassemermeer Easter Regatta, Selection Trials & Inland Championships

Since Easter, which seem like ages ago really, I've had a really busy time with my sailing, which has been a solid 10/10 on the awesometer - with a Team GBR International event, winning a spot at the European Championships and 6th at the Inland Championship. So it's time for a bit of an update.

Team GBR

Optimist Easter Regatta - Braassemermeer 
Over the Easter holidays, because I'm part of part of the National Squad, I was selected to compete in the International Braassemermeer Optimist regatta in the Netherlands. It was really good because it was my third ever international regatta and I got to go with my family. 

Overall I was very pleased with my result as I made the gold fleet and got a mid-fleet final result all after having two races in 3 really windy days! So it seems like my new North V4 sail has done me good and it was some of the best windy weather sailing I've done.

Before the regatta started we had  2 days of training and we also had a really great family day out in Amsterdam. It's definitely a different city but I'm not sure about all the cheese shops (I don't like cheese).

Chillin' and drying -
Crewsaver Phase2 kit

The regatta started on Good Friday afternoon with a solid breeze of 18knts gusting 20knts and I had two good results and a bad one. Overall I was placed 89th out of 200+ however I needed to gain 19 places to make gold fleet which was decided after Saturdays racing. I had a very good Saturday with a 2nd, a 12th and a 24th which moved me up into the 50's. The Sunday wasn't so good scoring two 30's and a 60th. It was very windy but I still thought I could have done better. However, I ended the regatta on a high scoring a 5th, a 30th and a 40th in very windy conditions. Overall I was pleased with my result finishing 46th especially as much of it had been windy days. I was very proud of myself as a year ago as I would have struggled to get round the course in those sorts of conditions. And on top of that Team GBR won the trophy for the being the best performing team.

As it was a family holiday we stayed an extra night so we could all go swimming but this ended up not being so good. Mum lost her wedding rings and she didn't realise until we were over an hour into our journey home. We had to turn around a go back to where we were  staying and amazingly someone had found the rings and had returned them to reception! It then meant we had another high speed drive to catch a ferry - but nothing unusual there. I must have one of the fastest Opi's in the world when it's on top of the car!!

We had to stop and look at a lot of tulips!

Planking with Freya and a mermaid!!

Selections
The selection trials are perhaps the most important event of the sailing year which decides the teams for the World and European Championships, the Development team (which I got last year) and the Flanders team. 

Coming into the event I had mixed feelings both nervous and excited as since last year my goal had been to get in to the Euros team. The first day was a real disappointment as I got a 16th and a 12th but then unfortunately I picked up my first ever black flag which I was really upset about. However despite my disappointment on Friday I managed to pull back and get a 11th and an 18th but then unfortunately picked up a 42nd. I was doing OK in the overall positions but off where I wanted to be for a Euros place. 

GBR Euros Team - being carried again!!

Sunday once again was a light and shifty day and we had to wait ages before even going out, then I had an OK day scoring a 9th and a 24th, which helped me climb up the leader board to be just on the edge of the Euros places. On Monday though I bombed it, having the best sailing day ever scoring a 8th, 7th, 13th, 3rd and another 13th. I was so happy when I found out that I finished 8th overall and had qualified for the British Team to go to the European Championship in Dun Laoghaire in July.  It was a really good regatta for me with some up and down results but it proved to me that when I need to, I can stay calm and focussed and get the results!

Inland Championships
The Inland Championships was the first ranking event of the year so I it was a very important event for everyone. It was yet again another light wind event which was very strange because the weekend before it was 35knts. Saturday brought tricky conditions: very light and shifty. In the first race I scored a 23rd due to heading too far to the right side of the course on a port tack lift but then the wind never shifted back.  But thankfully I managed to score two better results, a 13th and a 5th.

Sunday brought more shifty winds but with a bit more speed, 10-15knts - my favourite conditions. I had a great day scoring and 3rd, 7th and a 2nd. However, I was a bit annoyed about the 2nd because I was winning all the way up to the last short beat to the finish but I overlayed the finish and the person who was in 2nd was able to tack to leebow me and get the 1st. Overall though it was a good regatta finishing 6th and banging in some solid results for the rankings.

Selection Trials Day 4 - Turkey here we come!

The Optimist Selection Trials 2013 have been epic!

After a good third day I was really hoping to get a few more races in on the last day as the forecast was for light winds which meant I would stand a really good chance again.

When we woke up all we could here were fog horns. Despite the the fog we were still down at the Sailing Academy by 8.30am and ready to go so sailing by 9.45am only there was one problem - you couldn't see off the end of the slip way as the fog was so thick!


We had a postponement for ages. Eventually the sun came out at the Academy but the fog remained in Portland Harbour so the waiting continued. I chatted to the other sailors and kept on eating to pass the time but it seemed like forever. Eventually the fog cleared and we all got our boats ready at the waters edge. We still had to wait a bit for the wind to settle though and then just when we thought were about to go the fog started to come back.

At about 2.00pm in the afternoon they finally made the decision to abandon racing as the fog was still coming back. At first I was quite devastated because I thought I had just missed out on the team to go and race in Belgium.  My friends said that I might make it into Development Team but it was all a bit confusing and we didn't really know what was happening. They were announcing the sailors that the selectors wanted to see over the tannoy and my name wasn't read out which didn't help my mood. Because we weren't sure we waited anxiously listening to the speaker to see if I had been chosen. When they called out Development Team my name wasn't said. NOOO! I wasn't chosen. As we were just about to leave Dad got a phone call saying that the Selectors wanted to see me. I went up to the office with my Mum where they told us that they wanted me to be one of the eight sailors in the Development Team. YYEESS! 

Information about Development Team

• Its based in Bodrum, Turkey (so hot)
• We go on 27 May and come back on 3 June
• Its an International event( my first International event!)
• Its against some of the Worlds Teams from different countries!
• Its 15-20knots in 26-35 degrees! OMG!
• Water temperature is around 22 degrees! 
• The location is lovely!
• Our team are staying in a 5 star hotel!
• My parents aren't coming!

All I can say is: "I am SO EXCITED!"

On the awesometer this goes off the scale.

Me the rest of the Optimist Development Team
our coach and team leader

The Selections have been an amazing event. Really tough racing esepcially on Saturday. Really tough competition but I had some great results and a 2nd in one race so I know I can beat all the best sailors in the Country. I have learnt loads and had a great experience and now I get to go to Turkey which is going to be the best thing ever.

Selection Trials Day 3

Today was so much better.

As we are staying in a caravan just up the road for the Sailing Academy it's really easy to hear how windy it is when you wake up. Yesterday when I woke up it was howling and this morning it was all quiet. Phew. A better start to the day already.

Despite the difficult day on Saturday I felt quite excited and confident going out today as I knew I had a chance to get some better results.

It was a much better day wind wise, when we set off there was hardly any at all and we had to wait a while for the racing to get going but during the day it built up to around 10-12kts which is great for me.

As the winds were lighter we were racing outside of Portland Harbour in Weymouth Bay where the swell was pretty big.

The first race of the day was awesome. I had a great start and felt like I was sailing really fast. I went round the first windward mark in second place which is where I stayed for the rest of the race - a brilliant start to the day.

In the second race my start wasn't quite so good and I was in the middle of the fleet but I had good boat speed and going downwind I was able to overtake quite a few people to finish 26th which was OK.

Race three of the day wasn't so good. I had a bad start and couldn't get out of everyone's bad wind. I finished 40th and got a bit upset with myself about it so was determined to do better in the last race.

The fourth race of the day was another good one for me. I had a good start and was able to take over some of the really good national squad sailors and eventually finished 5th.

With two really good results today I climbed ten places in the leader board to be 30th overall. I came back to shore a much happier person than yesterday, that's for sure.

Some of the older sailors said some really nice things to me today about how well I was doing and how I managed to keep going yesterday which was really nice and made me feel a lot more confident.

To finish off a good day as it was my Dad's birthday and we went to the Crab House cafe where I had half a crab and chips for tea. Yum.

Optimist Selection Trials Day 2

Pants! Not the best day ever and the conditions certainly weren't in my favour.

Four races were scheduled for the the day and it was very windy all day. Average wind speeds were over 20kts for much of the day and it was gusting 30kts. Being so light weight that makes it very difficult for me and I was hiking and bailing all the time. No sooner had I bailed out than another wave came over the boat and I had to start all over again.

I found starting difficult in the conditions, getting stuck in irons at times and not being able to make pre start manoeuvres with enough control.

The really long beats in the strong winds were exhausting. I had let off loads of sprit which helped me to keep the boat flat but it was so difficult to keep the boat going fast through the waves.

Unfortunately I was at the back of the fleet for the first three races getting a 77, 62 and 63 but I had got round the course and stayed upright which was good.

I had a bit of a disaster sailing back down to the start area for race four, nose dived and capsized. Not the best thing to do. By the time I had got the boat back up right and bailed out I was totally exhausted and didn't make the final race of the day.

To add to the days problems I hit the pin end boat at the start of the first race of the day and forgot to do my 360 turn so had to retire from that race after we had finished.

Overall with one discard counting I'm in 40th place.

I was pretty sad and disappointed in the day, however, the next two days are forecast to be lighter winds so I am determined to go out and get some good results and climb the leader board again.

Optimist Selection Trials Day 1

My first day sailing at an Optimist Selection Trials. Wow what a day.

Thursday night we stayed at my Grandparents house which is about and hour and a bit away from Weymouth. Great Roast beef dinner, the perfect perpartion for the big event. Friday morning it was a quick blast down to Weymouth and arrived in good time for measurement and registration.

We got on the water at about 1045 in time for the first raced scheduled for 1200. I was very excited and quite nervous. I'm in a fleet of 78 boats and everyone around me is mostly national, intermediate or development squad sailors. Also I'm one of the youngest sailors and probably the smallest.

We had a nice breeze 12-15knts, which means flat hiking for me but not for most of the others! The starts were quite intimidating but mine were OK. The big thing about today was the size of the courses. They were huge, much larger than anything I've ever done before. Each race lasted about 1 hour and the up wind legs went on for ever. Down wind was great though and I was able to pick up places.

Friday my results were 11, 21, 35, 14 and I'm 18th overall so a pretty good start. It was great racing and I really enjoyed it and great to be up there mixing it with the national squad sailors. In one race I covered and overtook one of the sailors who went to the Worlds last year, that made me smile a lot.


Saturday the wind is forecast to be stronger and we might be racing out in Weymouth Bay so could be a tough day and might need my sail and best sail and bail techniques.

On the awesometer today was an 8/10,

When I sailed Iain Percy's Star

On Friday I will be competing in the Optimist Selection trials, a four day event at the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy.

Sailing at the venue for the 2012 Olympics is amazing and I'm lucky that I have been there twice for Zone Squad training and once for the South Zone Championships last year.

The most awesome experience I've had in Weymouth so far though is the day I had a go at sailing with Iain Percy in his Star. Their boat was so much fun to sail!

In September 2008, we were at the Sail for Gold regatta in Weymouth and I was very lucky because my Dad was Sponsorship Manager at Skandia and I got to meet lots of Olympic sailors. I had only been sailing on my own in an Optimist from August so to get a go at sailing with an Olympic gold medallist at to helm the Star was epic! Here's a photo of me sailing with Iain which I still look at for inspiration!

Me sailing with Iain Percy.

I've met Iain loads of times, the first time was when I was just a few weeks old at Cowes Week so Mum and Dad tell me but sailing with him was one of the best. I wouldn't mind getting a go on the Artemis AC45 next!!! I also took Iain into my school after the Beijing Olympics with his gold medal as my show and tell after the summer holidays - that was very cool too and my friends were so jealous that I got to wear his gold medal.

Hopefully the Selection Trials in Weymouth this weekend will be just as good.