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Sailing Lots and Learning all the Time.

updated 24 days ago

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Its been a super busy start to the year with a lot of air miles collected and at times a very confused body not knowing when to sleep and when to take on some caffeine to stay awake.

Its been great to be involved in a wide variety of sailing from my moth in Weymouth in 6 degrees to sweating it out in Singapore and Oman in the extreme 40s and Miami with the Melges 20 and 32.

Things have been progressing nicely in the moth getting on the water when the weather allows with a good bunch on Brits. The weather has been a little challenging with some cold and very windy spells but we have pushed on and been out flying around the harbour with big smiles, so much fun. I even made it up to Queen Mary for the first grand prix event of the year with an impressive 38 boats turning out. The racing was good and I was pretty pleased to finish 3rd in my first time racing in an event.

The extreme 40 has been a very challenging learning curve with BAR racing. Pretty under prepared due to the lack of practise that’s down to shipping schedules and the ability to get our hands on the boat, the team has had to learn quickly. It’s been fun but not all the time, learning to race multihulls in some pretty crazy and constrained racecourses can be quite stressful. Its feels very rewarding though when you learn so quickly and can implement the new skills the next day racing.

Team Samba are back up and running in the Melges 32, we have had a few crew changes since we last sailed together winning the worlds in 2012 and the game has moved on a bit. Its going to be a nice challenge getting back on the pace in preparation for the worlds in December but its going to be fun, Miami is a pretty good spot especially out on the ocean! I’m also sailing the 20 with Samba this year, with around 40 boats at the last 2 events the racing has been great and I’m sure will only get better as the fleet continues to grow.

I’m really enjoying the variety and the amount I’m learning at the moment, its really refreshing to be on a steep learning curve again. I have just arrived in Miami ready for some more 32 sailing before heading back home to take delivery of my new moth….. A very lucky boy!

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Wet and Sunny!!!

updated 9 months ago

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Its been quite a mix of weather this month with a trip to Marstrand with the RC44’s and then on to Garda with the 20’s.
It was my first trip to Marstrand and it didn’t take long to realise what a special place this was. We managed to arrive a few days early for a couple of days on the water training and mid summers weekend. What a fun weekend, great sailing and a fun social program.
Racing started on the Tuesday with the match racing. Very light and tricky conditions which caused some problems, we walked away with 2 wins from 6 races which isn’t great but a step forward again. The four days of fleet racing proceeded with some great sailing conditions. We had a slow start to the regatta really struggling to hold lanes but kept fighting on. On day three we won our first race this year and again on the final day with gusts of over 30 knots the crew did an amazing job to get us round the course first leaving us 5th Overall. We are making progress and getting better all the time, it was nice to be in the hunt in the final few races.
After a late flight back to the UK on Saturday night I got back to Weymouth at 4am. Up at 8 I was pretty excited to get out moth sailing for the final day of the UK National’s. After getting out to the race course I had a few problems with my ride height adjuster. I struggled to foil in the first two races, a bit the boat more my weight and the light winds! In the final race a solid 10-12 knots arrived and it was much easier to foil. Finally getting off the start line on the foils in the 70 boat fleet, I rounded 3rd and finished 4th which was a bit better for morale. Its a tough decision, I either have to loose a bit of weight or get some bigger foils to compete in the light stuff!
After a relaxing day at home it was off again, this time to Torbole with Stig for the 20s. It was a new venue for me, sailing at Torbole for the first time. Another great spot although I didn’t enjoy being on the water at 7.30 for the morning breeze.
In the first race after a 8.30 start the wind shut down as we approached the leeward gate in 2nd, race abandoned and back to shore to wait for the afternoon breeze. It was a tricky regatta with big place changes in each race, we did a reasonable job of fighting back to leave us with 2nd overall. Another good result for Stig that gives us the lead of the series going in to the final event and European Championships next month.

Time now for a few weeks at home, its gorgeous weather but no wind……..

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