After returning from the world championships it was time to let my hair down a little. Having just purchased some new kite surfing equipment I spent a couple of days being dragged around Portland harbour as I battled against the elements.. It was great fun but pretty tiring, one day I managed 5 hours kitesurfing and 2 hours windsurfing, not everybody’s idea of letting their hair down but it was a great release for me after such an intense and fruitful couple of months.

At the end of last month I received an email from ISAF confirming that I had been nominated for the ISAF World Sailor of the Year award. After winning the Olympics it was hard to believe the next 12 months would be so successful. It is a great honor to have been recognised among some of the worlds sailing greats for such a prestigious award. Im really looking forward to traveling to Korea for the awards dinner that will be 10 November, quite a long way to go for dinner though!!!.

After a break from sailing it was time for Sail for Gold. Unfortunately I had injured my shoulder and was uncertain whether to compete. I decided that it would be a good chance to learn more about the 2012 venue. The first few days where really tough as I struggled in the strong winds with my shoulder, it was pretty uncomfortable to sheet and steer. As the wind dropped a little for the finals I sailed with out strapping on my arm and managed to finish well winning 2 of the last 3 races. Unfortunately there was no medal race due to the testing conditions on the final day.

Last weekend was the final qualifier of the year at Weymouth. On the first day we sailed in really strong south westerlies in the harbour, I managed to get in just in time to get a sneaky but pretty scary kite surfing session before dark. On the second day we sailed in the bay on the Olympic courses. I won the only race of the day to win the event overall. After sailing a few of us enjoyed an amazing evening climbing on the west cliffs of Portland to wrap up a great weekend.

I have just been in Scotland for the week training on my mountain bike taking in some of the finest trail centers in the UK, it was not what I was expecting as the sun shone and the conditions where fantastic. I will be at Ullswater sailing club for a talk this evening and at Rutland for a day with the Oppies on Sunday and back in to training next week.

Other images included with this entry..