California here I come...
Well my racing in the UK is finished for a
couple of months over the summer as I head off to
California. A mix of holiday and sailing, hopefully
for some good racing on a J120, some tall ship
sailing on Pilgrim based at the Ocean Institute at
Dana Point, and helping youngsters at the Los
Angeles Maritime Institute in San Pedro learn to sail on
brigantines.
Round the Island Race
After last year's light wind event, this year was
excellent sailing conditions - sunny and building to
a nice F4. I really enjoyed my second Round the
Island race, this time aboard
Old Mother Gun,
a superb Humphrey's designed 40ft yacht. After a
busy start line and a relatively quick race around
the island with some tight tactical racing we were
placed 7th out of 45 in Class 1C.
Impala 28 Nationals
The weekend of the 20th June proved
interesting as I had numerous offers to sail in a
variety of events, including the Impala 28 Nationals
on Magic, but was at my cousin's wedding all
weekend... I was able to get down to the Solent
however to do the final day of the Impala 28
Nationals on Magic on the Monday as main trimmer. We
finished 6th overall though had been hoping for a
slightly better result but the leaky keel bolts
possibly didn't help... so we dropped it off at the
boat yard after the event to be looked at.
JOG Cowes to Yarmouth and Yarmouth to Cowes
Two short races over the weekend of the
16th and 17th May and once again I was on NJOS. The
first race took us east from the start near Cowes
before doubling back just east of the Portsmouth Forts all the way to
Yarmouth. the forecast 15 knots of wind actually turned out to be a rather more with the odd
30 knot gust but I thoroughly enjoyed my stint on
helm from the forts all the way to Yarmouth. Sunday
dawned with a light breeze for a leisurely return
race.
JOG Cowes to St Vaast
For the May Day bank holiday weekend I was
on NJOS for the race from Cowes to St Vaast.
This is night race starting from Cowes on the Friday
evening. As the wind had swung from a strong
westerley for a few days before to an easterley just
before the race we had a confused sea state but a
good easterley wind which meant that once we were
around the Isle of Wight it was close reach all the
way across the channel. I was helming for a lot of
this race trying to extract the best speed I could
through the night although as t was too close reach
we were not able to use our Code Zero so weren't
really able to get the best from the boat. We
arrived in St Vaast after a relatively quick 11
hours and were classified 7th in class. The return
leg wasn't a race and so after the crew had stocked
up the boat with wine I was pretty much left in
charge of bringing the boat back home safely
again...
JOG Nab Tower
On the 18th April I was on NJOS again for
the Nab Tower race - a race from Cowes to a point
just off the east coast of the Isle of Wight and
back. On the way out we picked up a helm who the
skipper knew from another boat that had just retired
and so for this race I took over jib trim. A windy
and bumpy 4 hours later we were back in Cowes and
classified 7th in class.
JOG Cowes to Cherbourg to Cowes
The opening races of the JOG series were
over the Easter weekend from Cowes to Cherbourg and
then back again. I have joined NJOS for the JOG
Series - a fast Corby 35. I had sailed on NJOS just
after I started out in yachts but for the JOG Series
Tim, the skipper, has asked me to be one of the
helms - a challenge I am relishing. We set out on
the Friday in light winds and it proved fickle for
the whole crossing. One of my strengths is getting
good boat speed in light winds and I was able to get
some good speed out of NJOS despite the shifty and
light winds. After 12 hours of racing we made it
Cherbourg and were classified 6th in class.
Unfortunately the wind didn't play ball for the race
back and it was cancelled and so we had a leisurely
cruise back to Cowes.
Racing on Magic for the Frostbite Series
The weekends I wasn't at WPNSA with the BKA
I have been taking part in the Royal Southampton
Yacht Club Frostbite Series on Magic, an Impala 28.
In addition to looking after main trim I really
enjoyed calling a lot of our tactics in this series
which always produced some tight racing and where
the right call can quickly make or lose places. We
had some good results and were pleased to finish a
very creditable 2nd overall in our class.
With the BKA at WPNSA
Through January to March, I was with the
British Keelboat Academy for four weekends
of coaching at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.
We used the Elliot keelboats and although a bit
smaller than the yachts I have been sailing it gave
us a great opportunity to hone our skills in
different positions with some great coaching and
tight boat-on-boat racing. I certainly learnt a lot
and really enjoyed the weekends and I am looking
forward to putting it all into practice in the up
and coming events.
RYA British Keelboat Academy
In November I was very pleased to be
offered a place in the RYA British Keelboat Academy
(BKA) which is a is a partnership between the RYA
and UKSA. The BKA is designed to support the
country's best young sailors aged between 18 and 24 develop the skills needed to take their keelboat yacht racing to a professional level.
We had our introduction session at Bath University
in November and then during January - March next
year we will be down in Weymouth and Portland
Sailing Academy for four weekends of coaching.
Hamble Winter Series
Over October and November I have been on
the J/109 Jybe Talkin' for the Hamble Winter Series.
As a crew we have been learning a lot in what has
been some close racing in the J/109 fleet. I have
been on main trim and jib trim for the most part and
have enjoyed extracting that last bit of speed from
the boat.
JOG Cowes to Poole and back
Had an enjoyable race from Cowes to Poole
and back on the J/109 Jybe Talkin'. Some good wind
most of the weekend and although our results weren't
spectacular we learnt a lot. As we are getting
towards the end of the summer sailing season I am
now looking forward to the winter series and hoping
to do the Hamble Winter Series on Jybe Talkin' - I
think the skipper is going to do this in the J/109
class so that should be good for some close tactical
racing. One more short JOG race left too in October.
RORC Cowes to Cherbourg
Well a weekend of no wind meant that we
decided not to do the race - about the half the
fleet did give it a go but it took them some 20
hours to get to France - and then other than the
French boats they all had to get back with little
change in the conditions... So we spent the time
enjoying the delights of Cowes (we sailed over there
to take a look at the start before making a final
decision and ended up spending the night there) and
then around Southampton before heading back home.
Hopefully we will have more wind for the JOG Cowes
to Poole to Cowes races.
Day Skipper
At the end of August I was very pleased to
have completed and passed the RYA Day Skipper course
with Stormforce Coaching. One
more step towards my goal of getting to the full
RYA Yachtmaster Ocean.
Cowes Week The first day of
Cowes Week opened with rain for the start of racing
but soon cleared up and then for the first five days
we had some good racing as the wind picked up from
mid-morning each day. This week I was sailing aboard
the
Sigma 38 Gambit
and we had a good opening start to the week with a
6th in the Sigma 38 class quickly followed by a 4th
in class on the second day. That set the trend for
the next few days with a 6th, 7th (the worst day
with a few mistakes that dropped us down the fleet)
and a 4th. During the week we had some close racing
up near the front of the fleet and were hoping that
we might be able to finish the week with a bullet,
but then on Thursday morning we set out to the start
line in light wind with a forecast that it was to
fill in. But then we sat for a number of hours with
the wind tantalising close up by the Needles but
nothing down near Cowes until racing was finally
abandoned for the day. Unfortunately the final day
also dawned with no wind and when the organisers
realised that there was no chance of it building,
the week came to a close with no racing on the last
day either. So with only five of the scheduled seven
races completed unfortunately there was no discard
in the series but we finished the week a credible
5th in our class. That was the last time I will be
sailing on Gambit, at least with the current skipper
and owner Cees Schrauwers as he is putting the boat
up for sale. I will always be grateful to Cees for
giving me my first real taste of yacht racing aboard
Gambit, getting me hooked and giving me the
enthusiasm to see how much I can now achieve in this
side of the sport. I am looking forward to my next
race, which will be my first cross-channel race, the
RORC Cowes to Cherbourg. I will be doing on a yacht
I haven't sailed on previously, In X Celis. And
between now and then I am squeezing in my RYA Day
Skipper course and a bit of casual sailing with
friends.
JOG Cowes to Dartmouth
A 7:00am start meant that this race would
continue into the night with the finish expected to
be in the early hours of Sunday morning (if the wind
played ball). I was aboard the
J/109 Jybe Talkin' and from the start we set off
up the Solent straight into 20+ knots of wind. Not
having had much strong wind tacking practice
together as a crew we found this hard work and put
in a reef and so dropped back a little from the
others by the time we passed the Needles, but at
least we made it - some had to give up before they
got this far. The sea state settled down a bit from
here and although it was a choppy crossing for most
of the way we made good speed for the rest of the
way to Dartmouth picking up places as we went.
Despite the wind being largely from a westerly
direction all race, we arrived at the finish without
incident (other than a bit of sea sickness amongst
the crew...) a shade after midnight. I enjoyed
taking on a number of different jobs during the
crossing and built up some more night hours towards
my RYA qualifications. We finished a credible 5th
(out of 8) in our class and 15th out of a total of
38 that started. With Jybe Talkin' staying in
Dartmouth for a few days, it was a train ride back
home on the Sunday due to being in school on the Monday...
Round the Island Race
Well it was a light wind affair for the 1535 boats
but we had a good event aboard the
J/109 Jybe Talkin'. After 10 hours and 30
minutes racing we came 75th overall out of the 497
IRC entries and also 5th out of 37 in our IRC
Division 2B class, and 9th J/109 of 31 entries. I
really enjoyed the day working on the jib and main
and a stint at the helm around St Catherine's Point
as we overtook Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in his Open
60 Grey Power and an Open 40... On corrected time we
even beat Sir Ben Ainslie who was sailing the Farr
45 Rebel...!
Sigma 38 National Championships
Back aboard the
Sigma 38 Gambit for the three day
National Championships in Cowes. We had quite a few
new crew members for this event and unfamiliarity
for some of the crew with the boat, and between
ourselves, meant we didn't do as well as we would
have liked. However, a fabulous event and I really
enjoyed the 4 hour long coastal race on the Sunday.
The Sigma 38 is a great class for one design racing
and I am learning a huge amount from the core team
racing on Gambit.
RORC Easter Challenge
Over the Easter I joined the J/109 Jybe
Talkin' for the RORC Easter Challenge. The
skipper and a number of the crew also sail on Gambit
with me so it was nice to sail on a new boat but
with familiar faces. Jybe Talkin' has only recently
been acquired and refurbished by the skipper and so
as this was a coached regatta we went to learn ready
for events coming up later in the year, including
the Round the Island race in June.
Skiff sailing
To complement when I am not on keelboats I
wanted to keep my hand in dinghy racing and so have
now fulfilled another passion - for skiff sailing. I
have just bought myself an RS700 - a single-hander
dinghy that RS modestly markets as a super quick trapezed genneker weapon...
Sailing the RS700 has proven to be
interesting (with plenty of swimming at the moment)
but also great fun and I am looking forwards to
doing some events on the sea and the big lakes over
the coming years.
Warsash Spring Championships
I completed the
two weekends of the Warsash Spring Championships
aboard the
Sigma 38 Gambit, the first yacht I raced on over
the winter. We had a mixed bag with some great
racing near the front but a few problems (including
losing the jib sheets overboard...) to keep us on
our toes, finally finishing 4th Sigma 38 and 7th out
of 12 in the IRC3 class overall.
JOG Nab Tower race
Old Mother Gun is a superb 40ft
offshore racing yacht and I really enjoyed sailing
on her for the Nab Tower race, the first in the JOG Offshore Championship 2014.
We came a very respectable 3rd out of 18 in Class 3.
Moving on... to keelboats
Towards the end of 2013 I came to a moment
of reckoning and started to think very hard about
how I wanted my sailing to progress. Since I started
out in the sport I have had a longing to do offshore
yacht racing and had a taster a few years earlier
when I had been awarded a week aboard the John
Laing, courtesy of MDL Marinas. I have also picked
up some injuries over the past few years that
impacted my dinghy sailing and so after much deliberation I decided
that now was the right time to put my Olympic
aspirations for dinghy sailing to one side and make
a decisive move into keelboats. Over the winter I
have sailed aboard a number of yachts in the Hamble
Winter Series, in the main though I have been aboard
the Sigma 38 Gambit and have loved every minute of it.
Laser Radial U21 World Championship
Only just over a week after returning from Croatia
it was time to drive back out to Europe, this time
to Balaton in Hungary to represent GBR at the Laser
Radial U21 World Championships. This proved to be a
light wind event and we lost a couple of days to no
wind due to a high pressure sitting right over
central Europe. However, I was generally pleased
with the racing we did get in and finished mid-fleet
and top British Youth girl, although without a
couple of yellow flags I picked up I might have
finished a bit higher....
Laser Radial European Youth Championships
In June I represented GBR at the Laser
Radial Youth European Championships in Split,
Croatia. This was quite an occasion as it was the
same week as Croatia celebrated becoming the 28th
member of the European Union. There were plenty of
celebrations and a parade of the Laser fleet through
Split harbour - certainly something to remember.
After a difficult start to the event I managed to
finish the week mid-fleet. I loved Croatia and made
a number of Croatian friends that I plan to keep in
touch with and look forward to an opportunity to go
back again one day.
Award presentation at the London Boat Show
On the 12th January 2013 we had a great time at the
London Boat Show where I collected my award for
RYA
Regional Young Sailor of the Year 2012 (Thames
Valley and London). It was great to meet the other
winners there too and be introduced as one of the
three finalists for the YJA Pantaenius Young Sailor
of the Year Award. Although I wasn't selected as the
overall winner this year, my congratulations to Saskia Sills as a very worthy recipient of the 2012
YJA Pantaenius Young Sailor of the Year.
Home Nations Championships
I have just been informed by the RYA that I have
been selected to represent England in the
Home Nations Championships on the 2/3rd February 2013 in Largs. There are 6 of
the top Laser Radial youth sailors (and also 6 Topper
junior sailors) from each of the four home countries
of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland
and so it will be a great opportunity to compete
with the top sailors from around the UK during the mid-winter training months.
Unexpected awards
To round off a great year, I have just heard
that I have been awarded the 2012 RYA Regional Young
Sailor of the Year for the Thames Valley and London
after being nominated by my local club,
Burghfield Sailing Club. I am also one of only three
finalists for the 2012 YJA Pantaenius
Young Sailor of the Year Award, the winner of which will be
announced in January at the Tullett Prebon London International Boat Show.
This was a real surprise as I had no idea I had even
been nominated. I am really looking forward to going to
the International Boat Show as a VIP and
receiving my award and seeing who finally wins the YJA Pantaenius
Young Sailor of the Year...
2012/13 RYA Volvo Laser Radial National Youth
Squad
After a summer of international events it was
time to knuckle down for the Autumn Laser Qualifiers
which were the indicators for the RYA Volvo National
Youth Squad selection. The first two events went well,
especially as my ribs had only just stopped hurting, and
I was delighted to be offered a place as the youngest of
six U18 girls in the RYA Volvo Laser Radial National
Youth Squad. I also had a great third qualifier event in
Plymouth where I was 3rd female (just behind our two
best Olympic squad sailors). I am now looking forward to
a winter of great training with the squad.
Busy summer
After a winter of training
the main competition season kicked off with the RYA
Youth Championships and the Spring Laser Qualifiers
which formed the selection events for the European Laser Radial Youth Championships.
The summer was very busy as I competed in four
international events. Unfortunately an incident in
June left me with two cracked ribs and although I
continued sailing I certainly wasn't at my fittest!
However, having been selected to represent GBR at the
European Laser Radial Youth Championships I wasn't going
to miss the experience and managed to compete.
Support from Reading Climbing Centre
Fitness is key to good Laser sailing, especially as the wind picks up
and climbing is
a great sport to build core stability and so I am very pleased
that the superb
Reading Climbing Centre, set-up by the
well-known climber John Dunne, has offered to
sponsor me with courses in climbing and the use of their
facilities. I have been working on my National Indoor Climbing Award Scheme (NICAS)
grades over the winter and really enjoying the work out
and the satisfaction of making it to the top of
increasingly hard climbs!
2011/12 RYA Volvo Laser Radial Transition
Training Squad
After competing in the Laser Radial Inland
Championships and a number of open Laser Radial training
events over the Autumn that together formed an indicator
series for the RYA Volvo Transition Training squad, I was delighted to be offered a place
by the RYA in the
Laser Radial Transition Training Squad. This squad
supports sailors progressing from their Junior class into a new Youth class and eventually onto the demanding RYA Volvo National Youth Squad.
This year it consists of 17 sailors or which 5 are
female. I now have a number of squad training weekends
over the winter before I start with the Laser Radial
events again in the spring.
Laser Championships
After the Topper World Championships we took a
decision to sell my Topper so I could focus my energies
on the Laser Radial. I have had some great years in the
Topper and I am sad to be moving away from such a great
class, the many friends I have made and the brilliant
coaches, but I can now concentrate fully on my youth
boat - it's surprisingly easy to get things mixed up
hopping between the two... During September and October
I raced in two of the Laser Autumn Qualifiers and
started getting some experience of big fleet racing in
the Radial. With some Radial open training under my belt
I then competed in the Laser Inland Championships at
Grafham Water Sailing Club on the 12th and 13th
November. Unfortunately there was no wind on the
Saturday (something of a common occurrence this year!),
but Sunday proved better and three races were completed.
I was reasonably happy with a 77th out of 120
competitors beating quite a few of the more experienced
sailors.
Support from the John Merricks Sailing Trust
As I move from my junior boat to my youth boat,
the Laser Radial, and start competing in Laser open
events, I delighted and proud that the
John
Merricks Sailing Trust is supporting me, helping to
fund my progress in youth sailing. The John Merricks Sailing Trust has been in operation for fourteen years and has helped many young sailors and youth sailing organisations
to achieve their goals. The charitable trust was set up
by those closest to John to do some good in his name and
further the memory of such a remarkable person. John was one of the world's top international sailors,
winning Silver in the 470 class at the 1996 Olympic
Games, but he was tragically killed in a motor accident in Punta Ala, Italy, where
he had been competing in the Melges 24 European Championship, less than a week earlier.
I certainly hope that with their support I can achieve
my own goals and put something back into the Trust. Do
take a look at their website, and if you can help the
Trust in its aim to advance the development of young people with a view to promoting the achievement of their potential through the sport of sailing
then I know that it will be most
appreciated.
Isle of Sheppey Round the Island Race
This year I wanted to have a go at the Isle of
Sheppey Round the Island Race. This is a 41 mile
endurance race (the longest in Europe) and now in its
53rd year. It takes place the first week in September
and is a mix of sea, estuary and river sailing
(including capsizing the boat to go under a road
bridge). I decided to raise sponsorship money by
completing the race to donate to two causes that are
close to me -
Burghfield Sailability (where I help during the
summer getting disabled people sailing) and the RNLI
(which all sailors should support!). I competed in my
Laser Radial and in the F3-4 winds completed the event
in just over 5 hours - not a bad time. I came 36th out
of 112 who finished the event (a few didn't) - and
clinched the first U16 helm and a nice trophy. More
importantly to me though was that I raised my
sponsorship money and have donated over £500 to these
two good causes.
MDL Sail Training Awards
As something of a departure from dinghy racing,
my school nominated me this year for one of only 6
MDL Sail Training Awards.. I was fortunate to win one
of these and spent a week aboard the Ocean Youth Trust
yacht the John Laing towards the end of August. It was a
great experience as we sailed from Ipswich to
Southampton stopping off along the way. My highlight of
the week was helming the John Laing through the night
and watching the sunrise. It was an experience I would
like to do more of... We were also presented with a
trophy at the Southampton Boat Show by Lord Iliffe and
Geoff Holt, and met Princess Anne who was presenting an
award to the Ocean Youth Trust for everything they have
done for young sailors over the last 50 years.
Summer Competitions
My summer this year was largely taken up by two
major competitions - first the week long Topper National
Championships at North Berwick on the 31st July - 6th
August followed a week later by the Topper World
Championships in Ireland on the 14th - 19th August.
The National Championships hosted by the East Lothian
Yacht Club capped off a great finish to my junior
sailing. Although the winds were light for most of the
week, which I don't enjoy so much, I was really pleased
to finish 18th out of the 274 competitors. I was even
more pleased to finish 2nd female and pick up a nice
trophy and some prizes.
The World Championships were held at Dun Laoghaire in
Ireland this year, and like the National Championships
suffered from light and fickle winds. Unfortunately a
protest was brought against me during the two day
qualifying series, which I lost, leaving me in the
Silver fleet and no way back! Still, these things are
sent to try us and although disappointed with the World
Championships I have my National Championships success
to spur me on.
Sponsorship from Ronstan
I am proud that
Ronstan will be supporting me in achieving my
ambitions with a sponsorship package that includes their
performance dinghy clothing and hardware. Internationally,
Ronstan are one of the top three sailboat hardware brands in the world, instantly recognised and respected in 45 countries.
Laser Radial Spring Qualifiers
I went to compete at my first major Laser
Radial event, Spring Qualifier 2 on the 26th/27th March
at Mountbatten Centre, Plymouth, but the wind didn't
play ball - we went out both days but were unable to
complete any races - a frustrating weekend for all, but
for me it was a chance to mix with the Laser sailors
properly for the first time, and meet some of the
Olympic squad (and get a few tips...)
The Laser Spring Qualifier 3 on the 7th/8th May at
Pwllheli Sailing Club proved to be better - although in
light winds on Saturday we were only able to complete
one race, Sunday proved to be great sailing conditions
with a good breeze and some big waves. With a further
three races completed on the Sunday in testing
conditions, and this my first decent race in the Laser
Radial, I was pleased with a 54th out of 79, beating
some of the more experienced sailors and on the pace for
my aim of an RYA Squad at the end of the year. It's odd
to think that the Laser Radial is the Olympic class
female single-hander and so I am now competing against
our own Olympic hopefuls.
Extremes of wind kick off the new Topper year
It was so cold and icy over the winter that actually sailing between squad weekends
proved very difficult - the lake at my home club at Burghfield iced over for
a number of weeks. The first event of the Topper year
was a very light wind (and very cold)
Winter Regatta at Datchet Water Sailing Club at the end
of January followed by another very light wind National
Series 1 at Rutland Sailing Club in April. Unfortunately
I was ill at that event and so wasn't able to post a
very good result. The Inland Championships in May were
then the opposite, very windy followed by National
Series 2 at Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy at the
end of May where the race committee only ran one race
all weekend due to the strong winds which posed a safety
issue with the large fleet as many of the sailors were
inexperienced in strong winds. A boat failure whilst
running in the top 10 at National Series 2 in that only
race was very unfortunate end to the weekend.
First Female Helm - Topper Southern Area Traveller Series
The Topper Southern Area Traveller Series has just drawn
to a close with its final event at Chichester Yacht Club
on the 10th October. Although I wasn't able to compete
in as many of these traveller events as I would have
liked due to the World Championships and National Series
events clashing with a few of them, I managed to do
enough events (7 out of the 11) to qualify for the
series and was delighted to be awarded the prize of top
female helm in the series.
RYA 2010/11 Topper National Junior Squad place
Yes! I knew that it would be close following the final
indicator event at Largs and a few days after the event
I heard the great news that I had secured a RYA Topper
National Junior Squad place - this is the top of junior
sailing and only some 24 places are offered each year to
Topper sailors. This year it was so close that 25
sailors were offered a place (they couldn't split the
final two) but only 8 of these were to girls. So, as
they say, now the hard work starts... I am so pleased to
be able to finish my junior sailing with a place in the
National Junior Squad having done the National
Intermediate Squad last year. Towards the end of next
year it will be time to move into my youth boat fully -
I am planning to sail the Laser Radial which is
why I am doing some events as and when I can in the
Laser 4.7 - same hull but a smaller sail.
Topper World Championships This
year we headed down to the sun for the World
Championships on the 23rd - 27th August - Malcesine
Sailing Club on Lake Garda in Italy. This is a wonderful
venue - clear waters and a good wind that usually kicks
in at midday promised some great racing. Like the
National Championships there was a qualifying and
championship series, but the qualifying series was only
two days, so even more pressure to do well ready for the
remaining races in the championship Gold and Silver
fleets. Much to my frustration I was unfortunate to trip
over a bar and fall badly on some cobbles after
practicing the day before the event hurting both my
knees badly. I decided to race, but was in a lot of pain
from the fall all of the week. As such I was very
pleased to get into the Gold fleet after the first two
days, but the pain was taking its toll and in the end I
managed to finish 54th our of 124 competitors. Despite
the knees, it was a wonderful place to sail - well worth
a visit if you ever get the chance. The wind lived up to
expectations all week, switching on like clockwork at
midday and blowing up to a nice F3/F4.
Topper National Championships
Once again this year we were back at Pwllheli Sailing
Club - one of my favourite venues. The National
Championships is in two series - the first is the
qualifying series and then the second the championship
series. During the qualifying series over the first
three days all sailors race again each other in flights
and at the end are split into Gold, Silver and Bronze
fleets for the championships series based on their
position and they sail in these fleets for the final
three days. As such, the first three days are crucial
for where you finish overall at the end of the week. The
wind for the qualifying series was light and shifty
making it difficult to be consistent and I was delighted
that after some difficult races I qualified for the Gold
fleet. The remaining days were much windier with a lot
of swell on the last day - in fact the biggest waves I
have sailed in - great fun! At the end of the week I was
81st out of 323 competitors.
Topper Irish National Championships
Travelling as the RYA Team GBR Squad to this event at
Carlingford Lough Yacht Club on the 2nd - 4th July proved to be a great experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately on my way out to the first race my sail ripped on the luff and I had to come ashore to do a makeshift repair. For the remaining races we had to keep repairing it, then just when I thought we had done a good repair for the final day, racing was
abandoned as there was too much wind. Finishing 26th wasn't too bad after all of that!
Selection for RYA Team GBR at the Topper Irish National Championships
Following the Inland Championships I was delighted to be
selected to join RYA Team GBR at the Topper Irish National Championships in Carlingford, Ireland, 2nd – 4th July 2010.
I will be one of 12 sailors (8 boys and 4 girls)
travelling as a squad to represent GBR at this event. My school also sent some information to the press when they found out I was going and the Newbury Weekly News
and the Reading Post
published an article about it.
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