After a busy period of exams at University during May I was itching to get away and race again. Fortunately Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, Netherlands fell at just the right time for me to be able to do so! I flew down to Southampton on the 21st and hitched a ride with 2 Boys in a Skiff over to Medemblik.
On Day 1 we were greeted with 15 knots of breeze which brought some choppy waves. I was relatively cautious with my starts to begin with and struggled with the waves upwind which made the racing a lot harder for myself. I did however, feel fast Downwind and took places on the downwind legs.
The second day brought much the same conditions than the first and I was able to increase the pressure of my starts (starting further towards the favoured end) without having many other variables change around me. I managed to nail a pin end start in race 4 which I was super happy about! The waves were offset to the wind direction slightly more than day 1, this resulted in me matching my speed with the top guys when the waves were side on but yet again struggling with the waves on the nose on the other tack.
Day 3 started with a pleasant 7 – 11 knots of wind with some small choppy waves – a lovely rest for the legs after the first 2 days. Similar to the previous day I was increasing the pressure of my starts trying to hold my position on the line for longer. I made some good progress in my holding technique, especially given that the seniors do this very differently to what I am used to, it was great to get the experience at such a high level!
The penultimate day was very different with 5-8 knots from the North East. Very much a risk versus reward kind of day, which I took advantage of but I also lost out on too! The wind died as the day progressed and tacks and gybes played more and more of a part in the racing, definitely something to work on for the future.
The 5th and final days racing consisted of 15+ knots from the South West and some big steep choppy waves. I executed my best start of the regatta and probably my best at a senior regatta, so super happy! Managed to hold with good flow, and punch out at the favoured end of the line which let me tack onto the first shift and execute my strategy as planned. So all in all a good day!
The atmosphere of the event was brilliant and the racing was super super competitive (we had 8 Olympians in our fleet!). The schedule of the event was thought out very well and allowed us to watch some of the medal races for the other classes which was great fun. An amazing regatta and an event I definitely want to do again, hopefully my exams will fall at a good time next year – fingers crossed!
It has been purely a process regatta for me this year so just the learning points to take from the event and work on in the coming weeks. Next up is a busy training phase back in Scotland in the build up to the Under 21 European and World Championships . Thank you for reading!
Lewis