PRINCESS SOFIA REGATTA

During a hectic week finishing off uni assignments I was fortunate enough to find myself on a flight to Palma de Mallorca for the annual Princess Sofia Regatta.

I was out at the event for 12 days which included 5 days racing, a few days training, some glorious cycling and a regrettable day of polishing off my final uni assignment!

The only way I was able to compete at the event was with the helpful aid of Sail Coach with their coaching and charter boat service. The only downside being that my boat only arrived 2 days before racing; but every cloud has a silver lining! This allowed for some much needed time to explore the mecca of cycling and find some hills around Mallorca. Happy to tick off Randa, Sa Calobra and Coll de sa Batalla along with San Salvador on a previous trip!

Once the boat arrived it allowed me to get in the zone and dial into the conditions and routine for the days ahead.

I started off the event fairly well, with one stand out result that gave me some much needed confidence in the high calibre fleet. My races in the following days struggled to hold up to the first as I found it tricky to start cleanly and execute my favoured strategy. This put me in bronze fleet for the rest of the regatta which was a hard pill to swallow, but did allow for some experience to be made racing towards the front of an international fleet (albeit a lower calibre).

I finished the week in 146th, so not the best and considerably below form. There was glimpses of good sailing, but still a lot to work on as always. I had an amazing time with a lot of really close mates, and took a lot away from spending time and racing against some of the worlds top senior sailors.

Up next is BUCS Yachting Championships where I am taking the role of tactician for the Edinburgh University Team!

Thanks for reading,

Lewis

U21 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Under 21 Europeans; my last event as an under 21, and the final big laser event for me this summer. After a few days training down South with the U21 squad, Joe and I made our way on a somewhat convoluted journey to Båstad, Sweden. We arrived 3 days before racing in order to get some training in and find our feet before the regatta kicked off!

Day 1
The first day of qualifying did not go to plan at all. I counted a 24th and an 18th in a fleet where top 10’s were easily attainable and top 5’s were within grasp. It was frustrating to say the least, and I was definitely not in my favoured mindset that evening.

Day 2
Nonetheless, I shifted my focus back to the job in hand and left day 1 behind. Day two was a better day, with me counting a 12th and a 13th, which left me 34th overall. I still wasn’t where I wanted to be, but it was a big jump from where I was which got me pumped for the rest of the regatta.

Day 3
Day 3 was the last day of qualifying for Gold and Silver fleet. Although I knew within myself I should have been higher up the fleet, the reality of the situation was that I was treading on the line between gold and silver. If I put in similar or better results than the previous day then I would move up again, closer to where I wanted to be. After 2 races in glamour conditions I scored a 13th and a 10th, which placed me in 28th overnight and in gold fleet.

Day 4
The first day of gold fleet racing was a good one, and I was feeling race sharp and fast. We had 2 races with the wind coming off shore. The race course was predominantly left hand favoured with the wind funnelling down a valley off Båstad. I clocked onto the gain feature early on and was able to capitalise on it with a reasonable amount of success throughout the races. I scored a 15th and a 14th which put me 23rd.

Day 5
The penultimate day started off with a postponement due to lack of wind. We had a light breeze blowing onshore that slowly picked up during the afternoon. After a couple of hours waiting around we managed to launch and sail 1 race in 5-10 knots. It was an interesting race with the top two boats coming from the far right and the far left on the first beat. I was able to slot myself into the top 10 at the windward mark before the wind lightened off. On the second lap the wind shut off and I found myself in a large clump of boats which dropped me down to 20th. I finished the fifth day in 25th overall.

Day 6
The final day was dominated by very unstable conditions. There were numerous squalls passing over the night before with massive amounts of rain and substantial increases in wind. But our race was relatively stable considering the conditions. We launched on time for our first race, and after a short postponement due to a large wind shift we got underway. I strung together a solid first beat but I wasn’t able to hold my position for the remainder of the race, I finished up 22nd.

After a 3 hour wait for the other fleets to finish and the race committee to rotate the course we eventually found ourselves lining up for a second time. It was an interesting race to say the least, I sailed the first beat on the back foot after a poor start and rounded the windward mark in around 20th. On the second leg we were being chased by a huge black (and I don’t just mean dark grey - I mean BLACK) rain cloud. We rounded the reach mark for the first downwind leg and it hit us. The rain pelted down like bullets, the wind swung right and picked up to around 25-30knots. There were a lot of people deciding to take a dip and a huge pile up of 4 or 5 boats at the leeward mark. This was good for me, I rounded the mark with no issues and sailed my self into the top 10. I kept the stick in air for the remainder of the race before getting to the final leg of the course. The finish line eventually came into view through the rain and they were waving the flag signalling to us that they had abandoned our race. Very frustrating, but what can you do.  It was a fun race to finish up the championship!

Looking back on the event it was enjoyable. Although not the outcome I wanted at all, it was a nice end to my Under 21 career. The regatta presented us with a range of conditions which were all tricky in their own ways. There was good things and bad things, a lot of bad things; but that just means more room for improvement over the winter period!  Kudos to the lads at the front of the fleet, and to the organisers for putting on a great event!

Thanks for reading,

Lewis

Standerd U21 Results:

http://seglarveckanbastad.se/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/laseru21m2018.pdf

U21 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

l'll be honest, it wasn't the easiest regatta I’ve competed in.  The hardest aspect to deal with was by far the strategical challenges and in particular the mental toll that these took. You start to question yourself a lot more when you make numerous wrong decisions, and it was really hard to keep the confidence up during the event and bounce back.  I've had some time at home to reflect back on the event, and this is what I thought...

It was a tough regatta, with the majority of competitors scoring highly throughout the week.  Unfortunately, through my own errors I picked up a black flag disqualification on day 2 which put me into silver fleet for the second half of the week.  I then picked up my second yellow flag of the regatta on a recalled start, the penalty of which is to retire from the race.  With the regatta only allowing 1 race to be discarded, I was forced to count my retirel (a wholesome 70 points!).

Despite all those bad points, there were some good points too. I had one day during the regatta where I smashed my strategy. I felt fast and my race plans were piecing together. However, despite my best efforts, one of those races was unfortunately the black flag disqualification that I picked up.  But black flags aside, there are big positives to take from that day alone.  It was a day where no plan was a good plan, in the pre-start of both races there was no obvious gain features.  Go with what you know, not what you think was the best plan of action.  I decided to start in the middle of the line to keep my options open and kept my eyes out of the boat to lock onto the first gain.  And lo and behold, in both races, the wind filled in towards the top right of the beat and I was able to use it to my advantage.  It was one of the more unpredictable days, so I was happy to be able to show some form, despite the letters on my score card…

With all that being said I have learned a great deal from the event, particularly how to effectively carry out weather analysis by taking it one step further and linking it to my race plan.  Onwards and upwards!

Thanks for reading,

Lewis

Under 21 Gold Results:

https://gdyniasailingdays.org/en/results/laseru21/men

Under 21 Silver Results:

https://gdyniasailingdays.org/en/results/laseru21/men-silver

KIELER WOCHE 2018

It’s been a tough old week to say the least... A seriously high quality fleet combined with strong winds everyday made for an extremely fun week of racing, but jeez was it hard!

The regatta entailed 4 days of racing with a medal race on day 5.  The first two days were the qualifying series  to decide gold and silver fleet with the following two days being battled out in the respective fleets.

Day 1

Kiel is an incredible regatta, with a brilliant setup and atmosphere, but one downside is the commute to the race course.  Day 1 saw us sail an hour out to the race course and an hour and a half back, but it was well worth it.

Once we rounded the headland we were greeted by some big waves and big wind.  My qualifying races weren’t my best; and that definitely showed in the first two races, with my poorest starts of the regatta.  However, I felt relatively fast and managed to gain a lot of places back throughout the races.

Day 2

The second day was a bit of a waiting game.  It was a stormy looking day with large, black clouds dominating the sky and a strong breeze across the race course.  The committee held the lasers ashore and rotated most of the classes around on the inshore course that was more sheltered.  It wasn’t until 6.45pm that the race committee launched our fleet.  The late start made it pretty hard to get into race mode; but some dinner before racing and a coffee sorted me right out!

The two races weren’t my best results, but I was chuffed with my starts.  Although they were good, and a big improvement on the previous days, I wasn’t able to convert them in the end.  But it’s all learning!  After the late start and 2 races, we didn’t get ashore until 10pm, which is the latest I’ve been racing by a long shot.

Day 3

The first day of silver fleet racing was a bit of a mixed bag.  We had 1 race on Charlie course, around the headland in some BIG waves and 1 race on Juliet course, further inland with small chop and some mega shifts.

Race 1 was super fun and I was mixing it up with the front runners which was brilliant, even though it’s only silver fleet!  The big waves and big wind made it one of the more physical races, the legs were definitely feeling the burn.

The wind picked up a touch so the race committee decide to move us inshore to Juliet course.  It was incredibly shifty and felt a bit like snakes and ladders.  I got one of my best starts at a senior level regatta which was great, but again I struggled to convert it into a good result.

Day 4

Shattered is an understatement, but day 4 was a good day, my best of the regatta!  The day started off with 15-20 knots of breeze which lighted off during the second race to about 10-15 knots, a bit of a relief on the legs.  I finished 6th and 8th in the two races; a nice way to finish what was a very tough week of racing.  

Although I didn’t make the Gold fleet and my performance wasn’t my best, I am super happy with how I’ve performed against my process goals. This regatta is all about getting sharp and refining small things in preparation for the Under 21 World Championships next week in Poland.

Today we were lapping up the sun in Kiel before we travel across to Gydina tomorrow.  I’m feeling good for next week; roll on the Worlds, racing starts on the 3rd!

Lewis

Standard Results: 

 http://manage2sail.com/en-US/event/kiwo18#!/results?classId=StdM

YOUTH NATIONALS LARGS

(That’s Joe, not me, I’m just behind him with the water in my eyes!)

In hindsight it was an amazing week, but it did have its up and downs.  Not just my performance, but the weather too.  It was a typical Scottish Youths, similar to my first Youth Nationals in Largs back in 2013, mostly cold, wet, and windy.

This year was my second Youth Nationals in the Laser Standard rig and my final ever Youth Nationals!  It was really nice to finish my last Youth Nationals in Largs, where it all kicked off 5 years ago!

Day 1 + 2

The five day regatta got off to a roaring start with the first 2 days being un-sailable because of the bitterly cold easterly winds that were funnelling down the valleys of Largs.  This meant that every race really did count for the rest of the week, and the chance of a second discard in the series was slim.

Day 3

Day three was forecast to be another windy one.  The race committee were toing and froing with whether to send us out or not all morning.  After a long wait we heard a message over the radio – “Laser Standard fleet launching in 10 minutes”.

We were the only fleet to launch, the ginea pigs if you like.  As we launched, the keen eyes of parents and the younger sailors were watching to see how we would cope.  Much to everyones surprise, and my own, it wasn’t actually that windy.  16-20 knots from the North East, but very, very shifty.  We got 2 races in, but it didn’t exactly go to plan, I scored a 7th and a 6th.  I felt fast, which was good, but I was struggling with my strategy.  We sailed very close to the shore of Cumbrae (an island just off the coast of Largs) which made the strategy slightly more complicated than I expected.  Areas to improve!

Day 4

The second day of racing was a great day, and I was on form!  Bar a hail storm on the sail out it was a very pleasant day on the water, the sun even appeared for a short while.  We managed to fit in 4 races at the North end of Cumbrae; I scored a 3rd, 8th, 2nd, 1st.  Super happy!  Again, I felt I had great speed, and some really good starts that were conservative, yet punchy enough to ensure a top position.  After Day 4 I went from 6th overall to 4th overall, and 1 point away from a podium place.  At this point I should probably say that I’ve never physically stepped on the podium at a UK Youth event, so this felt good.  I was so close!

Day 5

I would love to say that the final day went well, but I can’t.  Things didn’t go the way I wanted them to.  We sailed 2 races in the Largs channel, those being the windiest and shiftiest 2 races we had over the series.  I scored a 9th in the first race, which was predominantly down to two capsizes.  I was annoyed to say the least but I tried my best to keep it out of my head for the final race of the series. I channeled the little anger that was left into my work rate for the next race and I went for it.  I launched off the line and punched out nicely to begin with but soon had to tack out and find a new lane.  I sailed the shifts as best as I could but I couldn’t string together a successful first beat.  I rounded the first windward mark in about 8th but couldn’t find a way to gain back any significant places.  I finished that race in 7th.

My performance on the final day dropped me to 5th overall.  Not the result I wanted, but I walked away from Largs having had an a brilliant week (well 3 days).  The racing was tight and I had a great laugh with the lads in my fleet.  Kudos to Joe Mullen for stringing together a solid series and taking the win!

Fortunately my result at the Youth Nationals granted me a place in the British Youth Sailing Team this summer!  Damn it feels good!  After narrowly missing out on the team last year it feels extra special this time around, super chuffed!

Lewis

2018 Youth National Laser Standard results:
http://www.rya.org.uk/racing-events/2018-youth-nationals/Documents/Laser%20Standard%20Results.htm

DELTA LLOYD REGATTA

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

PALAMOS CHRISTMAS REGATTA

On the 15th of January I flew to Barcelona for a very slightly sunnier alternative to my winter training.  I met the rest of the U21 Youth Squad in Barcelona airport and we traveled to our apartment together.  Unfortunately I drew 1 of 2 short straws and was left with a single bed for the week.  However, the apartment was in a great location, only a 5 minute walk from the beach, and we had a supermarket underneath us which made life a lot easier!

Our boats did not arrive until the evening of the 16th which left us 2 days to explore the area and get to know our surroundings.  It’s fair to say that Palamos is a lovely place and there is some great coast line to walk along.  I took a few snaps of when we explored the area…

The day before racing commenced, myself and the team took to the water to get a feel for the conditions and warm ourselves up for what was to be a breezy few days!  The sailing felt odd and quite dissimilar to any venue I have sailed at before – this meant there was scope to learn a lot from the unfamiliar conditions.  The conditions for the training day were big breeze and BIG offset swell; these conditions were present for the duration of the regatta. It was a tough week to say the least, this is how it looked…

Day 1:    3 Races sailed in big breeze and big waves!

Day 2:    2 Races, only 1 sailed due to injury

Day 3:    No sailing, 10 metre waves recorded by the committee!

Day 4:    Postponed due to adverse sea state, 1 Race eventually sailed in great conditions

Day 5:    We watched the medal race from the comfort of the rib

There were only 6 races held out of the scheduled 10, this was due to high winds and adverse sea state.  Unfortunately I only sailed 5 of the 6 races due to an inflammation of the ligament in my knee; this was an injury I picked up at the end of my summer competitions.  That aside, there was a lot to be learned from the competitors, just like there is at any international senior regatta.  Although it is hard to take a positive from my final result alone, the event was a great learning curve for me.  The racing gave me a good kick up the backside to step my game up 2 or so notches and really solidify my jump from the radial rig into the standard rig.

After a hard week week both physically and emotionally I flew back home on the 23rd, just in time for a quiet Christmas at home with my family.  I quickly got back to training in the gym on the 28th, 29th and 30th before taking a few days off over new year.

And so my winter training continues…

Thanks for reading,

Lewis

UK LASER STANDARD U21 YOUTH SQUAD

A few weeks ago was my first U21 Standard Youth Squad camp!  It was a great four days to kick off the start of my winter training.  The camp was a prime opportunity to chat with the coaches and the rest of the team about the 3 qualifiers that have just past to see where we could all improve (see my other post).  It was also a really good chance to discuss next summer and my target events for the year ahead, exciting times!  The week was pretty tough for me as I had a lot of uni work to catch up on in the evenings; I had a report to hand in on the Friday of the camp and I had to catch up on the four days I had missed, I had a few late nights but it’s all done now!  All in all a great week with good improvements and lots of takeaways to work on.

I flew down from Edinburgh to Southampton on Monday night and hopped on a train to Weymouth.  The camp started on Tuesday and after an introduction to the team we quickly got on the water.  The main focuses of the camp were downwind turning, downwind tactics and match racing tactics.  We headed downwind into Weymouth bay on one of the days; here’s a short clip of the downwind turning I’ve been working on…

Thanks to Alex Mills Barton for the filming.

The match racing was very hard!  We were fortunate to be joined by a few of the sailors from the British Sailing Team who taught us a thing or two… or three… or four… about match racing tactics.  Loads of fun and heaps to learn which is super exciting!  We rounded the camp off with some short races in Weymouth Bay; a perfect chance to piece together the points discussed and consolidate them as much as possible.

We finished early on the final day of the camp which allowed me an hour or two to get some boat preparation done before my flight back home; it’s pretty hard to find the time to work on my boat when its kept 460 miles away! The boat is now all ready for a trip abroad this Christmas!  The rest of the team and I are heading out to Palamos, Spain for the Christmas regatta on the 15th.  I’ve not been away from home at that time of year before so that might be a challenge ,but I will be home just in time for Christmas Day.

I have a busy block of training at the moment including some training as part of the Scottish Elite Squad and the Scottish Keelboat Academy, looking forward to it!

Thanks for reading,

Lewis

UK WORLD + EUROPEAN AUTUMN QUALIFIERS

Another trio of Qualifiers has come to an end.  It has to be said that the competition is a lot harder now that I have moved into the Standard class – the racing is very tight!  The first weekend loomed just as I was starting to settle into my new flat at university.  Mum and I left on Friday evening and shared the drive, albeit a short one, to South Shields Sailing Club in Newcastle – it was nice to have a weekend a little further North than usual.

We arrived at the sailing club on the Saturday morning, the conditions were light with large offset swell from the night before.  These unusual conditions made the racing a little more interesting than normal.  Although very ironic; the large swell, combined with the light winds, didn’t get on very well with my stomach and I ended up being pretty ill on the water.  However, I was determined to finish the days racing and get on with it.  I finished the day in a disappointing 23rd overall and 9th Under 19.  Sadly the conditions were not in our favour and the racing was cancelled on Sunday.

The next qualifier followed 3 weeks later in Hayling Island.  It was great racing across the weekend with good wind – even the sun popped out for a while.  It was a brilliant turn out with 45 Standards competing!

Saturday brought 10-15 knots of breeze that decreased to 6-8 by the end of the day.  The racing was made very strategic because of large pressure differences across the course, the tide played a big part nearing the end of the day’s racing.  I was very happy to finish day one in 8th overall and 2nd under 19.  Day 2 brought similar conditions with slightly more breeze than the previous day.  I finished day 2 with a 13th, 16th and 17th which dropped me down the results a bit to 13th overall and 3rd under 19.  Although it would have been nice to stick 8th overall I’m pretty pleased with 13th!

The 6th and final qualifier of the year was held in Pwllheli, North Wales with a far smaller fleet than the qualifier before.  The conditions on Saturday were big waves along with 14 knots of wind coming from the South.  Being underweight for the boat didn’t help me in my efforts to put in good results on day one; I scored a 12, 12 and 22.  I feel as though I could have sailed a lot better strategically and tactically and looking back on it I know where I went wrong!  The event was cut short and no races were sailed on Sunday due to too much wind.  I finished the event in 15th overall and 4th under 19.

Having sailed 4 out of the 6 qualifiers in a Standard this year it has allowed me to be ranked on the ladder without having to discard a race that I didn’t compete (DNC) in.  I am currently 14th in the UK and 2nd under 19 in the UK!

I am extremely happy to say that my results from these qualifiers along with my summer results have got me selected onto the Under 21 UK Youth Squad!  This means lots of training down South alongside the Olympic Podium Potential Team, super exciting!

Thanks for reading!

Lewis

Standard Ladder 2016:

http://www.kbsuk.com/laser/events/showrace.asp?EventID=89&RaceURL=%5Bresults%5D/stdlad6.2016nh.html

YOUTH EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

My last ever Laser Radial event has come to a close and it was great to end on a high.  The Championship was held in Tallin, Estonia.  A fantastic venue that was used to hold the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.

This was an exciting event for me as it was the first major championship that I have traveled with the British Youth Sailing Team instead of doing it with my family, a great experience!  It was also a very important few weeks for me as the next 4 years was going to be determined by my exam results and my placing at the end of the regatta.  A top 8 result would secure me a place in the Laser Standard full time P3 programme, and achieving my conditions would land me a place in Edinburgh University to study Sport & Recreation Management.  This was all to become clear by the end of the championship.

The week of racing was predominantly windy with a range of 15-20 knots everyday, not counting the last day which was called off due to no wind.

Day one was very up and down emotionally.  The racing was abandoned and us sailors were forced to wait around for the wind to drop.  It didn’t, so no races were sailed.  On top of the frustration of no sailing I was also waiting for my exam results on the same day.  In a way it was fortunate, I had a clear head and was able to sit down and sort out the relative details.  After that anxious wait, I’m happy to say that I met my conditions and that I have my place at Edinburgh University secured!

Day two saw the first two races of the regatta.  I smashed the first race to finish in 3rd place and was super happy to get the initial race nerves out of the way.  The second race I finished in 20th which wasn’t as good but still okay.

The third day was the last day of qualifying where we sailed another two races.  I was very happy with the day as a whole finishing 9th and 5th.  This placed me 8th overall going into the gold/silver split!

Day number four was gold fleet racing, where the real gains and losses can happen.  Unfortunately in the first race of gold fleet I picked up a black flag disqualification (BFD) which scored me a 70th place, this was because of me being over the start line at the ‘go’ gun, this became my discard of the regatta.  After a long and painful wait the gold fleet started their second race of the day.  I scored a 15th in that race, which I was happy with.

Day five was very disappointing for me as I picked up another large result, I was 48th due to a number of small mistakes that added up and took their toll on my placing.  The consequences of this result were made worse by me being unable to discard it.  In the race following this mishap I was very happy with my performance.  I was able to switch my focus away from the poor result and focus entirely on the race in hand, this allowed me to sail with a fresh mind and finish in 4th position!  Super pleased to finish the day on a high!

We spent day six waiting for wind with no resulting races.  I finished the championship just outside the top ten in 12th position.  It would have been nice to finish in the top ten and pick up a prize but I am chuffed none the less.  A great week spent with a great group of guys!

Congrats to Dan and Milo, my team mates, for picking up the U19 and U17 silver medals respectively.

I now look forward to a well deserved 2 weeks off!  I have 1 week at home to plan and sort out some of the details for transitioning to University, then 5 days in Paris with my Girlfriend to get away and chill out for a while.  Well needed after a very busy start to the summer!

I have now finished sailing my Laser Radial and have transitioned fully into the Laser Standard (male olympic class) watch the space for more updates regarding my move into the standard class!

Lewis

Full results here:

http://www.euroradialyouth2016.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/boys_gold.htm

UK YOUTH SQUAD CAMP

The big summer trip has begun, and what a weekend to start it off with!  Sunny Weymouth provided the team with champagne sailing conditions 4 days straight with 20+ degrees and fair winds.

This was my first trip heading down south that I was been able to help with the driving, which made it a lot easier for my Mum. We arrived late Friday night, with the camp kicking off the next morning.  The camp started off with a short briefing and we swiftly got on the water for a great session in the sun.  We sailed in the harbour for 3 days and out of the harbour on the last day to get a contrast of sea states which was very beneficial to me; I managed to take learning points away, from all 3 coaches we had, in the different conditions.

Wearing my summer wetsuit in Weymouth certainly wasn’t something I was expecting to happen!

At the half way stage of the camp we were fortunate enough to have the British Sailing Team psychologist Sophie Walton answer questions we had about the up coming competitions and how to deal with our mind-set and behaviour.  The main thing I took from this was to be an individual and not to be led by anyone else when it comes down to my routine and what works best for me.

The day after the camp was finished we all drove in convoy to Holyhead, Wales to catch the ferry across to Dublin, Ireland for the Youth World Championships.  Due to traffic accidents we decided to travel through Snowdonia National Park on our way to Holyhead.  The scenery is really quite impressive and we took a few stops on the way to take it all in! After a 2 hour ferry crossing we were docked in Dublin and we only had a short 30 minute drive to Dun Laoghaire Harbour to drop the boats off at the venue.

The World Championships start on the 23rd July, until then I will be training and getting used to the venue and my surroundings.  Watch this space for a post competition update!

Lewis

YOUTH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS PWLLHELI

Just back from a busy couple of weeks training for, and competing in the Youth National Championships in North Wales.  The week prior was spent training with fellow Scottish sailors Clemmie Thompson and Anna Sturrock with coach Tim Ellis (photo credit to Tim!).  We were lucky enough to use the new Garmin Virb GPS Cameras, the content was great to analyse after sailing.  We were able to compare video evidence of techniques and see how it affected our speed.  They were also helpful in gauging what side of the course was favoured as we could overlay each sailors GPS track along with their speed.  Very technical but a great tool.

The Racing started on Monday and we sailed in some very light breeze that constrained us to only sailing one race.  Coming 3rd in that race put me third overall, surprise surprise, and I went into day 2 with the red dot.  The second day was a high scoring day for me unfortunately, with me picking up a large discard with another large result to count.  I was happy to finish the last race in 4th to finish the day on a high.  Day 3 saw no racing due to high winds.  The breeze carried through from Wednesday into Thursday but only a shade lighter to allow racing to go ahead.  I found the conditions difficult which led to me having an inconsistent day with a 10th, 2nd and 6th.  Unfortunately I carried on my inconsistency into the final day picking up my second discard along with a 12th and a 3rd.

I was disappointed to finish 8th overall as I know myself I can sail a lot better given my results in the qualifiers.  It has been a massive learning curve for me as the experience in these pressured events will help me cope with them in the future.  However it isn’t all bad…

Finishing 8th has landed me a spot in the British Youth Sailing Team to compete at the Youth European Championships in Tallin, Estonia at the beginning of August! Not bad at all, very very happy and I can’t wait!

It’s now time to knuckle down for my exams.  It is an important year for me in school with university conditions to meet so I have chosen to put the sailing aside from the end of the Youth Nationals up until my last exam.  After my exams in June I will be travelling to Kiel in Germany for 2 international regattas, so I have that to look forward to!

Lewis

Full results here:

Be sure to select the “Radial Boys” tab;

http://events.sailracer.org/eventsites/results_viewer-v2.asp?id=40191&eventid=204289&classtype=420&templ=&panels=

Congratulations to fellow training partner Jamie for winning, well done mate!