Eight weeks of consecutive training changes the way you look at things. Your sport. Why you do it. Why you love it. Why you hate it. It can be a soul numbing experience to say the least. Waking up and knowing in some way or form your day will be based around improving at sailing. I’m happy to say I’ve come out the other side mostly unscathed and feeling in incredible shape. The summer has begun and I’m two regattas deep. Here’s the wrap up before the new year.
Sail Melbourne: This was now my fourth Sail Melbourne and everyones first at the new venue of St Kilda. The location change made the event really accessible to the public which added a really nice vibe to the regatta. To cap it off we had some glamour weather which is quite a rarity for Melbourne. I was fortunate enough to stay with Adrian and Kate again, a lovely couple who have hosted me for the last two years now.
The first day of the event was great, medium to strong winds and nice waves helped me post a 1st and a 2nd to take the event lead. Day two was a bit more difficult with some lighter winds and harder to read conditions. I placed 11th in the first race and 2nd in the second race but was later scored BFD for being over the start line which was quite disappointing. We had a day of waiting around as it was just too windy to go sailing so I ended up hanging out with everyone at the club. The final day consisted of three races in some very random conditions. I placed 17th in the first race followed by a 5th and an 8th. The BDF was really hurting me now seeing as I couldn’t drop my big 17th score. It was all coming down to the medal race now with only 13 points separating 10th and 2nd overall. Collin Cheng from Singapore had a handy lead over 2nd and was going to be hard to beat. I was 9th going into the medal race but after placing 4th in the race I moved up to 6th overall to finish off the event.
I was disappointed with the result and how it played out especially since I felt like I was sailing more than well enough to win. It just felt like something was missing. No time to dwell on it though as the next day I was driving with coach Ash up to Sydney to start preparing for my next event.
Sail Sydney: A smaller event than Sail Melbourne but still fun to do. There’s much worse things to do with your time than spend three days on a buzzing Sydney harbor in sunny conditions. The competition was much the same as in Melbourne as well which meant I could have a rematch with a victorious Collin. The first day was really tight racing in light winds but I was happy to stay consistent with a 5th, 2nd and 6th. Day two saw some more wind but a few spins early in the first race sent me back to 11th for the first race. A 1st and 2nd after that lifted my spirits a bit. On the final day we had four races on a hectic Saturday morning. The wind was light and the current was strong. A 3rd was followed by an 11th after rounding second at the bottom mark. Another 3rd was backed up with a 9th to finish off the event and see me 3rd overall. Giovanni from Italy sailed a great regatta to take the win with Collin piping me on the last race.
I still feel my game is the best it’s been but I’m not trusting my intuition enough which is making my decisions over complicated. I’ve got some off time now which will be great before the Nationals kicks off after Christmas. Talk soon.
/Swifto