Luke Elliott

Last time I posted on here I was just about to compete in the 2017 Laser Nationals. It’s been nearly four months since then so I thought it was about time I posted again. The summer was very hard for me and one I learnt a lot from but also an experiance I don’t want to have again. The toughest things change people and I feel like I have grown from the experiance. I can still take the positives away from something that was pretty negative.

So where am I now? In Sydney after finishing the last of three seperate training camps over here, 5 weeks in all. This last one was pretty race focused as we get ready to fly to France for the World Cup in Hyeres. I didn’t do Palma this year, the first time in 3 years but I don’t mind that. Actually I’m hoping the extra time at home is going to keep me fresh enough to really perform for this relatively short trip to France, Italy and Holland. It’s been a bit of an up and down experiance flying back and forth from WA so often and getting a handle on myself and the new WAIS staff that are coming in. Like I said, all learning which is what the whole experiance is about anyway.

I’m really looking forward to being back in Europe racing again. I always feel a good sense of focus when I’m there and having been to Hyeres four times before, it’s not nearly the foreign land it once was. I’ll keep you more up to date as the year unfolds.

/Swifto

I kicked of December with the World Cup Final in St Kilda, Melbourne. This was my first time competing in the WCF because it is exclusively invite only to the top 20 sailors. The field held both the current gold and silver medallists from Rio plus former silver medallists and world number ones. It was going to be some great racing. 

I started out slowly in the regatta making some poor judgments that cost valuable points early. Moving through the fleet didn’t come easy with such a high standard and I was regulated to the middle of the fleet for the majority or the event. However on our last day of racing things finally started to click, or so I thought, when I won the second race of the day and was first around the top in the last race and went on the place fifth. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be as I was later told my first place was a UFD and I dropped from 7th to 12th in the regatta, missing the medal race on a countback. 

The next two days were spent packing and driving boats up to Sydney for Chris at PSA. We stayed overnight in a small town in the middle of nowhere before polishing of the drive the next day. I was staying in an Airbnb in Bronte, a beautiful seaside suburb just south of Bondi beach and a 15min drive from the club. The weather for Sail Sydney was like nothing I had ever seen before with two days of non-stop rain and light south west winds. The tides we had for racing were exceptional and made for some really interesting sailing. By this time though I was quite burnt out and for the first time ever I really didn’t feel like sailing or being out on the water. My limit had finally been reached. It was a strange and next experience for me and I’m glad for having it but it’s going to make me re-think the way I approach the next four years and how I train for events. 

After Sail Sydney finished up I packed up and got myself to the airport to fly to Mooloolaba on the Shineshine Coast to have Christmas with Mitch and his family. $570 dollars in excess baggage later (don’t ever fly with Jetstar) I made it to Queensland and have been hanging out in the warm weather and not thinking about sailing. It’s been refreshing to do something different for a little while. 

Next up is the Nationals in Adelaide where I’ll meet my dad and Spero on Boxing day.

/Swifto

So it’s that time of year again. The training is done and the racing is about to start. Tomorrow the World Cup Final begins in Melbourne with 20 of the best Laser Sailors in the world. I spent a great two weeks in Sydney training with the team, our first camp since the games, and now I’ve just finished three days of training in Melbourne. The forcast looks mixed but I’m as ready as I can be.

Just a quick update from my latest travels. I’ve just spent the last week in Japan competing in the Enoshima Olympic Week. I had a fantastic host family looking after me and feeding me and I’m already looking forward to staying with them again next time. The sailing in Enoshima was tricky with some pretty random shifts but in all a lot of fun. I was really happy with most of my sailing but I felt I let myself down on the last day losing third place. All part of the experiance though and I was really greatful for the opportunity to sail here. Next stop is a 12 hour layover in Singapore 😛

/Swifto

The amount of stuff that has happened in the last three months is just insane and I’m going to have a hard time fitting it all into this post. As always though it’s time for another update as I’ve just finished a regatta and if I don’t post soon I’m going to forget it all. Starting from the beginning…

July was time to get back to coaching. I landed home from Europe for the first time in five months and rolled straight into work the next day coaching a clinic at SOPYC. Thanks Tessa! The next week I coached a huge 4.7 development camp with Ben and Connor out at Fremantle before finally returning home to Esperance for four days. Always great to see the parents even if it’s not for that long. The next week I was back on a plane headed for Kiel in north Germany for the 4.7 World Championships. It was my third time in a row coaching the National Team and by far the biggest squad, 16 sailors! The event was great and I had such a good time coaching such a keen bunch of sailors. I had a great time and I’m really grateful to continue my work developing the youth of the sailing community.

After two weeks in Kiel I headed back to Perth (got a free upgrade to Business, so stoked) 🙂 to get stuck into my own training. Meanwhile the Olympics raged on in Rio and I keenly watched as Tom somehow sailed to gold on sailings biggest stage. I was so pumped. To cap it off Kiwi Brother Sam got the bronze medal. In all the Australian Sailing Team did a great job with three silvers and a gold medal which makes me really proud to be a part of such an amazing organization.

While Tom was winning gold I had my own event to prepare for, the World Cup in Qingdao, China. This was to be the last time the event was going to be hosted in China and I had to take to opportunity to compete there at least once. My training in Perth was intense but that’s one of my favourite things, putting my head down and getting to work with minimal distractions. This was a really productive period I felt, I rebuilt my gym program with Greg (my physiologist), went through my first ever FTP Test (Functional Threshold Power) on my new bike (old bike was stolen while in Europe L) and scored 351 watts for a 20min effort. Stoked!! I also went through a stack of information and ideas with Adrian (my WAIS psychologist) and caught up with Arthur and Belinda who were both getting back from overseas coaching gigs. On top of all that I was out on the water again, being coached by old mate Palky and training with Spero and Wongy again along with the rest of the FSC Laser crew.

To keep things interesting I decided to take up an invitation to skipper a M32 in the Perth inter club series. Great boats, super fast and really fun to sail. I got a taste of what the World Match Racing Tour guys experience and I can see why Catamarans are the future of our sport.

Before I knew it I was on a plane to China, eager to race for the first time since Weymouth. The venue was way better than anything I had expected and everyone was really friendly and happy to have me there. The sailing was really interesting with massive amounts of current and tricky winds. I felt great and I was really confident in the preparation I had put into the event. Unfortunately once the event started we had very different winds to training and I couldn’t find my way up the first beat very well. I finished a disappointing 18th but take away some valuable experience sailing in such strong currents.

The next day after I got back to Perth I was down at Westsail, WA’s biggest youth development camp coaching some of the states best youth sailors before flying home to Esperance once more where I am about to start coaching another youth development program all this week. Next weekend I am in the air again on my way to Japan to sail at Enoshima, Tokyo the Olympic venue for 2020 and host for next years world cup event. Before I know it, it will be Christmas.

I’ll keep you posted,

/Swifto

Time flys. I look back on Weymouth like it just happened yet I’m sitting in my room in Perth on a miserable winter day some six weeks since I raced. World Cup Weymouth was the lightest wind regatta of the season which is highly unusual for England but it did make for some long days meeting new people and chatting in the boat park. I was lucky enough to stay with my Kiwi brothers Sam Meech and Jason “Snake” Saunders in a house in Portland. The house had no wifi but it did have a pool table which made for endless in house competition between us.

The racing was tough. After losing the whole first day we had little time to make it up so only managed 7 races for the series. I had a really tough first day, stuggling to get myself off the start line in any good form. After another long day of waiting on day two we got out to do one very light air race inside the harbour. I was holding third for the majority of the race but lost a bunch on the last run home. On the final day of racing we were sent out very late to do three races in marginal conditions with strong tide. I had a poor first race not getting my wind shifts right but turned it on in the next two. I found myself leading on the second beat of race two but lost out on a last minute shift towards the top. On the final race I lead around the top after a great pin end start where I crossed the fleet but could’t hold it as we finished off the day in as little as 3 knots of air. I was really happy with how I rallied in the light air after a tough start to the week.

Once racing was over I jumped in the team car with Blackers, Wearny and TB and headed for Falkestone and the Eurotunnel. The next day we arrived in Belgium to say goodbye to Matt before driving to Amsterdam to drop Blackers off at the Airport. The next day Tom and I packed a bunch of team containers with a small Aussie crew before jumping in the car and driving the whole 1200km to Lake Garda ready for our training camp.

As many of you would know Lake Garda is my favorite place in the world and I was stoked to be back. Normally we go to Garda earlier in the season but due to our world championships clashing dates we were unable to attend. That’s why I was so grateful for the oppertunity to be there.

The purpose of being in Garda this time round was to treat it as the final major training and fitness block before everyone went to Rio. Tom and I stayed together and out of all the sailors training there I was the only one not going to the games. It was fantastic to see how everyone trained and focused before such an important occasion. The weather really turned it on for us and we enjoyed two amazing weeks of sun and wind. The daily routine consisted of a gym session, two hours on the water followed but whatever choice of mountain to ride was on the menu. We even managed to squeeze a few windsurfing sessions in there as well.

All too soon it was time to pack up and head home. TB and I drove to Munich before I flew one way around the world and he flew the other. Since arriving it’s been a flat out week of meetings and work but I’m really happy to be home after five months away and only having spent three weeks in WA since October last year. Now it’s time for the next step.

Talk soon,

/Swifto

Over the last five weeks I have competed in three major competitions and have faced some of the most challenging sailing I have done yet. The racing an Olympic year throws up is like no other and it’s amazing to compete against the best in the world and be exposed to their intensity. However, racing against such quality has it’s own problems, making the targets I’m striving to reach that much harder to attain. Not letting negativity and my own expectations weigh me down is one of the hardest parts of this game. Let’s go back to France.

Hyeres: The world Cup in France is one of the highest caliber events anyone can compete in on the tour and always delivers a wide range of conditions. This year was no different with the top 40 laser sailors in the world lining up on a windy first day of racing. After all the fitness training I had put in throughout the Australian summer and in Mallorca I knew I could be good in this condition. As it worked out I was first to the top mark in the first race and finished in 2nd. It was a good start and I backed it up with a 17th to be 8th overall after the first day of racing.

Things didn’t continue to go that way though as lighter conditions prevailed and I started to get caught up in the pack. I just couldn’t reset and find a way to solve the problems that I found myself in and had to settle for 24th overall, still my best result to date in France, but not what I had come for.

The next day I was driven to Nice where I spent a day seeing what the city had to offer before jumping on a plane to a completely new destination, Mexico. The weather was stunning with 26 degree water and a tropical atmosphere, it was a hard place not to like. Unfortunately the racing wasn’t as nice for me as I struggled to identify what the wind was doing consistently and the venue didn’t really allow for big come backs. I’m taking some hard lessons away from that event. After a quick but also long two weeks in Puerto Vallarta it was time to fly again, this time to the Netherlands.

I’ve always liked sailing in Medemblik, even though it’s freezing cold and grey most of the time, there’s something home like for me being back in the country. I had barely had time to get over my jet lag before I was out racing again and instead of sailing in 35 degrees I was sailing in 11, ouch. I won the first race and kept a pretty good consistency going throughout the regatta to find myself in third going into the medal race, just three points clear of fourth. On the day of the medal race I must of had someone looking out for me as I had so many fortunate situations go my way to defend my third place in a nail biting last run to the finish.

Now it’s onto Weymouth for me, the last of the major regattas before the Olympics kicks off and the last regatta of my European season. Can’t wait to get out there and give it another crack.

Right now I sit at the Noges Cafe in Can Pastilla about to have lunch before I go cycling for the fourth consecutive day. The mountains of Mallorca aren’t as steep as Garda but just as challenging. The boat park is mostly empty now except for a few hangers on and the wind is blowing nearly 30 knots. In the last six weeks I’ve done some of the best travelling I’ve ever done and some of the best sailing. The first stop was Auckland.

After training in Sydney for ten days I flew to Auckland, New Zealand for a small but competitive regatta creatively named Sail Auckland. This was my first time in New Zealand and I really didn’t know what to expect of the small island nation. I met with Keno and together we made our way to our Airbnb in Murrays bay, just a 10 minute walk from the yacht club. Sam Meech, a good friend and competitor in the Laser, welcomed us with open arms and showed us some great Kiwi hospitality, driving us around the island to all the good spots and even taking us for a surf trip to the rugged west coast of the island. The regatta was very light which was perfect training for me and I had some great tussles with the locals and internationals alike. I placed 5th overall with Sam taking out the win.

After an action packed seven days in New Zealand I was back in Sydney training with the team, doing the final preparations for Rio. This was a hard block for me, motivation to train was low and my body was beyond exhausted. I was only too happy when it was over and it was time to jump on a plane to a place I never thought I would see. Going to Rio de Janeiro is like taking a step back in time in many ways. Most of the buildings are built in the 1900’s, as well as the streets and infrastructure. The back drop to the city is incredible with Sugarloaf mountain and Christ the Redeemer overlooking Guanabara bay, the CBD and the infamous favelas. My first night in Rio was one of the most interesting. A huge storm rolled through soon after we landed and once we were at our accommodation (the Australian Sailing Teams apartment nicknamed “the hub”) we walked, bare foot, through knee high water and a sea of floating rubbish in the search for dinner. After our failed attempt to find the restaurant we were looking for we ended up settling for Subway, dripping wet and jet lagged to the max.

I spent 13 days in Rio and sailed 9 of them. As expected I got a pretty nasty tummy bug for about 36 hours and spend most of the night on the bathroom floor but other than that I had an excellent time. Tom, Wearny and I were there along with 20 other top nation sailors training and racing everyday. The conditions were amazing and the sailing was super complex with the current shifting as if it was the wind. At the end of the trip we did a four day coaches regatta where I managed to place 6th against some of the best sailors in the world, including wining the final race. The day after the event I was back in the air, rushing to make it to Mallorca in time for the Princess Sofia Regatta.

Amazingly the flight went really well. I thought for sure I would lose my bags or miss a connection as I traveled through Columbia on my way to Europe but some how it all worked out and I arrived in Palma on time for registration. The other difficult part of my late arrival was having no time to test out my new boat. While I was in Rio Sam and Will Phillips, one of Australia’s 49er teams, had collected my boat from Holland and drove the long haul down to Palma with my new boat in tow. Once I arrived I barely had time to sleep, eat, set up my boat and register before the event started so I had no idea how the boat would perform in the mixed conditions Palma always throws up. Needless to say it was a busy two days before the event.

The 152 boat fleet was met with perfect conditions on the first day of racing. 15 knot westerly winds with fun waves and sunshine couldn’t have made for a better day and a pair of third places for me saw that I was fifth after the first day of racing. Can’t complain about that. The first day of finals racing was a bit of a hiccup from me. I didn’t adapt to the conditions or the competitive fleet as quickly as I should have and I didn’t get out of third gear all day. I made sure the next day would be different though. The next 4 races were great. 1, 9, 1, 4 made up the back of my regatta placing me solidly in the medal race and 6th overall. Mathematically I could have finished the regatta in third if things had worked out but that was not the case. After a poor start I worked my way into second place in the medal race behind the great Robert Scheidt but on the final run the wind abandoned me and I had to watch five boats pass me in the last 20 metres of the run. Tough to take but it is what it is. 6th place is one of my best results to date and I plan to keep building on my performance as I prepare for World Cup Hyeres at the end of the month.

Now I’ve just finished my cafe con leche and bocadillo and have to go cycling so until next time.

/Swifto

There seems to be a lot of anticipation in the air at the moment. Not just for the new adventures about to begin (Sail Auckland next week and Rio next month) but also for team contracts and funding. Any day now everyone will (or will not) receive an email containing their new contracts for the 2016 season outlining out funding and level within the squad. It’s a stressful time as the entire year can be based on that email and know one other than the selectors really know whats coming. All going well though I’ll be in the squad again and racing overseas this season. Fingers crossed.

Since leaving Esperance I’ve spent a week in Perth with my WA coach Arthur. He’s currently coaching the Japanese Radial representative and I was lucky enough to get to join in for the week of training. I followed that up with the Royal Perth Mini Series, a weekend regatta sailed on the river. I had a lot of fun and managed to win the regatta pretty handily. The next day I flew out to Sydney to do three days of training that has just been back up by a “mega” camp over the last five days. We had all the team guys plus some of the countries most promising youth come together and race which was really valuable. I’m exhausted now but I felt I needed that hard week to get me back up to pace for New Zealand next week. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.

/Swifto

Training didn’t stop after Sail Sydney was done, it just changed. Since Mark Spearmen and I didn’t have much to do we went into lifting mode and spent almost every day in the gym then capped it off with a tough rowing set on Christmas morning 🙂 Boxing day was spent watching the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race from North Head before we drove up to Belmont to get ready for the Australian Laser Nationals.

Lake Macquarie proved to be a very tricky venue with flat water and light winds for the majority of the regatta. I was happy to find I got better as the regatta progressed as I kept myself process driven, really paying attention to my downwinds, my biggest weakness in light air. I started to feel really good by the end, similar to how I felt coming off the back of my European trip earlier in the year, and that more than anything gave me some confidence. I finished up 3rd overall, topping off a consistent summer of sailing. No time to relax though, the very next day I was on Botany Bay coaching the WA Optimist Team at their National Championships. With 21 sailors split between Alex, Chris and myself, we had the massive task of trying to look after everyone, all while we faced some of the wettest conditions Sydney had ever seen in January. Luckily the sun came out towards the end of the week and everyone could walk away feeling happy with the event.

Time to relax you say? Nope. Straight onto the the Australian Youth Nationals for me, coaching the WA 4.7 Team. It was an action packed regatta with plenty of spills and thrills for my team but the group did really well in the end and I’m really happy with how everyone conducted themselves throughout the regatta. Time to go home now you say? Yep, let’s jump in a car and drive 48 hours straight. Chris and I teamed up to smash out the country wide drive and went through two nights to arrive in Perth, my first time since the beginning of October. Now I’m finally back home in Esperance for a brief stint before I head back to Sydney.

/Swifto