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I am currently sitting in Toronto Airport waiting to board the first flight home to NZ, reflecting on what has been an intense six weeks overseas competing at two major events. The trip started in England where we trained in Weymouth before competing in the latest ISAF Sailing World Cup event. This was followed by a second and even larger event, being the 2015 Laser Standard Men’s World Championship.
After a short break following Weymouth to freshen up, I arrived in Kingston ten days out from the beginning of the World Championship and it was back to business as usual. After receiving and setting up my charter boat, I got stuck into some good on water training with the rest of the NZL Laser Team and our coach. We spent the days before the regatta figuring out the wide range of conditions that Kingston threw at us over that period, as well as fine-tuning our techniques and course work. The Laser World Championships is always a marathon of an event, with 14 races scheduled over the course of seven days. I made sure to take a couple days off during my build up to ensure I remained fresh, both mentally and physically for what was sure to be a very draining week of racing.
We were sailing out of Portsmouth Olympic Harbour on the waters where the 1976 Summer Olympics were staged. The course area was on a relatively small body of water at the head of the St. Lawrence River, making for some quite tricky conditions to race in no matter which direction the wind came from! It was pretty clear after a solid week of training there, that the regatta wouldn’t be straightforward and it would be a week of trying to stay consistent rather than winning every race.
SailingShot.com
With 159 competitors racing from 63 different countries, the first four days of racing make up the ‘Qualifying Series’, followed by the final three days of ‘Finals Series’ racing where the top third of the fleet race in the single ‘Gold Fleet’. It’s great to qualify near the front of the fleet with as little points as possible, but ‘Gold Fleet’ racing is so tight and any mistake is punished, so performing well in those final races is crucial to staying near the front.
I went through the qualifying stage of the regatta relatively unscathed, not counting any bad scores but not really lighting it up either with a few mediocre results. We had anything from no wind to 18 knots over those first four days, but it was always a shifty breeze making for the entire fleet to be a little bit up and down. On day three there was no wind so no racing, but the race committee made up for it on day four with three races, to end the qualifying series one race short of the scheduled eight. The highlight from qualifying would have to be Day One, when we had a nice 15-18 knots of wind with some awesome waves making for some great sailing conditions. At the end of Day Four, I qualified in 17th position for the final three days of Gold Fleet racing.
SailingShot.com
The first day of Gold Fleet was a big let down! Everyone was raring to get out there but again we had no racing due to zero wind all day. We waited on shore from 10am to 6pm in hope a small breeze would fill, but it wasn’t to be. The following day we started earlier, with three races scheduled. We raced in another light onshore breeze that was shifting around 20-30 degrees, and it was all about consistency and trying not to get caught at the back of the fleet. I had three average scores, but it was a relatively good day compared to some of the fleet and I moved up to 12th overall.
We had even earlier start time of 9am on the final day to get the most of a dying Northerly breeze, with three more races scheduled to complete the series. We had been racing in South to South-West winds all week, so the new Northerly direction was sure to mix things up. I had a great start to the final day, leading the race around every buoy to take my first race win of the regatta! I sailed well in the second race, picking a few good shifts throughout the race after an OK first upwind, to finish 6th.
SailingShot.com
Going into the final race of the regatta, I knew I had moved up the leaderboard a lot, and was keen to finish with another great result and see where that left me. Unfortunately I picked the wrong side on the second upwind leg and missed a big shift, leaving me with my drop race and carrying an average score from the day before. It was still a great final day and it left me 6th overall for the event, which I was happy with after going into the final day sitting 12th overall. It definitely leaves me with that deep desire to go that step further and get onto the podium at my next event! Congratulations to the 2015 Laser World Champion, Nick Thompson from GBR who sailed amazing all week in those seriously difficult conditions.
Here's a link to the youtube video from the final day of racing, by Portside Productions;
Day 7 Highlights - Portside Productions
It’s now time to get on the big bird back home to NZ. I am really looking forward to being at home for 13 days to reset, and get amped up to head off to Rio for the next event on the plan. I am stoked to be able to compete at the 2015 Olympic Test Event next month in Rio, after being selected last week to be a part of the NZL Sailing Team that will attend this event (read more here). It will be great to be racing in a simulated environment to what the 2016 Olympics will be like, and I’m looking forward to making the most of the opportunity!
Thanks to everyone for the continued support.
Time to get home!
Cheers,
Andy
