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George Gautrey admits it's felt strange lining up against big fleets again, even in practice racing, as he prepares for the Laser world championships starting in Spain on Friday night (NZ time).
The 23-year-old former world championships bronze medallist has spent most of the last 18 months in the international wilderness due to Covid-19, largely training with the New Zealand Laser squad, but will dip his toe back into top-level competition over the coming days.
It means he's unsure what's realistic at the world championships, when 139 sailors from 44 nations will compete. Most of the top sailors are there, with the notable exception Olympic champion Matt Wearn as well as New Zealand's Sam Meech, who is skipping this year's world championships as he takes time off following the Games and contemplates his sailing future.
Gautrey will be joined in Barcelona by fellow Kiwi Tom Saunders, who has spent most of the year based in Europe and who finished sixth at last month's European championships in Bulgaria.
"It will be tough to manage my expectations because I am extremely competitive and I go to regattas to win them," Gautrey said. "But I need to remember that I’m just trying to get back in the groove and understand I haven’t been racing for nearly two years. I’m just going to let the regatta come to me and take it day by day."
He's come close to finishing on top before, claiming third at the 2019 world championships in Japan despite dislocating his knee midway through the regatta. It was a breakthrough result for the Wellingtonian, but he couldn't match that in 2020 when he finished 29th in Melbourne.
That event was one of the last before the world was locked down due to Covid-19 and the impact of the pandemic's tail saw the 2021 Laser world championships delayed. It means the fleet could be confronted by some challenging conditions over the coming days.
"As a sailor, you try to avoid Barcelona at this time of year but with the worlds delayed three months it put us in between seasons," said Gautrey, who has been in Spain for two weeks. "We are getting some really strange conditions, really weird winds, but that’s just how the cards have been dealt.
"For me, it’s just a bit of a novelty being back sailing. The last six months has been less than ideal with the Covid situation in New Zealand but I have done a lot of sailing over the last two years so have that to fall back on and it’s just a matter of getting back in the boat and remembering how to tack and gybe and do all of those things. It’s coming to me slowly."
Gautrey's main ambition is the 2024 Paris Olympics, and this week's world championships represent the next phase in his buildup to that.
He will return to New Zealand after the world championships but hopes it won't be long before he hits the international circuit again.
"This gives me a good way to check in [with the fleet], come home for the New Zealand summer and give me a really good idea of where I am at and what I need to work on before what is likely to be a very, very busy 2022 season with hopefully a full calendar of regattas.
"It offers a really good platform to start [my Olympic campaign] from. It’s my turn to take the chariot and see what I can do."
- Photo: George Gautrey was third at the 2019 Laser world championships in Japan. Pic: Junichi Hirai / Bulkhead Magazine.
