Helena Lucas

IFDS WORLDS PORT CHARLOTTE

hlucas@stephenthomasdesign.com (Helena Lucas) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:59:13 GMT

It’s been a Tricky week. The prevailing north easterly we had during the Pre Worlds in December never materialised and it was a week of fickle southerly winds. I got off to a good start with a 3rd in the first race and was on track for another in the second race until the last beat when I hooked something on my rudder and went painfully slow to be overtaken by 5 boats. I just didn’t seem to be getting the lucky breaks. In race 6 I got caught on the wrong side of a 40 degree shift and despite the race officers team advising him to abandon the race and restart it, he decided to ignore their advice and allow the race to continue.
I did have some good races though and a great day on Friday when I bounced back to have a 2nd and 1st. I finished the regatta with a 2nd which pulled me up to 4th overall.
Although really disappointed not to have medaled, the boat was going well and I showed i’m more than capable of finishing in the top three.

Relaxing and cycling in St Pete at the moment. Just did a 76 mile ride today which got rid of some of the frustration. Looking forward to heading south to Miami on Thursday and the start of Miami OCR next Monday

A Win at Pre Worlds Regatta in Port Charlotte

hlucas@stephenthomasdesign.com (Helena Lucas) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:30:50 GMT

Charlotte Habor Yacht club, put on some great racing over 3 days. There was a good turn out of around 20 boats, with some good competition.
The Dutch were there on mass and so were the Canadians and obviously the American’s.
I got off to a good start on the first day, and finished the day in 2nd overall. A first and a third in the races the next day, put me in a great position, just one point off Paul Tingley who was leading and 3 points ahead of Bruce Millar in third. There was a considerable points margin of around 30 points to fourth place, so it was going to be a show down between the three of us.
We had some really close racing and battles down wind, with Bruce just getting the better of me in the first race and Paul a few places behind.
The second race I decided to try and sail my own race a bit more and not get so involved. It paid off, I finished 4th with Bruce in 5th and Paul once again a few places behind. I had now moved in to the lead and had 3 points on the other two, who were tied on points.
In the third race, I came off the line in a good position going fast, however a big black cloud and the warning of a thunderstorm, resulted in the race committee abandoning the race and cancelling racing for the rest of the day. I must admit I was not too disappointed!
It’s great to have won the Pre Worlds, and gives me confidence going in to the Worlds in January. Out here for a bit more training before heading home for Christmas. I can’t wait it’s been a long trip but a good one!

St Pete Regatta

hlucas@stephenthomasdesign.com (Helena Lucas) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:29:08 GMT

Great training regatta. The race committee certainly packed the races in, with 4 a day, making it a long day on the water. Had some good results and a great last day with 2nd, 1st and 3rd. Always great to finish on a high! Finished 4th overall and 3rd Para. It’s a shame I had a couple of bad races in the middle which probbably cost me a top 3 overall. Anyway the racing was really close and the points tight and I was pleased with how I raced on the last day.

So have had a couple of days off, well kind of. Ended up doing a 75 mile bike ride with Rob yesterday, epic, but awsome!

Picking Ian (Barker) up from the airport tonight and trundling on to port Charlotte for the next regatta, then a bit of training before flying home on the 17th for Christmas.

We had some great training days here in St Pete, where the dolphins came and played, apparntly there are even more in port Charlotte.

Training in the Sun Shine Sate

hlucas@stephenthomasdesign.com (Helena Lucas) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 01:22:24 GMT

Arrived in St Petes on Wednesday, Just in time for Thanks Giving on the 24th. Bruce and Barb, (although Canadian), put on a great dinner, turkey with all the trimmings! I spent the morning rebuilding my bike after very careful packing for the flight. Luckily I think it paid off and it looks to be all in one piece! Took me a bit longer than planned, but got there in the end.
Container unloading today which went well. The boats rigged, a little bit of tweaking tomorrow and she will be ready to rock!

Planning to go for a cycle tomorrow moring before heading down to the club. Cycling seems to be a real trend here with loads of people out on their bikes, so hopefully tag along and find a good route.

2.4mR National and Inland Champion

hlucas@stephenthomasdesign.com (Helena Lucas) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:38:00 GMT

It’s been a while since I was at Rutland sailing club, probably 2004, which was the last time I did the 2.4 Nationals. However once again Rutland sailing club had kindly offered to host the Nationals and I found my self doing the familiar drive up, with a little assistance from the GPS when my memory failed me.
I have a lot of fond memories from my Youth Squad days sailing and training on Rutland water, so it did feel strangely familiar driving in to the dinghy park even though it had been a while.

We had 2 races scheduled for the first day, luckily it was a late 2:30 start as there was no wind in the morning. I won the first race and was 2nd in the other one, after going back at the start and playing catch up. Day two and four races were scheduled. I won the first two and was second in the afternoon races.
With only two races on the last day, I kind of had the regatta sewn up and with a race win in the first one, had won with a race to spare. Meg was a comfortable second, so we decided not to do the last race and head in and start packing up.
I was keen to get on the road as I had a busy day on Sunday moving in to our house on Portland.

It was a great few days with some fun racing and I certainly collected a few trophies!

The Big Move

hlucas@stephenthomasdesign.com (Helena Lucas) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:49:08 GMT

The last few months have been great having Steve (my husband) back at home in Southampton, after he finished his project out in Turkey. It’s great having a normal married life in our lovely home and has allowed me to focus more on my sailing, rather than jumping on a plane whenever I had a spare week to see him.
However things have got even better, with Steve being offered a position at Sunseeker managing the build of their flag ship 46m Super Yacht. Sun Seeker are based in Portland at Osprey Quay right next door to the Olympic sailing venue so it’s an ideal oportunity for us to relocate in Portland.
We have found a fantastic house to rent, with awsome views over Lyme Bay and Portland harbour and are we really looking forward to moving in at the beginning of September.
I can’t wait, no more commuting to Weymouth and lots of sailing and training, which will be much more fun having team mates to go cycling with.

BRONZE AT THE WORLDS IN WEYMOUTH

hlucas@stephenthomasdesign.com (Helena Lucas) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:58:00 GMT

Wow what a week! Certainly joins the list of toughest weeks, but well worth it for the result!
Ian Barker stepped in as my coach for the week due to Rob having prior commitments to the Youth team, who were competing at their Worlds in Croatia. Ian did an amazing job getting me back on form in only three weeks, and continued the good work throughout the regatta. As Thierry put it I was in a race within a race, the Worlds being the second regatta in our trials. After a poor Sail For Gold Regatta the pressure was certainly on and I needed to put in a good performance

It was the largest entry ever for an IFDS Worlds, with 46 entries in the 2.4mR class, proving for some exciting close racing, (sometimes a little too close for my liking).

The week started in light airs probably my strongest condition and after day one I found myself leading the regatta. Not a bad start, but still a long way to go! As Ian said “you can’t win the regatta on the first day but you can certainly lose it!” I then remained consistently in the top 3 apart from Monday when I dropped to 4th but the points were so tight I was not concerned. As the week progressed the winds picked up and on Wednesday we were treated to a blustery 18 knots gusting 20. I was keeping it solid although had a couple of races where I got caught out on the wrong side of a shift on the second beat and went from 2nd to 6th! It was incredibly frustrating as I knew those points would have been really handy and given me some breathing space from behind.

I think Thursday was the toughest day of the regatta for me and was my worst day in terms of results. Going in to the day I knew it was imperative to remain in the medals by the end of the day as the forecast for Friday was for 30 knots and there was every chance we might not get racing. I fought hard for every point that day and remained in bronze. My prediction was right! Despite the best efforts of the race committee to get us out for a final race, the decision was made that it was too windy and the sea state too dangerous to send us and racing was abandoned.
I can’t deny that I was relieved, Silver was out of reach and I was defending bronze against at least 3 boats snapping at my heels,

I said in an interview before the regatta started that I believed the top ten in the 2.4mR class have the same talent and level of skill the difference between winning and coming tenth would come down to mindset and mental toughness. From my own experience this week I believe that won me the bronze.

Looking forward to Round the Island Race

hlucas@stephenthomasdesign.com (Helena Lucas) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:50:43 GMT

Finally I am having a much needed week off. No sailing, no boat work, just relaxing watching wimbledon and catching up on stuff at home.
Sail for Gold was a really tough week for me and did not go how I had hoped. I was really tired going in to the regatta and I think it showed in my sailing. It feels like I have been non stop for the last 3 months!
The Worlds are just round the corner and in Weymouth so I need to be back on form and put in a good performance.

This weekend is the Round the Island race and is a big corporate event for Volvo. It’s my favourite day with Volvo and their VIP guest. This year I’m on a J109 and have the pleasure of Selwyn Cooper (National Coporate Operations Manager, Volvo car U.K) on board along with his VIP guests. I know Selwyn loves the race and I am really looking forward to a great day of sailing and racing with him. Denise Van Outen and Chris Parker are Volvo’s celebrity guests this year. Lets hope the Weather Brightens and the wind drops a bit or else they may have a rather wet and exciting trip around the Island.

BRONZE IN HYERES

hlucas@stephenthomasdesign.com (Helena Lucas) — Wed, 04 May 2011 17:21:45 GMT

It’s been a bizarre week of racing that I am relived to be coming home with a bronze medal in my pocket. It’s certainly been a week of ups and downs not just for me but most of the fleet.

The first curve ball was thrown at me before racing even started. Luckily Steve came out for a few days while I was training, to keep me company before my house mates, the match racing girls (Annie, Lucy and Kate) flew out. He was planning a relaxing couple of days in the South of France, no chance! First day of training and I noticed something strange with my steering, Steve took the back hatch off to discover a serious crack in my steering quadrant, and it looked like it could go at any moment. He spent the whole of Wednesday covered in epoxy repairing it for me, before being dropped off at the airport Thursday morning to fly home. Thanks Hons, I owe you some Moules and Frites!

We lost a couple of days training due to strong winds. I think it’s the first year I can remember the practice race being cancelled, so it was straight in to race one, 15 knots and great surfing conditions. I got a 6th and a 3rd which was good enough to place me 3rd overall; however both of those races could have been thrown out, as the race committee posted the wrong course on the board. Luckily no one decided to protest, but that was the start to the bizarre week that followed.

Most of the fleet collected letters, either OCS or DSQ; I got an OCS in the second race on the Wednesday, after having a bad first race, so you can imagine I was not a happy bunny! (Thanks to my house mates they cheered me up that evening and I got a second the next day.) We were also moved to an entirely different race course. Apparently the Star class, who we were sharing with, could not see us and thought it was dangerous. So we ended up with the RSX’s (not sure if that was any safer!) This then opened another can of worms regarding the mark colours, change of course and other aspects of the sailing instructions that I won’t even go in to.

Anyway, come Friday and the last day of racing I found myself in 4th one point off Thierry in 3rd, but 5th was only a point behind. I decided the only way to deal with it was to go out and sail my own race, which seemed to work as I finished 1st and with Thierry in 9th I was now in 3rd with a bit of a buffer and just one race to go. However I decided not to make it easy for myself in the second race and had to go back at the start and play catch up, but I did enough and clenched the bronze!

I certainly did not feel I sailed my best, but luckily enough the rest of the fleet apart from Damien did not seem to be on form either and were making mistakes. Damien however put together an amazing series to win with two races to spare!

What was great was Annie, Lucy and Kate won the match racing! So we were a medal winning apartment. Also the Skandia team GBR girls, showed the boys the way for once, winning 6 medals to their 2 (although they were gold.) Also Team Volvo did a great job with 4 medals, (two gold a silver and a bronze)

Wet and Windy

hlucas@stephenthomasdesign.com (Helena Lucas) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 18:04:56 GMT

Just as I thought no practice race today, just lots of wind and rain! What makes it worse is hearing from Family how beautiful the weather back home is. Anyway I did get a trip to decathlon in and bought a few bits for my new bike which hopefully be there when I get home. Weather looks better for tomorrow so hopefully a good days racing!