A WIN IN NORWAY

It’s been a busy month, starting with the Delta Lloyd regatta in Holland and finishing with Round The Island Race, I also managed to squeeze in a regatta in Norway too.

The Delta Lloyd regatta was a bit of a disappointment, firstly only 6 boats entered (3 Dutch, 2 British and a Frenchman) and secondly our race course was so close in conditions were really shifty. I was using the event to try out some new sails, but it was not the right venue to do it and my focus needed to be on the tactics and conditions. It was not one of my better regattas and I finished a disappointing 4th.

I then drove straight to Weymouth for a week of Training before jumping on a plane to Norway for a regatta out there. It was part of Oslo Race week, which happened to be sponsored by Volvo, and was called the integrated cup. It was different to normal regattas as the boats (2.4mR’s) and equipment were supplied, all you had to do was bring yourself.

There were around 30 sailors competing, some were 2.4mR sailors, some from the other Olympic classes and some from the bigger boat scene, like Melges and the Volvo Ocean race. Some of the sailors had also raced with the King of Norway, so it was a real mix bag, but of a high calibre. Each day we were split in to heats, with the last four in each heat knocked out of the regatta, until only eight boats were left. We then raced as one fleet with the last two in each race knocked out, until only four sailors were left for the final. The winner was the first sailor to win two races. I won the first race, so was in a good position going in to the second race. The shifty light winds played in to my hands on the last run down to the finish. I rounded the windward mark in a different breeze to my competitors ahead and whilst they became becalmed in no wind, sailed past to clinch first place and win the regatta.
It was great feeling to win my first regatta of the year especially after a disappointing result in Holland. Also to hold up the winners check on the Volvo stand added an extra something to the occasion and has given me a great confidence boost, for Sail For Gold and the IFDS worlds in the autumn.

Another nice touch to the regatta was the first three sailors were given the opportunity to take part in the Faerder race on board the Kings previously owned Farr 50. The race was a 90 nautical mile course down the Oslo Fjord around a light house and back to a place called Hutton. It was a great experience partly because the only language on board was Norwegian, but especially as I got the opportunity to helm. I got the idea to what was going on, if there was a lot of activity on board it generally meant a tack or a gybe.

It was great practice for Round The Island race the following weekend which I was onboard a Farr 52, with Jo Glandfield, Nick and Duncan from Volvo, the UKSA youth keel boat squad and some corporate guests from various motoring magazines. We had a great time and a great race finishing 6th in our class.
A big thank you to Chippy and his keel boat squad, who got everyone involved and made us, feel part of the team.

In terms of regattas I have a quite time now until Sail For Gold in September, which is shortly followed by the IFDS Worlds and then the 2.4 Open Worlds in Florida in November. We have planned a two week holiday cruising in the South of Turkey, but the rest of my time will be spent training hard in preparation for those regattas.