Volvo

Delta Lloyd regatta this year in Medemblik was an important regatta for me, as it’s also the Venue for the IFDS worlds, so it was great to come away with a bronze medal and was a real confidence boost.

We had an extra addition to the 2.4mR British squad.  John Robertson, normally the sonar helm, decided to put his dry suit on and discover how wet the 2.4mR can really get.  As the sonar is not a class at Delta Lloyd, he was keen to get as much racing and knowledge of the venue in preparation for the Worlds in July.  He was a great addition to the squad and provided amusement on the 20 knot day when he managed to sink twice, although he was not alone with a few sailors struggling with the nasty chop Medemblik kicks up.

We had a real mixture of conditions with a day of no wind and no racing to 20 knots and a big steep chop the next.  It was definitely a shifty regatta, with a couple of tricky days.  I thought I had the bronze medal sewn up with a race to spare and would be challenging for 2^nd, until I got caught out on wrong side of a shift and went from 3^rdto 7^thouch!!

I had a nice little point lead going in to the final race, but decided not to make it easy for myself and caused my coach to loose a few more hairs.  It all came good in the end and I got the bronze.

Thierry Schmitter from Holland won the regatta on the water, only to lose in a protest with Damien Seguin from France.  So Damien clenched the Gold with Thierry in Silver.

Some great lessons learnt before the worlds, and I feel I have got a good handle on the conditions we can expect.

Since Holland I have been back training in Weymouth but it’s not long before I am off to Kiel week, which promises to be another shifty venue.

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