25 July - 1 Aug 2008
Youth Europeans

That's me to leeward of the first bunch, I went on to win.

The Under 21 Youth Europeans were held in Douarnenez, France. We arrived a couple of days before the regatta, to find the warmest weather we had all trip and moderate sea breezes, perfect, couldn't be any better I thought. The first day of sailing was beautiful, sunny, hot, light breeze. Day 2 was a complete contrast. We arrived at the yacht club to the heaviest rain ever. We launched and couldn't see more than 100 meters in front off us. (How could we race in this?) I thought. There was enough wind but we could not start a race all day.  This was because the wind was following the rain squalls around, therefore making the wind shift 60 degrees every 20 minutes.

The ramp we had to use at this regatta was a complete nightmare. There were 400 lasers competing at this regatta all launching off one ramp. To make things worse the ramp was no bigger than Worser Bay's ramp. It could only have about 8 boats wide. Then you would have 10 boats hanging off the back of them and then a whole lot more hanging around in the marina. It was all very exciting!

After getting a 1 and a 2 on day three I was leading the regatta, but from there it went down hill fast. I was really fast but was just doing stupid things. I don't really know what made me do that badly??? But any way. Douarnenez was a very nice place, I thoroughly enjoyed my time and am now very happy to be back in Wellington.

Coutts and I in front of the Louvre, I don't know what he's
trying to say.

Louvre, we didn't go in, but Matt Coutts, Max Andrews and I had a good look around Paris, a few crepes and some weird French dinner later, we found ourselves underground trying to catch the Metro back to our hotel. Ha-ha good times. The next day we headed to Euro Disney. We rode every roller coaster there, dominated it!!!

14-20 July 2008
2008 European Laser Championships

Thanks to everyone following and leaving comments on the comments page, I think this is one of the coolest things about jjsailing. I love to hear what different people have been up to, and I also like sharing my progress.

After the final day of racing was cancelled due to extreme wind, I finished 38th out of 148 competitors, including 18 people heading to China, this was truly a world class event. Each day we started racing at 1 o'clock which seems relaxed, but when your on the water till 6, with races taking up to an one hour and 20 minutes, it was anything but relaxing. What made it more tiring was the tide. The tide was always going in a similar direction to the wind and on the windy days we were beating straight into it. Thus making the beats take up to half an hour and the downwind as short as 5 minutes.

On the light day the tide was running across the wind, you had to have your sails pulled on and be sailing down the line just to stay in one place. If you wanted to start at the pin you would have to set up to leeward of it and time it so the tide would suck you back to the line in time to pull on your sails and start, it was weird, like sailing in a river.

Anyways Belgium is a very nice place to sail (If you like the wind, ha-ha), with some nice beaches. I always thought Europe is hot with not much wind???? who told me this, it's lies. Tomorrow we head to Paris, and then to Douarnenez, to race in the Youth Euro's (under 21). I will keep you posted on the comments page.

2-7 July 2008
4th World University Match Racing championships

Stoked!!! would be the best word to describe how our team felt after the final day of racing in Poland. We had showed awesome speed all week and we knew this could be one of our biggest advantages over Corbett. Even starts were key, and this then gave us a chance to use our speed and tactics upwind. We managed to do this and pulled out an amazing 3-0 victory.

There were a few new tactics that we needed to learn in order to race these boats. For instance the boats have gennakers, which means big angles down wind, and it is very hard to overtake people. You could also goose wing the gennaker, and this was faster, but it did open you up, and leave you exposed to penalties. Another thing we needed to get our head around was how slow the boats were and how long it took to get them up to speed. This meant leading into the start, with a tight leeward position was crucial for winning races.

We were the 8th ranked team going into this regatta, so we knew we had a bit on to win it, but we just told ourselves that it is not much harder than any of the Australian regattas.

The yacht club we were sailing out off and the place that we were staying at was the Polish National sailing centre. This seems to be where everyone comes to do their training so it was cool to see all the lasers and RSX's out there sailing too. Our accommodation was nice with breakfast lunch and dinner provided. We had a great time with the other NZ'ers and the aussies and totally enjoyed our time in Poland.

I would like to say a special thanks to all those who were following the supporters page, and leaving the odd comment. Our team loved waking up and reading the comments before going up to breakfast.   :-)

We went to Gdansk one night	Gdansk	Training out on the ocean
Working out how to fly the gennaker downwind	Hay-hay, that's me at the back	Racing on the lagoon
Change over boat	The 2 teams on semifinals day	Gold medalists

1July 2008
Train trip

Well this is one of those experiences, I wont forget for a while. It all started on the night of the 30th. I had been out with the boys to watch the final of the euro soccer 08, when I realised I still needed to book a taxi to get to the Kiel train station. So I was out side our house ringing all sorts of numbers when an old man walked past with his dog and asked if I needed a hand. With a few good hand signals and a few made up words I had a taxi booked for 5.30 the next morning.

My trip was going all good till I got to ... and I needed to organise a ticket to Gdansk. Nothing was going my way, no one spoke English, I couldn't work out what I needed to do. Luckily for me some young, good looking girl realised my problem and helped me get a ticket. This is also when I realised that I was no longer in Germany, but I was already in Poland. Things had changed, it definitely looked a little less wealthy and the trains were those like you see in African movies, with people hanging out the windows and smoking. When I hopped on board I realised I had to share a little room with 7 other people but all was good and I made it to Gdansk, to be greeted by the team.

We were ready to start racing.

Waiting for train to Lubek on my way to Poland

Me on my first train ride in Europe

One of many stops on my way to Poland

25-30 June 2008
Kiel week

 
Picture - The long tent is for registration, briefings, wi-fi, etc. More tents on the other side, along with bars and shops etc. The lasers were way off down to the left. Behind us were more sailing shops, restaurants etc.

Well the Germans definitely put on one awesomely run regatta. With just over 4 thousand people competing in the 2008 Kiel regatta, and several million walking through the event, I was very impressed with the organisation.

There were 3 parts to this regatta, the keel boat series, the international classes, and then finally the Olympic classes. The keel boats and the international classes were contested the week before I arrived. (Greg Wilcox was steering his J24 team and they won). Matt Coutts, Max Andrews, Clifton and I were staying 10 minutes walk from the boats in someone's basement, it was perfect. We were able to cook dinner, and it had everything we needed.

I arrived on the 20th and went training on the 21st, 22nd, and on the 23rd I had a beer with Greg, I Quizzed him on local weather conditions (as you do) and I learnt some interesting things. I learnt that there is no tide, (but the wind creates tide), and also that the water is almost fresh. This means that if there is a strong onshore one day and then its a light offshore the next day, the water will all rush off to the other side though channels, and also because of the semi fresh water chop builds up quite quickly and can be quite nasty

Racing - well yea, what if eh......

Although I was very pleased with a lot of things ... I was getting good starts, I was consistently making good decisions, and I had extraordinary down wind speed ... I still needed a fraction more speed upwind. But well, what if. What if my traveler didn't brake, what if I had my good sail the whole time, what if this, what if that. The score sheet says 31 so that's what I got, and the one thing I have taken out of this regatta, if nothing else is that I need to be more prepared and organised.

All in all a very worth while regatta.

The last time I saw my sail

My bedroom in Kiel

Greg Wilcox's J'24 team van

19 June 2008
I'm off!

I finished my exams this morning and now I'm off. Wellington - Auckland - Singapore - Munich - Hamburg - Kiel. I'll update you with results from Kiel Woche which starts on the 25th. I don't have a computer with me so will be using the comments feature on the 2PEAKS SUPPORTERS CLUB page to post reports whilst in Europe. 

2PEAKS supporters club

16 June 2008
Auckland and 3 days to go

This weekend I made my last trip to Auckland in final preparations for Europe. We sailed out off Takapuna and Murray's bay, with a 8 to 14 knot onshore breeze, with big chop I only have experienced a few times while sailing. Sailing high was really important. Everyone was sailing very high and fast. This required a different sailing style. (use the sail to gain the height, and use your bodyweight to drive the boat forward). I learnt lots training with the Auckland boys.

Man, I hate airports. ha-ha. Because of fog in Wellington, I got stuck in Auckland for an added 7 hours. I know the corridors and the cafe's by the back of my hand.

Once again I would like to say a big thank you to Tineke and Mark (auntie and uncle) for providing the Auckland sailing base. Also a big thanks to James for all his help.

10 June 2008
Training with 9 days to go

Rowan Swanson, Matt Steven and I hit the water every Tuesday with our respective teams training for the Australasian regattas. Today we were training right in by the wharves. In my first race against matt we ended up doing circles inside the marina. Very light and shifty but always a lot of fun.

Over the last 4 days Matt and I have had a series of match races in our lasers. We set up a short course just outside the Worser Bay club rooms. Each day we do about 7 or 8 races. Who ever wins the most races that day takes out what we call a series. So far I've won 3 of these series and Matt's won one. I seem to have a small advantage in the lighter breezes while Matt has a small advantage in the windy stuff. This is real good training for the match racing because the boats go so quick, situations arise all the time. This teaches you to think quick. its also very good for your boat handling.

5 June 2008
14 days to go

14 days to go,
1 Physics exam left,
1 hair cut,
1 trip to Auckland,
1 unpaid fine, (ha-ha, not.)
8 sessions on the water,
4 in the gym,
A truck load of organising,
and a bit of study.

Done I think..........

30 may 2008
Wellington sports awards

I was a finalist for the emerging sportsperson of the year. There were two other finalists, Victor Vito (rugby of course), and Fraser Colson (football and cricket). There were over 600 people crammed into the town hall, supporting all the winners. This was an awesomely run event with many very successful sport people attending.

               
Receiving finalist award before                The award ceremony held in the
final ceremony.                                       town hall.

               
Dean shows off his good looks                  Unfortunately neither of us won
before the ceremony.                               Victor is a pretty cool guy.

27 may 2008
Scholarship awards

Tonight my Mother, Father, Grandma and I attended the 2008 Prime Minister's Scholarship awards. This is where they hand out the certificates to the scholarship recipients. 350 athletes From around New Zealand gain this scholarship. The scholarship pays for your education as you further develop your sport. I got to shake hands with the Right Honourable Helen Clark.

Me and the Prime Minister.

23 may 2008
What's been going on ? ? ?

Over the past 5 weeks the Wellington Talent Development Squad has been doing fitness, nutrition, and season planning sessions with various specialists in each field. The fitness sessions have been going well with hard ass army trainer Davey. Starting at 7 o’clock in the middle of town it’s challenging enough getting out of bed let alone being worked over time by Davey. The sessions are always filled with a great variety of exercises with an emphasis on team work and winning. “If you lose you get punished”, as said by Davey. Or “have you never been in a scrap” whilst doing boxing exercises.

The nutrition session with Kath Fouhy was filled with great surprising information such as Edam cheese is 25% lard; I used to love eating cheese but not any more. The plan for the nutrition side of the scheme also sounded cool, the cook off especially however I think most people were fearing the food diary weeks where what we eat is recorded and analysed.

The planning sessions were held with NZ academy of sports Warwick Sue. They started off with a general session with the whole group then each sailor had an individual meeting where they talked about where they were at and where they are heading.

Our Wellington Match team is making the most of these sessions, getting smarter and fitter, in order to take our game to the next level.

Written by Matthew Steven from Wellington Match. 

17-18 may 2008
Fresh Water Champs

The 2008 Fresh Water Champ held on lake Pupuke was definitely a light weather affair. The hiking strap was used for nothing but big role tacks and gybes, with the wind averaging 1 to 4 knots, and 40 Degree wind shifts, it was certain to be a tough regatta. After having to go back on the first start, and the lake turning to a mill pond I only managed a 16. What a way to start. After the first day the young light guys showed the way with good boat speed and very little mistakes, this continued on the second day, unfortunately. I improved throughout the whole regatta, with some great starts, but a few mistakes half way up the first beat always seemed to cost me. I learnt a little about making the boat go higher and faster, so that is always good.

For the full results, visit  www.pupuke.org.nz

I would like to say thanks to Tineke and Mark for looking after me and letting me stay at their place, I would also like to say thanks to James, who let me borrow his spare boat and also helped with my travel.

 10 may 2008
In Training

The last two weeks have been quite busy in terms of my sailing. I had a training camp in Auckland with the New Zealand laser Academy sailors, my boat is in a container, off to Rotterdam, Holland and I have stepped up my on the water training. Wednesday night coaching with Elliot is good with the older boys coming along, making for exciting sailing in the dark.

     Start and finish
     pictures of the 5
     minute test.

I have also received my hiking test results back, this has shown a great improvement on my 30 second max test up by almost 20% and over the whole 5 minutes I made an 11% gain on the last time I did the test (19/11/2006). I also have to take into account that I have gained 8% body mass. This therefore makes my 5minute test not look that good. Next time I do the test I will be looking to improve this quite dramatically.

I have also been quite busy on the website, making a few changes and adding a few things. have you checked out my supporters page?

p.s. I got to meet  up with Hamish carter, cool eh?

20 April 2008
On Tour 2008

I have been putting together my plan for a trip to Europe from late June to early August. The following map shows where I am headed.

 
View Larger Map

20-24 March 2008
OK Nationals

The OK nationals, who would believe I would sail an OK dinghy. We had next to no wind for a lot of the time. but managed to get most of the races sailed in 5 to 10 knots, we even got a couple of races away in 15 knots. I transferred my laser downwind skills across to the OK and this was my saving grace. I would always pull back places. Dan Slater showed why he is our Olympic rep, with incredible consistency, no matter where he was he could always work his way into the top few.

I thought I was consistent with only one place outside the top 7, but this just doesn't cut it when the world number 1,2, and 3 are all sailing at this regatta, along with Dan and Alistair, and everyone else. This was really an awesomely competitive regatta. I finished 4th, 2 points behind 2nd, and if we had the last 2 races I reckon I would have caught 2nd, but that's racing right, WHAT IF ? ? ? ? ? ? For more results visit www.npyc.org.nz/Regatta's.htm

OK national junior champion trophy

6-9 March 2008
CentrePort

The 2008 CentrePort International Youth Match Racing Champs lived up to Wellington's reputation of a windy city. The race officer did a sterling job to get the round robin completed. We had a great first day winning our first 3 races. We got out sailed by Reuben Corbett in the next race (this was not a huge concern we thought, because we just wanted to make the semis)then we then won our next 4 races.

Sunday was finals day. and yet again it was very windy. The plan was to race 1 against 2, (Reuben against us). We had to wait for the New Zealand triathlon nationals to finish. we were ready to rock in roll, but as we were about to leave, we got the call "just hold 5, its a bit fresh out here" and so the long wait started.

We knew we had to race because Reuben would win it on the round robin. At 3.00PM we were off. We had our one chance. We got out there and it was seriously windy, too windy. We tried to convince the race officer to sail by flying our kite, and doing some pre start maneuvers, but it didn't work.

We were gutted to not have had a chance to win the regatta, but well done to Reuben who sailed a great regatta. For more pictures and information visit www.rpnyc.org.nz

           

22-23 February 2008
24 Hour race

The 2008 24 hour race was always predicted to be windy, and it was. This gave James Sandall (my partner for the race) and I some time to go and work out what was wrong with his car. The brakes, funny that! They then decided to start the race the following morning at 7.30AM. This therefore made it a 6.5 hour race not 24 hours.

James started the race and he did a great job to be leading around the first lap, and if not for some unlucky wind would have been leading for ever. We managed to get in front once more in the race but unfortunately it was short lived. We finished about a minute behind first and 15 seconds ahead of third. Well done we thought. For more visit www.murraysbay.org.nz

The laser fleet size was down a bit for this regatta as many of the Yachting New Zealand high performance academy sailors had jumped into laser radial in preparation for the world champs but never the less there was some strong competition. I managed to win this event with my training partner Matthew Steven pacing second. I also managed to win the medal race for the second year running. For further information visit www.sailauckland.org.nz

We were very happy with our 5th placing at the Hardy cup. The Hardy cup is an ISAF grade 3 regatta open to sailors under the age of 25. This was a very hard fought regatta with only 1 point separating 1st though 6th after the first round robin. The world number 11, Torver Mirsky was deducted half a point for damaging the boats, putting him one and a half points behind first and meaning he got knocked out of the top 6!

After the top 6 round robin we ended up with 2 wins from 5. Adam Minoprio and Laurie Jury had the same. We were tied for third. They race committee had to go back to the first round robin to break the tie and unfortunately for us they both got 8 wins while we only had 7. We were gutted. But hey we made a few mistakes and with a fleet like that we just couldn't afford to make those mistakes.

We were happy with 5th and we learnt a lot. We discovered a strategy for getting rid of a penalty on the last down wind, we learnt the difference between a tactical rounding and a technical rounding, along with a few other tricks and techniques. For further information and results visit www.rsys.com.au

Top NZ match racer Adam Minoprio shows weakness while broaching in strong conditions on the Sydney Harbour.

The 2008 laser national champs was a success in many ways. I finished in 3rd in a strong fleet. Rod Dawson, previous national champion and placing in top 10 in the worlds, currently working on the Americas Cup circuit, sailed a very strong regatta to take first place. This was a bit disappointing as if it was not for an OCS or a DSQ I would have won the event.

All in all I was happy with how I sailed and I look forward to future nationals. For more information and full results visit www.nzlaser.org

We've just returned across the Cook Strait after the Waikawa Regatta. We had a fantastic ride across the strait in about 25 knots of breeze. As we got closer to the bottom of the North Island the wind factory started to kick in and the wind went up to the early forties. Down came the sails and in went the reefs! Great fun.

The regatta itself went really well. After a slow start we managed to hit our straps and won three out of the five races. We also won the regatta overall. Waikawa Yacht Club did a great job of hosting the event.

Over the New Year period I stayed in Wellington to do a bit of training in the Laser. This coincided with the yachts in the Barcelona World Race passing through the Cook Strait. Three of the yachts decided to take a pit stop for 48 hours in Wellington. Matthew Steven, Chris Jones, Jono Clough and I helped two of these crews tidy up and fix a few things.

The first we helped was Hugo Boss who were having problems with their gudgeons working lose. They had also had a knock down so had diesel though out the bilge - guess who cleaned it up! Then came Termenos who were a little worried that their keel might be going to fall off. On closer inspection it wasn't as bad as first thought so we helped them tidy up before they shot off to the Southern Ocean in pursuit of the leaders.

Helping Termenos get back into Barcelona World Race