Sorry for the lack of blogging, been crazy busy getting the last couple of Ninjas built to allow for my pre worlds last minute training!
I had a lot of fun at the Nationals this year. There was a laid back vibe to proceedings and while the weather gods were up to their usual tricks meaning we lost two days we had a varied series with a bit of light and a bit of breeze. Stone SC did an excellent job for us, with some excellent food, busy bar and the race team coped well with what was thrown their way.
I ended up in 5th overall after a disappointing day on the big Sunday when the tide caught out a lot of boats, including myself - lining up at the boat end and barely making the pin a minute after the gun has gone really doesn't make for an easy ride and I deserved to drop from 3rd after the first day! The schedule of races also caught me out with big plans for up to 4 races on the Saturday meant I paced myself a bit more than I should have and after 2 races I really hadn't given it my all. There is some phrase about 'leave it all on the track' and I'm not sure I had!
Chris deserved his win and the results really showed who has been putting the hours in this year. Gareth Davies got a well earned 4th amid rumours from his Stone SC buddies that he'd been out practicing an awful lot! Si and Chris had their usual fight at the top, but it was the fleet following them that was the most interesting - more boats than ever and fighting it out. It good to see so many overseas entries, with welcome boats from France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland and the Irish contingent. Apparently the fleet is picking up over there and they are trying to get some dates together for an event around Dublin which could be great!
So, just Weston lies between now and the worlds. My get fit by cycling plan is coming along nicely and I'm planning to spend a bit of time getting my boat handling back up to scratch and test a couple of sails (should they actually arrive on my doorstep before then!). Entries now at 60 boats and rising - should be a good one!
