For the last week Nik and I have been back on the charge here in weymouth. Working with our Europeans coach, we have been nailing down a few of the areas we identified we wanted to cover following the Europeans. The chilly UK weather was a bit of a shock initially, but i think its fair to say we are fully acclimatised now, and actually the breeze has been perfect for a very productive week on the water. On top of having Marcus (coach) we have also been joined by the German team that we had trained with before Barcelona. It has been great to have a solid sparring partner and we have learned a lot from the 2 boat testing.
Another very poignant happening this week, is the departure of an original member of the team. My first Nacra 17 'Blink' has been moved on to a new home. She was my introduction as a helm to the class and has done a sterling job over the years. However I am very happy to say she has been given into the hands of an extremely keen and competent youth sailor, who will no doubt get endless fun from her and do 'Blink' proud. I look forward to racing against her in the future, but i would ask if she would mind finishing 2nd to us ;)
Bye bye blink.
After a very solid 5 days of training, we are taking today as a rest before a British Sailing Team camp starts tomorrow, over the week long camp, Nik and I will get the opportunity to work closely with the specialists off the water, and move our campaign forward in that department. Naturally we will of course make plenty of time for on the water training as well.
We are pretty set up here in weymouth for the next month now, we have rented a small house so that we can stay close to the academy and maximise time on the water and time with the specialists. In essence we are throwing everything and the kitchen sink at this, however we do still need help. We are currently looking for support in order to cover coaching costs while we are away racing in America early next year. We had some fantastic help which allowed us to employ Marcus in the build up to and during the Europeans, and its clear that worked out pretty well. With the situation as it stands we need to finance the majority of the coaching fees and expenses our selves. Like employing any experienced professional there are pretty large costs associated, if you could or know any way in which you can help us towards that, we would be hugely appreciative.
As ever, Cheers all
TP