As of March 2024 I have been selected into the Australian Sailing Squad! This came as super exciting news for me to receive during my preparations for the European summer.
Senior Europeans
The first event of the year were Senior Europeans in Athens, Greece. Taking place in February meant that it was still pretty cold over in Europe. We raced in light to medium wind strength for most of the racing which meant looking towards the edges of the race course for more wind was often the way to go. I finished 22nd overall in the ILCA 6 Women's fleet of 110 boats, which I was pretty happy with.
Princesa Sofia World Cup
Palma de Mallorca is a Spanish island located in the Mediterranean. After spending 4 weeks there I can tell you it is a pretty nice place to be. We got sunny weather and some nice winds. It’s also the perfect location for some cross training on the road bike. The Palma World Cup is always a big event that attracts the best competitors each year making the racing super high quality.
Day one of the regatta kicked it off with amazing backdrops of the city, 20 - 25 knots of winds and massive waves. I managed to put together a few good races in the opening series to ensure my place in gold fleet. The final series races were relentless, one small mistake and you were out the back which unfortunately caught me out a few too many times. After some more detailed review of the tracking I found a few key things to learn from and take forward into my racing. Overall I finished 42nd out of 116 boats.
A Week in Italy
In between world cup events I spent a bit of time exploring a Italy. Which was amazing!
Rome, Gaeta, Naples, Capri...
French Olympic Week
The Final event of the trip was the Hyeres regatta which also was the Last Chance Regatta for unqualified nations to gain the last quota spots for the Olympics. With most of the Olympic country spots already filled, the 69 boats in the qualified nation fleet made for some pretty high quality races. The predominant wind for the regatta was the mistral, which is a very cold breeze that blows down from the mountains and is very strong and shifty wind. I really enjoyed these strong, shifty conditions because you always had to be on the look out for the next shift. After fighting for every last point, I finished 14th overall in this event which I was really happy with, as it was a great result to finish off the trip.
Upcoming:
Kiel Week (Germany)
U21 World Championships (Portugal)
Thanks:
Australian Sailing Team
Employment Hero
NSW Institute of Sport
Sport AUS Hall of Fame
Comments