Hitting the 2024 Ground Running

I’m usually someone who suffers with January blues and crave sunlight through the winter months so fortunately SailGP is at my rescue with a busy winter schedule of events in warmer climes which is great but does come with a dose of jet lag which takes some practise to manage!! I promised myself when I set up this website that I would keep it up to date as there is nothing worse than a News Section that is full of ‘Olds’, however I have recently let this slip having spread my time very thin across a number of projects and I hope to be better in 2024 - not ‘New Year, New Me’ but just keeping up with the to-do list!

The first event of 2024 got under way in Abu Dhabi on the weekend of 13/14 January and it was the first event with our new driver Giles joining the team - after some light but nice training conditions, as has happened at a number of events this season, the racing was held in very little wind and the addition of a double reach as the first 2 legs of the course really changed the emphasis of the racing from exhilarating high speed foiling action to nailing the Mark 1 entry to get the inside line and clear breeze on Leg 2. All fingers are crossed that Sydney provides the classic conditions it is known for and we can get back to pushing that 100km/hr mark!

For me, as reserve sailor its an interesting scenario where you have to be ready to go at any moment but also may not get on the water at all and it’s an approach which has taken some getting used to. The highlight of the trip for me was being tasked with organising the second Womens Pathway Programme Training Session. Our team had offered to host the session and provided the boat and support team to enable the Female Athletes from across the International fleet to gain experience in some of the key roles on board. The training time for all teams is really limited which means that the opportunity for people to swap positions is in short supply.

We started the morning off with a briefing - with all teams running different playbooks for manouevres it was really essential to make sure we would be able to combine our expectations to ensure we would be able to get the boat round a course together! The forecast was light and we headed out on the 29m wing to give us the best choice of getting up and ripping on the foils. Luke Parkinson our amazing Flight Controller stayed on the boat to provide real-time feedback and whilst the breeze unfortunately dropped to around 3-4 knots, we were still able to go through the motions and get some muscle memory of all of the controls in each of the positions. There were a few other teams out training and a course was laid so we couldn’t help getting involved in some pre-starts and even came out in the lead at M1 in one of the races. For me, as very much a kinaesthetic learner, being hands on in a role really helps with my understanding of the boat and feeds in to my development as a strategist. Below is the link to the Team write up about the day:

https://www.emiratesgbrsailgp.com/en/articles/132_Emirates-GBR-hosts-all-female-training-session-in-Abu-Dhabi

For the last few months I have been working part-time as an NHS Physiotherapist to further my experience following the completion of my studies last year, I really enjoy the change in pace it offers as it is certainly different to the performance culture of elite level sport but Physio is really based around information gathering, problem solving and decision making so in that regard, the skills are in some ways complimentary and it really helps me appreciate the time I do spend away sailing.

I was also honoured to be asked to speak as well as present the Awards at the Clyde Cruising Club Annual Prizegiving Dinner in Glasgow, where I shared some of the lessons and experiences I have been fortunate enough to have had through my sailing career so far. I love these evenings and being given a platform to share my story whilst meeting others who are passionate about our sport, it is also great that wherever you go, even 400 miles from home you bump in to familiar faces.

Photo Credit:Clyde Cruising Club

2024 is shaping up to be a really exciting year with some more Yacht Club talks coming up in the next eight weeks, working with the Mintridge Foundation, continuing my NHS work, some trips to the other side of the hemisphere for Sail GP where we are moving quickly towards the business end of the season and there is some exciting news coming next week!….