Blog

Back Laser Radial coaching for Laura Baldwin again which is good. I really enjoy helping to imporve someones performance and working closely with Laura we are making some real gains.

We are out in Cascais where the ISAF World Sailing Championships will be held this coming July. Then all of the Olympic classes will be in attendance and the world will be watching. Everyone will be keen to see who are the runners and riders who are in with a shout for medals. As this will give the first signs of who are potential medallists for the Olympics in Beijing 2008.

We are here in Cascais training early to get a really good steer on the conditions which the sailors will encounter for later in the year. Its a bit tricky though as being in a different season you dont always get the same type of conditoons as that will be experienced during July for the worlds.

The facilities here are being built around us, the slip ways are inadequate at the moement even for the small amount of people who are here training preparation for the worlds. How they hope to get all of the 80 tornados, etc, etc all accommodated here i have no idea. looks like it will be a full bun fight!!

At the moment there is a 470 and finn regatta happening, with Ed Wright GBR sailing in the Finn class and winning overall. In all there is representation from Poland, Japan, United States, Portugal, Spain, Great Britain, to name but a few. So all is hotting up down here and i can only assume it will be getting busier and businer in between the times when there are Olympic ragattas going on around Europe.

This all starts again in palma in the start of April, to be followed by Hyeres regatta in the south of France late in April. May is Holland regatta at Medwemblik and then more training before the worlds in cascais. A busy period, intense and hard to make sure that sailors take enough down time during their time off between regattas.

Ciao for now from Cascais, which is near Lisbon on the West Portugal coast.