A solid boost

Thirty-nine of the worlds best laser sailors… and me. That was the fleet makeup of the recent Sailing World Cup, Hyères. Entry for this regatta was supposed to be restricted to the forty top sailors in the world: 30 spots to be allocated based on world rankings and 10 to be earned at a qualifying regatta. A couple of months before the regatta, for a unknown reason, World Sailing decided that instead of using a qualifying regatta, they would simply give away the last 10 spots on a first come first served basis. I was waiting in from of my computer with my credit card ready when they opened the registration, and I was confirmed and paid for within the first minute. That was the not so glamorous way that I managed to get a spot for this regatta. My expectations in terms of my results at this regatta were pretty low. This was a fleet quality that I have never experienced, similar to the Olympic Games or a gold fleet at the Laser Worlds. I ended up finishing the regatta in 38th of 40, which is actually two places better than what I expected. It was an eight race series and in seven of those races, I was in the bottom five as expected. In the other one, I was in the top 5. Sailing is a sport where regattas are won by consistency and as such having one good race in a series of races doesn’t do much for the result in the regatta. For me, however, that race was very meaningful because it shows potential. It shows that I am getting better and that my training has been working. This little bit of positive reinforcement has given my motivation an added boost, and I am more motivated than ever to get my sailing to the next level.

I am now in Riva Del Garda for the Garda Olympic Week in about a week’s time. The fleet quality here will not be anywhere near what we had in Hyères as this regatta has conflicting dates with the World Championships. This will be a great opportunity to get some practice being in the front group of the fleet and I’m looking forward to doing some more racing!

Thanks for reading,

Fillah