I recently had the opportunity to compete overseas at two prestigious sailing events: Kiel Week and the 2024 49er Junior Worlds in Galicia, Spain. Here’s a summary of our experience and achievements.
Team and Preparation
As the skipper, I was joined by my crew member, Keizo. Our preparation for these events included rigorous gym training and sailing sessions 3 to 4 days a week. These sessions were a mix of solo and coached training with Traks Gordon, focusing on building our skills and endurance.
Goals
Our primary goals for these events were to learn how to campaign overseas on our own, evaluate our performance against international competitors, and identify areas for improvement.
Kiel Week
Kiel Week marked our debut in the 49er class. Despite facing significant equipment challenges, we managed to complete some good races and gained valuable experience.
2024 49er Junior Worlds in Galicia, Spain
Following Kiel Week, we travelled to Galicia, Spain, to compete against 60 boats in the Junior Worlds. The initial days saw reasonably light wind conditions, which transitioned to medium to windy conditions for the remainder of the regatta. Being one of the lighter crews the windier conditions posed a challenge for us speed wise but we found our boat handling and starting was good. We finished 31st overall, with one of the highlights being a 3rd place finish in 14 knots, thanks to a strong start, good strategy, and determination.
Key Learnings and Challenges
Favourite part of the trip was the quality of competition. We are really excited about working towards being able to sail at an elite level in the 49er class and believe we have the attributes to do this successfully.
One of the biggest lessons was understanding the need to continue to build our size and strength which we continue to do under guidance from NSWIS.
Our proudest moment was overcoming some breakage challenges and we now feel confident in our ability to pretty much fix anything.
Next Steps
Our next steps involve continuing our training, focusing on the key learnings from these events, and working on gaining weight through dedicated gym sessions and nutrition. We are grateful for everyone’s support throughout this journey.
Thanks to RPAYC and Vaikobi for their great support.
View full results HERE