In April last year, my crew, Rhona and I were lucky enough to qualify with nine other Cadets from around the UK to compete at the 2022 world championships in Melbourne. Following a successful European championship in the summer (3rd out of 83), we decided to go and compete as hopes were high. We spent Autumn and early winter training hard as a team in freezing temperatures and brutal winds meaning we were prepared when the time came.
After an extremely boring 24-hour flight we finally touched down in Melbourne and soon after the Australian national championships started. This event was a practice event for us and allowed us to learn about the venue and also the tough international competition which saw boats from Australia, Belgium, Poland, Germany and England, to a 60-team fleet. After the Aussie Nationals were completed the worlds kicked off soon after, meaning the two weeks were a battle of attrition and staying out of the sun was crucial to ensure you did not burn out. The first two days of the world champs saw strong winds of up to 25 knots which brought huge waves. This meant that we had to have our wits about us as the risk of capsizing was huge, as many found. Rhona and I put in some solid results to stand 3rd overall after 6 races (the halfway point of the regatta).
However, the next day was a far bigger challenge for us. We were one of the heavier pairs in the fleet which gave us an advantage in the stronger wind but also a massive disadvantage in the lighter, more delicate conditions. This was exactly what we got on the 3rd day and we used up both of our discards in one day due to some poor sailing. This meant we would have to make no mistakes to stay in the fight for the title. The next day of racing we came back with a new mindset and started the day strongly with a 3rd. Then in the next race, we had a comfortable lead on the whole fleet on the second lap however a huge wind shift up the second beat saw boats come from the 20s into the top 5 and me drop from first to 6th in this race. The annoying thing was that the boats that made these gains were all ahead of me overall.
However, I was still in the running following this and placed joint 2nd overall. The final race of this day was questionably started in a fickle 2-4 knots of wind and in the pressure of the situation, I was judged to have used my body too much to create apparent wind and push me forward illegally. The rules mean that I received a penalty. As a result, I had to carry a 20th in my results and dropped down to 5th overall. I managed to maintain this position in the last race of the regatta which meant that overall we had 3 GBR boats in the top 5 overall and a GBR world champion, my close friend Toby Bush. Overall, it was a great experience, I met tons of new people from around the world and it was an honour to represent my country. I also learnt loads of lessons which I am keen to take into my future events.
Item one, when times get tough, use the rules but don’t push them too far!
Hamish ( Year 11)
