Wow! What an invigorating time at home. To be able to see family, re-evaluate our goals, train hard both on and off the water and launch Team 44. It was certainly well spent for campaign progress.
On the water in Sydney
We had scheduled 10-days of training at the National Training Centre at Middle Harbour Yacht Club, with the intention to treat it as an intense training camp committing full days to the program. It was fantastic to have the Australian Sailing 49erFX Futures squad join us, meaning four additional boats were on the start line with our Australian Sailing Squad teammates.
After thorough analysis of our performance in Hyeres, our focus for the training block was on the following key concepts:
Maintaining our upwind lane as the either the windward, middle or leeward boat,
Choosing and performing the correct mode to execute strategy,
Fighting for the favoured position on a bias start line
Days on the water included tune-in lineups, a variety of starting drills (long line, short line, clear bias, half upwinds) and short course racing. Off the water, time was spent planning and preparing logistics for the next European trip, detailed team debriefs with video analysis, physical preparation and cross training and of course refuelling. We were lucky to sail in a variety of conditions at a tricky time of the year, only missing one day on the water due to a lack of breeze – a pretty good record for Sydney in May!
Some key takeaways from our May sailing camp in Sydney:
Olivia regained her ability to map out the racecourse and put strong race strategies together
Our synchronisation (in Olivia’s tactical decisions and Evie’s execution) to change modes
Evie’s movement through the boat and overall trim performance
Launch of Team 44
The night before we left Australia was unforgettable! Our Team 44 launch and fundraiser at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia was a highly memorable night and we were delighted to have so many people in one room supporting us on our Path to Paris.
Gordon Bray kept the room entertained as MC, and the room went silent as Australian Sailing Team Master Coach, Victor ‘The Medal Maker’ Kovalenko spoke about teamwork and commitment on our Olympic journey. The Hidden Sea Wines made sure everyone was enjoying themselves, and our auctioneer, James Dorron from O’Gorman & Partners Real Estate gave us all a laugh while raising important funds for our campaign.
We can’t thank everyone enough for being part of Team 44! A special thanks to everyone who donated outstanding prizes for our live auction and raffle – the room was buzzing with excitement! We hope to bring everyone together again whether it be a day up close in the action on the water or at the CYCA for another fabulous meal. All are welcome and it would be great to have everyone on board - sign up here to be part of the journey and get our blogs first! Check out the photos from the night at our Dropbox link, thanks to Salty Dingo!
After coming down from the high of the night, we traveled to The Netherlands for our next World Cup, the Allianz Regatta in Almere! Our trip was a bit of a long one though – flying from Sydney to Copenhagen via Dubai, then driving nine hours south to Holland – all on Evie’s 19th birthday! More to come soon…!
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