(That’s Joe, not me, I’m just behind him with the water in my eyes!)
In hindsight it was an amazing week, but it did have its up and downs. Not just my performance, but the weather too. It was a typical Scottish Youths, similar to my first Youth Nationals in Largs back in 2013, mostly cold, wet, and windy.
This year was my second Youth Nationals in the Laser Standard rig and my final ever Youth Nationals! It was really nice to finish my last Youth Nationals in Largs, where it all kicked off 5 years ago!
Day 1 + 2
The five day regatta got off to a roaring start with the first 2 days being un-sailable because of the bitterly cold easterly winds that were funnelling down the valleys of Largs. This meant that every race really did count for the rest of the week, and the chance of a second discard in the series was slim.
Day 3
Day three was forecast to be another windy one. The race committee were toing and froing with whether to send us out or not all morning. After a long wait we heard a message over the radio – “Laser Standard fleet launching in 10 minutes”.
We were the only fleet to launch, the ginea pigs if you like. As we launched, the keen eyes of parents and the younger sailors were watching to see how we would cope. Much to everyones surprise, and my own, it wasn’t actually that windy. 16-20 knots from the North East, but very, very shifty. We got 2 races in, but it didn’t exactly go to plan, I scored a 7th and a 6th. I felt fast, which was good, but I was struggling with my strategy. We sailed very close to the shore of Cumbrae (an island just off the coast of Largs) which made the strategy slightly more complicated than I expected. Areas to improve!
Day 4
The second day of racing was a great day, and I was on form! Bar a hail storm on the sail out it was a very pleasant day on the water, the sun even appeared for a short while. We managed to fit in 4 races at the North end of Cumbrae; I scored a 3rd, 8th, 2nd, 1st. Super happy! Again, I felt I had great speed, and some really good starts that were conservative, yet punchy enough to ensure a top position. After Day 4 I went from 6th overall to 4th overall, and 1 point away from a podium place. At this point I should probably say that I’ve never physically stepped on the podium at a UK Youth event, so this felt good. I was so close!
Day 5
I would love to say that the final day went well, but I can’t. Things didn’t go the way I wanted them to. We sailed 2 races in the Largs channel, those being the windiest and shiftiest 2 races we had over the series. I scored a 9th in the first race, which was predominantly down to two capsizes. I was annoyed to say the least but I tried my best to keep it out of my head for the final race of the series. I channeled the little anger that was left into my work rate for the next race and I went for it. I launched off the line and punched out nicely to begin with but soon had to tack out and find a new lane. I sailed the shifts as best as I could but I couldn’t string together a successful first beat. I rounded the first windward mark in about 8th but couldn’t find a way to gain back any significant places. I finished that race in 7th.
My performance on the final day dropped me to 5th overall. Not the result I wanted, but I walked away from Largs having had an a brilliant week (well 3 days). The racing was tight and I had a great laugh with the lads in my fleet. Kudos to Joe Mullen for stringing together a solid series and taking the win!
Fortunately my result at the Youth Nationals granted me a place in the British Youth Sailing Team this summer! Damn it feels good! After narrowly missing out on the team last year it feels extra special this time around, super chuffed!
Lewis
2018 Youth National Laser Standard results:
http://www.rya.org.uk/racing-events/2018-youth-nationals/Documents/Laser%20Standard%20Results.htm