Well I was a little embarrassed when I realised that the last time I wrote a blog I was wondering what 2014 might bring! The year has certainly flown by and whilst I miss coaching the Chinese girls (Lijia Xu and Dongshuang Zhang) I have had a great time with the Israel girls (Oren Jacob and Danielle Maman). It is fair to say that I cannot imagine two more different cultures.

This year I have also had the chance to do a little bit more of my own sailing: defending myApprentice Masters World title and the UK National Championships plus adding theApprentice Masters European Championships. No doubt as we get closer to the Olympics it will be harder for me to race myself but I have always felt that competing in major international regattas has helped me to be a better coach;  it has certainly helped me understand my sailors better. Indeed it seems ironic that all the match racing practice I did with Lijia Xu in preparation for the 2012 Olympics was not necessary for her but both the UK Nationals and Apprentice Masters Worlds came down to a match race this year... so it certainly helped me!

The end of the UK season is marked with the Inland Championships, which I have always enjoyed and shortly after this I will return to Israel for my last coaching camp before Christmas. So I wish you happy holidays and another busy season in 2015; time always flies when you are having fun.