Christmas in Croatia

Unfortunately I finished third this year (I won the series in 2008 & 2009) despite counting a 1st (Hungary), 2nd (Switzerland) and 3rd (Netherlands), as I had to count my first event at Hyeres which I competed in shortly after returning from my hamstring injury (so was somewhat out of practice), hence finishing a disappointing 17th after lying top ten until the last race of the regatta, but it is worth mentioning there were 279 Radial sailors taking part.

The Croatian Europa cup was my first international regatta after breaking my right arm. Indeed it was my first regatta on the sea and even my first regatta sailed in more than five knots. So it was a bit of a steep learning curve but it was just great to be back sailing! It was certainly a lot warmer in Hvar than it has been in the UK of late and the Island is a great place to see in the New Year, the Croats really love their fireworks. It also meant I don’t have such a big gap in racing, as the next race in the UK is not until the middle of March!

Day one we had our usual couple of general recalls where I had reasonable starts, but unfortunately on the real start the boat under me got stuck head to wind, ten seconds before the start, hitting me. We then both got stuck together, drifting backwards at pace as the rest of the fleet sailed off up the beat! In a competitive fleet, especially in the shifty and gusty conditions (you miss one shift you lose about 100 metres) it was hard to catch up, but I went from last 16 at the top mark, to top 16 at the finish.

The second race I also had a poor start but it is funny how it all comes back. Despite the cold and difficult conditions it was great to be back on the water and racing. A good pull back to fourth put me top ten overall.

Day two and the wind never arrived but actually this was just what my arm needed. After the racing it swelled somewhat and I try to avoid painkilling medication if at all possible, just using rest and ice and some light stretching to try and keep it mobile. So a day off, on shore, was just what I needed!

Day three and in the morning there was even less wind but we launched at midday, and after spending a couple of hours on the water waiting for the wind to increase and stabilise we were rewarded with a single race. Although I was still slow getting off the start line I pulled through to sixth and certainly began to feel more like my old self again.

The last start time for a race on the final day was 2pm so it looked difficult to get more racing in, given the forecast and the fact that after general recalls and moving the marks of the course the actual start the previous day did not get underway until nearly three. However this is the nature of the sport: there is lots of waiting in sailing!

Day four and we once again took to the water so if the wind appeared we could get a race in before the two o’clock cut off. Unfortunately the wind never arrived and after a couple of hours bobbing around on the water we were towed in. Unfortunately this meant I had to count my disappointing first race (16th) as there is no discard with a three race series. It is always a bit disappointing to have fewer races than days of the regatta (we had three races in four days) but some racing is always better than none. Overall I finished sixth (just one point off top five). Fingers crossed for an injury free 2011 with lots of sailing!

I am now home and off for a couple of weeks’ holiday with my parents. My hope is my arm will be good enough after this to take some more loading and my intention is to start doing upper body work at the Weymouth Pilates Centre (http://pilatescentreweymouth.co.uk/) after the holiday and to start gaining some strength back into the arm. Obviously I lost quite a lot of weight being injured. I also plan to visit Liz, my physiotherapist at the Nielson Clinic, to start moblising the joint now that it is less painful (http://www.nielsenclinic.co.uk/).

I feel I really need a holiday as it has been a bit of a frustrating time waiting for my arm to heal and I can be impatient when I want to get things done. So now is the perfect time for a holiday. We are going to Cornwall for a fortnight with Season’s holidays, spending one week in Burn Park (near Bude) and one week on the Clowance Estate (near St Ives).

Both holidays have been carefully selected because they are quite close to Weymouth (I do enough driving for my job) and both have well equipped gyms so I can do some aerobic exercise while away, speeding my return to fitness. Previously I would just go for a run whilst away, but since the operation on my neck I try and avoid any high impact exercise (like running) wherever I can. Hopefully before too long I will be back on the bike (as this is exactly what I bought it for)…

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