It was great to start the year with a gold medal at Rio’s Copa Brasil de Vela regatta
This was the second block of training and racing we have got under our belts out there in the past couple of months and we feel like we’re learning about Rio and the 2016 sailing venue all the time.
We took part in two events in Rio; an international championship at Iate Clube do Rio de Janeiro, where the Olympics will be held, then the Copa Brasil de Vela, effectively the Brazilian National Championships for the Olympic Classes, at Niterói.
Being out there for New Year’s Eve was cool. We headed down to Copacabana Beach with about five million other people but didn’t get anywhere near the sand or sea!
Our team manager, Sparky, and his PA, Sasha Lines, had been amazingly organised and managed to get a restaurant booked for the whole team. It was an all you can eat steakhouse, which was perfect for a load of sailors trying to get as much steak and chicken down our necks as possible! It was interesting seeing the Brazilian New Year’s traditions too. Everyone wore white clothes, and there’s a tradition where you throw flowers into the sea then jump in but we didn’t get near enough to do that.
We also went to see Cirque du Soleil, which was awesome watching gymnasts almost looking like they can do the impossible with their bodies.
Read Alain's full blog here