My Favourite Regatta
Written by Saskia Clark | 01 April 2011
I’m really looking forward to the Palma Regatta next week; Palma’s probably my favourite event, it’s been nice to me in the past so I can’t wait to get out racing.
Being only two months into our campaign, it would be really exciting if Hannah (Mills) and I could come away with a good result but ultimately we know this is going to be our first chance to line-up in a really good fleet and to see how well we carry out what we’ve been doing in training in the short time we have been together.
I’ve got such a buzz about our campaign; I think it’s because we have got so much to do and so little time to do it! It’s not anyone’s ideal situation being so close the start of the Olympic selection process and having spent such a short space of time together but that is where we are at and it means you know exactly what needs to be done, which is very energising.
At the start it was quite a daunting challenge but everything so far has been really positive. We spend a lot of time laughing - there is a standing joke among the 470 squad about the nine year age-gap between me and Hannah and the fact she’s a ‘Yoof’ and I’m the grandma!
We’ve done two 470 squad training camps in Palma since we teamed up and are now looking forward to hooking up with the rest of the British team out there.
With so many of us now living around Weymouth, many of us are now each others’ ‘proper’ friends whereas before we were colleagues who got on well but would only see each other at events. We hang out and have dinner at each others’ houses.
I live in Wyke Regis with my boyfriend Paul (Goodison) and everyone literally passes our front door to get to the National Sailing Academy so we always have people popping in. There’s always been a closeness in the British team but it’s probably the strongest I’ve ever known currently, which adds to the enjoyment of events.
Being together as the whole British team also gives you the chance to see what the other classes have been up to and whether there’s anything they have done which could be applicable to your own campaign.
I had a week at home between our last Palma camp and flying back for the regatta; it was great to spend time catching up with some university friends while Paul and I had our first two days together at home since before Miami in January!
We’ve been abroad training in the same places at the same time but you have your own schedules and it isn’t the same as being able to chill out at home.
It’s been quite a full on couple of months so it was important to get some downtime and relax before we get back into it in Palma.
Saskia