Turning Rio racing into Bramble Bank!
Written by John Gimson | 06 August 2014
When team manager Sparky gave Pippa and I the late call to come to Rio following Walshy’s injury, it was a bit of a no brainer for us to go – and the more time I have spent here the more glad I am to be here.
For us, with three British Nacras regularly finishing in the top 10 at events, it could be all too easy to get wrapped up in just qualifying to be the one boat to go to the Olympics. We need to make sure we are not distracted by this, and that if we do qualify, we need to have given ourselves the best chance of medalling at the Games.
With this in mind there is no substitute for sailing – and even better racing – in the venue on the actual course areas where the Olympics will be and the Test Event is a great opportunity to do that against some good competition.
The inside courses in Guanabara Bay are very tidal with a lot of large land masses around, which makes local knowledge very important. As a personal goal, by 2016 I would like to feel here like I do when I am sailing off Bramble Bank in the Solent, and know the tide and the wind bends as well as I do there. Then a lot of race decisions are made already in your head, which makes racing much easier.
The outside courses of Copacabana and Niteroi are much more like sailing anywhere, from what I have experienced so far, and I think Pip and I can come away from Rio with an idea of what conditions and sea state to expect in those areas, so we can spend time tuning in over the next training period to get our kit right.
So far the racing here has been really good, we have had great breeze and sailed on two of the three courses inside Guanabara Bay. We have been quite steady with all results in the top 10s, but Thursday is the last day of qualifying and we need to sail solidly and score some more top fives to give ourselves a fighting chance going in to the medal race day. The good news is, we are on a different course area, again inside the bay, which will be great experience as we haven’t sailed there yet and we want to get a feel for as many of the course areas as possible.
All in all I am very happy to be here – the Brazilian hospitality has been amazing and it’s made me feel very comfortable being in Rio.
Team morale is high and it has been great to learn about the venue and the city with sailors from the other classes!