Second regatta of 2013 and a second medal!
Written by Ali Young | 30 April 2013
With 4 of the top 5 from the Olympics competing, Hyeres Regatta promised to be a good test of how my racing had progressed and another medal shows the winter's work has all been going in the right direction.
The first two days of racing saw light winds and although my starting wasn’t great, I raced well to pull through. This meant for some long days on the water but the great food from the team chef and SportKitchen meals kept me well fuelled. I fell foul of the jury for R42 (rocking) twice within the first 4 races. For the first infringement you just take a two turns penalty, but the second meant I had to retire from the race. It also meant I had to be really cautious for the remaining seven races as any other infringements would mean I was disqualified and couldn’t discard the score. Although frustrating to get the penalties, it was really useful to learn what the jury are looking for so we can adapt my technique.
The three days of finals races saw a bit more breeze and my upwind pace was great and I gradually got more confident with my downwinds to pull up into second place prior to the two medal races. After the breezier days we tried some different recovery techniques, which meant walking up and down in the sea the one day, apparently something to do with hydrostatic pressure, but I got some funny looks in my wetsuit and jacket!
In the medal races I missed a couple of opportunities and finished third overall, which was a pretty solid result in a stronger fleet than Palma.
My next regatta is Delta Lloyd in Holland at the end of May and before then I’ll be working on some of the key points from Hyeres.
Follow Ali's campaign progress at www.alisonyoung.co.uk