Team Fletcher and Sign - Preparing for Perth
Written by Dylan Fletcher | 02 November 2010
Well, with the regatta season over we’ve been focussing on a month of hard winter training down at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, the 2012 Olympic sailing venue, with our training partners Chris Draper and Peter Greenhalgh and coach Harvey Hillary.
The training has gone really well and we couldn’t have hoped to have got more out of it. The wind has been pumping down in Weymouth, so it’s has really been putting our boathandling to the test and it’s safe to say the wind has won out on a number of occasions – although we have been getting better!
Check out the video of us training in a cold 15 knots from last week. Off the water we have been spending a good bit of time in the gym, with the favourite fitness session for both of us being Fight Club on Tuesday. It’s run by Skandia Team GBR Strength & Conditioning coach Steve Gent, but as they say, the first rule of Fight Club is never talk about Fight Club... although we can say it’s a great way to relieve some stress and the keep up the fitness training at the same time!
We have also been trying to put on a bit of weight which we lost after some time off. Weight gain is a lot more fun than weight loss – plenty of hours in the gym lifting weights and eating lots.
All our preparation has been geared towards a month’s training in Perth, Australia, and the Perth International Regatta. We leave on 4th November and will be spending 3 weeks training with a 1 week regatta in the middle. This is a great opportunity for us to see how our winter training has gone so far, but for one month it will be summer training again in relentless 25 knot winds and 25 degrees every day. Perth and Fremantle are known for the local wind called 'the Doctor' – it kicks in almost every day over summer and usually blows 20-30 knots, so it will be a great way to get our boat handling into shape!
We both cannot wait to get out there and on the water and will keep you updated on how it goes.
Huge thanks to our sponsors Great Bear Distribution, Joules Clothing, Allen Brothers and of course Skandia Team GBR for their support in making our campaign a reality.