Sailing this summer has been an absolute blast for me, being back in the boat and able to compete in two national events: Sail Brisbane, and the 2019 Oceania and Australian Laser Nationals held in Devonport, Tasmania. Both enabled me to focus on sailing, after experiencing the demanding task of Year 12. It felt great to be done with studying and the pressure of final exams. Ahead now, the excitement of a whole summer’s worth of sailing. With less than a week after finishing my last exam, I boarded the ‘red eye’ flight bound for Brisbane and straight into a training camp prior to Sail Brisbane. The event focus was also aimed at establishing a routine I would execute in the beginning of 2019 at the Laser Nationals.

Events like these assist to consolidate your preparation and lock in the basics like good hydration, correct eating patterns and positive mindset. These three essentials are often over looked, but have equal importance when it comes to preforming well. I encourage you all to do some research on these three components.

This training camp was delivered by Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) coach Ash Brunning. I joined the Laser Radial sailing team, which included Annie Eastgate, Mara Stransky, Frazer Brew and visiting Victorian sailor Casey Imeneo. During the week we focused on the aspects of speed testing, boat handling and starts. Towards the end of the week Australian Olympic Finn sailors, Jake Lilley and Lewis Blake joined the group, as well as their international peers, who were also preparing for up and coming major events. This inspirational time served as great motivation as I realised what opportunities lay ahead with a move to Brisbane. With one training camp over, a second began, this time with Queensland Sailing Team (QST) coaches Brady Lowe and Annie Eastgate.

During Sail Brisbane I gained confidence in pushing the limits on the start line and my speed up wind. Most of the time I would round the top mark in fourth, however my downwind abilities had declined, causing me to drop a few places each time. In these situations, I pushed through the pain in my quads upwind and calmed my mind to make more rational decisions. I got back to basics and worked the boat as hard as I possibly could. I came 6th overall, which was below my expectations, however there were some thrilling moments out on the race course. I had good starts, gained speed upwind and thought through the process, allowing me to gain places instead of losing them. I also learnt that it was abnormal to have sore ankles and knees when hiking upwind, so I needed to solve this problem before Nationals.

The 2019 Oceania and Australian Laser Nationals was a fantastic event which was run by the Tasmanian Mersey Sailing Club with help from other local sailing clubs. It was a unique location due to it being positioned deep in the Mersey river, with a two to three metre fast flowing tidal Port, which handles large ships like; the Spirit of Tasmania, bulk cement carriers and commercial transport vessels.

For me, it was one of the most challenging launch and retrieval ramps I have experienced, and I was not alone as it caught out some other visiting sailors. With a 3.5 nautical mile journey to the race course, we were regularly towed beyond the river mouth into Bass Strait, to expedite the process. Each day we had the unique experience of sailing past the Spirit of Tasmania. At one point I was so close I could have touched it. One memorable afternoon we had to give priority to the incoming Spirit entering the Mersey River. So just imagine over 100 Lasers lined up waiting at the river mouth being acknowledged by a blast from the Spirit’s horn. This was a unique photo opportunity for those on board the ferry entering the city of Devonport.

The conditions went from one extreme to the other. The first day we spent five hours on the race course waiting for 5 knots to come in.  A start was attempted and then Lasers being Lasers, caused a general recall, which then lead to another start being attempted and then postponed. It was a long day….. We got in at 7:30 pm.

The second day was postponed until 2pm, so by the time racing finally got underway I was keen and ready to compete. As the wind consolidated at 10 knots from the north west, I was really happy with my starts and achieved my best race of the regatta with an 18th placing followed by a 21st.

On day 6, in contrast to day 1, we were fighting 3.5 metre swell with white caps, and a consistent 20 knots of wind, gusting up to 25. In that race there had been multiple general recalls.  I was so pre-occupied with checking the back of the start boat for my sail number to see if I had been black-flagged, I forgot to check the course. Consequently, after dealing with the most extreme upwind and downwind conditions, I finished after two laps. Unfortunately, it was a three-lap race. Pity about that….

During the regatta, I achieved results in the twenties but also had some shockers. I was disappointed as this caused my overall score to drop to 32 out of 69 Laser Radials in the competition. I was 4th in the Queensland team and 12th female overall. Emma Plasschaert from Belgium came 1st with amazing skills in all conditions. Zac Littlewood was 2nd and Manami Doi 3rd (both form WA). In 4th place was Mara Stransky from Queensland who claimed 1st Australian Female position.  Other sailors from Queensland included Frazer Brew who came 7th and Annie Eastgate who came 14th. 

Each day I went out with determination to make the most of the opportunities created with the assistance of Darwin Sailing Club, Yachting NT, NT Laser Association and the NT Sailing Team, Queensland Academy of Sport, Queensland Sailing Team along with my sponsors Fernwood Fitness, Nautical Supplies and my parents. I would like to extend my appreciation and thank each and every one of you for the great support you have provided to people like me and other juniors. I honestly would not be in the position I am today without your help. Having created a solid platform of skills and experience, I will continue to do my best and embrace the next level of challenges.

I am making the move to Queensland and seizing the opportunity to continue training with the QAS and QST for another 12 months.  During this time, my focus will be to train hard, aim high and participate in as many regattas as possible. My ultimate goal is to consolidate and improve my national ranking, and who knows where that will lead to! I also intend to work part-time and study a couple of units towards a Batchelor of Science at the University of Queensland. So, it will be another busy year, however I’m looking forward to the experiences ahead. 

Words: Paris van den Herik