Guess what, My elbows are currently pinned to my side and I am in the oxygen deprived cabin again!
Currently on my way home form Palma after dropping the boats ready for the regatta later in the month. But thats now, and there has been a lot going on since I last wrote.
I suppose a good place to start would be with the 2020 Campaign Launch Party Nik and I hosted. It was the first of two events, this time we were at my end of the country in what I can only describe as ‘the place of dreams’ Mylor Harbour. Nik and I teamed up with my favourite restaurant ‘Castaways’ in the harbour to put on a evening to raise a bit of money but more importantly engage and update people on our journey and route towards Tokyo 2020. I think its fair to say we were overwhelmed with the response and after selling over 100 tickets it suddenly became a little daunting. However the evening was a brilliant success, i believe everyone enjoyed themselves and it really was a pleasure to be able to share our endeavours with such a lovely bunch of local people. I must say a huge thanks to everyone involved int he evening but especially Toby from Castys, David for MC’ing the evening and of course Warren for a very fun auction! There were some amazing lots from some very generous donators, and we can’t thank you guys enough for your support! All in all it was a epic evening with a lot of laughter, a lot of prosecco and a lot of great people!
We are planning another evening at Nikki’s end of the country next, so that some more of her gang can get involved and hear about our2020 adventure! We will be at Pevensey Bay SC on the 8th of April, Click here or contact Nikki on nikkiboniface@icloud.com to for more info or to buy tickets.
Following a weekend of great fun, it was straight back to business for Nikki and I. We flew back out Cadiz (what was becoming a winter home for us) for the third and final training camp with the rest of the British Sailing Team. Having spent so much time down there this winter, we were getting pretty comfortable with the area and it was a quick and easy transition back into the training camp. With Palma regatta on the horizon, we have begun to focus back onto a bit of speed work. It was great week of nice conditions and some really progressive tuning. Having the rest of the squad around us to help push us forward is so effective and it was nice to work and learn in that environment again.
Half way through the training camp I retreated to London, to attend the annual RYA dinghy show. As ever it is a great chance to catch up with so many friends from the sailing world and meet lots of new one too. It also gave Nikki the chance to have a few days well earned recovery out in Spain after a hard week on the water. I was on a few missions this year at the show, There was a number of friend and sponsors I really wanted to touch base with, but most notably it was the Launch of the new written Catamaran Book. Dad and I, together with Fernhurst books have completely rewritten the original Catamaran book to bring it into the modern era, It is somthing I am particularly proud of and I hope will be a help to many catamaran sailors across the ability range. Once again I have to say a huge thanks to Jeremy and Rachael from Fernhurst who help dad and I throughout the process, also to all those who were involved. Its a brilliant book, and should provide fairly comprehensive advice whether you are just thinking about getting in to cat sailing or been around a while. Thanks to all those who were there for the launch, you all made me feel very silly signing books and taking photos!
Along side the book launch, it was also great to catch up with some of our personal and team sponsors, As ever the marlow stand was great fun, and I think having spoken with some of there technical team, I know we can work together to develop their already brilliant high performance rope products. Another personal highlight at the show was talking with some of the younger generation on the RYA youth Volvo stand. The ‘grass roots to glory’ initiative was a great way to hear all their enthusiasm for the sport, and I hope I gave them a few insightful tips to help them progress their sailing in return. Honestly after so many brilliant conversations I can safely say the future of our Olympic team is in good hands!
After the whistle stop tour of London, it was straight back out to Cadiz to finish off the second half of our training camp. Back on the race training, it was nice to remind ourselves what going around some marks felt like. The week finished with some fairly strong breeze, and it was good to know Nik and I haven’t forgotten everything and can still send the boat round the track in those kind of conditions. And then we had the pack up, after 3 big training camps in Cadiz, its impressive how spread out all ones kit seems to get! After some serious gathering, de-rigging and loading the trailer was ready to roll out. Rupert joined me for the drive across the bottom of Spain to Valencia where we caught the overnight ferry to Palma. A quick turn around on the beach to drop the boats/trailer off, and a friendly lift to the airport and here I am, trying to coordinate my cup of tea and laptop on the smallest of tray tables without elbowing the person next to me (she seems friendly).
I am home for a week now, but have some fun media bits to do while I’m home, stand by for TP on camera.
Cheers all
TP