1987 - Great Vintage for the Eternal Optimist

So, blast from the past for a change.. started my sailing career back in the early 80's (thanks dad), I'm not gonna go into all the history of what I did and didn't do in the sailing world back then..not that desperate for content yet... but sufficie to say I sailed Optimists.. sailed them at Draycote Water SC and had a great time on a great piece of water with some fantastic sailors who were and have since become the kings and queens of the sport..proper top quality UK yachters...

Anyway... 1987 was the pinnacle of my Oppy career, I had a good season, won the selection trials, went to the Worlds and got to the pinnacle of the year (and sailing career to date) the National Championships... the event was at Lake Bassenthwaite in the lake district, a beautiful place but is it really somewhere you want to sail competitively? Not sure, it was damned shifty which really piled the pressure on for me, shifty conditions and the expectation from everyone that I could win the event......

Anyway the event went OK, it was a close thing at times, I only managed to win one race and wcan distinctly remeber going from the front of the fleet to the back in one race when an almighty shift ripped the fleet in half and turned it on the head...bummer... by I think the penultimate day I was doing OK, not quite winning but in striking distance I think, the pressure was really getting to me.. so much so that despite my parent and close sailing colleagues trying to chill me out I got major earache and sailed the last two days, middle of summer, with my "Union Jack speed suit" and a white wooly hat on.. jeeze I looked a muppet (one day I'll be brave enuff to scan the images in for you all!).. still I put in a consistant last two days and did enuff to win the champs, it was a fantastic time and was most definately the highlight of my sailing so far... UK National Champion.. oh yeh baby!

Got some great trophies that year, see other posts..

Then, talking about psychology of sailing, a few weeks later there was an event down at Restronguet in the estuary... the posters for the event said come and sail against the National Champion.. I was so proud! So there was a fair few of us at the event, some of my best sailing friends then.. the Quintrells (the locals) where are you Tammy and the boys.... and John a big bugger who usually whipped my as in a breeze... and guess what, one of the last opens of the year, on the sea, me a little standard sized oppy sailor pitting my wits against local knowledge and big breeze yachters... oh well! But.. and this is a big "technique and psychology" but....

Good F5, large Olymipc triangle course. Got good starts and with my proven technique of board 2 incvhhes up, sail eased an inch or so, keep the boat flat and powering through the waves I sailed fast only pointed very slightly less than the big hikers and flew... it was a picture perfect (for me) race, I ended up just sailing fast, tacking on the shifts as they came through the course, tacked smoothly, picking the time through the waves; worked the boat hard downwind, surfing as much as possible, calm and relaxed gybing and basically, being in the zone meant that I won the 1st 2 races by a leg (big legs for a little oppy)... wow.. that was a thrill, you don't forget it when it all comes together.. the groove is great when your in it...

Now, in a different boat, nearly 20 years after I struggle to find the groove.. its out there, but something ain't quite fitting yet... I'll keep looking!