My First Try at the Squib Nationals 20 Jul 2009

It was only because I finished the school term early after completing my GCSEs, that made it possible to enter the Squib Nationals. My dad only entered on the Wednesday before so it was all a bit of a rush as we checked the forecast was okay before heading to Weymouth taking the last (108th) place.

I’d only raced Whirl’n Dervish twice before but I’ve sailed and raced Oppies for the last four years so I’ve had the chance to sail in big fleets. If you train with the Otters, you get a good idea of the Racing Rules and it could be that I am more up to date than some of the older competitors! So, I’m quite confident that I know the rules and if you are right in with the good sailors who also know the rules, it’s easier!

The first race was the practice race and from that we went straight into the First Race of the series. I made for the middle of the line, made a good start and finished 35th which I was really pleased about. I hoped I might be the highest placed out of the Under 21s, although I didn’t manage that in the end.

As it turned out, 35th was my best position – I had to discard an OCS and the last day was really windy so our combined weights weren’t enough to be really competitive.

But it was an amazing experience. I really enjoyed it and we ended up 63rd out of 108 competitors. I’m already looking forward to entering next year at the Royal St George Yacht Club near Dublin.