Photo courtesy of Jarrod Jones

I left Brisbane with the support of the RQYS community, a foil bag, and a very big trip ahead of me. After a lot of beneficial training around Australia since July last year, I felt that I had made significant progress heading into the European season.

First up was the Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma. Two weeks of training at the venue in quite shifty winds was challenging, but it is always enjoyable being immersed in the international fleet. Day one of the regatta was tough because, although there were a lot of positive moments, a drifting mark at the bottom gate in race one and a tangle in my harness lines in race two made my scorecard less reflective of the gains I had made throughout the summer. Nonetheless, I was happy knowing internally that I was far more competitive and able to mix it with some of the heavy hitters in the fleet. Day two was unfortunately cancelled due to a lack of wind and, despite all the preparation before the regatta, day three’s upwind sprint racing proved very challenging. The final day of racing, however, was good fun, where I was able to secure multiple finishes near the front of the pack and inside the top 10 of Silver Fleet.

After a quick hiatus in the Netherlands, I was straight back on the horse in Hyères, France, for French Olympic Week. The regatta once again had its ups and downs, with the opening day ranging from 3 to 30 knots across the races. However, two days of consistent breeze at the back end of the regatta made for some great racing at the front of the fleet once again.

As I write this in Portugal ahead of the IQFoil European Championships, I am really enjoying the opportunity to race and train against the best in the world. I feel that I have made some great gains throughout the summer sailing at RQYS and around other parts of Australia, and that has made international racing all the more enjoyable. I am very grateful that RQYS continues to provide me with the opportunity to campaign internationally and see the results of the hard work I put in throughout the year.