We would soon be going into the final two competitions of the season, and after the Europeans in Puntaldia we knew we had to do some work. This training block aimed to bring the team together and train on our technique in waves as well as our communication. We made a solid plain, organising to train different race manoeuvres and scenarios each day, bringing it all together with some race practice at the end of the week.
Getting out to Barcelona made a nice change for everyone, as the weather back home (UK and Netherlands) had started to turn cold. The 20-degree weather in Barcelona was a definite positive.
Our time in Barcelona began with a trip out, with the whole team heading to the America’s Cup Experience and wandering around the marinas to check out all the team bases. Personally, I find that it’s really motivating to dig into the past (what the Kiwis call ‘whakapapa’), learning about the past so it can help guide your future. Going to the America’s Cup Experience gave us all goosebumps and showed us just how special the competition truly is. It’s crazy knowing that Great Britain has never won the America’s Cup, and yet sailing and being by the sea is so engrained into our culture – it really gives a drive to keep pushing and working.
We were joined by some great people throughout the week; Filippo Binetti came and did a couple days of work with the team, helping me with my main trimming and providing other great insights. Having sailed with Fillipo last season, and again at the start of this season, it was great to work with him and catch up with a good friend.
Oceana Vivo were also joined by Lucas Radrizzani, skipper of Alphazulu, who came out on the water and got some great footage of the start of our camp. We also managed to catch up with our friends Hattie and Libby Askew. Hattie works for the American Magic team and Libby is starting work with SailGP the end of this month. We had time to get them both onboard too, it was great to see the excitement on their faces getting foiling and hitting 25 knots for the first time!
It was a big week with plenty of hours on the water paired with mindful recovery, good food, and good company. We made some real gains in the boat and enjoyed the process of learning together. The team really pulled together over this training block, and we all feel ready to keep a growth mindset going into Act 3 of the Youth Foiling Gold Cup before our final challenge: the Grand Final of the 2023 season.
After a long season it’s safe to say that I’m really proud of the strong team we have created.
We are ready to give it our all in the final competitions of the year!
Zac
Comments