What better way to see how you would perform in Weymouth in the summer than racing in Weymouth during the summer! It is therefore no surprise that for many federations the performance at this year’s Sail for Gold regatta is a key part of the selection for the Olympic test event in August.

After all if you can medal at Weymouth in the summer of 2011 then there may be a good chance you can repeat the feat in the summer of 2012. This has in fact been one of the largest regattas with over 1000 sailors taking part whereas the actual Olympics is restricted to just 380. Not only is this a good chance for the best sailors in the world to test themselves against each other but also for those who are considering running a campaign for 2016 or beyond to see just how high the bar is.

It certainly has been a tough week with big wind and waves plus long days on the water. To do this regatta unsupported would be extremely tough, with the sail in after a long day’s racing exceeding an hour with the local marina fuel station doing a great business with the 340 coach boats, not to mention all those boats actually involved in the running of the regatta.

The racing itself was extremely tight and I was coaching the Laser Radials which shared its course with the Laser Standards with the race area approximately east of the Eastern entrance of Portland harbour. The WPNSA did a great job of coping with the huge numbers.

With around 400 days to go this is certainly a proving ground for the Olympic hopefuls but no doubt the runners and riders will become clearer after the test event. With many sailors vying for the single spot at the games in each class it is an exciting time and the media for the event was superb with live radio (although once I did have to tell one of the on-the-water commentators which race he was watching), tracking each day, and better than ever medal race coverage.

You can see more at: http://www.skandiasailforgoldregatta.co.uk/ Also check out some of my photos at: http://jonemmettsailing.co.uk/index.php?mact=Album,mec8c1,default,1&mec8c1albumid=6&mec8c1returnid=66&page=66

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