Well my aim after the Europeans was to have a textbook regatta at the Nationals. However it was not to be. There were fewer than a hundred entries for Paignton, many sailors absent due to the timing (being so close to the Europeans and the Worlds), but as the defending Champion I decided I really ought to do it, and with the winds in Japan usually below 12 knots I decided practice was more important than rest (especially after making so many silly mistakes at the Europeans).

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For the first four days the racing was done in a round robin with the sailors drawn into three groups each day. On the first day I ended up in the same group as Steve Cockerill. He started on the right and I started on the left, and when we met he just crossed me. Steve sailed very well and with his clear weight advantage managed to gain enough on me upwind so that I could not catch him downwind, and he won both races. In the other groups Richard Talbot and Jack Wetherell won both their races (like Steve) meaning after the first day’s racing I was fourth overall… not the start that I had hoped for!

Day two and I was not in a group with Steve, Richard or Jack but I did manage to start at completely the wrong end of the line when a huge left shift kicked in (and I was at the committee boat). I pulled my way back to second place and made amends with a clear race win in race four, but Steve had scored two more first places and Jack had a further race win meaning they were both on minimum points (with one discard). A second for Richard also meant I was still in fourth. Arrgghhh.

Day three and I decided I needed a good start! Being the third group to go I patiently watched the two groups in front of me start perfectly. At start time our group seemed to be lining up slowly but I decided to go for it and sheeted in perfectly, only to discover I had gone on the one minute gun (I had my watch on count up and went on 15 minutes, forgetting the first horn had been for end of postponement, one minute before the warning signal for the first group). There was no surprise when race officer Ken Falcon got my number (disqualifying me for being over in the one minute when under the Black Flag). I won race six comfortably but both Steve and Jack had won both their races, meaning I was now even further behind them. However I was now tied on points with Richard for third place after he scored two seconds.

Day four was the final day of racing in the round robin series and in the end we sailed only one race. Fortunately I won this but there was no surprise when so did Steve and Jack meaning they both entered the Final stages of the competition with a minimum score. Now the groups were divided into Gold (top 1/3), Silver (middle 1/3) and Bronze (bottom 1/3) so with the racing three times as hard in the Gold group I figured I had a chance to close the gap…

Day five and a reasonable start saw me crossing in front of Steve, ducking behind Steve, crossing in front of Steve, and then finally ducking behind Steve, on the way to the top mark. I then chased him hard all the race, finally overtaking him on the final downwind before going too far to the left, losing pressure and handing him a comfortable win. Hmmmm at this stage Steve had won nine races in a row and there was not much racing left to do!

Race ten and I had a good start and a comfortable lead by the end of the first downwind. However I missed a large right shift and from here it was a game of catch up. In the end I scrambled back to the top five. However Steve, Richard and Jack were all caught out of the top ten, their first mistake of the Championship. I had now finally moved up to second overall, and remembering how last year I was second overall until the last day (before winning the event) I knew anything was now possible.

Finally for day six it all seemed to go my way with two race wins and a 7, 5 for Steve. I took the Championship. In the end I was in the lead with one race to go, and knowing I had the better discard than Steve I tried to ensure that he got a poor start. Despite the fact that I also ended up with a poor start, I got back through the fleet, winning the final race and the Championship. So next stop Japan…