Early Starts and Autumn Gales

Up at 05.30 this morning for the drive to Largs and the 08.15 Ferry to Cumbrae.  Check of Forth Road Bridge dashboard http://www.forthroadbridge.org/travel-plan-your-journey# confirms speed restrictions but no ban on trailers and CALMAC service status page http://www.calmac.co.uk/journey-information/service-status.htm confirms ferry still running so off we go.

Forecast is very windy so either a really hard weekend on the water ahead or more likely a good opportunity to max out in the gym.  Sailors at Olympic level have to be super fit for what is one of the most physically demanding of all the Olympic disciplines and being the very best in the Laser Radial Women's class is all about physical fitness.

Training News

Just back from a great weekend of training with the rest of the Scottish Laser Sailing Squad at Largs.  Great winds yesterday and enough today to complete 4 testing full length races in the first of our RYA Squad Winter Regattas.  There are several of these planned over the winter allowing the various squads to try and maintain match fitness during the quieter colder closed season.

Investing in the future?

Thanks to Dalgety Bay Sailing Club we now have a new addition to our training fleet.  We have invested in a "mature" 4.5m Tornado Rib which we will be keeping here on the Forth so that we can use it as a coaching and safety support boat allowing us to train safely without having to travel to the Clyde coast every weekend.

Gordon Brown MP joins our training.

Gordon Brown MP with local resident Colin McPhail at Dalgety Bay

 Well I guess you know you are doing something right when your local MP joins in to your weekend training session and especially so when your local MP is Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of Britain and Northern Ireland.

SEPA Officials testing with a Radiation Monitor

Sadly as it turns out Gordon had arrived for a television interview to highlight the issues with Radium contamination on the Dalgety Bay foreshore and to support calls for the MOD to get engaged in measures to try and stop further particles from being released onto the beach and causing a risk to the public.  So he was not there to support our campaign of training towards the Youth Nationals 2012 and the Women's singlehanded berth at the Olympics in 2016.

Warning Sign and closed area

Sam and Joanne were in mid briefing watching videos of upwind laser techniques when Gordon walked into the room and said hello.  TV cameras were following and recorded the girls as they prepared to launch for their training session.

All in days work for our young Olympic aspirants.

G.

Radial Squad Begins

Both Sam and Jo were at Cumbrae this weekend for the first full Scottish Laser Radial Squad training session of the year.  Sadly the wind was not in attendance and the Island was fog bound so the emphasis was quickly changed to physical fitness and session planning.  We will try again next weekend with a planned personal coaching session with Robin Paris.