FEBRUARY 2025

THE PLANNING PHASE

FEB – European Training Camps / Vilamoura Grand Prix / Pack up

VILAMOURA, PORTUGAL.

As February has drawn to a close it seems as though the year is racing away already. After almost four months of training in Vilamoura, Portugal it’s now time to pack up and move to a new location: Palma. Palma really is the heart of European sailing, big boat and dinghy alike and every season it hosts the first of the World Cup regattas. Getting the boats there is now a smooth operation, as a team we load our five ILCAs and the coach boat, pack all our sailing kit, bikes and other belongings in the van and then the van is driven with the trailer up to Valencia where it is then put on the ferry for the night and then magic, it’s in a new location.

So why move?

Each venue has its strengths and weaknesses which factors in to when and why we train somewhere. In the winter, training in the UK is not productive given the coldness, the number of storms and the amount of rain. Portugal is considerably warmer (usually) which allows more hours on the water, better and safer cycling conditions for fitness, and given the location on the end of Europe it provides a mix of weather conditions so that we don’t become overly specialised in light winds and lose the opportunity for windy training. There are disadvantages, for example the financial cost of being abroad, the restriction of EU days as a consequence of Brexit, and the logistical circumstances that arise, but without doubt it provides better opportunities. This is also why we then continue to travel as the season progresses, rather than remaining based in Vilamoura. Moving to Palma enables a kind of acclimatisation to the location. Maybe not so much in times of climate or time difference but in the way the wind and wave patterns are different. As sailors, the most important skill we strive for is the ability to sail very well in all conditions as during a regatta it would be highly unusual if it was exclusively the same conditions every day – a lot can happen in six days.

What’s new?

I finished my first bike camp where I covered 564km and 6,865m elevation in 5 days. It felt like my legs had fallen off at the end but now I trying to find the next opportunity to fit one into the calendar! Alongside, I’ve also launched a series of blogs about matters important to me as a female athlete navigating the challenges of campaigning. 

Right now…

Now I’m in Palma preparing for the first major regatta which starts the first week of April, but before that, I will return to the UK to race in the UK national opens which gives rankings for qualification for World and European championships next season!