The Formula squad were looking at 10 & 11m sails as it was promising 25-30 knots, but as the week went along it dropped off slowly and it became just one of those you get what you get weekends. Now I’ve been to Rutland on many an occasion and it can forecast no wind at all and sometimes with it’s own little micro climate we get wind, on other occasions it forecasts loads of wind and you get sod all, so this was a chance that I was going to take this weekend, mum was on the committee boat so I thought what the hell if nothing else I’ll get well fed and meet up with some faces I hadn’t seen in a while.micro climate we get wind, on other occasions it forecasts loads of wind and you get sod all, so this was a chance that I was going to take this weekend, mum was on the committee boat so I thought what the hell if nothing else I’ll get well fed and meet up with some faces I hadn’t seen in a while.

After getting a little lost and running on a near empty tank I arrived in the pitch black, this made me realise that the summer is definitely coming to an end as the nights are drawing in fast and those long summer windsurfing, sailing, Kayaking and Suping evenings are coming to a close here in the UK, still not to worry I’m bound for Tenerife in November, with that said it’s a little sad to think my time at Plas Menai is drawing to a close but I’ll talk about all that another time.a near empty tank I arrived in the pitch black, this made me realise that the summer is definitely coming to an end as the nights are drawing in fast and those long summer windsurfing, sailing, Kayaking and Suping evenings are coming to a close here in the UK, still not to worry I’m bound for Tenerife in November, with that said it’s a little sad to think my time at Plas Menai is drawing to a close but I’ll talk about all that another time.

As always at this event it’s packed, all the T15 kids are here to battle it out for the National title plus the usual Formula, Raceboard, Techno and RSX squads are here, it’s great that so many come to this event it reminds us all that windsurfing is still strong and kids are still getting really involved in the sport, and of course their parents are helping them along as let’s be fair without the parents we would never get this far, I know I wouldn’t be where I am without my support team.

So as expected Saturday arrived to no wind for racing, I took the time to catch up with some of my old T15 kids from North Lincs and give a hand where I could, but it was a long day and with mum on the Committee boat and everyone out pumping their way round the courses I made sure my kit and van where tidy and generally relaxed, managed to catch up with some old friends from Pugney’s that I haven’t seen for an age as they’re at Uni so that was great.arrived to no wind for racing, I took the time to catch up with some of my old T15 kids from North Lincs and give a hand where I could, but it was a long day and with mum on the Committee boat and everyone out pumping their way round the courses I made sure my kit and van where tidy and generally relaxed, managed to catch up with some old friends from Pugney’s that I haven’t seen for an age as they’re at Uni so that was great.

Sunday was a slightly different story, as always Mike Dempsey, Race Officer for the event said that if enough wind came through we Formula lot could go out give it a try and if we decided it was worth a go then we’d race, got to give it to him he always tries his hardest to get us out on the water to race and as luck would have it today the forecast came through, at 1.30 I got a quick phone call from mum to say Mike agreed if we could get to the start line it was on, the wind had kindly gone up to around the 11 knot mark and that was good enough for me. Rigged up my 11m and got to that start line as quickly as I could and luckily by the time I got to the line it was blowing around the 14-16 knot speed, that’ll do nicely. The window for racing we knew was small so Mike got us off as quickly as possible before the Techno Fleet and then straight after he RSX again so after waiting all weekend we got 3 races in and I claimed all of them, the last one being sweet as the wind had started to drop off so the last leg was a hell of a struggle but coming over the finish line for it meant that we had managed to make it an event so a huge thanks to Mike as he really did go the extra mile to get us out on the water. Big shout out to Tom Anderson and Toby Williams who did really well in tricky conditions and completed the course on all three races, they really battled it out together and did a great job, believe me I am well aware what it’s like to start your second lap whilst watching the leader cross the finish line but just keep going you’ll be up there before you know it and it will be so worth it when you do.a huge thanks to Mike as he really did go the extra mile to get us out on the water. Big shout out to Tom Anderson and Toby Williams who did really well in tricky conditions and completed the course on all three races, they really battled it out together and did a great job, believe me I am well aware what it’s like to start your second lap whilst watching the leader cross the finish line but just keep going you’ll be up there before you know it and it will be so worth it when you do.

So Youth and Overall Formula National Champion 2016. Big Thanks to everyone out there who helped run the event, it’s a biggy with nearly 200 sailors on the water. Big shout out to Zara Davies’s Axbridge Animals T15 for winning the National T15 Championship, well done guys. Also a mention to Sarah Sibley who did a lovely speech this year and did really well to stand up in front of everyone and say it so well, and well done to Erin and Islay Watson for winning to trophy this year.