The British Selections is an invitational event where the top 80 Optimist sailors in the UK are selected to compete to go to the European and World Championships. The Selections is held in Weymouth and is a four day regatta, the conditions can vary a lot!

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The first day of the Selections 2017 was Friday 28th April, the wind was light at around 7 knots. In the first race my start was horrific as I was too close to the pin end and got caught in a big group of boats. Up the beat I wasn't too happy and decided to go left to get clear air away from the fleet; this didn't pay off. Around the first windward mark I was around 50th and stayed around the same position for the rest of the race coming in at 51st in the first race, a bad start. In race two I knew I couldn't get another bad result otherwise it was impossible to get a team place. My second start was not as bad as the start before hand but not as good as I was expecting. The first beat went well as I got myself up to 17th, however down the run I lost some places ,I also felt very slow compared to a lot of the sailors around me. Up the final beat I stayed in the same position playing the shifts up the beat and came in at 21st in the second race, an improvement but not good enough. In the third and final race of the day I had a good start and rolled another sailor off the line giving me a bigger gap and more options. Just a couple of minutes later the fleet got a big header and everybody tacked including me and because I had good speed and height I found myself on top of the fleet and for the rest of the beat covered the fleet, a few boats went over to the left side of the course but I didn't see them as a threat. As we got to the last boat lengths of the beat the left boats came over on a lift and crossed me making me 5th round the windward mark. Down the run I gained as another sailor was yellow flagged by the Jury twice so they retired. For the rest of the race I covered the fleet and finished in 4th, that's more like it!

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After the first day I was coming 17th overall and all the results were very mixed around so it was all to play for. On the second day we were told we were going to sail in the Bay so the conditions would be different. The first race of the day got under way after numerous general recalls and postponements due to tide and the wind shifting right making huge committee bias. In the first race I, with a lot of National Squad sailors, started tracking right expecting a big lift, however it never came in fact the opposite happened it shifted left and boats from the left came over and all the top 10 came from the left around the windward mark. I did gain up the second beat by going left thinking the wind was going to oscillate and it did so I gained 20 places putting me in 29th, not the best but better than a 49th. In the second race a lot of the fleet including me started at the pin as left looked to be paying, because of this the sailors with the best boat speed did well and I stayed in phase up the beat and rounded the mark in 6th place. On the run I went around a different gate mark to the rest of the top 10 thinking the wind would oscillate and I would be lifted, which I was and moved into second position and covered the top 10 for the rest of the beat and finished the race in 2nd. In the next race my start was not too great but I managed to sail my way into 10th place, two good races in a row. In the forth race of the day the wind strengthened and I didn't have my hiking pads in and I couldn't hike, I finished in 36th place.

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I was in 11th and knew that today was my day as it was windier. When we got out onto the water the wind wasn't as strong as forecasted but was still around 20 knots. In the first start I was rolled by another sailor and had to tack out, luckily I found another lane and sailed the beat well. Round the windward mark I was in 7th place and stayed there along the reach, down the run I gained two places putting me in 5th position, yet again I went around a different mark to the other sailors nearby and again gained now putting me in 3rd place where I stayed for the rest of the race. Race two many sailors decided to go right again, however I thought left was going to pay. A group of sailors including me tracked over to the left of the course where it lifted us, around the windward mark I was 8th. Down the run there was more wind coming down the right side of the run, I was one of the first sailors to see this and went over to the right side and rounded the right gate looking down wind. I decided to go through the runners up the last beat on a lift which helped me gain and I stayed in phase with the shifts for the rest of the beat and sailed fast making me finish in yet again 3rd. Before the final race of the day I had a clear plan of where I wanted to go however I started too far to the pin end and ended up going too far left and rounding in around 40th. I knew I couldn't get another bad result as I had a 51st from the first race of the series, so I went right hoping for a lift which came and put me into 19th position across the line, I was very pleased with my come back. 

 

I was in 5th going into the final day of the regatta, the final Worlds place, I was quite nervous that I wouldn't preform as well as I had done for the rest of the regatta.  We went out on the final day with the forecast dropping all day, the race committee was attempting to fit in the last two races of the series to make it a full series. The race officer didn't start a race and the wind just kept dropping until it was just a single knot of breeze when finally the AP Over A flag went up. I was so happy knowing that I was going to Thailand to compete for Britain at the Optimist worlds.

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