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I met Allan and Michael on a beach in Germany where they were taking part in the Tornado Europeans - their first regatta together. Both had been achieving top results in 49ers, so they were clearly excellent sailors who were trying to learn to sail a cat - and a very fast cat at that! The differences between short course 49er sailing and the longer Tcat course (about 3 to 4 times the length) are huge from a tactical viewpoint. The technique required is also fundamentally different, added to the fact that a Tcat is about 30% faster round a course than the 49er. Despite this they had occasions when they were mixing it with the stars, and their overall result in the middle of the fleet showed their potential. I was coaching another excellent rookie crew (John Ready and Ryan Crawford (see below) and encouraged John to invite the Danes over to the UK to train together for the three end of season regattas. They did, and it transpired that Allan, Michael and I have formed a strong alliance, and their progress is spectacular. At the Weymouth Sail for Gold they managed a credible 6th, but their individual results reflected better as they suffered some gear problems which left them struggling. The highlight was their 3rd place in the medal race against the likes of Lee McMillan/Will Howden, Rob Wilson/Mark Bulkeley, Andy Walsh/Ed Barney, Hugh Styles/Tom Peel and Chris Rashley/Marcus Lynch etc.. Their huge potential will result in lots of medals at major regattas - of this I am sure. I am psyched to be working with them to say the least. Their winter schedule includes training in the frozen wastes of Denmark at their home club Aarhus with my friend and colleague Finn "Beton" Jensen. They then go out to Miami for some sunshine and a healthy working regatta, and then back to Palma, Majorca for the season opening Euro Championships. Keep your eyes on them - they're BRILLIANT!
After three regattas Allan and Michael are now ranked 28th in the world. They have had a few top ten race places, had some blows including poor new equipment that would have set back other teams by several months and yet are now competing successfully in Hyeres (France). They are not currently concerned about results, so are training at starts and other facets of racing in preparation for the World Championships in June where a top twenty finish is the target, and may just qualify them early for the Olympic Games!
THE WORLDS
After the big buildup when the dress rehearsal went rather well. Maybe too well as Allan and Michael missed qualifying this time by the slimmest of margins. There was still hope going into the last race when disaster struck -literally! A collision prompted by a GBR boat led to the near sinking of the Danes and a Ukrain boat. They will be determined to go one better in Auckland, despite beating former World and Olympic Champions at the Cascais Worlds - good effort!
PRE OLYMPICS
One year after staring their campaign they went to Qingdao for the Pre-Olympics. It is a sensational beginning in a class that takes many years to establish a reputation in that a crew can go to the Pre - Olympics and compete despite a lack of suitable testing!
WINTER TRAINING AND EVENTS
The guys are in Australia preparing for the Worlds in Auckland by doing lots of sailing, gym work and warm up events.
More news to follow.........................................................................
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