I am happy to say that I am now the West Australian state champion for the ILCA 4 class. This is a significant achievement for me as I was unable to compete in my first ILCA state championship last season due to breaking my arm. I had a great regatta winning all 6 races thanks to my experience sailing at the venue and my fitness that I have built up over the last 6 months playing a big part in the strong winds and waves.
This video is when I finished the last race of these State Championships in 20+ knots of wind. This is very windy and it means I have to work much harder to make my boat go fast. My focus is less on using my brain to pick where there is more wind, but is on physically hiking off the side of the boat.
The following weekend I sailed in the ICR regatta at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club. This regatta, presented many challenges. I won the event on a tie breaker after 8 races as I was now sailing against sailors familiar with the less windy and variable conditions at the venue. Very different conditions to the state championships.
Plus it was awesome that I was given a second hand boat for my birthday that will now be kept at freshwater bay where I became a member just a few weeks ago. This means that I will be able to greatly expand on the knowledge I gained at ICR by training and racing partly at freshwater bay, giving me a perfect balance of all the conditions I will be sailing in throughout my sailing career.
Last of all, thank you all for your donations it is a big help. I hope to learn more about sailing than ever before at the national championships in Sydney.
Charles Allen Toyn 