Sam England

Missing my Moth

2008-09-08T13:38:00.003+10:00

So since i have come back from the Worlds i haven been sailing once. There's one thing i struggle with about sailing and that's sailing when its below 15 degrees. It just really isn't enjoyable. So i thought id have a break during the end of the winter. And ive really enjoyed having some time off and being a normal teenage girl again. Ive even managed to have another Holiday to Byron bay for 8 days with 5 friends. Ive even got a job and been working few days a week at the local pub. but much as Ive loved my time off I'm also missing my time on the water. So this afternoon i think its time to get back out on the water, its a nice 15 knots from the south which would be perfect for my return. its still only 13 degrees and about 11 degrees in the water but that's what they made dry suits for.

Now while i was away for the whole 8 days last week in sunny Byron bay and away from any Internet connection I thought that i would return to the quite moth world. BUT i was wrong and i returned to the news of another boat builder and the 'Mach 2'. Now i think this one will be interesting to watch. Have had an interesting conversation with my friend from the desert about it all and what its all about. It will be very interesting to watch who will jump over in the next few months or who will wait a year or so and let the others go through the teething process of a new boat builder and who will stay put. personally i will stay put with Bladerider and don't plan on changing and will continue to support them as they have supported me a huge amount and made my mothing adventures possible.

Boats home

2008-07-30T22:12:00.002+10:00

I think i may have got a little over excited at the return of my boat. Couldn't wait to the back on the water since i got home 2 weeks ago, and i finally did today. I have to say it was one of the worst sails i have had... i was freezing cold. I was in a dry suit but still wasn't good enough and soon gave into the pain in my frozen hands after about an hour. My boat also wasn't really doing that well either. The main foil kept stalling and slipping sidewards making sailing down wind a scary painful event rather than fun... and as a result i have a few major bruises down my legs. Not fun really.

So now unmotivated by single figure temperatures currently in Melbourne what am i going to do with myself....................

Yes i have finally Blogged

2008-07-21T14:19:00.004+10:00

After almost a week of being home i have finally blogged to my surprise....

First of all congratulations to John Harris for winning the worlds! also to Amac and Matt for 2nd and 3rd!

Well what did i think of the worlds... I had a a lot of fun racing out there with all the boys and most importantly i had even more fun finishing in front of many of them. (cough cough chris) I think that the amount of training and racing that i have done over the past 6 months really paid off and meant i had the confidence to tackle the 20+ knots we sail in, despite some bruising of the face and body i think that i have a huge amount of determination to keep going when the conditions get tough. I'm extremely happy with how i sailed and my result and most importantly i showed that females can sail these boat and do just as well as the guys. I really hope to see more girls in the class over the next few years because there's no reason why we cant be competitive.

Well since i have been home i added up all the expenses from the worlds and i think i can say that i spend lots of money. If only i could keep flying around the world sailing. but the reality is Ive run out of money and i think that I'm gonna have to spend the next 6 months working to be able to afford to continue. I was going to go over the America and sail in their nationals at the gorge, which would be awesome but i think that's its time for me to get out of fairy land and get a job.. Problem is I'm fresh out of school last year so i'm limited to local part time work at the local pub or supermarket.. BORING!!! but its going to have to do for now....

The other thing on my mind is University.. Do i really want to move out of home up to the city and study full time next year.. hmmm or do i just keep sailing.. working for 6 months them sailing for 6.. i have to say that does sound more exciting then studying.. But i know that its going to be very hard to afford both university and sailing...

After spending 3 weeks with 4 boys in a small house i have to say its very nice to be home.. Although it has changed from a bunch of boys with the tiller of doom to a bunch of 19 yr old girls with cheep white wine and 80's music.

Overall i had a huge amount of fun both off the water and on the water and really enjoy being part of the moth fleet. i think that there are so many areas to improve on with my sailing and i cant wait to get back out on the water (if only is wasn't so cold). I look forward to the next regatta in January with the Moth Nationals.

Id also like to thank Bladerider and Rohan for all the Coaching and support and also to Simon for the help with repairs with my boat.

So Many Boys

2008-07-08T05:52:00.003+10:00

I am a little bit overwhelmed at these world championships by the amount of boys or so called Men that are competing. I thought they were all supposed to be fast or something????? I have been sailing at only about 70% of capacity but these so called Top Guns are nowhere to be seen. They cannot even drink beer at my pace.

I have become acquainted to Top Gear very well and it has been growing on me over the last couple of weeks.

Portland is terrible and i could not have found a more boring place to have to be at a sailing event. I hear that i have quite a lot of admirers within the fleet and around the world all asking me to update the blog, hell even Bora said all the weird Americans want me to post more. I am an avid fan of big brother and would actually rather watch that than go sailing, why else do you turn up to a world championships.

I am 100% going to the American nationals so any good looking moth sailors in America please turn up as there are none here. you must at least be as tall as me, i don't like no short asses.

Sam is too lazy to post so this is actually her house mates posting for her. We have her password now!

Worlds Time!

2008-06-18T21:51:00.003+10:00

I cant believe how fast the fast 6 months have gone. The time all includes Aussie nationals, 1 week in Dubai training with the boys there, 1 week in Estonia, 1 week in New Zealand training and racing, Vic State titles, countless weekends up at Blackrock training and countless hours out sailing off home.. And now its time... Worlds Time.. All the training and racing in preparation for this 1 week! Have really enjoyed this time on the water on my year off after finishing my final year at school last year. Sailing full time sure beats studying!

Boat left on Monday so I'm with out a boat for 10 days.... but I'm looking forward to getting to the Uk and training for 2 weeks out of Weymouth before Worlds. I think my boat is in good shape (i hope) and i hope it holds up for the 3 weeks without any major problems.. its been so good for the past few months with no breakages at all and i just hope nothing goes wrong while in the UK. So with 5 days before i fly out i'm fairly stressed about forgetting something. Over the past few months I've been thinking about what a realistic finish place would look like.. still no idea! The good news is that there are 4 females entered which is very exciting no only for me but the moth fleet.. not that i don't like sailing with the boys but to have another female on the water will be very nice!

boats gone...
5 days till i fly....
18 days till race day...

May

2008-05-26T12:17:00.003+10:00

I have been very lazzy and not posted anything in almost a month. Haven't sailed as much as i would of liked to in the past few weeks, as once again theres been no wind! Winters one week away and i'm very please i bought myself a drysuit back in February! I've been using it for about the past month and let me tell you its makes sailing alot more enjoyable when its cold. Although its still hard to find the motivation to get out on the water when its raining, grey and cold.. Really i shouldn't be complaining because i know 15 degrees isnt really that bad compared to many others around the world.

21 days till boats leave...
27 days till we leave....

Its getting close...

Kiwi Land Sailing

2008-04-30T09:13:00.010+10:00

3 days training with Rohan and 3 days racing! Once again the 3 days training was very helpful and i learnt heaps and most importantly light wind sailing. My light wind sailing was be shocking and needed lots of help but after one day training against 5 other boats and Rohan coaching us it seems that it help a lot. The other two days we had some decent wind allowing us to do some tuning and racing.

Racing day 1:

Just to make things interesting the weather decided to only give us about 3 knots wind. We drifted for 3 whole races making racing very tactical, close and boring.. But it was good practice for Weymouth. First race was a match between Browie and myself with us drifting very close and him just getting me at the finish line by about a boat length. Second race was very close between the whole fleet with Browie winning and Holly not far behind. Third race was close again Between Browie, Kevin, Stephen and myself but Browie pulled through again to win and i managed to drift faster than Kevin and Stephen up the last work. So with Browie winning all three races the results followed:
1st. Browie (3 points)
2nd. Sam England (9 points)
3rd. Kevin Hall (9 points)

Racing Day 2.

And again the weather decided to make it interesting giving us the total opposite with 20-25 knots and 2 m waves. Only Browie, Kevin, Darren and myself going out. Only had 2 races as the conditions got a bit rough. 1st race Kevin powered through managing to win followed by Browie with Myself and Darren not far behind, the conditions were testing for everyone with the run being who could survive the longest with out dropping the wrong way off a wave and ending upside down. The Second race Browie had push rod problems and didn't race and Kevin just powered through again to win, i was having trouble with foiling as i didn't realise that i had weed on my foils but i just kept going as i was still coming 3rd. Once i removed the weed i was having real trouble as i was so exhausted and didn't have the energy, managed to make it to the finish line and a few minutes later they sent us in. Lucky because i was going in either way.

Results after day 2:
1st. Kevin (11 points)
2nd. Andrew Brown (13 points)
3rd. Sam England (15 points)

Racing day 3:

Got up and I was still exhausted and the wind was still 20-25knots and the waves had increased ad the wind was still pumping from the day before. Wondered how I was going to make it through the day.. We were going to move the regatta down the road to a large lake but the wind dropped to 20 knots so we went and battled the waves. Got out there and it wasn't as bad as the wind had dropped. first race Kevin had problems as he broke a push rod and went in to fix before the 2nd race, Browie won followed by myself and then Darren behind. down wind was heaps easier to control. Second and third race, Kevin had returned but Darren had given up. Both races were similar with Kevin powering to win both with Browie following and me behind.

Final Results:
1st. Andrew Brown (10 points)
2nd Kevin Hall (13 points)
3rd. Samantha England (13points)

Well done to Andrew Brown for winning!

I'm happy with how I sailed over the week through training and racing epically in the light wind as its been my weakness, the heavier wind I didn't do as well but wasn't far behind. I think fitness is a major weakness for me at the moment with a few ankle injuries giving me a few problems. In the heavier wind I'm fine until i get tired and it all goes down hill from there. I have nice display for bruises to show for the week. Got home on Monday morning after a shit fight to get my large box of sails and foils home, to start with they were going to make me pay $350 to get the stupid thing on the plane as it was excess weight, but i managed to talk my way around it. I must of looked so strange looks pulling the box around the airport as I got so many strange looks with 2 other bags as well.. and of coarse customs had a field days with the box when i landed in Melbourne pulling the whole thing apart (i felt like i was on the TV show Board security). Had a day off sleeping and letting my ankles rest.. But with only 2 months left to world Ill be back out on the water this afternoon once I put my boat back together.

Full results found at: http://www.bladerider.com.au/news/results/2008-nzl-nationals/2008-nzl-nationals-results.html

Photos from training, day 1 and 3: http://www.chriscameron.co.nz/index.html

Photos from day 2: http://www.oceanphotography.co.nz/

Big Thank You to Darren, Holly and little Sam for having me to stay, organising a boat to sail and making the week lots of fun! Watch out guys Sam's only 13 year old, 55kg and already sailing a Bladerider and hes good!

No Wind AGAIN

2008-04-20T20:51:00.002+10:00

Friday, Saturday and Sunday we have had 4 knots at most .. Off to New Zealand tomorrow for 7 days to do a week of training and Nationals over the weekend.

Blue sky and sun shine

2008-04-17T16:33:00.003+10:00

Blue sky, sun shine, 15 knots and flat water, what more could I ask for a Wednesday afternoon on the water. although another boat would of been nice. Foiling tacks are this weeks goal... some how i don't think I'm going to get there tho.. I'm close but not close enough. spent the afternoon doing short windward leewards practicing mark rounding, gybes, tacks and basic boat handling. Started to see small improvements by the end especially with my tacks. Might sail Friday and race Saturday but will keep it pretty laid back before next week.

Finally some sailing

2008-04-14T10:06:00.002+10:00

Finally got some sailing in over the weekend with 2 sessions both days! Went up to Blackrock to sail against Amac, Martin and Jimmy.

Saturday morning I went out on my own for an hour or so and practiced some gybes and tacks and worked on some upwind speed and then tackled the waves down wind. Still getting use to sailing in waves down wind as at home we don't get waves so the whole experience is new to me. Went in for lunch and returned to the water to find the wind had dropped from 12 knots to about 5 limiting the foiling. Only Locky and I managed to make the start as Amac, Martin and Jimmy were still messing around on the beach with their boats. Attempted to foil up the first work and wasn't very successful only jumping out once or twice. By the bottom mark Amac and Jimmy joined in and by now were were down to about 3 knots wind and it became a low riding race. I haven't been very good at the low riding and always struggled for speed, but this time I was ok and managed to round not far behind Amac with Jimmy and Locky behind. Finally drifted across the finish line and we made the decision not to do the second race because drifting isn't anyone idea of fun.

Sunday Rohan came down to give us all some much needed coaching. Really enjoyed this doing lots of drills, starts and upwind tuning. Felt like I got heaps out of it and was happy with my speed against the boys.

Hopfully get some more sailing in this week before I'm off to New Zealand next week for a week of coaching with Rohan and the New Zealand Nationals.

No Wind

2008-04-10T22:29:00.002+10:00

No sailing this week, it seems to be that every time I go to get out on the water theres no wind but as soon as I'm busy the wind comes in. Hopefully get some sailing in over the weekend up at Blackrock with some of the others.

Training

2008-04-06T10:55:00.002+10:00

Photo: Russell Bates

Didn't get out sailing much this week as we had a nice 5 knots on Tuesday in which I floated around frustrated and bored, 65 knots on Wednesday and 35 knots on Thursday! Finally by Friday and Saturday we had a nice 10 knots, Friday practiced gybing and tacking and Saturday I raced in the club race against another 29er. That's about it apart from training, training and more training. Just under 3 months to Worlds!

Vic States

2008-03-31T11:22:00.002+11:00

Vic States down at Geelong over the weekend with 13 boats. Some good racing in some solid wind. Well done to Amac who won.

Results:

1st. Amac (Vic)
2nd. Matt Becher (Qld)
3rd. Rob Gough (Tas)
4th. James Owen Smith (Vic) ( Junior)
5th. Me (Vic) (Junior)

Happy with how I sailed (getting closer to the front of the fleet) , made a few mistakes that shouldn't of happened but generally just happy to be in the top half of the fleet. Won the Females but as a should as I was the only one out there. Some how I'm still a Junior and came 2nd behind James. Body took a few thumps over the weekend, having trouble moving this morning. Lots of work to do before worlds and motivated more than ever now to kick the boys arse.

Results/photos : http://www.moth.asn.au/moth/

BOATS HOME!

2008-03-25T20:49:00.002+11:00

So I got my boat home finally after a whole week of stressing and millions of phone calls chasing it up! Arrived no damage, smelt little funky cause Rohan and I put our wet sailing gear in there over two weeks ago now... Ready for some serious training in the next two days before we start States in Geelong over the weekend! Should be good fast close racing and we shall see what happens.

Baberider goes i14

2008-03-23T20:40:00.003+11:00

While my boat is still stuck somewhere in Dubai airport i thought i'd take up skippering i14's with a mate! Not much wind to release our campaign but still some laughs and me sailing in very little! My photographer Russell thinks hes going to do a calendar with me in nothing more than a bikini sailing a range of boats including my bladerider.

30 something hours home

2008-03-19T12:28:00.004+11:00

So I'm home after 2 weeks of fun overseas. Had the time of my life and can't wait to return in June. Dubai was lots of fun fitting in some drinking as well as sailing, I learnt heaps over the week about boat settings and managed to be not far behind the other boys by the end of the week. Estonia and Finland were interesting as it was my first time in Europe. Finland we set up a boat for Jyrki Jarvi (49er Gold medalist in 2000) and had dinner with some 49er and other moth guys! Estonia I figured out that boat shows aren't the most exciting things to do it Europe but still a good experience. Rohan and I also managed to go for a sail even though it was only 4 degree water and air temperature, Rohan lasted 10 minutes and I lasted not even 5 before my hands hurt too much but Rohan managed to make the paper and magazines as we had some media turn up to watch. It also snowed for me on the last day!

Boat is still stuck in Dubai because they are being dodgy and are making me pay lots of money to get it home, so ill miss the Nsw state but should have it home in time for some training and the Vic states.

Thanks Boys

2008-03-14T07:39:00.000+11:00

Well i have made a Blog thanks to some Moth boys in Dubai who decided that I needed one! And Thanks to Bora who made a formn topic on what it should be called.