Paul Goodison

Champaign Sailing in Hayling

paulgoodison@mac.com (Paul Goodison) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:50:12 GMT

Probably the best day sailing so far this year today!!!! Out in Hayling bay with the sun shining gust of over 30 knots and a big sea running, pretty exhilarating stuff. Life was made even better with the arrival of new wetsuits this morning nice…..
I have had the BBC following me around today and it couldn’t have really been a better day to go on the water apart from the scare of ruining a camera which kept them ashore.
I headed out in to the bay as the tide turned, the sea got bigger and the sailing more exciting. On several downwinds the key was to keep the mast in the air as boats were cartwheeling left right and centre. It was pretty challenging and the weakest link in several cases seemed to be the boat! Boats with broken spars and ripped sails got towed home by ribs and fellow Laser sailors in some cases.
After sailing it was the tedious task of applying sail numbers and sponsor branding before a quick trip to the golf course. It was pretty daunting walking up to the first tee with the camera rolling and 25 knots of wind blowing across the course. After Peter hit a good shot down the left hand side the pressure was really mounting, I got away with a good drive down the middle and they even caught a 20ft putt on camera…. Luckily they didnt follow us round the rest of the course..
It looks like its going to be a gentle breeze tomorrow morning so a good chance to have a look at the new sail before the winds increase and the rain pours, fingers crossed its a good one.
Preparations are going well and Im looking forward to getting started next week, the weather forecast seems to be changing on an hourly basis with the low pressures rolling across the atlantic, we could be in for a challenging week….

Sail for Gold Silver

paulgoodison@mac.com (Paul Goodison) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:25:00 GMT

After a physical week of racing and a final day of 3, 1 on the score board it all came down to the medal race. Going in to the medal race it was a straight scrap for 1st and second overall with Tom Slingsby as we were well clear of the rest of the fleet.
After circling around the committee boat pre start I took a penalty and then gave Tom a penalty with 18 seconds to go. With Tom left circling I reached off to towards the pin for a clean start. Unfortunately the first shift was right meaning the boats to the right made the first jump leading to a tacking duel. After lots of tacks I ducked Tom on starboard, he then tacked real close to windward, I got slightly bow forward and then luffed with Tom failing to keep clear. After protest flags flew and the jury were left to decide. Unfortunately I was penalised, I couldn’t believe the decision they came to????
After taking my penalty the race was all but over.
After a tough week I was a little disappointed with second, Tom was fortunate to protest his way out of a OCS from race 6 which would have left me 12 points clear overall.
Looking forward I will be defending my world title in Hayling Island in two weeks time. Im off to Hayling for a couple of days training this week and some more next week before we get started.

Sail for Gold

paulgoodison@mac.com (Paul Goodison) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 09:35:57 GMT

Its been a busy few weeks for me with a Melges 32 event in Garda a few days at home and then off to Michigan for the Melges 32 US nationals where we finished 4th.
Its time now to get back in the Laser for Sail for Gold in Weymouth. It is a little strange not to be staying at home but its good to be with the rest of the team to give it a bit of an Olympic feel.
Day one was pretty tricky with a shifty unstable breeze blowing through the harbour. We were a long way out racing down off Overcombe beach. After a bit of a delay racing got underway in a tricky breeze, after rounding in the teens I caught up well to finish 4th over the line. After a good start in the second race I rounded second and took the lead on the first run, unfortunately I missed out on a shift on the second beat to loose the lead and finish second.
After a tricky first day I was pleased to have two consistent results. It is going to be a tricky week and will all be about avoiding the bad races. I am just getting ready for racing and the weather doesnt look great for day 2, rain and fog it feels like home again…..

Round the Island

paulgoodison@mac.com (Paul Goodison) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:43:00 GMT

It was off to Cowes for the annual round the Island race. On Friday I had the opportunity to sail with members of the youth worlds team in Laser SB3s. After a bit of practice with the guys it was time to head in for the football and dinner. Dinner was great shame about the football…..
After a wake up at 3.30 it was off down to the boat for 5am start.

We started well hugging the Island side as we run down to the Needles in the Volvo 60 V project. We struggled a little in the lulls due to such a heavy boat. After rounding the needles the breeze freshened and the boat started to move nicely upwind. With 2.5 tonnes of water ballast on the windward side we headed upwind just over 9 knots. Tacking took a while as the ballast had to be pumped across so we tried to avoid too many….

After a small problem with water ballast we headed round the forts and reached back to Cowes to finish at 11.30am (which seemed like early evening after such an early start) It was a fun sail and nice to see the journalists on board all had big smiles.

Its back to training in Weymouth this week were I will be sailing with the Swedish and Austrian Laser teams

European Silver Medal

paulgoodison@mac.com (Paul Goodison) — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 21:44:00 GMT

Silver at Laser Europeans

After what seems to have been a long week I was left with a silver medal at the close of play.

After a night home after Holland regatta it was off to Estonia for the Laser Euros. Sailing out of Tallinn. The course area was a little restricted by the shipping channel sailing close inshore. The conditions were generally offshore with shifty challenging winds and a sharp chop.

With 150 boats we were split in to 3 groups for qualifying, I got off to a good start with a couple of seconds on day one. Day two was much trickier getting stuck on the wrong side of both first beats recovering well in the first race to get back to 10 but struggling in the second race.
Day 3 brought much stronger winds with gusts up to 25 knots . In the first race I recovered from a poor windward mark rounding to get back to 6th at the last mark but had a incident with a German boat. With my discard all ready used I chose to take a penalty rather than go to the protest room which ended up costly loosing a lot of boats and finishing 12thI could well regret later in the week. After a good talking to myself I sailed to 3rd in the next race to keep me in the running.
For the final day of qualifying we saw the most stable breeze all week with smaller oscillations and more normal racing, I sailed well to pic up a 1 – 2 and put me right back in contention.

After 4 days of qualifying it was pretty close with it all to play for in the finals.
After being held ashore we launched in to a building breeze of up to 8 knots, with the shifty wind I just made it over to the favored side to round in the top ten and pull up to 4th. The second race was a disaster, after a reasonable start a Polish boat tacked to try and duck and sailed in between my mainsheet blocks spinning me round and wrapping the boats together. After untangling it was always going to be difficult the Polish boat took its penalty as I tried to catch up. After rounding in the 20s the wind shut down to under 2 knots. I chose to take a big risk and head for a breeze line hard left on the second beat. I never got to it and was heavily penalised rounding in the 40s what a shocker…

It was game on for the final day being only 5 points from the lead. After a solid 4th in the first race it was pretty much down to the Croatian and I for the title.
I managed to edge ahead up the first beat trying to lay cover. I rounded mark one in front but he slipped by on the run and repaid the favor up the second beat., to hold me off at the finish. It was a good race but a little frustrating if only!!!

I am a little disappointed not to have retained my European title but credit were its due, Tonci sailed great all week and made the most of the tricky conditions. I suppose seconds not too bad!

On wards and upwards, its home now for the final two days of the Farr 45 nationals. I then have some time for a spot of Laser training in Weymouth and then off to Italy for some more Melges 32 racing with Red, busy busy busy…..

Broken Tiller Costs Medal in Holland

paulgoodison@mac.com (Paul Goodison) — Mon, 31 May 2010 15:54:00 GMT

For the next Laser event it was off to Medemblik in Holland.
With 97 boats entered the fleet was split in two for the qualifying series. Day 1 did not start well with a penalty at the start of race 1. After completing the spins it was a game of catch up getting back to 6th by the finish. In the freshening breeze I went on to win race 2 before disaster struck in race 3. A Spanish boat above me at the start drifted down in to the side of me hooked my tiller under his gunwhale snapping it which meant I was unable to complete race 3. After 2 hours in and out of the protest room the jury denied my redress claim. This made things much harder for the rest of the week. On day 2 we had to wait around for a start that finally got off at 6pm for a light and fickle race before heading home.
The first day of finals was sailed in a strong offshore breeze with shifts up to 30 degrees. The day was tricky and the scores up and down. On the final day the breeze was again very shifty and tricky with two more races sailed it was all poised for the medal race.
With my redress protest failing I was only in with a small chance of a medal. It was pretty much out of my hands.
After a tricky start to the medal race and a penalty turn at mark 1 I took the lead on the final run and went on to win the race, Leaving me in 5th overall.
Its was disappointing not to get redress as this would have put me on the podium. With a few lessons learnt its on to Estonia tomorrow for the Europeans to try and make it 6 in a row!!!!

Melges 32 European Champions

paulgoodison@mac.com (Paul Goodison) — Mon, 17 May 2010 13:37:17 GMT

After a testing week in Cagliari, Sardinia Team Red came out on top to become European Champions 2010.
The racing was close all week, after the lighter winds on day one and a score of 1st 6th 1st it was all about consolidating the lead.
The winds increased as the week progressed and after loosing a day due to the Mistral it was a 7.45am launch on the final day heading out in to 30 knots. With the winds blowing so hard it was all about getting round the race course in one piece. We ended up 5th in the final race to take the European Crown.
It was a good regatta with a mix of conditions and a exhilarating final day. The crew did an amazing job all week and Jo steered the boat brilliantly.
http://www.melges32.com/?p=news&id=615

Its back in my Laser for a few days in Weymouth before heading over to Holland next weekend

GOLD World Cup Hyere SOF

paulgoodison@mac.com (Paul Goodison) — Sat, 01 May 2010 20:52:00 GMT

SOF Hyere 2010
After the travel disruptions and my flight being cancelled it was time for a road trip as we jumped in the Volvo and headed south. After a safe trip over the channel courtesy of Sea France as we put the pedal to the metal and made Hyere for dinner.
It was nice to be back on the water and training in warmer waters in a mix of conditions from windy easterlies with a large swell to choppier and flatter westerlies.
With over 141 Lasers entered it was all shaping up for a fantastic week, unfortunately the high pressure lead to a lot of sitting around as we waited for the afternoon thermal, one evening finishing the last race of the day at 7.50pm…..
It was hard to not get frustrated and stay calm, Chris (super coach Gowers) made one day much more relaxing by anchoring the rib and my Laser just off the shore as we sat in a cafe planning over coffee….
After only four qualifying races and no discard I made gold fleet ready for the finals. On the first day of finals we didnt get on the water until nearly 4pm. I had two great races finishing 5th in the first race and going on to win the second race leaving me with the overall lead. On the final day of finals the wind was again light and shifty, with three races to sail and needing to count all three there was no room for any errors. In the first race I came back really well from in the 20s at the windward mark to 6th by the finish. The second race of the day was a little trickier, there was so much port bias on the line it was hard to cross on starboard tack. I made it out of the port end well but was sailed round from the left after a 20 degree shift, I battled away to finish 15. With a poor race behind me it was all on for the last race, with only the final run to go I lead the race but became becalmed sailed around from both sides to finish 4th. I was frustrated as this had lost me the overall lead by a point but with only the medal race left to sail it was going to be a first over the line that would win the regatta.
The medal race again was a light and tricky day, in the pre start the wind looked to be stronger on the right. After winning the starboard end I tacked and headed right to lead comfortably around the windward mark. I consolidated for the rest of the race to win the medal race and take the overall victory by 14 points from Andreas Geritzer in second.

It was good to win the biggest regatta of the year so far and comforting to know I am not far off were I need to be for the rest of the season with a few things to work on.

Its off to Italy next weekend for some more Melges sailing with the RED team and then back to Weymouth for some Laser training…

Hayling Q

paulgoodison@mac.com (Paul Goodison) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 09:35:00 GMT

It was the last of the spring Qualifiers this weekend at Hayling Island. It was a good opportunity to check out the race area that will be used for the World Championships this year in August. Several foreign teams had also thought about this with a strong French team joining in as well as the Canadian Olympian Mike Leigh.
The 60 boats set out for racing against a strong tide. After a general recall the boats got away under a black flag. After a good start at the starboard end I lead around the top mark and slowly pulled away from the battle behind for second eventually won by Felix Pruvot.
In the second race after a poor start it was catch up time. Rob Holmes had some great speed to lead the fleet, I just managed to pass at the second windward mark and hold him off on the run for a second win.
The fleet was sent in in the dieing breeze. With really light winds on Sunday morning and with the time for only one race I left early having secured first place, to make plans and organise getting to France. With the air travel problems I have managed to get a space on a ferry and will be driving down to Hyere.
I am surprisingly looking forward to driving to the South of France, with my boat already gone and a nice Volvo it should be a swift passage to Hyere……

For results seehttp://www.laser.org.uk/docs/uploaded/Haylingstd10nh.html
Laser ladderhttp://www.laser.org.uk/docs/uploaded/stlad3.10nh.html

Volvo Confirmed as Title Sponsor

paulgoodison@mac.com (Paul Goodison) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 22:11:40 GMT

On Wednesday I traveled up to London for the Team Volvo for Life press launch. We were joined by the press in Hyde Park on the Serpentine Lake. After fooling around in pedalos and getting wet we were introduced and interviewed.
It is fantastic news that Volvo have chosen to support my campaign again for what will hopefully be a great partnership that leads to GOLD….

Please check out the new interactive website

www.volvocarssailing.co.uk/