The summer kicked off in Keiler Woche, Germany with our first event; a massive regatta attended by thousands with racing across numerous fleets. Stormy weather and fickle wind meant that only four races were held in two racing days. Despite this, the event gave us the opportunity to work with esteemed RYA coach Mark Rushall in preparation for the other main summer events. After a few days at home to rest, we went to a holding camp in Surrey before flying out as part of the British Youth Sailing team to the ISAFs Youths in Tavira, Portugal. Our selection for the ISAFs stemmed from us being Ladies Youth Champions in Weymouth in April. The ISAFs was a small fleet as only one boat is allowed to represent each nation, a new experience of racing in an elite 27 boat fleet similar to the Olympic model. Another challenge was the charter boats that the sailors were supplied with, and with tight rules on the personalisation of the kit, we found ourselves getting used to a different hull and a different make of sails in the pre event training. The winds were very light all week and the temperatures in the 30’s proved challenging. We finished 10th overall with some top 5 results and after unfortunately being UFD in the last race. Next was the 420 World Championships in Travemunde, Germany. After some 3 days of pre event training we were glad to have our own boat and sails back! We posted some good, consistent results in the qualifying series and were 15th entering the final series. In the championship series we found the racing difficult, after having several canned races we were doing well and the wind being unpredictable we finished 24th after a tough week and first British Ladies. The pinnacle of the summer was undoubtedly winning Bronze medals at the 420 Junior Europeans in Gdynia, Poland. From early on in the regatta, we got into the right mindset for the weather and then concentrated on complete focus for the cloud driven racing. We learnt that being able to re-set after bad results was the key to climbing the leader board. We spent a few days in second position mid week before eventually clinching the bronze medal in the final race of the regatta. We finished our summer on a high at the 420 National Championships in Hayling Island where we took home the Ladies National Champions trophy. Although the weather led to a loss of 3 days racing, it was a fun end to the Summer. We are happy to have cemented our position as British ladies number ones by finishing at the top of each British 420 events for a full calendar year. A fantastic achievement considering that we are only 17 and have another year in the Youth class ahead of us. Our autumn campaign includes trips to France and Spain to compete on a regular basis with the best European sailors. We will be looking forward to 2015 where we hope to raise the bar and put all our experience into practice, and targeting more international podium finishes especially at the 420 World Championships in Japan!