I like to ask the judges what they are looking for, it is nice to have a rough idea. I think most of the time it is obvious, this time was a little trickier because of the distance they were from the sailing area. It was tricky to adjust to that.
To be honest, all the British guys in the pro fleet are at a pretty high standard, I think anyone in the top five could win! Something I feel proud of as a British wave sailor is the general level is incredibly high. Phil Horrocks, Coxy, Bubble, Ben Proffitt, The King’s or Timo are all awesome so you can’t give them an inch. In the final against Phil I think I didn’t take into account the judging angles and the distance. Plus Phil is a very, very good competitor. He could beat a lot of the top guys on the world tour. If I look at it now, I sort of didn’t adjust how I sailed compared to a normal heat. That far away it’s so hard to differentiate when you’re already splitting hairs like that. Then it comes a lot down to how much you can get done on the wave. I probably missed some scoring opportunities to go for a few bigger turns. I saw Phil was picking really solid runners and working them to the max. I think that’s what it came down too. After losing the first final I was nervous and a bit annoyed I’d lost. Competing is still a learning mental process for me. I think you just have to start again and move on, it’s hard not to let your opponent rattle you a little. Then you can go mad or over compensate and stay too safe. Emotions on the podium are always a mix, I was actually really happy for Phil because he seemed chuffed. I was obviously pretty disappointed in myself, it’s so hard to go from a single 1st to a 2nd in the double, and you really feel like you lost that 1st place. But looking back on it, I made mistakes and respect to Phil who beat me twice! You have to just learn from these things and move on!
“ If you are not fully powered you’re just losing speed in every move or wave. ”