WARM UP
A week before the event, I went on a nice trip to Lanzarote when they had a big swell and strong winds. I did not want to go to Pozo and punish myself trying big jumps and also I wanted to stay away from people. I did not feel like seeing everyone. It sounds terrible but in Pozo everyone is trying to compete with each other and out jump each other. There is tonnes of talking and hanging around and I did not really feel like being with the crowd. I had my first session at Pozo on the day of the contest. It is actually the first time I sailed Pozo since the event last year. I tested a sail. I know the spot. I don’t have to come to Pozo two weeks before and fight with everyone. I tried my first double without the brace a week before the event in Vargas and it was a bit painful. Once the adrenaline kicked in in the competition it felt ok to try those moves. With the brace it was way better. I had practised a few doubles just before Pozo. The smaller flatter ones were much more painful than the stalled ones. I land more on my back than on my feet and that helped. Even the push loop forward was not so bad. After the contest I had bruises all over my body so I was not really used to jumping. The landings were pretty brutal in Pozo and the wind was over 40 knots. It was not the easy sailing I was used to from Mauritius and Lanzarote before the event.