TUSHINGHAM RIDERS ON TOP IN 2015

Team Tushingham have been no strangers to the podium this year with team riders from across their brands and disciplines collecting quite a range of titles and trophies. Tushingham break down their prize haul.

The series kicked off back in May at Christchurch near Bournemouth. It was typical choppy/wavy coastal conditions, with a little bit of tide to contend with. The wind was generally between 12-20 knots. Previous years form would have suggested that Mark Kay (Demon/Starboard) and Tom Naylor would be the ones to beat. And it was true! They were definitely the fastest upwind, whilst I had the edge downwind. This made for some really exciting racing as places were swapped multiple times during each race, and small mistakes were costly! In one race I looked behind me, nosedived, catapulted, and let Tom past, in another race I gybed too early and opened the door for Mark to win the race. It turned out that this also handed him the event win, by one point. I took second, but was very happy with my performance, this was the most competitive that I’d ever felt in stronger wind conditions, and I even managed to win the final race, which took place in 18-25 knots.

I missed out on the next two events, at Bridlington and Herne Bay. Rob Kent (Tushingham/Starboard) made amends for his 4th place at Christchurch to win the event at Bridlington, but Mark came back to take his second win of the season at the notoriously tidal Herne Bay.

With Mark counting two firsts, the pressure was on for me to beat him in the remaining events to win the series. The next event was at Weymouth. It started off with light/marginal conditions, but most of the races took place in medium 12-15 knots, and the final two races in 16-22 knots. In a SW’ly breeze, Portland harbour rewards those with the best board-speed. Fresh from the world championships, I felt well prepared in the light-medium conditions, and managed to win all of the races except for one where I messed up a mark-rounding. In 12-15 knots, myself and Mark had virtually identical performance upwind and downwind, but as the wind climbed above 15 knots, Mark had the edge and won the strong wind races convincingly, but I’d done enough to win the event.

It was clear that I needed to work on my strong wind speed (this has been an ongoing mission for the last 4 years!), and managed to get some training in at home in Cornwall over the summer. With a 15kg weight difference between myself and Mark, I have an advantage in light wind, but it is always a challenge for me to stay in touch when it’s windy. Luckily, the XR-Race has a phenominal wind range and can be depowered to make an amazing strong wind sail. At Pwllheli, it was time to put my training to the test in a choppy 14-18 knots. Once again, the speed difference between myself and Mark was virtually non-existent, and at times we were separated by no more than about 3-4 board-lengths for the whole race. However, I managed to win 3 of the 4 races, which I was delighted by. On Sunday I backed it up by winning both races in a shifty 8-12 knots by a considerable margin.

I had to finish ahead of Mark at the final event at Stokes Bay in order to win the series, and the forecast was on my side with light winds predicted all weekend. However, with strong tides and shifty wind, I needed to be tactically ‘on it’ to stand a chance. I was very happy with my performance on Saturday, and won all of the races. Tom Naylor was the fastest I’ve ever seen him in light conditions, and gave Rob a run for his money, with Mark nipping at their heels. The wind was also light on Sunday morning, and I was once again able to win both races. The wind picked up to 12-14 knots in the afternoon, and although I was fast enough to win those races as well, I lost focus, and a mistimed tack and having to re-cross the start line gave me two 3rds. It was enough for me to win the event, and thus the series, but allowed Tom to snatch 3rd place from Rob by one point.

I’m very happy to win the series. My speed in all conditions improved throughout the year, especially in stronger winds. It is nice to win events, but I’m always looking at my weaknesses, and the quest for the perfect event and the perfect race always keeps me motivated for more racing. My equipment never let me down. We raced in 5-25 knots, I used the Starboard Phantom 377, and Tushingham XR-Race 9.5 in every race, with a 50 cm fin up to 14 knots, and 46 cm above that. I can’t wait for next season, I will do all I can to retain my national title, but my main goal next year is to try and make the podium at the European Championships. I’d like to thank Tushingham Sails for all their support to me during the last 3 seasons, I think my results speak for themselves regarding the all-round performance of the XR-Race.”

I think the event I did in Poland really helped me as I got to sail in both ends of the formula spectrum, extreme high winds and the bare minimum for racing, so I learnt a lot from the top guys over there who are all fantastic international sailors. I also started to take my gym schedule more seriously due to taking up SUP racing, so that drastically helped my formula and ill carry this practice through over winter to come back stronger and faster for the beginning of next season. So this season has really helped me set the habits in that I will keep and continue improving with.”

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