[Source: Ben Ainslie] I write this from Palma, where I have been based since finishing the Miami Regatta at the end of January. I’ve spent nearly all my time on the water with training partner Mark Andrews and coach David (Sid) Howlett.
My main focus has been on my fitness but there have been some interesting developments arising from our kit testing. There was a good range of conditions meaning I was able to sail pretty much every day, this enabled us to really test different hulls, masts and sails. When it comes to sail design we use a lot of photographic work and a computer programme which works out things around sail shape, depths and twists in different conditions and circumstances. The Argentine sail designer Juan Garay was in Miami with us and since then he has been working back at home on fine-tuning the sails we are now testing.
Ben Ainslie racing in the Arenal Training Camps Trophy. Palma de Mallorca, 19 March 2011. Photo copyright Jesus Renedo
I’m slowly getting my weight up for the Finn and although you could always be a bit heavier, I’m not too far off where I want to be now. My sailing fitness is also improving with all the time I’m spending in the boat. As we get closer to the Palma regatta in April my focus will switch more to racing again.
I did manage to get a few days back the UK, where I attended the launch of a new photographic exhibition celebrating the 80th anniversary of the J.P Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race in London. The event brought together a host of past race winners and legends, I’ve done the Round the Island Race a few times but never won, it was great to speak to many past winners! Hearing their stories makes you realise what a hard race it is to win. It’s a great showpiece for sailing and it is a unique opportunity for so many people to get involved. The bulk of people sailing aren’t there to try to win anything they are just out enjoying the day and the fact the race is as long as it is (50 miles) gives them the chance to really settle down and properly work out how the boat is being sailed and the technicalities behind making the boat sail faster and more efficiently.
I also completed a photo shoot for a yet to be announced new sponsor, it’s always a strange experience to complete these shoots, especially when I’m hiking my Finn suspended in the middle of a studio with wind machines and camera’s flashing. However, it was great fun and I’m looking forward to seeing the results.
Next up is the Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma (2-9 April) which is part of the ISAF World Cup, I will have done a lot of training by then so I can’t wait to get out racing.
Ben Ainslie racing in the Arenal Training Camps Trophy. Palma de Mallorca, 19 March 2011. Photo copyright Jesus Renedo
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