It is fair to say that it has been a pretty eventful last month for everyone around the world.

When I went to the Laser Worlds in February this year, I remember being very cautious and concerned whilst travelling as there had been a few confirmed cases outside of China, including in Melbourne itself. Never would I have believed back then that it would escalate in the way it has, yet two months later the UK, Europe and most of the world are on a complete shutdown.

Of course all of our sailing events have been rightfully cancelled, with some (like the Europeans, which were due to take place in May) have instead been postponed until October. This is quite a relief as it gives me a lot of time to come through this pandemic and reset before heading back into doing the day job out on my Laser again.

In the meantime here are a picture diary of what I have been up too, starting from the beginning of March pre-lockdown:

Managed to get in some great training with Waszp friends at Hayling Island. We only did one day and it was mega windy so there was carnage everywhere with many moments like the picture above!

Also had some time on the weekends to do a bit of kayak surfing in the large waves which came in with the Easterly winds. Great fitness and good fun.

As well as this I officially welcomed Golden Buoy Clothing onto the team. Ethically created on a carbon neutral production line, Golden Buoy uses organic cotton to produce casual clothing for fans of all water sports. £1 from every item is donated towards the RNLI, with all packaging biodegradable, so you can recycle it or put it in your compost bin outside.

They are supporting me throughout this year with my Waszp sailing, so should be quite an exciting time when we finally get back on the water.

Find out more about them on the official announcement here:

GOLDEN BUOY CLOTHING ANNOUNCEMENT

I didn’t realise it at the time, but this was the final time I got sailing in my Laser before lockdown was announced in the UK. Weymouth really delivered some great weather that day.

We’re staying at home, so should you.

Daily walks became the highlight of the day…

Faced with the prospect of not sailing for a few months, a few of us decided to start playing Virtual Regatta Inshore, a great online game where you can race people you know from all over the world.

We’ve even started a Facebook group called Daily eSailing Racing where we hold 4 races every night at 9pm. Winner at the end of the week gets a £10 Sailing Chandlery voucher! Anyone is free to join so go check it out.

Of course one of the more nicer talking points from the past few weeks has been about the Olympics, with the postponement that has been announced for one year. Whilst this does open some opportunities for me, the selections are staying the same so there will be no chance for another Olympic trials. A shame but will be exciting to be involved in my teammate Elliot’s journey as he prepares for Tokyo 2021.

All this time not sailing has presented some opportunities so there really isn’t an excuse these days to have a dirty bike!

Cycling has suddenly become a much bigger part of my life as I try and raise my fitness to new levels whilst we have this extended time off of the water.

Road cycling or mountain biking, don’t really mind to be honest. Mountain biking is great to explore the local forests and you do get some great views…. but road cycling is so addictive with the speed and distance you cover.

I got this brilliant present for my birthday and with a bit of spare time I’ve finally been able to assemble it over the course of a few days. Check out the video below!

Overall my goal is to keep myself as busy as possible, with cycling and a variety of other projects underway to make sure that this unprecedented time is as productive as possible.

Have a good one.

Sam