I have done it. Umpiring Three regattas in two weeks and I’m exhausted. As I sit here at the airport to head back to Sydney I can barely think straight and standing is an issue for more reasons than just exhaustion. I should really start at the beginning though.

The CYCA Youth Academy has passed its 20th anniversary which was celebrated by hosting the Australian Match Racing Championships combined with the Australian Women’s Match Racing Championship. This saw some very long days on the water trying to fit in the tight schedule. By the end of this event I was already tired and had two more to go! It didn’t help that many of us had been waking early to watch the America’s Cup during the event.

It was a fantastic to see some of the newer and younger teams mix it with some who have been match racing a long time. It was great to see who took it out as well! read more about the winners here.. I then had a day off afterwards to get some work done at DeckHardware which was much-needed.

Next up was the Australian Youth Match Racing Championships. This event saw many similar teams to the last event but with nowhere near the number of entries this was to be an easier event with shorter days on the water. The weather clearly didn’t get the memo! Day one we knew big breeze was coming but hoped to get a flight done before it hit. In the prestart I was umpiring as a big gust of 28 knots hit. This was the first time we had the chance to see how we go in the RIBS keeping up with the new E7’s! We had just a little bit on as did the sailors and the race was pulled with around 30 seconds to go to the start. Ashore we went. This would prove to be a trend over the next few days. With plenty of time under postponement on the water and ashore due to both too much wind and not enough! The final saw some amazing racing between Sam Gilmour and Harry Price’s crews. News Story on the winners.

The next event along with several of the match racers, three of the umpires including myself was the Australian University Games Teams Racing event in QLD. So the day after the match racing finished I found myself packed and sitting at the airport having my morning coffee.   This was a very tricky event due to the weather conditions and location.  It was based out of The Southport School using their boats on the river.  For the most part the weather played fair and only shifted a little during racing although the tide caught out a LOT of competitors.   The last day however was much harder with many hours spent watching the breeze shift 90-180 degrees differences.  It seemed the breeze at the seaway was fighting with what was down south and we were stuck in the middle.  The competitors were fantastic in understanding the officials were trying to ensure the best sailing they could.  Once again there was a team of sailors ahead of the rest!  Team UWA including several of the crew from Sam Gilmour’s Match Racing Team.  It was also great to catch up with Carrie Smith who we support through DeckHardware.  It was almost by accident that we realised we were both there on the first day as I went alongside the boat she was on to help out with some damage.

Somehow during the Teams Racing event I managed to hurt my left foot.  Through exhaustion and my hyper mobility I am not surprised in the slightest!  I ended up with some good bruises on my legs during all of the events but the clear winner was my left foot with bruising on the side and near the toes.  It has caused me to hobble around for days!  Time to head back to the Physio to find out what I have done after the Long Weekend.

It is great to be back in Sydney with so much work to catch up on after two weeks on the water.  It was a big effort shared with Jeremey and Erica who are great friends along with being fellow umpires.  The fact the three of us were sitting at the airport to come home exhausted said it all.  Dad has headed off to SA and VIC to see DeckHardware customers you can follow his adventure on his Twitter Account or our DeckHardware Facebook Page.