The Olympic Circus moves on to the South of France

It’s nice to be back in Hyeres for the French round of the World Cup. This regatta’s always has a notch up of intensity over the other Regattas and usually presents some of the toughest racing on the calendar. The town itself is a quiet holiday village on the outskirts of Toulon (Johnny Wilkinsons new Rugby Club). Surrounded by mountains to the North it sits on a narrow peninsular linking the mainland islands to the south west.
It’s also famous for the Mistral conditions that often provide spectacular capsizes on the water or flying boats on land on the really big days. This wind is common in the mountainous regions of the Med. It’s basically a build of cold air to the North which gets trapped behind the mountains. This then accelerates over the high ground resulting in a sudden cold wind that often hits 30+ Knots.
In Team GBR it’s nice to be back at the little Hotel Mediterranean, our HQ for the regatta. Gossip here is centred around the sudden sacking of many of the Danish Coaches as their federation looks to get their medal hopes back on track. Within my squad, its full focus on Team Draper Greenhalgh again as we look to continue their form by focusing on our routines and regatta processes.
The only daunting prospect is my looming Stag do in Tarifa next weekend. Best focus on the regatta and hope the lads are too busy at work to plan my downfall!