This year’s qualification for the Europeans was based on four of the last six Qualifiers.  I won the first two held at Pwllheli (Wales) and Paignton (South West) before having my neck surgery and taking six months off to recover. During this time I missed events at Hastings (South coast) and Stokes Bay (South coast).

My first Qualifier back was once again at Pwllheli and going into the last race I was leading the event. However as the wind rose my lack of weight (I lost over a stone during my time out) showed and I slipped into second place overall. However this was not a bad result considering the small amount of time I had spent in the boat, and since the event was won by an American I was still top Brit!

The final Qualifier was at Weymouth (South West) where I do much of my training (as it is the venue for the 2012 Olympics). With light shifty winds it was always going to be a difficult regatta and since the National ranking was based on four events, whatever result I got I had to count.

The first race I won the pin end of the line. However a large shift to the right on the first beat saw me only able to recover to sixth place. However I managed to win the next two races, to win the event by the skin of my teeth.

I am therefore first on the Radial Ladder counting three firsts and one second place, eleven points clear of second place, thus gaining a place for the Europeans to be held in July. My aim now is to get up to weight and be as prepared as I can be. With only a couple of months to go this is a tall order, but it is achievable.