Sailing: Chris Grube Diary Part Four – Fully focused on Perth glory

Dec 1 2011 Chester Chronicle

Chester’s Chris Grube, 26, and sailing partner Nick Rogers have reached a crucial point in their bid to qualify for the London Olympics. Selection hinges on the pair’s performance at next week’s World Sailing Championships in Australia, from where Chris has been penning a weekly diary for Chronicle readers

THERE are now only a few days to go before race one of the World Sailing Championships.

So far our preparations have gone really well and we’ve made our final choice on the boat equipment and set-up specific to the Perth conditions, which are predominantly windy.

The boat park is filling up quickly with teams arriving from each nation.

There have been a few practice races which we have joined in with to check our race pace and switch from training to racing.

The mood in our camp is great.

Nick and I, as well as our coach Nathan, are confident in what we can do here.

It’s important to remember that this is just a sailboat race.

Yes, there is a lot riding on next week, but we can’t let our minds wander too much. It would be easy to lose our rhythm from trying too hard.

As an early Christmas present, Nathan bought Nick and I tickets to see the Foo Fighters play in Perth, so after training on Monday we went and saw them play an amazing concert in the pouring rain!

We had an amazing night despite the rain and it was great to relax together after a busy few weeks.

We plan to have a gentle build-up next week, making sure we are well rested and hydrated to start racing on December 5.

Keeping energy levels high will be a big priority especially with the hot temperatures.

Follow our progress at www.gb470gold.co.uk.