A long time between posts – Holland – May 08
Hello to all,
Apologies for the (very) long time between blog posts. I have been pretty slack in terms of keeping in touch with friends and family for many months. I used to be pretty good at keeping in touch. Firing out regular e-mails from my travels over the years, firstly with Cameron Miles, Andrew Hunn and James Mayo aboard the Soling in our campaign for the Sydney Games.
Then in 2001, I teamed up with Iain Murray (the Big Fella) aboard the Star class yacht for a tilt at Beasho and Gilesy’s regular Aussie Star slot for Athens. All the while sending back snippets of life on the campaign trail.
I think I know why I got worse at corresponding. Probably something to do with kids arriving in 2001 (Toby), 2004 (Annabel) and 2006 (Charlie). Combine that with a lifestyle that includes spending half the year overseas and a busy program back in Sydney to service when I get home. All of these things are very strong motivation to get off your bum in the morning. It tends to leave things such as reporting adventures back to loved ones lower on the priority list than it used to be.
So it is with some resolve that I commit to keeping in touch a little more in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics.
I am currently in Holland, but I wrote most of this update a week ago, when sitting on a plane from Sydney to Los Angeles. Taking a long flight out of Australia always has me in a reflective mood. I think this has something to do with the fact that the last few days prior to a trip is so busy spending precious time with the family, finishing work projects, paying bills, packing and general preparation for the trip. Then you get on the plane and there is nothing to do except think.
So, I sit here reflecting on how fortunate I am to have a very, very supportive wife, three kids that still seem to think I am a good Dad and to live in such a great place as the northern beaches of Sydney (oh shit, I was supposed to keep that bit quiet – now there will be more English relatives thinking about coming over to stay with us…).
Something else that caused me to reflect on life over previous years was having to get a Chinese visa, in order to enter China for the Olympics. This was quite an experience, as it seems they have changed most of the visa criteria recently, due to all the drama with the Olympic Torch Relay protests all around the world. Anyway, without getting into all that, there is a simple requirement that your passport have two free pages in it, for them to stick the visa document. It was with a little bit of a surprise that I only had three pages left that were un-stamped. This represents quite a lot of travel since 2001. As I looked at all of the locations and dates in the different stamps, my mind was filled with all the people and places, regattas, results, dramas and laughs that each of the little stamps represented.
There are many, many facets of traveling the world for Olympic class sailing that I love. I am sure I will miss the sense of adventure, the challenges, the competition, the chance to better yourself mentally and physically and the camaraderie of the Star class and the Olympic scene generally when this merry-go-round stops for me. However, I can say without fear of contradiction that I will not miss the feelings I get when I know I will not be seeing my family for several weeks. The days, hours and minutes leading up to departing from the kids are very precious. I even get into helping Kate with dinner, bath and bedtime. That’s saying something!
As far as an update goes, a lot of water has passed under the keel since I last went to print, so I will try now to keep things as brief as possible.
2007 was a very good year for Iain and I as we earnt our place in the Australian Olympic Team. It was a year in which we traveled to Miami (twice), Tampa, Holland, Portugal, Italy and China for events. We placed 9th in the 07 Star Worlds which got Australia a spot in the Star fleet for Beijing. During the period through October to December, we worked hard in Sydney on the water and off. On the water we trained on our own quite a bit, concentrating on boat handling techniques and general boat fitness. We also had some great training partners helping us prepare for China. Two very talented Michael’s were on hand to steer the other boat we have in Sydney. The first was Mike Blackburn (Blackers or Smiley – because he doesn’t much). Blackers is an Olympic Medalist and the 2005 world champion for the Laser class. We also had Mikey Dunstan, who is a champion match-racing helmsman. The permanent crew for both of the Michaels was Billy Merrington, the well known America’s Cup sailor who is a veteran of the Volvo Ocean race and has had success in the highest levels of the Etchells class. When Blackers joined us, we would generally do speed-related training. When young Mikey was sailing the other boat, we would practice combative drills like match-race starts. Helping us with all of this was our coach since late 2006, Euan McNichol. There was also input from Tom King (Gold in the 470 in Sydney), who took time from his busy schedule of work, sailing and running the AOC athlete’s committee. We were sailing 4 to 5 times per week.
Off the water, we took up cycling. I had never done it before, but Iain had cycled ten or so years ago. I bought a carbon bike in the USA as a 40th birthday for myself. I can’t believe I did not take up cycling earlier in life. I have found it to be the most enjoyable form of exercise I have done. We are also blessed in Pittwater to have such great rides in the National Park on our doorstep. There is actually quite a sailing peloton on the northern beaches. Iain, Euan and I were often in groups that included our Finn representative, Nocka, Beasho, Richie and some of his North Sails brethren, Clogs, Twirler. We also have been hitting the gym regularly. Because the Big Fella and I are on quite separate tracks with our weight (him losing weight and me staying stable), I tended to do weights training with the muscle man of the Australian Sailing Team, Anthony Nossiter (Nocka). Some of Nocka’s theories on life (imparted to me in the Narrabeen Sport Academy between bench press sets) will stay in my memory for a very long time.
Christmas was a quiet local affair for us Palfreys. Mainly hanging at the beach, listening to the cricket, going to the gym or going biking. Basically having a little time away from the sport of sailing, as I knew 2008 would be a big year.
So far this year Iain, Euan and myself have spent 11 weeks in Miami. Firstly there was the Olympic Classes regatta in January. After a short break at home, we returned for the Bacardi Cup in late Feb, after which I stayed on and fitted out our new Lillia star boat. We had a very solid lead-in to the worlds over 16 days. Part of this was trialing our older boat against the new boat with an eye to developing and selecting equipment for China. We recruited USA sailors George Szabo and Brian Fatih to sail our older boat for this period. Georgie has won the Star North Americans (twice) and narrowly missed winning the USA Olympic trials for the Star class. He was unlucky there, but we are now very lucky to have him and Brian in our corner. Although missing the family terribly, eight weeks away provided a chance to really lock into sailing and getting fit and strong at a critical point in the campaign. My wife actually thinks I live the happy-go-lucky life of a bachelor. Anyway, it’s fair to say that there are worse places than Coconut Grove (in Miami) to spend sailing and training (but don’t tell anyone I was enjoying it).
After mediocre results in MOCR and Bacardi, we sailed somewhat consistently to finish 8th in a fleet of 104 boats in the worlds. There are a few things that we came away from Miami needing to improve before the first race in China in August.
Post worlds, I spent three glorious weeks at home. Apart from just hanging with the family, the highlights were the the Yachting awards held in the city and Big Fella’s 50th birthday party. Yachting Australia used the Awards to farewell the Olympic sailing Team. It was very well done and incorporated acknowledging previous medal winners in sailing going back to 1964. The management of the Australian Sailing Team were also recognised and rightly so. There have been many changes in Australian Olympic class sailing in the past couple of years. This includes extra funding, more sponsors, great clothing and equipment, sharing of information and experiences between the sailors and the different coaches and the starting of a sincere comradeship within the team. I am confident this will translate to medals in China for Australia. Big Fella’s party was the night following the Yachting Awards and it was massive. Alex and Iain hosted nearly 400 of their closest friends at their home…. Yeah…400! In catching up with all sorts of people and soaking the general feeling of goodwill towards the Big Fella, the night went past in the blink of an eye.
One other thing in life that has been going on for the previous two years is a role I have had as a coach and manager with the Gotta Love it Seven 18ft Skiff campaign. People that follow sailing will know that Iain was approached from Channel Seven a couple of years back to help with getting a skiff bearing the Seven logo back on the waters of Sydney Harbour. This would re-create the bonds Iain had with the network 30 years ago, when he won six consecutive world championships in a series of radical new 18 footers called Colour Seven. Iain asked me to help with the new project, so together with the people at Seven we recruited Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton and Rob Bell to sail the boat. Seve, Sam and Rob were all 20 years old when we started in 2006. In the first year the boys had lots of ups and downs, but finished on a high with claiming 2nd in the worlds. Then, in the season just gone, the boys won the States, Nationals and Worlds – all with a race to spare. The worlds was staged between MOCR and the Bacardi Cup trips, so Iain and I were able to be there to see the boys make us proud and win that event. The whole two years has been a great experience in every way. The 18 footer scene on Sydney Harbour is one of international sailing’s great spectacles.
In the last ten days, we have been sailing in San Diego, California for a training camp of speed testing in light airs and sloppy water with George and Brian. The French were also there with their training partners from Norway. The four boats did many hours sailing together, as we further narrowed the equipment we plan to use in the Olympics. San Diego is perfect, as the conditions are similar to China and our sailmaker, Quantam Sails is right near the Yacht Club. Georgie lives in San Diego and works at Quantam Sails, so it could not be better. It was also a good location from which to ship the Star boat to China when we finished the camp.
>From San Diego, it was straight here for the Holland Regatta in Medemblik on the Ijselmeer. After Holland, we pile into the Audi for a very long drive to Croatia for the European Spring Championship. It will be another adventurous trip, towing the Star with the coach boat mounted precariously above it, through Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, before arriving in Split. After Split we pack the European boat into a container for Sydney. Back in Sydney mid-June. Couple of weeks at home, followed by a three week camp in China. Then home for another couple of weeks, before heading to China for the Olympics in late July.
So, after many delays in getting to send this very long message, I can report that we have started the Holland regatta today. We placed 6th and 7th today. Comin’ 6th. Seven more races to go. Racing concludes Sunday.
Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed the read. Please do not feel compelled to reply. I will endeavor to keep in touch in a briefer format every couple of weeks as we head toward the Games.
For those of you with plenty of time on your hands, Channel Seven did a news clip on the Star Campaign. Go to http://au.sports.yahoo.com/olympics/video/ and follow the link to “Murray sets sail for Beijing�.
Also, I will be posting some photos on http://picasaweb.google.com/palfrey.andrew . Some images of a chopper ride with Howie in LA are up now.
All the best,
Andrew Palfrey
(Dog)
June 28th, 2008 at 10:35 am
great to read this and hear things are going so well
good luck in china