It had been 105 days since I had been at home, and nothing felt quite as good as being reunited with my family and my bed. Although my time at home was short and sweet, it was so good to be back enjoying the last few weeks of an Aussie summer.
The highlight was spending the day on Rottnest Island, riding around (getting a little sunburnt) and snorkelling in the pristine waters. Other Perth highlights included cycling the local river loops, enjoying North Street Store, picnics and visiting wineries. But as you can imagine, it can’t all be play, so there was the necessary integration of some downtime and training!
We completed 6 weeks of sailing off the waters of Fremantle, which helped us get back into the swing of things after a short break. It was good to experience the ‘Freo Doctor’ even if it was fleeting; it always reminds me how blessed we are to live in such an amazing place.
The summer feeling, unfortunately, was short-lived. On our arrival in Sydney, we were met with an abundance of rain, and I am not going to lie; it was relentless. Even though I do a water sport for a living, I am not a fan of brown, highly toxic water that filled the bays of Sydney Harbour, especially when the outcome for myself and several team members was gastro!
In saying that, my thoughts and prayers are with the people that have lost their homes and belongings in the terrible floods, particularly in northern New South Wales, and as I am writing this, it’s awful to think it’s now happening again. Before leaving, I was fortunate enough to help donate some essential items to a local café that was gathering supplies. If you have the time or resources, please consider helping – every little bit does make a difference to those communities that are again falling on tough times.
Apart from everything else going on, it was also our first official squad camp of the year, and it was good to finally reunite with the girls in the team. You always feel the improvements after a bit of time off, and the racing is becoming more competitive and intense every time we go overseas and come back again. It will be very exciting to see how we improve over the coming season!
Fortunately, for the squad, we have the exciting addition of two new radial coaches, Carolijn Brouwer and Ben Walkemeyer. Their vast experience and knowledge will undoubtedly create a powerhouse environment and a well-rounded coaching team that I’m looking forward to working with.
After leaving Sydney and a long 6-week block, I returned home for three days to rearrange some poor clothing choices and to return my road bike to the comfort of its home. But it was also good to see my family before leaving them again for a cold Europe. Although my time at home was short and very busy, I still appreciate being home with my parents, who give me their full support and encouragement towards my campaign.
As I board my Emirates flight, first up on this European trip will be Trofeo Princesa Sofia (I’m hoping some of my Spanish learnings will come in handy), in Palma, Spain and then French Olympic Week in Hyeres, France. So, a reasonably short trip by normal standards that definitely gives more balance to the training and racing schedule. Fingers crossed for an easy journey to Europe and staying healthy!
Elyse Ainsworth Sailing 