Christmas in Malta
Greetings to everyone from Malta, I hope you are all enjoying some well deserved rest this holiday season and are ready for fresh starts in 2021. It has been a challenging year but moving forward into the new year I am confident that we will be able to take all that we have learned in the past 12 months and put it towards being stronger, more efficient and reaching new heights.
The past year has been one of many new experiences and looking back has taken me on a journey that I never would have imagined possible. I started off in January at the world cup in Miami. This was the last chance for Canada to secure an Olympic spot for Tokyo 2020 and though I was likely not in the running for the spot it was still a major disappointment for the team when we did not achieve our objective. After the disappointment in Miami the last minute decision was made for me to head to Australia to compete in my first senior World Championships. At first, this was not financially possible; but, thanks to generous donations from so many supporters, I was finally able to. The result was a truly memorable experience “downunder” and a new understanding of where I needed to raise my game.
Things then changed very quickly for me; for everyone. During the second week of March my training partner Liam and I were in West Palm Beach for what was supposed to be a week of training and biking before we brought the trailers boats back up north for the summer. It was only a few days into the camp and everything came off the rails. We were sitting in our motel room watching President Trump give his address, saying the Canadian border was going to close. The next day we were on a phone call with the whole national team saying that the Princess Sofia regatta, in two weeks, was most likely cancelled and those athletes who were already there were possibly stuck in Palma. This was our cue, and we wasted no time packing everything up and making a mad dash for the northern border.
The next month was filled with uncertainty – as I’m sure it was for everyone. Lots of TV shows, countless movies, increasingly creative home workouts and a distinct lack of sailing. By the second week of April, my family will attest to the fact that I was losing my mind. The school semester was over, everything was closed and the prospects of getting on the water any time soon were slim. I needed a plan. Fresh from Australia I knew the amount of work that I needed to put in and I knew that no matter what I had to find a way to make it happen. With the Canadian team having not obtained a spot for Tokyo there was a lack of motivation to push from the squad. I knew if I was going to make the leap that I needed, I was going to have to break free from the standard system and chart my own course.
In the fall of 2019, I had built a friendship with Vishnu Saravanan at the U21 Worlds in Croatia. He hailed from Mumbai but had been training in Malta full time with SailCoach and he went on to finish 3rd overall. This was exactly what I needed: a full time program that was focused on breaking into the senior level with fresh sailors and lots of motivation. I also knew that Vishnu was spending a lot of time training with only one or two boats in Malta and, when you are in that position, you are always looking for more boats to spar with. With this in mind I sent a message to Alex, the coach in Malta, and explained to him my situation and what I was hoping to achieve. From there everything started to come together. The original plan was to fly out at the end of summer after the season in Canada but, with a lack of sailing opportunities in Canada, I decided to fly out as soon as possible. I landed in Malta on July 4th , the first day the airport opened back up, and things have been amazing ever since.
The second half of 2020 was exactly what I was hoping for. Sailing 6 days a week in world class conditions, a continuously evolving group of athletes who are always pushing each other to new limits, new friends, and lots of new experiences. We even managed to fit in an 8500 Km European road trip on our way to and from the European championships in Poland. Most recently, I had the amazing experience of training for two weeks with the British Sailing Team and the world class Croatian training group that includes Pavlos Kontides and Tonci Stipanovic. Between the 15 people here for those two weeks there were 3 European champions, 6 Olympians, 2 Olympic medalists and a 2 time World Champion in Pavlos. The time I spent with these athletes is something I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams and yet somehow it has happened and will be happening again soon.
As hard as 2020 has been for everyone, it is times like these when we need to remember the words of Winston Churchill and “Never let a good crisis go to waste”. Struggle, pain, inconvenience, boredom, confusion, these are all golden opportunities to assess your situation and make positive changes you otherwise would never dare to make. Greater than any sailing knowledge I have learned, that is the lesson that 2020 has taught me.
Looking onto 2021 I am full of excitement. More so even than last year. There are so many things that I have planned and with the singular focus of Paris 2024 in mind there is little that can get in my way. First off, in January we have the Olympic group coming back for another 2 weeks of training (something I’m still pinching myself about!). After that, Vishnu and I will be off to Abu Dhabi, in late February, to compete at the Asian Laser Championships . This is Vishnu’s chance to qualify for the Tokyo 2021 Olympics which would be a life changing opportunity for both of us and would mean a full summer of training and preparation. From Abu Dhabi we will be back to sailing in Malta throughout March before heading to Palma for the first Major regatta of the year for me -- an event that will mark 1 year since the beginning of this whole whirlwind.
I am most looking forward to getting back on the starting line however, even if we go back in to lock down and none of these things happen (Knock on wood) I know that I am set up in a place where I can train with top level athletes, coaches and world class conditions. I am hopeful for lots this year and yet prepared for whatever 2021 has to throw at me.
I would like to thank everyone who has supported me throughout this year. Without your generous support, none of this would be possible. I wish you all a Merry Christmas season and a happy New Year and hope that you can take what you too have learned over the past 12 months and put it towards being the best version of yourself in 2021.
Cheers,
James