Flora Stewart Sailing

Injury hits the team hard

flora — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:12:27 +0000

Two weeks ago we flipped the boat on land to check something on the mast. Something that we would do on a regular basis, but I suddenly felt my back go. I was in quite a lot of pain but didn’t think too much of it. The following weekend I was at a squad camp in Weymouth and saw a physiotherapist. She said I shouldn’t really be sailing. So of course I went out. Later that afternoon I needed some more treatment.

With the support of my coaches and physiotherapist I saw an English Institute of Sport Doctor and was sent for an MRI Scan on Wednesday. My pain had got a lot better and I honestly thought I was ok. The results show I have a big bulge on my L4 disc. It is very close to hitting my nerves. This means that I am not allowed to sail for the next six weeks. Meaning I am not racing this weekend and not going to Spain on Tuesday for a training camp. This is disappointing news, but I just have to work hard at my rehab, so when I get back on the water in April I am injury free and as fit as possible.

February Sailing

flora — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:11:45 +0000

Well we are back in Weymouth and into our own boat again. Feels like I am now home. For our first weekend back it wasn’t as cold as we thought it would have been but that quickly changed. I always seem to forget how cold I get. I think it’s mainly due to the freezing cold water that hits into your face. We have managed to get some really productive hours on the water in preparation for racing in a couple of week’s time.

New Zealand

flora — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:10:48 +0000

Well it seems like ages ago that we were out in New Zealand at the Junior World Championships. We were the only Brits to make the 2-day journey to the other side of the world. In total we were away from home for 3 weeks, both having to get special permission from our universities to miss our exams.

The sun shone, the wind blew and yet I didn’t feel like I was thousands of miles away from home because there were a few days when the heavens opened and we were drenched to the skin.

There were only 11 girls boats so we were racing with the boys. This was a great experience but very difficult to actually tactically race the girls.

We had our good and bad days. But finished with a bronze medal. We were aiming for Gold, but the Dutch and Germans both sailed well throughout the regatta.

We finished second in the medal race so it felt good to come home after sailing so well in that race.

We both definitely leant a lot and it was a 100 times better than sailing in freezing Weymouth.

We stayed with a wonderful family who were family friends of Anna’s Aunty and we really appreciate all the support they gave us.

National Ranker

flora — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:50:03 +0000

The National Ranker this weekend in Weymouth was very different to the one last month. It was light winds are very shifty. On Saturday we sailed well and had a second and also a race win. Sunday showed us some similar conditions, we had a second then two frustrating races where we lost quite a lot of positions on the bottom reach. It was a very exciting weekend and great to be racing at the front of the fleet. We finished 3^rd ladies overall and was also 3^rd overall in the National Ranker series.

Training this week in Weymouth which is going to be very cold. Looking forward to our fitness test on Wednesday night.

Prestigious Marlow Rope Award

flora — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:08:41 +0000

Skandia Team GBR Transitional Squad sailors Anna Burnett and Flora Stewart have received an additional boost to their flourishing 470 campaign by being awarded with the prestigious Marlow Ropes Award.

The Marlow Ropes Award was introduced in 2002 with the aim of rewarding Britain’s most promising young sailors for their determination, focus and talent.

Go to Links to read more.

Marlow Rope Award

flora — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:33:52 +0000

We have just been awarded the Marlow Rope Award where we collected our prize at the Southampton Boat Show. This is a brilliant award to win as it will supply us with the best rope on the market for a whole year. This means we wont have to worry about our boat as we will have the best equipment so we can just focus on our sailing.

September

flora — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:30:23 +0000

September has had its good and bad moments. We went back training and hit it hard, but unfortunately I got ill so it put us out of training for 2 days. Putting in long hours on the water while the temperature is still bearable. We had a National Ranker to finish the 2 weeks of training in very windy conditions. Going fast in general but annoyingly we capsized in the 3rd race and dropped back from a good position.

New boat

flora — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 18:59:04 +0000

Down in Weymouth, training at the moment. I am fighting a throat and eye infection so didn’t sail yesterday. Had a good sail today but in the last hour lost a lot of my energy. Early to bed tonight before the National Ranker at the weekend. It was our first sail in our new boat which was very exciting, it was quick which we were very pleased about.

Training Starts Again

flora — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:46:03 +0000

First couple of days of training has passed and we haven’t got out on the water yet. Wind speeds of 58 Knots. It does mean we have been breaking ourselves in the gym. We both survived the Fitness test today and enjoyed getting our skin folds done. It was nice to relax with the other girls at the cinema tonight.

The wind is less but still very windy so we should defiantly get out tomorrow. But first we have a strength session at 8.30.

Silver Medal at 470 Junior Championship 2011- Summer Review

jane — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:33:13 +0000

Over the past couple of months we have seen a huge improvement in our sailing. For the first time ever we were able to put a series of results together in a major competition. Before we had a wind strength that was favored over others but now we can sail consistently in most wind conditions with areas still to work on.

The 470 Junior World Championships was the regatta that we were hoping to peak for. We certainly did. We came away from the competition delighted with our Silver medal and winning the medal race.

The 470 Junior European Championships were held in Belgium. We were sitting 4^th going into the medal race. With only 1 point separating the boats behind we knew it was going to be very tough. A medal was what we were aiming for. Unfortunately we dropped to 8^th overall, which was 7^th European. We were disappointed with this result, as we had sailed well during the week.

Having both of these results has given us the determination to work very hard this winter.