Goodison on a roll

We speak to Team GBR Laser's ace about his win at the Europeans

Britain's no.1 Laser sailor is a on a roll. Paul Goodison this weekend won the Laser European title, only being beaten in the Open results by the unshakable Brazilian Robert Schiedt.

Rotherham's golden boy puts his Europeans win down to state of mind. "I won Kiel Week pretty easily, so I think all my confidence was there. Then I came home and did a couple of weeks training. I did the Nationals at Abersoch which went really well and I won most of the races, so going into the Europeans I was really super-confident. At the Europeans I’ve finished runner-up twice and third before and I really just wanted to win. I think that’s what helped."

Goodison pulled off his Europeans win in spite of conditions off Cartegena, Spain being tricky in the extreme. "It was about three miles out from the harbour and then you got there and the water was 70m deep, so it took quite a long time to set the course, but then when the wind did come, we had a couple of days of 15-20 knots and some of the biggest swells I’ve sailed in - it reminded me of Hawaii a bit," he says. Hanging around waiting for races to start it was important to maintain concentration and then be able to pump yourself back up when racing did finally get underway.

Goodison is still slightly short of optimum weight for the Laser. Oddly though his prefered conditions are in breeze and waves. "As soon as the wind is up and there are waves which involves technique, then I am one of the fastest in the world," he says. "I still struggle a little bit when it is flatter water or choppy because I am still not as heavy as some of the other guys so I give away a little bit there, but as soon as the technique comes in again I am fine. I can pretty much get away with it and the advantages I gain going downwind makes it is nearly worthwhile."

However that Goodison is on a roll at present harks back to this period in the last Olympic cycle when he seemed to be doing a fine job as Ben Ainslie's successor in the class. The pressure from this and his intense training and regatta program caused him to burn out the year before the Games.

Having been through an Olympic cycle once now, Goodison hopes he is all the wiser this time round. "I think you just get more experienced the more regattas you do and it was my first Olympics and I didn’t quite know what to expect," he says. "So the nerves were there and everything and I think you just take away from that. The whole experience makes you want to go back and succeed more and I think that just kind of helps focus the mind and helps you to put all the motivation and effort into it all again."

With experience this time his campaign will hopefully have more balance to it and will not involve such a severe program. "I think it is a case of doing the right amount at the right time and knowing when you are doing too much, but you only find out that from your mistakes," he says. "I think as long as you can keep on top of all that, there is no reason why not."

However Goodison will not be getting as seemingly lax as Ben Ainslie or Iain Percy/Steve Mitchell who both stepped aboard their Olympic boats a couple of days before their respective European championships started last week and in both cases managed to win with a race to spare.

A lack of training doesn't seem to have done them much harm, Goodison concedes. "Ben is a bit special which probably helps. It is hard in the Laser because quite a lot of countries are sailing every day five or six days a week and have quite a regimented training schedule. So you can only take it so easily and get away with it. If you are slightly out of shape there are plenty of other guys to come and show you how it is done."

In the Laser class a podium position will effectively open up with the retirement from the class of double Gold medallist Robert Schiedt, who says he will retire from the Laser after the World Championship in Fortaleza in his native Brazil next month. After this Schiedt is expected to embark on his assault on the Star class.

Goodison has noticed that recently Schiedt has been going off the boil. "At Kiel Week it seemed relatively easy to beat Robert. And then this week again, going into the final race, I was only four or five points off him, so if I’d tried to make a race with Robert there might have been a possibility there, but I was more interested in securing the European title, so I ended up sailing the Croatian out. I think Robert hasn’t got quite what he had a couple of years ago, but he is obviously still good." With Schiedt on his way out, Goodison reckons that Australia's Tom Slingsby will be someone to watch out for.

Next step for Goodison is attempting to win the World championship, the final chance to have a pop at Schiedt he says. After this he will take a break from the class before heading down under for Christmas where he is competing with Alex Thomson on board the Open 60 Hugo Boss in the Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race. He is contemplating staying in Australia longer over the winter to compete at Sail Melbourne.