On the way up

We speak to Britains top ranked Finn sailor, Ed Wright

When it comes to Finn sailing in the UK there is only one name to be mentioned, that is of course Athens Gold Medallist and multiple World Champion Ben Ainslie. Or is there? This year another British Finn sailor has won one ISAF Grade 1 event as well as becoming Finn European Champion and clinching a bronze medal at the World Championships.

Ed Wright is yet another Laser sailor who has converted to the Finn class and is now steadily becoming one of the top contenders in the Olympic singlehander. Wright was a full-on Laser sailor right up to 2004 and showed a great deal of promise in the strict one design class. However, this promise only seemed to show itself infrequently in the class with his results varying significantly. A great season in 2002 for example was followed by a relatively disappointing one in 2003.

It was clear from the start of the 2005 season that the Finn class was the place to be for Wright as his first regatta in the boat, the Rolex Miami OCR, saw him take third place overall. This year Wright has gone from strength to strength and he appears to be making all the right moves at exactly the right phase within the Olympic cycle.

The first event this season for Wright was once again the Rolex Miami OCR where he came away with an acceptable but not phenomenal fifth place. Following this he just missed out on a podium position in Palma, at the Princess Sofia Trophy. “This year really got started with me winning in Hyeres, which kicked off my season on a good note and it really showed how big a difference all the training I had been doing over the last winter had made,” says Wright.

Wright spent a significant portion of the 05/06 winter out training on the water. This hard training schedule came about following some very disappointing results at the end of last season. “Basically I finished the Worlds in Russia in 26th place. I was really, really disappointed, ill and drained,” he explains. “Then, because of that result I went out and trained as hard as I physically could through the winter. To go to Hyeres and have wind was really good and definitely made all the training feel worth it.”



Since Wright was so disappointed with his performance at the World Championship in 2005 his winter training schedule was largely a demanding physical test of himself. ”Mostly I was just doing a lot of boat work on my own, just working on my boat-handling and technique.” Although this training was largely alone Wright did not shut himself off from the rest of the close-knit Skandia Team GBR Finn squad. “I did also do a bit of training with other sailors, which was good,” he admits. “We [Skandia Team GBR] do all tend to train together as a group a lot. That is really good and means as a whole unit we are working with the coaches closely and developing the skills together.”

Following his return to form at Hyeres, Wright then went on to claim second spot at SPA Regattas a result he was happy with but also looks back on with a twinge of regret. “It was quite frustrating at SPA because I almost won the event. I just lost out on a disappointing last race, which was the only reason I did not win,” he explains.

Following his success at SPA, Wright then went on to take another podium position at the Finn Gold Cup (the class’ World Championship.) This was promptly followed by a win at the Finn Europeans. “It was a very hard event in many ways. We started off with a nice bit of breeze and it was a very pleasant and I was able to build up quite a decent lead early on. Suddenly, mid event, the wind shut off and it became really hard sailing. In that light breeze I managed to get I think about a 45th in one of the races and that was quite hard to deal with and a little bit shocking,” he says. “Every race after that one was so nerving-racking because the conditions were so light and it was so difficult sailing that anything could happen.”

In the end Wright managed to hold onto his lead to the end of the event and took the title of Finn European Champion. However, a 45th in one of the only light wind events does not bode well for someone looking to compete in the 2008 Olympic Games at the notoriously light Qingdao. “Actually I am usually pretty fast in the light and I enjoy light wind sailing. At the Europeans the problem was that down there it was just very, very tricky and it became really hard to work out the patterns. Also, all the training I did beforehand, oddly, sort of contributed to the 45th. In all the training sessions and lots of the races up to that point it had been a strong on the left and it was a case of getting out there as fast as possible. In that race I was thinking ‘this is perfect I am right out here on the left and everyone else is all the way out on the right, I am going to win this race by miles,” However, this was not to be the case as it soon became clear that Wright had very much put all his eggs in one basket and the beat for the first time that event had a left hand bias.

Although this race was a big disappointment for Wright he did not see is as a particularly big blow. “I was actually going exceptionally fast in the conditions, so in the next race in exactly the same conditions, I played it conservatively and just through my speed I won the race. I just seemed to pull away from everyone around me” he says.

Wright’s extremely successful season has not been without pitfalls, however. Although his win at the Europeans is a very impressive achievement it came following an extremely disappointing ninth place at the Qingdao Test Event. Not only did Wright end up with an unfortunate result at the event. His team-mate and his biggest competition for the British spot at the Olympic Games in 2008, Ben Ainslie, won the regatta by a significant margin, first in all but two races. Although Wright admits Ainslie’s dominance of the class is a worry he will not be drawn on whether he thinks he can beat him. “With Ben hopping in and out of the boat my biggest feeling is that it is just really exciting. I think the qualifying is going to be quite a nail biter for the spectators and the press to be honest. I hope people get involved in that and feel the excitement that we all feel about it. Competition-wise you just have to go out and do your best. We have a really good team at Skandia Team GBR and we have a few other names that are on the up as well which should make it even more exciting,” he says.

It is clear that Wright is taking the view that he simply cannot worry about Ainslie, and this is probably the only view he can take. With Ainslie not sailing or even training in the class that much the ability of others to train against the guru and so work out areas they need to improve on is all but non -existent. So for Wright and the rest of the Finn sailors in Skandia Team GBR it is just a case of being sure if they are beaten they did everything in their power to make sure they were not.

Aside from this disappointment in the middle of the season, the summer drew to a close pleasantly, if a little frantically for Wright. “Because we had the Europeans in September and then had three qualifiers when we got back to the UK also in September and early October, the last part of the summer was really hectic,” he says.

Although it came at the end of the season and a particularly hectic time, Wright says he particularly enjoyed Sail For Gold Regatta in Weymouth. “It was a really good event, but it was just not the time because everyone wants a break at that time of the year. Next year they are going to be changing it round in the calendar so it will fit in better so hopefully we will be able to attract a bigger international turnout. It was good because it showed how great Weymouth is, with nice breeze and good sailing out in the bay,” he explains.

Wright has just started training again after a brief rest period following Sail For Gold regatta but is now preparing for a full on season of training. “Because lots of the events were quite late I have had a bit of time off now and have just been trying to get my life into a really good state of affairs before I go off to America and train over there,” he confirms.

Wright will not be on his own during his training trip ‘across the pond’ and will be accompanied my a number of Skandia Team GBR members. “Certainly most of the Finn sailors will be heading to Miami so we will be able to train hard and hopefully take some steps forward. We have got so much to work on.” Wright adds that specifically he feels although his bigger picture tactical sailing was good this year his boat handling was not his strong point and so he will be working particularly hard at that though the winter and leading up to his first event next year, the Rolex Miami OCR.

There is no denying Wright has had a very impressive year and in most countries he would be favourite to go to the Olympics in 2008. It is a sad truth, then, that no matter how hard he trains people are always going to see him as number two in Britain. All that aside he stands as good chance as any of attending the Olympics in 2008 and says he plans to stay around for the Olympics in 2012. We will be watching this space.