Off to Istanbul

420 winner at the RYA Volvo Youth National Championships, Mike Wood discusses his campaign with Hugh Brayshaw

The fates of Britain’s top youth sailors were decided last week at the RYA Volvo Youth National Championships, with their performances determining if they would be selected for the British squad destined to go to the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF Youth World Championships taking place in Istanbul in early July.

Mike Wood (left) and Hugh Brayshaw

While star of the show was RS:X sailor Izzy Hamilton, who is already the Youth World Champion in her class, also selected were 420 sailors Mike Wood and Hugh Brayshaw, who finished the Youth Nationals some 24 points ahead of the nearest male team. In fact it was the girls team of Joanna Mitchell and Hannah Freeman who were hot on Wood and Brayshaw’s heels, their score after discards being just ten adrift of the boys. Odd and yet refreshing, that in youth sailing boys and girls seem able to race on a more equal footing than adults.

“Apart from the first day it has been light all week, high wiring and the girls are carrying 25kg less than us which is quite a big difference in the marginal planning-type stuff,” Mike Wood explained to us. “But they have been sailing very well as well.”

The Nationals provided a range of conditions from the opening Monday when the gusts were up to 20 knots on the 420, Spitfire and Laser Standards course furthest offshore in Weymouth Bay, gradually lightening throughout the week.

Now aged 18, Mike Wood at least is coming to the end of his tenure in the 420 – his crew Hugh Brayshaw is 16 - but this is coinciding nicely with their reaching the upper echelon of the class in the UK. Last week was Wood's fourth Youth Nationals, his results improving every year – from a 16th and then a 7th during his first two attempts in the 29er, then following this up with a 7th last year in the 420 with Brayshaw and ultimately a win this year - their best result to date. “We won the End of Seasons last year, but this was the event we have been focussing on,” says Wood of the Youth Nationals.

The arrangement with Brayshaw is a convenient one. Unlike Joanna Freeman and Hannah Mitchell, who have also got the ticket to the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF Youth World Championships in the 420, but who live in Poole and Manchester respectively, Wood and Brayshaw live close to each other and both sail from Draycote Water in Warwickshire.

“We used to sail Toppers together years ago and I wanted to make the move from the 29er to the 420 and he was a bit younger than me and he wanted to make the move from the Topper to the youth class,” says Wood of how they got together. “And we live about 10 minutes away from each other, so it made sense.”

For Wood and Brayshaw there will be two highlights this year, oddly both in the Middle East – in addition to the Youth Worlds taking place in Istanbul, there are also the 420 World Championship in Israel, for which the UK qualifier is in Pwhelli over the May bank holiday weekend.

Wood and Brayshaw competed at the 420 Worlds last year in Riva del Garda, when they finished 32th in the Gold Fleet. But Wood says this was to be expected. “If you look at results from 420s in past years, the first year you get hit and come 30th or 40th or something and the second year you get to medal. If you look at Athens, Ben Palmer and Phil Sparks they came 30th and 40th at the Worlds and last year they came third and fifth.” Getting used to international competition also took some getting used to he admits.

Being at the top of the 420 class in the UK, the RYA has had its hooks into him for the last five years and Woods has been part of their Junior and Youth programs, as well as benefitting from their additional support camps for the elite within each of the youth classes.

So 2010 is likely to be Woods’ last season in the 420 and from there he hopes to graduate up to the 470. The RYA have offered some help on making this transition via 470 Olympic medallist Joe Glanfield as their handsomely named ‘life style coach’ at their tailored support (TS) camps. “He has done some work with us at TS camps, talking and planning out the future. So it has been quite helpful,” says Woods.

As to where his sailing will take him, he reckons: “I’ve kept the philosophy to carry on doing it to the best of my ability and see where it goes. Up to now I’ve been top of junior sailing and now – touch wood - I am getting towards the top of youth sailing, so ultimately I am looking for the next challenge which is the 470.” That will probably happen this summer after the World championships.

One issue will be whether his crew Hugh Brayshaw makes the transition at the same time being, in sailing squad terms, a year behind. “We haven’t really talked that much about after the summer because Hugh is a year younger in terms of sailing age, so he can stay on for another year of youth stuff or go Olympic sailing, but our goals are quite heavily based on us medalling this summer because with a medal you can do whatever you want.”

In addition there is the no small issue of combining an active sailing program with being at school. “I’ve been doing very very badly at school,” admits Woods. “After doing full-on boat stuff for a week, I then try and catch up with school work for a week, but recently I have been neglecting school stuff quite a lot so I am going to have a big to-do list when I get home in terms of school work...”

Obviously understanding parents are vital in this equation and interestingly neither of his parents sails. “If I am really far behind with my school work they probably nag a bit but they are pretty understanding that the boat work has to be done and realistically it is normally done before school is done.”

Good lad – get your priorities right. We'll be watching their fortunes with interest.