Not so lucky Number 7

Paul Brotherton talks on his and Simon Hiscocks performance at the 49er Worlds

With 160 boats competing at the World Championships, and over 40 nationalities, the primary objective for the British sailors was to do well enough in the qualification period to get through to the gold fleet. "The qualification series was no problem for us, as the start line was not so competitive and we could get the bow down quickly and develop the same VMG (velocity made good) as the other good guys who were using North's. Further more there was generally a little more breeze in the qualification and this seems to suit the Prydes."

The finals were however a completely different story, "If you had 2ft between you and the next boat to leeward of you on the start line - you had a good gap. The reality was more like 6 inches. All boats were exactly on the start and there was no margin for error at all - the result was that if you couldn't hang in for the first couple of hundred metres you'd get bounced out back to the middle of the lake where there was less wind. In the previous regattas the breeze was always oscillating through the middle of the course so the requirement to hold our lane was less crucial"

The margins were small but mistakes and any lack of speed were amplified in the results as the racing was so tight "In the first race of the finals only 30 seconds separated first to last place -If you fart you're last."

But Brotherton and Hiscocks were not on their own. Of the 25 boats in the gold fleet 12 were using Pryde sails. At the end of the finals only two of those boats were in the top ten and eight of them in the last 11. "At 7th we were the highest placed boat with Pryde sails - some consolation I suppose."

With hindsight they can both see how their preparation for the event was in some ways faulted. "We did too much two boat tuning and not enough highly competitive racing although some of this was due to the fact that the races didn't exist. When you race in a competitive fleet you spend the first five minutes of every first windward leg sailing three or four degrees higher than you would choose to do - set up and technique all contribute to this skill."

Their position now is that both they and Richardson and Greenhalgh have a whole summer of data and information to look back on, compare and develop. But in reality, how long will it take the rest of the world to get to that very same point? "We will be doing all we can to build on our solid block of information to give us the best chance of achieving a top three result at next years worlds."

Brotherton and Hiscocks pledge that they still need to work on and improve every aspect of their game, from boat handling and fitness to preparations and campaign management. "We have great support form the RYA and the World Class Performance programme. Now it's time for the punishment training to begin. Summer has gone and cold weather training camps at Weymouth loom - thank god for Musto HPX dry suits."