Topper 4.2 National Performance Squad

4.2 National Performance Squad at the WPNSA © Anna Day

Back in October, 16 Topper 4.2 sailors received the coolest email, inviting us to join the National Performance Squad (NPS) for 2025-26. The email included details of the NPS programme and what our winter would include.

We were all so excited to get started.

November: The kick-off at Grafham Water

Our first meeting as a full squad was at Grafham Water in November. It was a bit like the first day of school but with more buoyancy aids and wetsuits.

On the water, our weekend was mainly focused on race starts and boat handling, learning how to get that perfect jump off the line.

Ashore, we had a big chat about nutrition and the importance of fuelling and hydrating before, during and after sailing. We were particularly interested to hear that dairy products were very high on the list especially for recovery. We now have a legitimate excuse to drink milkshakes!

January: High Speeds at Carsington

The second weekend that we spent together was at Carsington Sailing Club in January. We had a mixture of conditions with some gusty conditions of 15-25 knots and a sky that was a giant slab of grey. With our focus for the weekend mainly being boat speed, we had loads of fun speeding around Carsington Water.

On day 2 at Carsington, we woke up to a very thick fog. Wondering how soon we would get on the water we had a great discussion about our sail settings and what they do. This was very interesting to go into more detail and learn how every crease tells a story.

February: Survival Mode and Strategy

Our final squad weekend was at the end of February at Weymouth (WPNSA). It was a windy weekend with some gusts coming through at over 30 knots. We had such a great weekend surfing some choppy waves downwind and having to fight against them upwind.

Differing to our original plans we stayed inside of the harbour and put our focus on tactics and strategy. On our final day, we spoke about everything that we had learnt and been coached about over the course of the winter.

The Verdict: Was it worth it?

Absolutely! The winter NPS training was a total blast. We made new friends and we learned so much about our boats, bodies and how to handle some crazy weather.

We even got to use all our new tricks and skills at the ITCA National Series Race 2 at WPNSA just two weeks after our last NPS session. It turns out that practicing in blowy conditions makes everything else seem much easier!

A huge thank you from all the 4.2 squad to our awesome coaches Mark & Ciara and the rest of the ITCA team.