BOARDS: Back to Cadiz then, who are you out there training with, do you ever train with the girls?
ND: No, we don’t train with the girls *laughs* funnily enough *laughs again*. I train with Elliot Carney everyday, we stay together, train together, he is an amazing training partner, very loyal, very good, he is getting better and better. I spend a lot of my time making him as good as he can be, as fast as he can be as I need him to be as quick as possible. I’m keen to move him forwards and it can take a bit of encouragement at times but he’s getting there and he’s invaluable to me.
BOARDS: Yeh he seemed to be snapping at your heels in Perth?
ND: Yeh… Not quite *laughs*
BOARDS: Where else do you practice throughout the year?
ND: This will be my last trip away this year, I’ll be heading home after this event and have a huge block in Weymouth for the coming Games, but we were in Perth at the end of last year, then Miami in January and now here.
BOARDS: Do you get much free-sailing in?
ND: Not really, any energy I have has been purely focused on my Olympic campaign. Although after Weymouth, I’ll be taking a long break to go wave-sailing over in Ireland, at least 2/3 weeks anyway. It’s a shame as I have two brand new shiny Goya boards sitting at home and a fresh quiver of Pryde sails just waiting to be used. As I said though, all my energy is focused right now and the playtime will come.
BOARDS: So you are also a bit of a wave fan?
ND: Yeh I love sailing in the waves, as any windsurfer does and I have done a lot in the past. I’ve also done a bit of freestyle here and there but really when I can, I love to go wave-sailing. Just right now, as I said, if I have any energy it goes in to training, it’s pretty full on at the moment, but yeh I love wave-sailing, I love it.
BOARDS: Cool, so talking of equipment, how much kit do you generally carry to any one event?
ND: One board, 2 centerboards, 3 fins, 3 sails, 2 booms, 2 masts and that’s about it I think.
BOARDS: Have you ever considered PWA Slalom or will you be continuing on with the RS:X class for years to come?
ND: I don’t know… I don’t know. The slalom is a no, I’m 75 kilos and you have to be at least 90/95 kilos to stand any chance. I enjoy doing it but I can’t see myself competing. People can argue with the weight but really the people that only ever win are Antoine, Bjorn and a couple really big guys. When you’re as small as me it’s not even an option.
With the RS:X in the future, I don’t know, I’ll just see what happens this year.
BOARDS: Who’s your hottest competition for the RS:X Worlds?
ND: Dorian van Rijsselberghe from the Netherlands, a couple of the Polish, Piotr Myszka and Przemyslaw Miarczynski. The Israeli Nimrod Mashich, he’ll be quite good and maybe John Paul Tobin from NZ.
BOARDS: When you are lining up for the start of the first race, do you feel the pressures or do you manage to shut it all out?
ND: Yeh, lining up for the first race is always horrible, there’s the slight unknown and you feel quite nervous. All you want to do in the first race is not cock up, you just want to get any score on the board, any half decent result. It’s only too easy to throw it all away on the first day, before you realise it. So yeh, I’m always nervous before the start of the first race and on that start line.
BOARDS: Have you got any specific competition traits, you know how some people always leave it down to the last race?
ND: No, I’d say my only competition trait is that I’m pretty consistant.
BOARDS: Goals for 2012?
ND: To perform an Olympic campaign that puts me in the best possible shape I could be in come the end of July, to do as well as I can do at the Games.
BOARDS: Thanks very much for the interview, any last comments?
ND: Yep, thanks also.
Nick Dempsey, Skandia Team GBR and Team Volvo for life windsurfer, will race at the RS:X World Windsurfing Championships from 22-28 March
