Qingdao is putting on quite a spectacular display of lights at night these days. The marina docks are subtly lit, laser beams pierce the sky and whole buildings are covered with moving illustrations of sailboats.

The latter contrasts somewhat with the picture on the water today - the winds were very light, peaking at 5 knots. Quite a normal day really and the feeling with the Australian Sailing Team is great - everyone is fully settled in and looking forward to the start of racing (first fleets start on the 9th).

It’s been a while since a lot of sailors here have done some formal racing and it’s interesting how people go on the first day back after such a break. Personally, I have to really work on getting ready to fire after such a delay. Suddenly, there are a lot more boats on the start line, the courses are just a little bit longer and, of course, someone is keeping score for real.

This is when the motto ‘Train as you compete’ comes into its own. Simply, you’ve got to apply the same focus to training as you intend to racing. Never take training half-heartedly or you will compete the same. (Sports Mind Skill’s mental training tracks on Self-talk in Sport might help).

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