Balerno sailor David Kohler is on track for a place in the Olympic Development Squad despite his boat being destroyed on a motorway in Macedonia at a crucial stage of his season.
 
Partnering England’s Ben Saxton in the 470 class the 18 year old Edinburgh University student had been due to compete in July’s Junior (under 21) World Championships in Thessaloniki, Greece when they learnt the news that their £15,000 boat had dropped off its trailer en route to the event. 

“This was our first summer on the 470 Olympic circuit and we were desperate to do well in the Junior Worlds,” said David.

“But when we arrived in Thessaloniki airport I turned on my phone and got a voicemail saying the hull had fallen off its trailer and was lying on a motorway destroyed.  We were completely devastated.”

With no boat to sail, no new hulls available anywhere in Europe, and the boat’s manufacturer based in New Zealand, RYA Scotland came to the rescue by sending a hull from another Scottish sailor.

“We were very lucky, and very grateful, that they gave us a replacement, otherwise we couldn’t have raced,” said David.

“Hulls are a bit like racing cars and each one needs so many little tweaks to set it up properly.  We had to spend three days before we could go sailing sorting the boat out to get it set right.”

The pair finished 5th overall, a good result considering their tribulations of the previous week. 

“We were happy with fifth,” said David.  “We were third most of the way through and we had a disappointing penultimate day but on the last race, the medal race, for only the top 10, we won it and moved up to fifth overall.”

From Greece the British pair moved to Copenhagen for the senior 470 World Championships.  From a fleet of 95 boats from 28 countries they finished 19th, in the top 20 percent of the field.  Their target for the year had been to finish within the top 40%, the selection marker for Olympic Development Squad funding.

“We’ve met the criteria so we are hopeful we will make the Olympic Development Squad which will mean most of our sailing costs would be covered,” said David, a Business and Accounting student who is seeking sponsorship for the pair’s ongoing campaign.

“We are both at university so finding additional sponsorship would make a huge difference.  Our main costs are transporting our boat to events and accommodation.”

David receives significant support from the East of Scotland Institute of Sport (ESIS) and RYA Scotland.

“RYA Scotland are giving us the use of the boat we had in Denmark for the foreseeable future, which is great because we can put plans down for training and racing,” he said.  “With ESIS I use the Strength & Conditioning a lot and I have help with nutrition. 

“It’s a physical sport and you do a lot of jumping around to adjust to the waves, and work the boat and bounce of the wire to go a bit faster.

“The event lasts for six days and with two races a day it’s important to refuel quickly to be ready for the next day. Nutrition makes a big difference and mainly helps in the recovery.

“I need a high power to weight ratio because you don’t want to be too heavy in the boat. It’s mainly endurance training, building as much strength as I can. 

“It makes all the difference when we can still race as hard on the last beat of the last race as we did on the first day.”

The pair’s final race of the year, the international ‘Sail for Gold’ regatta starts next Monday in Weymouth.