Congratulations on the race win – you should definitely bask in the glory. The problem is, sooner rather than later you’ll want to do it again so quitting isn’t really an option.

On the plus side, however, should you not win next time out it sounds like you have lots of solid excuses lined up. I’m going to borrow some of them myself.

And we all need excuses. Unfortunately they all usually come down to the fact that the other sailors are either smarter, fitter, better prepared, are working harder, are more committed, have a better mental attitude or they are simply faster than me.

Then I fall back on working out that I am the first sailor exactly my age, the first sailor born in the UK, the first sailor who also ran a half marathon this month, the first sailor who owns a Subaru… or something equally desperate.

On Sunday I actually won a race. The sixth race of the day I think. So I called it a day and sailed back to the dock even though there were more races planned. Now I am basking in the glow of being a winner. The longer I can go before racing again the longer the glow will last. Maybe I should just quit Laser sailing altogether?