This is Ewan's Page

Any 4.7 sailors out there please contact me at 

   lasersailing@ewanmcmillan.co.uk

    I have grown up around the sea because when I was very young my dad worked down on the pontoons in Tarbert doing Yacht repairs and other jobs like that. My mum is a doctor. So I had to go with my dad down to the pontoons and I soon learnt to row a punt around and then I started to get really confident in the water. I was taught how to swim when I was 4 just. Before I went in to Primary 1. My dad was a very good dinghy sailor in his time so he bought me a mirror dinghy to learn the basics. My dad bought a Laser when I was about 9 years old. At this time I was sailing Mirror dinghy and occasionally when it was Light winds a Topper. I was not doing any racing just learning the basics. I would sail every Sat. and about once or twice after school during the week. When he bought the laser he got a full and a 4.7 rig with it so that he could sail it and when I was old enough I could sail it as well. Eventually when I was about 10 my friend Douglas Abernethy who was 14 at the time and was a very confident sailor took me out for a sail in it. 

    From then on I was hooked on the laser. I was very light and so I could only sail it when it was light. I did a couple training weekends in it and soon leant about Center Mainsheet and the Mainsheet getting caught around the stern. I did a lot of practicing and some race training then in 2002 I went to the Worlds and then the Nationals. At the world s it was the first time I had ever raced against another Laser 4.7. I was the only one from Sco. there so I could say I was representing Scotland.  My aim before I went was to complete  every race for the the 7 day event. Even getting there was a huge struggle for us. We has to drive to Hull where we caught a ferry to Rotterdam  (Netherlands)  and then drove on to the Muiderzand Marina ( fresh water - a very big loch). I did this and I was 114th overall but 19th under 15. Rumor has it that the age limit will be dropped  next year to 15 so I am in with a chance of a good result. Hopefully?

     At the Nationals It was very windy for the long weekend . On the first day the Olympic squad were the only ones who went out. The rest of the races were abandoned before we even thought about going out. It was held in Abersoch in Wales (  one of the best Surfing spots in Wales  ) . All the classes were there 4.7 , Radial , Full  and the best sailors in the UK including Paul Goodson  Favorite to represent the Uk at the Olympics. The Venue was Ok a huge sandy beach  which you had to trail your boat along and a tiny club house were some of the draw backs but when you when you eventually got out it was not bad. At the start of the three day event there was too much wind so we missed the first days practice race and then at the end the wind dropped so we spent all day on the water drifting around. Every time the race committee thought about abandoning it a breeze filled in so they started the countdown and then it died right before the 1 min. gun. So then it was back to drifting around for another 1/2 hour until they decided there was enough wind for a start and then it started again. All day !