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Having competed against some of world sailing’s best, Andrew Bridgman has set his sights on continuing to climb even higher.
Bridgman finished 12 at December’s Foiling Waszp World Championships in Melbourne, a marked improvement on his 36th the last time he competed.
It was a regatta which tested the competitors in all different weather conditions over a week where one simple mistake could ruin a top placing.
Following the event, Bridgman had three days exploring Melbourne before heading back to Guernsey.
“Right now, I am planning to take a winter break from sailing, as it has been a long and tiring season. I am planning to teach skiing in Canada, so I will be leaving Guernsey early in the new year to head across to the other side of the Atlantic. That should allow me to earn some money while also keeping active and ready to come back refreshed.”
The Olympic Games are being held in Paris, but the Foiling Waszp boats sailed by Bridgman are not included.
“I'm looking at the next sailing season and starting to think about a plan for next summer. The Foiling Waszp World Championships are being held again in August but this time in Norway. That could be a great opportunity to keep improving in this world class fleet and would be my main goal.
"I'm not planning to pivot into any of the Olympic classes, although the boat I am sailing now has a good chance of becoming an Olympic class in the future. It is still early days because the Foiling Waszp has only existed for six years, but World Sailing have already had talks to think about including it in future Olympic Games.”
Bridgman qualified as an actuary, but paused his career to focus on training for the world championships in Melbourne.
The International Stock Exchange provided financial support which went towards the costs of competing in Australia and now it has pledged to back him again next year under the banner of new private markets offering, TISE Private Markets, if he wants to have another attempt at winning the world title.
Mark Oliphant, Head of Marketing and Communications at TISE, said: “We’ve been on a fantastic journey with Andrew this year, from seeing him win gold in the Island Games for Guernsey on home waters to finishing in the top dozen competitors at the world championships in Australia. He’s a great ambassador and we’d be delighted and proud to give him our support once more if he wants to pursue those world championship ambitions again in 2024.”
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