Sat Feb 10

Laser Worlds 2008 Day 3 After a very long day of hiking hard on the Tasmanian sea, three 1.5 hour long races, I came away with some very good and some very bad races. On race one I finished 25th after a long battle. Race two was different, after 3 general recalls I was taken out on a black flag. This was very dissapointing for me as I have found a good upwind speed in the strong wind. On the last race of the day the wind started at 20kts and finished at 10kts. I got a very good start and finished 3rd. I was 1st for most of the race, but at the very end, on the last upwind beat the wind was all over the place and I only managed to finish 3rd. This puts me 67th overall, I am very dissapointed with my BFD (Black Flagg on race 2 of the day) because without this I could have been in Gold fleet, and have already qualified Switzerland for the Beijing Olympics. Instead I will have to fight another three days to get what I came for. I hope we have some good racing over the next few days with hopefully a little sunshine! All the best, Max Bulley

Fri Feb 9

Day 2 Laser Worlds 2008 Terrigal is a beautiful place, when the sun is shinning... For over a week now we are under the rain and the wind is weak + shifty! Today we set off for day 2. We waited on the water for the rain to settle and the breeze to stabalise but after 2 hours we were sent back in, all thinking the day was over... untill after 4 when we were sent out in a sunlit Light breeze. We sailed one race in 18-20kts, and what a race! It was long, very long! I had an Exellent start on a black flag, leaving the fleet behind with over 8 seconds clear! I rounded the top mark 8th, and the reaching mark 5th, I was happy. I then lost a lot on the second beat... unfortunately I was on the left side, and the wind went right. I lost about 15 places in a tactical mistake! I then recovered to finish a disapointing 22nd. Overall I am now 69th out of 157 boats, a little over 10 points away from GOLD fleet which will be decided at the end of tomorrows racing. My aim on this regatta is to qualify Switzerland for the Olympic Games. Max Bulley

Thursday Jan 31

I have arrived safely in Australia and am currently training hard for the 2008 Laser World championships. The weather is good and the sailing is great. There is a thermal breeze every afternoon ranging from 6-20 kts. Everyday there are many sailors out on the water and we all train together in practice races, the best way to prepare for such an event. I have good speed, but more importantly I feel very fit. I can feel all the work from the gym back home really paying off on the water. I still have another week before the racing begins, which is plenty of time to improve on some sailing details. The venue is fantastic, these will be great world championships.

Tuesday Jan 8

In less than a month I will be Sailing the World Championships in Sydney Australia! I am currently training very hard towards this important step for the Olympic Games. I am sailing in Antibes with an international team and coach everyday. I have also been preparing my body for this very intense physical competition, training in the gym and working my cardio very hard. 2008 will be a very hard year with many difficult Steps towards the Olympic Games but I am sure I will be sucessful as I have never felt this fast. The World Championships start the 3rd of Febuary. I will be posting regular news. See you soon!

Saturday Aug 11

Hi there! China is great, things here are going well for me. I arrived a few days ago and was a bit lost with jet lag and the whole china experience but now its all getting much easier. Were staying in a Huge Luxury apartment block which has about 40 floors!! Everything in town is big.

The driving is INSANE, the drivers spend more time Hooting than anything else. Yesterday evening we took a cab ride into town but the driver ended up driving us right outside of town (because here not many people can read so he was just driving randomly!!). We finally convinced him to stop then jumped into another cab heading back into town. But then the rain picked up and the streets just became rivers!! I have never ever seen ordinary cars drive through so much water!!! Our cab had water up to the doors and it was slowly coming into the car!!! Then the windscreen wipers stopped working so it went from very bad to a lot worse!!! The driver jumped out, attempting to fix the wiper and on his way back found he was locked outside!! Anyway, eventually we made it back "Safely", completely wet through!

Today it's not raining for the first time so its good news! On the water the wind is light, so that's good for me, and there are Jelly fish the size of Ghandi!! Tonight is the opening ceremony and racing starts on the 15th for me. I rented a new bike for 0.80 Euros a day, a 15 minute cab drive costs 0.60 Euros and last nights meal cost me 4 Euros!!!

Watch this space...

June 1st

Great news, I have qualified for the Pre-Olympics in Beijing this August, I'm on my way!

Wednesday May 23

Swiss Laser Champion!

Last weekend I took part in the Swiss National championships in Geneva, my home club.

We sailed 4 races, I won 3 of them and came 2nd in the fourth which I discarded.

Before that, in Hyeres, my laptop (along with lots of other valuables) was stolen from our apartment so keeping my website up to date has been a little difficult.

I am now in Medemblik, Holland for the Dutch Olympic Sailing week, which starts Wednesday 23rd May and ends Sunday 27th.

This is the last part of our selections to the World Championships and the Pre-Olympics this summer. For the moment I am leading the selections comfortably and need to make sure I have another good regatta to secure my spot for China this summer.

The weather forecast for the coming week is light winds· my speciality!

After this regatta I go straight to the Europeans in Hyeres, France.

Non-stop sailing!

Looking forward to a break mid June!

More news coming soon·

Monday April 02

Palma de Mallorca. Trofeo Princess Sophia.

A few days ago I arrived in Palma where I am competing in the first qualification event.

So far we have had two days racing in which we raced only two races. I came 6th in the first race and won the race today.

I am happy with the way I’ve started this championship and confirmed yet again my light wind speed and good tactics.

There are four days to go in this regatta then I drive to Hyeres in the south of France for the SOF (Semaine Olympique Francaise), part two of our qualifications.

Check out the pictures from Palma!

Championship link: http://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org/dinghy/index.html

Monday March 19

Sailing in Geneva with the sailing team from the club was excellent and I had some interesting meetings with potential sponsors.

The Riva del Garda Eurolymp was very good racing with medium to strong winds. Lots of hiking!!!

It was a very good training regatta to begin the season with and Iâm physically feeling very good.

Now (Thursday 22nd) Iâm off to Switzerland for a EUROPA CUP and then itâs off to the first important race of the season in Palma de Mallorca for a EUROLYMP.

Iâm looking forward to this because it will be the first real test for me and will clearly show the work Iâve done.

See you soon....

Saturday March 03

I'm training in Monaco for a few days

Wednesday Feb 28

After a solid training period in Tunisia and Antibes, I competed in a Race last weekend in Bandol in the South of France. It was a Championnat de Med with many French entrants and other nations also present. We had every kind of wind condition and after six races I won the regatta!

This was great for me straight after a training period to confirm my boat speed and refresh my tactical skills. I had lots of fun during this event as I was joined by the youth members of my Geneva sailing team who won in the 4.7 class. It was a great weekend for the ãSociete Nautic de Geneveä, we couldnât have sailed better!

After the race I stayed in Bandol where I am currently taking part in a training camp with French teams. We are sailing in extremely strong winds with gusts up to 40kts!! Itâs interesting to sail In these extreme conditions to build confidence.

From Thursday 1st March I will be in Monaco coaching the Youth National team for four days.

My next race is in Italy on the 13th of March where I will be competing in the first Eurolymp of the season on Lake Garda. This will be a test event when I will sail against the worlds best and get back into the most intense sailing rhythm.

Thanks for following!

Max

Monday Jan 29

Hello!!

After intense physical training for over two months, I'm back in the Laser! Today I will be training with my sailing team in Antibes (South of France training base). In 4 days we will be flying down to Tunisia for an international Sailing camp in, we hope, warmer sailing conditions!

My physical strength has greatly improved and I am feeling stronger. My weight has gone up and I have never been this keen on getting out there and winning.

The quest for sponsorship is still very active; I have been contacting many potential sponsors.

I have a Sponsorship dossier with flyers so please, feel free to contact me if you would like to check it out!

I am now looking forward to my first important regatta in Riva del Garda Italy, in the middle of March.

I'll be back with more news from my training!

Max

Wednesday Dec 6

Hi there !

After a great month of sailing in November, I am now deep into winter training mode. My Laser is stored and I am concentrating on physical preparation. It is very important for me now to increase my body mass to give me more power when I am sailing. In order to increase my body power I am working every day in the gym pushing weights, biking, running, rowing, etc. working closely with my personal coach Natalie Belloti who follows my training closely. My diet consists of high protein foods, selected carefully for maximum efficiency together with my training rhythm.

During the time I am not sailing, I have been able to concentrate on developing my search for sponsorship. With a designer I have created a flyer describing my campaign. The flyers will be ready to go out soon, if you are interested in receiving one, please contact me with your details.

The Olympic Games are only 611 days away now, time for action.

Thursday Nov 2

I'm back! After a few technical problems with the website, I'm here to bring you the latest news. I am back in the south of France training hard with my sailing team. Last week we were in Hyeres where the French sailing team organised an international training camp with some of the top Laser Sailors. I was very pleased to see the progress I have made in all wind conditions and once again proved to be one of the fastest sailors in the lighter winds. This morning I flew to Geneva to attend the General assembly of my Yacht Club this evening. Next week I will be sailing in the second international training camp in Hyeres, which will mark the end of a long training period where I will have confirmed the progress made during the world championships in South Korea. I am very pleased with myself and I feel confident about the future, next step: finding a sponsor. This will allow me to sail more professionally and allow me to compete at the very top. If you are interested in sponsoring my campaign or know someone who might be please go to SPONSOR THE CHALLENGE above. Thanks for checking up on me! Max

Monday Sept 18th

Yesterday we were in the Hotel all day, waiting for the Typhoon to pass.

It wasn't as strong as expected. My room mate (Jeremie Steyeart) and I slept in for the first time in a few days, it was very nice! Then we floated around the Hotel for a few hours before deciding to go outside and check the storm out. After taking some umbrellas from the lobby, we set off outdoors. We then realized the umbrellas were useless cause the rain was horizontal! There were some serious winds in confused directions. We walked down to the cliff in front of the Hotel to see the sea state. The waves were big! After a few very strong gusts of wind we agreed it would be safer to stay inside the Hotel for the rest of the day. This morning we woke to a rainy, windy island. The race committee decided it was time to go back to the racing area and get on with the Championship. We got our boats back from the storage (secure from the typhoon) and went on the water. There was 15-20 kts blowing from the land, meaning it was very shifty. I had two good races. I say good races because I could actually race in front for some of the race; also meaning I had a lot more fun! I am currently 18th in Silver fleet and count on finishing in the top ten. I hope tomorrow the weather will finally be correct with the 10kts they have predicted. This would be more suitable wind for me!

All results on : www.laserinternational.org

Friday Sept 15th

NEWS FROM JEJU WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Hi there

It's hard, very hard. The winds are extremely strong, the tides are strong and the fleet is fast. Today we were on the water at 08:00h for three races. We had gusty 24-35kts when we got onto the racing area I thought the race committee was going to cancel the racing and send us back in, instead we did 3 races! I know the worlds is the toughest regatta but this was extreme! The waves were huge, sometimes when we were sailing upwind; the wave would break and would sweep the boat right off course! I had trouble getting some good races in because of the wind strength. In the second race I was doing very well but lost all my lead when I capsized at the very end of the race. Tomorrow we are racing in the morning again, before the typhoon hits the island. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, there is a typhoon heading our way! It is going to hit the island of Jeju where we are tomorrow evening. It has been intensifying over the last week and will be very strong by the time it hits us. I hope we'll be all right in out hotel! I'll come back with more news soon, that's if we still have Internet of course!

Max

Monday Sept 11th

ENGLISH (french below)

Hello everyone!

I've safely arrived in South Korea, on the Island of Jeju where the Laser World Championships 2006 are going to take place from the 13th to the 20th of september. The Hotel is INSANE... its the organisation Hotel and its a real 5 star high class hotel! Its very different than what we are used to when we sail! As I'm writing this email (in the entrance hall) there is a singer and a pianist!!! Today I received my Laser and went sailing for the first time. The wind was light with strong currents, making the sailing interesting. My boat speed was very good, especially downwind where we had to sail into the current. My body clock is slowly ajusting to the local time difference (+7hours). Last night I woke up at 4 in the morning and had a hard time getting back to sleep. Tonight should be better. Tomorow I will have a practice sail again and in the evening we have the opening ceremony on the beach. The racing starts on wed the 13th with three days of qualifying races before the finals. I will come back with some more news as the racing starts.

Max Bulley

FRANCAIS

Salut tous le monde! Je suis bien arriver en Coree du Sud sur l'Isle de Jeju, lieu du Championnat du Monde Laser 2006 du 13 au 20 septembre. L'Hotel est hallucinant... c'est l'Hotel de l'organisation et c'est vraiment un 5 etoile! Tres different de notre style abituel. Au moment ou je vous ecrit ce mail il y a un pianist avec une chanteuse!! Aujourd'hui j'ais recu mon Laser et je suis aller naviguer pour la premiere foi sur les eaux Coreenes. Le vent etais leger avec du courran fort, donc c'etais interresent. Ma vitesse etait tres bonne, surtout au vent arriere on naviguer face au courrent. Mon corps s'addapte doucement au decalage horaire (+7heures). Hier soir je me suis lever vers 4 heures du matin et j'avais du mal a me rendormir... mais ce soir devrais etre mieu. Demain je vais m'entrainer sur l'eau et le soir nous avons la ceremonie d'ouverture du championnat sur la plage. Les regattes comence le 13 avec trois jours de qualif avant les finales. Je reviendrais avec des news quand le championnat comence.

Max Bulley