The International Stock Exchange has wished farewell to Guernsey sailor Andrew Bridgman who is heading off to the world championships in Melbourne.
Under the banner of its new private markets service, TISE Private Markets, The International Stock Exchange (TISE) is supporting Mr Bridgman’s quest to take a global title as part of the Great Britain team which will compete in the world championships in Australia next month.
Mr Bridgman is a former junior world champion and has previously participated at world championships in the Laser Class and Foiling Waszp Class. He has been spending most of his time training with the Great Britain team in Weymouth before heading to Australia on Friday. Next month he will compete in the Foiling Waszp World Championships which are being hosted by the Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club in Melbourne between 10 and 16 December. The foiling Waszp is a high-performance solo sailing boat, which reaches speeds up to 30mph, and sees boats racing in close quarters.
Mr Bridgman said: “It’s exciting to be on the verge of heading out to Australia. The last few months have been a period of intense training, mostly at the National Sailing Centre in Weymouth. The storm did mean that we had to relocate for a short while up to the Rutland Sailing Club near Leicester but being involved in the Great Britain set up means that I was able to continue with my training schedule with very little disruption. Now it’s a case of making those last minute preparations before flying out to Australia where I’ll get my hands on the boat and acclimatise to the new conditions.”
Mr Bridgman qualified as an actuary but has paused his career to focus on training for the world championships. TISE is providing £5,000 of financial support to Mr Bridgman which is going towards the costs of competing in Australia, including his boat, other equipment, and coaching in Melbourne, as well as travel and accommodation.
Cees Vermaas, CEO of TISE, said: “Everyone at TISE wishes Andrew the very best for his journey to Australia. It must be a very exciting time for him and I hope he is able to pick up from where he left off back in both the UK and Guernsey. I’m sure he can’t wait to get onto the water again in Melbourne.”
