The Waszp International Games are coming to Weymouth and Portland from 19 to 25 July, providing an irresistible attraction for an England-based Guernsey sailor who has finished 12th and 22nd over the last two editions.
It is the first time the Waszp Internationals, which have been taking place annually since 2017, have been held in UK waters.
‘It will be really cool to see in home waters,’ Bridgman said.
He is currently dealing with a poorly-timed hand injury, sustained while sailing, and so is not making any bold predictions ahead of this home Games.
‘The way I look at it is I just want to get as much training as I can and focus on myself,’ he added.
‘There’s loads of people coming and going and all sorts of things changing.’
Notably, these Worlds are set to bring a much higher turnout than previous years, perhaps reaching around 260 competitors, compared to 145 last time.
One significant change to the boats themselves comes with new rudders widely adopted since the last championships, making for faster speeds on the water.
‘It will change the dynamic a little bit. It will go a lot quicker upwind and especially downwind – a very exciting bit of kit.’
The International Stock Exchange-supported sailor is fresh from a 10-day training camp in Hawaii with the US national team.
There, he got to try out the new rudder for the first time, together with working on his current weakness of light-wind sailing. He also got to learn from America’s Cup coach Tom Burnham.
But sailing in the tropics did not lessen his appreciation of what Guernsey offers – in fact, it had the opposite effect.
‘Hawaii makes me realise how awesome Guernsey is to sail.
‘The facilities, the conditions we get and the size of the water, it’s really good.’
In the build-up, he will be competing at June’s EuroCup Foiling Week in Lake Garda, Italy, and potentially backing up last year’s position of 16th.
Ultimately, he is enjoying sailing his fast foiling dinghy, and his success has justified the decision of skipping an Island Games title defence.
‘It’s something I’ve been transitioning to for a few years.
‘When I did the Island Games [two years ago], it was pretty tricky juggling the two and I have decided it would be worth it to focus on one boat.’
But he complimented the mix of youth and experience in Guernsey’s sailing quartet, who will be managed by his mother Margaret.
‘Good luck to the team in Orkney – it will be exciting,' he said.
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