THE one thing you cannot say about the Guernsey windsurfing team is that they lack experience.

Simon Gregory and Tim Laine.

With Tim Laine, 41, and Simon Gregory, 45, the pair have nine Island Games appearances between them.

In fact, this will be Laine’s seventh Games and he will carry the Guernsey flag during Saturday’s opening ceremony.

‘We’ve got experience, but as you get older it gets harder,’ said Laine, who when not on the water is an IT consultant.

‘But we’re sailing regularly and getting a lot of practise.’

Laine made his Island Games debut in the Isle of Wight in 1993 and has since been at every Games that has featured windsurfing.

Over the 16 years he has collected three team gold medals, two team silvers and one team bronze.

Individually he has won one silver and one bronze.

Aland will be Gregory’s fourth Games and the landscape gardener has two team silver medals and one team bronze in his trophy cabinet.

The pair admit it is going to be tough to add more gold medals to their collections this year.

At their first Island Games two years ago in Rhodes, Menorca cleaned up claiming the three individual medals and the team gold, finishing ahead of Jersey who took the team silver.

They are featuring again in Aland and are expected to be the side to beat.

‘We know that the Menorcans should get gold this year,’ said Gregory.

‘With Jersey there’s more of them competing but we’re at the same level so it’s going to be pretty close. Bronze or silver if we go for it.’

The Sarnians picked out Rhodes, Isle of Wight and Shetland as other teams to look out for.

The conditions are also expected to be drastically different from Rhodes.

Due to the location of the Greek island in the east of the Mediterranean, every morning during the summer months it is blasted by a strong breeze.

Aland’s wind will be considerably lighter and the competition is taking place in a large inlet by the main town of Mariehamn.

‘It will be completely different to Rhodes,’ said Laine.

‘The finishes should be quite close together.

‘Tactical mistakes are going to be more difficult to recover from, but it should be good for spectators as it’s quite close to the land.’

Guernsey team:
Simon Gregory and Tim Laine.

Schedule:
Saturday 27 June:
10am (EEST) – tune up race and two races.
Sunday 28 June:
10am – two races
Monday 29 June:
1pm – two races
Tuesday 30 June:
10am – two races
Wednesday 1 July:
Reserve day
Thursday 2 July:
1pm – two races
Friday 3 July:
10am – two races
Saturday 4 July:
Reserve day

Medal hopes: The all-powerful Menorcans will be difficult to beat but as the conditions will require more technical nous and cunning, the experienced Sarnians could creep into the medals.