Palma and Hyères

After a few months of training in Italy it was time to attend our first event in the fleet. Although we had a great time training in Cagliari, we hadn’t been out on the water with more than a handful of boats at a time. Therefore, our focus on these events was to learn and improve as much as we could. We definitely achieved this! Watching how the top of the fleet approached their setup and racing really gave us an insight on were to improve. Both of the events were close together so the time to implement changes was limited but we definitely noticed a difference from the beginning of Palma to the end of Hyères.

We also had our first experience racing in extreme conditions with 25+knts and large waves in Hyères, Just being able to get around was an achievement in its self as multiple boats failed to finish races. Again we took a lot of learnings about how to depower the boat to help control it when faced with this wind and sea state.

Alongside this we also were able to meet the majority of the fleet, getting to know new people from all over the world. Thankfully they were all so welcoming and helpful which made these first events a enjoyable experience.

Although we were hesitant to attend an event so early into our campaign, it was definitely the right decision. Now armed with all this knowledge we are heading to Greece for a few weeks of training before our Europeans.