Attend a regatta

“Remembering the regatta, it would be strange not to mention the races. Usually, the morning begins not only with breakfast but also with a skippers’ briefing, where they are told about the race of the day: the coordinates of the start and finish, as well as control points — islands, rocks or buoys which you need to pass on the starboard side or on port. At about 11 or 12 a. m. there is a start — a separate one for each division of yachts. Depending on the route and weather conditions, the race lasts from 3 to 8 hours. In my two regattas, I sailed through the storm, and through a thunderstorm with a truly tropical downpour, and our boat went aground. I cannot tell now when I had more adrenaline! The skipper’s skills and the coordinated work of the whole team help to safely get out of such difficult situations both technically and psychologically, and of course, a bit of luck.”

“A big part of any regatta is simply the logistics of getting there. For our team, Victoria to Nanaimo is a 12-hour delivery any way you slice it. [...] Arriving at the dock, I realized that I hadn’t fully arranged the details of the mothership, that host 242 sailor, Ken Holland had generously offered up to our crew as homebase. A quick dock walk was unsuccessful in locating the boat, so we had to sleep on the fully stripped out Martin. Sarah had a few spinnakers for cushions down below. I opted for the foam mat comforter on the cockpit seat. Sleep came easily, and as soon as the sun was up we had a nice waterfront walk in search of a breakfast spot. It was all fun and all part of the full regatta experience… Right?”

“I must say that I didn’t know any of the crew members until we met on the yacht, and this made me worried a lot: there will be 10 of us, and almost everyone sees each other for the first time — will we get along or will there be conflicts? Our team consisted of men, mostly, and I was pleasantly surprised that everyone quickly found a common language. We distributed both household duties and positions during the races. This, of course, is mostly thanks to our captain, a friendly and cheerful person who knows how to establish discipline on board. During the week spent at sea, probably, each team forms their own slang and jokes that only they understand — this was the case at my first regatta, and it also happened at the next regatta with another team.”