Palma Training Update

We have gotten four days of training in a several different conditions since our arrival in Palma. It took a couple days of getting Sled back into race shape after her long hiatus over the winter (and waiting for our rig to arrive from Barcelona), but by Sunday we were out on the Bay off of Palma. What a nice place to sail at with the mountains of Mallorca offering a great background to the turquoise Bermuda-esque waters of the Mediterranean. And weather-wise, we have been very fortunate with temperatures gradually rising since we arrived here.

Sailing-wise, we are shaking off the rust after our break. Everyday we are feeling more and more comfortable in the boat. And sailing in our new boat has certainly helped! The differences (other than being 10 years older) between 646 and 1108 are unbelievable between the stiff wings and hull, the acceleration and the sheer buoyancy of the boat. Our first and foremost goal of this pre-event was to regain our boat balance and boat handling touch. After 4 days in the bag, and a couple more planned, we feel our confidence and form coming back. And with a few more days of training still planned before the event, our boat handling will only improve.

To sum it up, the sailing has been positive thus far. Getting back into this new boat has most certainly been a moral-booster. After an agonizing OCR in our old boat, we are now seeing a fruition of our hard work throughout the Fall. Our speed and boat handling is now comparable to many in the fleet (though there is room for improvement!), which has now enabled us to actually race! And indeed, we have found ourselves time to time in uncharted territory of the fleet with a few good practice races in various conditions.

So after another couple days of practice we will lay low and go over the boat before racing begins Monday. Stay posted!