Student Yachting World Cup at La Trinite-Sur-Mer - Day 1
by Icarus Sailing Media 24 Oct 2011 08:30 BST
21-27 October 2011
No racing on day one of the Student Yachting World Cup © Icarus Sailing Media
The wind was blowing hard from early in the morning of the first official race day. The competitors arrived at the yacht club of Trinite sur Mer around 8.30. After a short meeting with the organizing committee the decision was taken: Postpone the races until 13:00, so as to wait for the wind to drop.
Most of the crews took advantage of the unscheduled free time, working on their boats and going through every detail, thus preparing themselves to deal with the challenging conditions the race promised. Unfortunately time passed without any signs of improvement from the weather – on the contrary, some gusts from time to time reached 35 knots!
So, all the athletes gathered at the yacht club to relax and get to better know each other. Let’s not forget that apart from coming here to win, students find of major importance the opportunity to make new friends and meet possible future colleagues.
On Saturday night the teams had a dinner where each country presented some of its local delicacies and traditional plates. But do not be fooled! The difference of SYWoC compared to other major sailing events lays only at this kind of extra-racing activities. In the sea, all crews are very professional and the competition is fierce. Plus, most of the athletes participate in other sailing classes in their free time, with some of them in the middle of their Olympic Campaigns.
Around 13:30 the committee decided to give an end to the waiting that all signs showed it would be in vain! The races of the day were canceled. Students tried to console themselves for the disappointment with some sightseeing of the beauties of La Trinite sur Mer, Carnac and northern France. Only exception? The Suiss team: they preferred not to waste a windy day like this and decided to rent some dinghies and have a competition of their own.
Tomorrow the wind is expected to drop significantly so hopefully teams will be able to sail. Check back again on Monday for the latest news… and do not forget. Very soon we will find out the winner of the 2011 Student Yachting World Cup!
More information on the event website.