Thursday, 30th July 2015
Hi All. I am writing this email to keep you informed on how our arrival in Riva Del Garda for the International Cadet World Championships has been and the past 3 days of training. I arrived in Riva on the 24th July and was blown away by the scenery, 300 metre high cliffs right out of the water, it’s just spectacular. We settled into our apartment in preparation for the next day and the training week, which was to come. My parents and I turned up to the club at around 10.30am to help unload our charter boats from the container. Mischa and her family were still driving to Riva through the Alps and arrived at about 2pm. By then the ‘ora’ breeze had blown in. Day 1 was all about testing your set-up on these new boats. Day 2 was our first full day on the water and we were amazed at the cliffs, by 4pm you can be 200 metres away from the cliffs and still be in their shadow!!! The wind on day 2 was around 20-25 knots consistently and we headed in just before 4.30. Mischa and I felt like we were keeping up with everyone, if not faster at some points. Day 3 of training was meant to start early at 8.30am to try and sail in the ‘pela’ breeze which is around 15 knots right off the land, so incredibly shifty, but this wasn’t the case because of rain in the night that prevented the wind from filling in, so the morning was spent team building on SUP boards and kayaks. At about 1pm the clouds started clearing from the mountains, indicating that the ora should soon fill in and boy did it, 23 knots almost straight away (built in 10 minutes) meaning Mischa and I as the lighter team had to work our backsides off hiking. Day 4 was a regular day, got on the water at 1pm in about 10 knots which by 2pm had strengthened to 17 knots and meant another hard day for the two of us, only today our coach had us do some starting practice/racing with the Germans. In the first race, almost all of the Aussie team was ahead of the Germans and on the run, we were blitzing it (not trying to sound arrogant) yet the change from old Samaran to a Mark 4 didn’t register and my foot slipped on some fibreglass, resulting in our almost immediate capsize . After the racing we did some reach practice and headed in. When we got in, Mischa’s dad, Dave Suda worked on the boat to make sure that we strengthened the chain plate deck fastenings on the sidestays and the jib halyard cleat which all looked a bit dodgy. Dave nearly broke his arm trying to get in through the bulkhead-thanks Dave! As for my poor Dad, he managed to fall off the launching ramp when he took one step too far launching the boats – straight drop down and no one knows how many metres deep that first drop is???? Hope this has kept you informed on our adventure to conquer the world. Mischa and I both want to thank all the SYC members, the Club and our friends and families for their support and good wishes. We have been swamped with your messages and we love getting them, so keep sending them. Yours sincerely, Julian & Mischa – Team Samaran The official website is www.cadet2015.com so you can keep an eye out on the results etc.