Team Prepares For Overseas

The boys have been at work over the past few weeks sorting things out for the next leg of their tour. Next weekend sees the boys make their way to Calshot and then straight on to the first euro stop in Hungary.


Since Stone, many things have had to be sorted, boring things like insurance, maintenance and paying for things. Mark has been spending many evenings finishing off the inside of the van and sorting out proper mattresses. The bearings of the trailer have been getting some attention after the handbrake incidence at Stone. 


An exciting development in the last week is the boys acquisition of windsurfing kit. As the team are likely to have a bit of time on their hands between events and in some of the warmest waters in Europe, it seemed sensible to learn to windsurf. As skiff sailors, they have always noticed the windsurfers heading out when it's too windy for them and this tour is the best opportunity to finally have a go. After a few weeks trawling the net and asking around, all 3 have themselves boards and various kit, even having a go a Rutland last weekend. Considering how long it takes to build the skiff before hitting the water, they weren't expecting the 5 minute rig time. They all got to grips with the basics very quickly, but not without falling in many times. Fingers crossed they spend less time swimming and more time sailing when they get to Europe.


This weekend sees 3 days racing from Calshot, with the last day maybe being a longer distance race. The boys are anxious to see how they compare to the other teams, after all the only racing they've done has been on much flatter water at Rutland and Stone. As soon as the event finishes on monday, the van will be packed up with all the toys and heading to Dover for a 2am crossing to France, then through Belgium, Germany, Austria and finally Hungary. The team hope to get to Hungary late on Tuesday or early Wednesday to give them a chance to chill before the event starts on Thursday morning. The event is being held at Lake Balaton, the biggest lake in Europe, but also one of the more shallow lakes. The event is run from Thursday to Sunday, hopefully not tiring the boys out after a total of 7 days racing in 9. Mike is flying back to the UK on the Sunday evening to get back to work. Mark and Tom will drive the boat through Slovenia to drop the boat off in Italy on the Monday evening and flying back on Wednesday after a chilled day at Garda on the Tuesday.


Needless to say, the team are all very excited for Friday to come around and all the preparation  will be done and they can concentrate on the events and hopefully get some more top positions.