Nur auf Englisch dieses Mal!
The past weeks I have been constantly sick. Nope, not Covid – I checked that. I caught a flu right after we celebrated our win at the Nations Trophy with Team Niramo.
Nevertheless I went straight into two days of training in Lake Garda, followed by our first two regatta days in the 49er Fx. The wind was not exactly light those days. Afterwards I actually had a couple of days off at home but to get there I travelled a total amount of 28 hours by car and train. I returned to lake Garda for another training camp still sniffing and coughing and recovering from that flu. We took that camp relatively easy but still sailed every day. I felt better every day and even got back into my physical training too.
After the camp we drove back to Munich from where I took my flight back to Palma to help get Niramo ready and deliver her to St. Tropez for the World Championship. As the navigator I felt quite a bit of pressure on myself as I was sort of responsible for the route and the timing. Since we were expecting some mistral that week (strong winds up to 35kts in the gulf of Lyon) and we didn’t want to expose the yacht to heavy weather just before the most important regatta od the season, our timing was crucial. In the end, with a little help from Max, Marcel and Sönke we managed to have a lovely delivery in glamour conditions (most of the way). We stopped in Badalona near Barcelona and avoided all winds above 17kts. Well, actually that first leg from Palma to Badalona was horrible – no wind and huge sea state which got me seasick for the first time in my life.
So I arrived in St. Tropez rather tired and worn out than super fit. But anyway I was looking forward to a great week of sailing with my favourite crew, lots of learning and was determined to bring on my navigator A-game every day. The week turned out to be a difficult one with super shifty and unsteady conditions but we worked well together as a team and I did learn heaps as I had never sailed in these shifty lake-like conditions as a navigator before.
To finish off the week and the season, Swan had organized a party for all the crews in a local bar/night club. With everyone having their green passes it was nearly like before Covid and felt super good. It also happened to be the night before my 22nd birthday. Being the social butterfly I am, I was happily chatting to loads of people from the different crews and made a lot of new friends. Bummer, I won’t see most of them again before March next year when the first Clubswan Event of 2022 will take place! We celebrated into my birthday, so it ended up being a short night. The next day was gonna be the last day of the event and the forecast wasn’t looking promising, so I guess it was okay to relax a bit and have a good night out after those busy weeks. It really was a lot of fun!
Actually the race committee managed to get one more race in the next day and the whole crew did an amazing job, keeping the concentration up, even with three start attempts (which we all nailed), finishing 3rd. Straight after the finish line we started dismantling all the race gear and putting Niramo back into delivery mode. Back at the dock the big packing up started but with 12 pairs of hands we were done quite quickly with everything. Then it was time to say goodbye. I am truly grateful having been given the opportunity to spend three regattas with Team Niramo and grow into the role of the navigator. The team really is very close and very special and I am looking forward to more of this!
The next day we all headed to Nice to catch our flights. I was going back to Munich and once again we were driving to Lake Garda. After a Monday of travelling we went straight back to business on Tuesday and started training with our coach Moritz Klingenberg.
Now this training camp is nearly over and I feel like time has been flying by very quickly. We have learned so much but also I am still fighting my running nose some mornings and am really tired and freezing when we come back from the water. I could really use some rest. To be honest, it’s about time I had a free day with sleeping in, pancakes for breakfast and doing nothing the rest of the day, except maybe a walk in the park and a dinner with my family.
Don’t get this wrong. I really don’t want to complain about my lifestyle. I love my life and I am thoroughly enjoying everyday and all the projects I am involved with. But it’s been quite full on the past weeks and I wanted to share these thoughts to show that it’s okay to feel tired and it’s okay to take a break. Especially when there is a lot to do. Most of my friends are just as busy as me. I guess that’s the society we live in.
To finish off my little update I am announcing that next week will be all for myself! I will spent some time with my family, I will see old friends and will make sure my body and mind get a proper rest so I can start the next training camp being 100% fit!
And maybe once I’ll get enough rest I will treat you to a more detailed report about the Clubswan World Championships. 😉
segellena 