Still buzzing from Foiling Week, we got right back into training to prepare for the rest of the season. For Foiling Week we had Robin onboard, however he was not able to do the whole season and our goal was to have a mixed boat of men and women. This was where we built our team. I soon got in touch with Sophie Otter and Hebe Hemming and asked if they would want to come to a training block with Oceana Vivo. The intention was that if things went well, Sophie and Hebe would carrying on racing with us for this season and beyond.
Sophie and Hebe have both competed in the Women’s World Match Racing Tour, been at the top of various fleets, and are both solid sailors in their own right. Hebe has previously foiled in the Nacra17 but this would be a first-time foiling experience for Sophie.
Cas and I set out some goals for the week with Hebe and Sophie and started by going through the physics of foiling. Developing a solid understanding of how the boat works is crucial, especially as the role they would be doing would be the flight controller, so their job is controlling the foils and the overall flight of the boat.
This was also a huge learning week for me on main trim. It quickly became clear just how much I could help the flight controller and how important my communication was for them on how things feel in the main sail.
The girls came into the training with a great attitude, one of learning and development, which really allowed me and Cas to progress through topics quickly, throw a lot of information their way, and have a really productive week. We also had a lot of fun off the water in our recovery time with lots of naps, gym sessions, swims, and big debriefs.
That week the whole team joined the 30-knot club (not quite Cas’s record of 34.9knots) but for the first week in the 69F for Sophie and Hebe, that was fast enough!
Great job team and great work Cas for keeping the learning curve so steep!
Zac
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