After one week away, the team (Zac, Cas, Sophie, and Hebe) was back in Barcelona and excited to get into 69F racing for Act 3 of the Youth Foiling Gold Cup (YFGC).
This event saw seven teams competing not only for the win but also for the final two spots available for the YFGC Grand Final (click here to find about more about how Oceana Vivo qualified!). The whole fleet was ready to push hard and fight, and we knew that this would be a great opportunity to practice, give our all, and spot any weaknesses to iron out ahead of next week's Grand Final.
The event began with five days of qualifying in which we had demonstrated a relatively consistent performance. We finished the qualifying series in 2nd overall. This meant that we were through to finals racing at the weekend with the other top 5 boats.
The weekend brought some challenging conditions to Barcelona. Our first day of finals racing was tricky and underwhelming, where small mistakes were costly and our energy levels slipped. This left us in 6th place.
However, after a solid debrief, the team regrouped and refocused, ready to attack the final day of racing. Taking the time to reset made a whole world of difference, with the team's results scoring 1,1,1, 2, 4, and 6. Oceana Vivo were undoubtedly leading the day. Despite this impressive comeback, it was too late, losing a podium spot in the last race of the event. The team was stoked with their performance regardless, confident in the knowledge that they could get results. The team will be taking this positivity into the Grand Final, looking to make themselves proud.
Congratulations to our friends Team Antigua & Barbuda for winning this event; we are looking forward to racing you next week! Another congratulations to Orient Express L'Oreal racing team and Clean Sailors youth racing team for qualifying to the YFGC Grand Final; see you there.
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