April saw the MBA Fastnet team complete their first training weekend on the boat that will take them to the Rolex Fastnet Race in 2013, the Team Heiner Volvo Ocean 60.
The setting was Portimão, a laid back tourist village on the southern coast of Portugal. Although the wind was very light, the conditions were perfect for testing out and tweaking the setup on the boat which had only been in the water for a few days after being refitted, antifouled and made ready for the upcoming campaign.
Friday was off to an easy start, beginning with some basic boat orientation as well as sorting out the sails and giving the boat a final clean and polish.
With only a couple of knots blowing for most of Saturday, the team had a good opportunity to test out the new rig and different sails in a relaxed setting. As this was the first time we had sailed on this boat as a crew, there were a few maneuvers to be smoothed out and a few boat peculiarities to get used to.
Sunday saw the team almost completely becalmed until very late in the day and most of the day was spent on going over basics like tacking, spinnaker sets and gybes as well as some motivational speeches by Roy Heiner. The team has their work cut out for them as they prepare for their next milestone in the Rolex Fastnet Campaign, the delivery from Portugal to the UK in June. We look forward to seeing the whole team together for the next part of the challenge! Stay tuned for updates!
The MBA Global Sailing League 