SEASON 2016. APERITIF

After all the winter works, Eloa was shiny and ready for some serious sea trials. My friend Dado and his Mini Transat project companion "Sisa II" - a Pogo2, CRO 602 - came to visit us for a week of sailing sessions in our archipelago.

With some perfect weather conditions, we were able to solve from first hand the mystery behind the differences between a Pogo2 and a TipTop.

After a bunch of different wind speeds and wind angles, we concluded nothing. The difference lies within the preparation of the boat and the skipper, nothing more. There are plenty of Pogos made, therefore they are well optimized. But after all the hard work with onshore boat preparation, Eloa is also pretty optimized.. As for the skippers, there's still a long way ahead.

Next stop for the skipper's preparation was the ISAF Survival Course, held in Zagreb and managed by our friends Sime Stipanicev (the first Croatian Mini Transat sailor) and Zlatko Vodanovic. It was a very educational weekend where we discussed a lot of tricky situations and refreshed our memory about safety of lifes at sea.

As time was passing by, I had to rush home because after 9 months of education and training, I was expecting a visit from my sleep management expert. Her name is Malena and she will be helping me in my sleep deprivation techniques during my Mini Transat project. She has it all!

I hope this month I finally get to meet Sam Manuard, Eloa's designer and one of the greatest Mini Transat sailors. He is coming to Croatia to sail the Seascape Challenge (Seascape - a boat he designed as well) where I will be sailing a Seascape 27, thanks to Andraz and his super turbo Mini power! After that, it's all about France - first the MAP, than the Mini Fastnet.. Woohoooooo!!!