12:00, Monday 31st October 2022, Alimos, Greece.
The Race to Hydra island and back to Athens usually coincides with the 28th October National Holiday. This year it turned out a three-day and organiser Yacht Club Greece made a great event with over 60 entries. Fantastic weather conditions, warm, sunny and windy prevailed during the long weekend and resembled an extended windward-leeward course of 72 miles in 15-25 knots of northerly winds. O.S.A. Dehler 30ods OPTIMUM 4 and Lavoro III entered the race mixing Team OPTIMUM crew members, friends and O.S.A. students. Our ongoing process to pass as much experience and knowledge to the young generation through the O.S.A. initiative supported by LALIZAS S.A. was very rewarding in Hydra Race due to the fresh conditions. High speed adrenalin downwind sailing all the way to Hydra on Friday and patience, precision and stamina on the demanding upwind return trip on Sunday blended with a fantastic full rest day on Saturday, made the event a memorable experience. OPTIMUM 4 and LAVORO III competed in the ORC Performance division with 30 entries and managed 12th and 22nd respectively, gaining valuable experience on how these modern ocean-going little rockets behave and perform in such conditions.
“We are very happy with our decision to enrol in the O.S.A. initiative, train and race on Dehler 30ods, learn alongside the OPTIMUM guys and accumulate experiences in offshore sailing. On our way to Hydra we surfed down waves attaining speeds of almost 18 knots. The conditions were brisk but our little race yacht proved very solid. On the upwind leg back to Athens we pushed hard and stayed in touch with much larger yachts. Lefteris Grispos and myself are under 18 and still in High School, and Filippos Fellous 19 years old in his first university year. O.S.A. principal Periklis Livas and OPTIMUM Team members Mily Tirla and Apostolos Serraos made up the crew list of OPTIMUM 4 for the race and shared with us, the younger guys, all they could. We are thankful for the O.S.A opportunity and we work hard on board to up our game”, says enthusiastically Christos Stathas, an OPTIMUM young recruit.
The end of the 2022 season approaches, so the Winter Series begin next weekend and last until early December. In the past, we have sailed in snowy weather in the Winter Series and that is one of the reasons why sailing is never boring. O.S.A. Dehler 30ods plans to compete as much as possible in order to provide the opportunity to as many new and loyal Team OPTIMUM members clock some more racing miles in 2022. Do not hesitate to contact us for a spot on board to try sailing and racing in OPTIMUM spirit yourself. Join now!