20:00, Monday 5 th December 2022, Alimos, Greece.
Sunday racing in December turned out a fantastic outing up and down the
coast of Athens Riviera. Yacht Club N.A.S. organized a 20-mile coastal race
to Kassidi Rock and back that took place in light and variable wind conditions
but in warm and mostly sunny weather. The race was like the game Snakes
and Ladders with the lead on the water and on handicap changing all the time
with every little puff of wind. Knowing from the forecast that this would be the
order for the day, we focused on sailing OPTIMUM 4 as efficiently as we
could and did not allow our smiling mood evaporate along with our lead. In
the end we crossed the finishing line in 3 rd and not surprisingly dead last on
handicap.
“A few weeks back I, along with my sail-mate Dionysia Chroni, met together
on board OPTIMUM 4 with OPTIMUM Sailing Academy Principal Periklis
Livas, after responding to the open invitation Team OPTIMUM posted,
offering an opportunity to join them on one of the Dehler 30 ods. We had a
friendly chat sharing our passion for sailing and had the opportunity to get an
insight on OPTIMUM vision and plans. After 30 years, I am certain that this
team is still dreaming big. The openness, teamwork and respect are key
values and inviting newcomers to join is their path to the future. We left with
the promise to join for a day-race by the end of the season that materialized
last Sunday. The two of us joined a team of four that was a mix of older and
younger team OPTIMUM members. We felt welcome and part of the team
since our first step on deck. The boat in the beginning gave us a mixed feeling
of a whole new list of ropes and systems to be learned and on the other hand
an astonishing simplicity in its handling. The capabilities of the boat as well as
the team spirit were obvious in every single move. The combination of the two
left us with the best impressions. I cannot avoid mentioning that the most
active team member through the whole race was Periklis setting the best
example and motivating all of us. It was a full hands-on experience as we
were coached to trim the sails throughout the race and more importantly we
realized that this team aims to enjoy themselves even when the race result
can’t get any worse. So, an eye-opener OPTIMUM experience. Let’s see
where this lead us”, shares enthusiastically Ioannis Kotopoulos at the dock in
Team OPTIMUM base in Nautical Club Kalamaki.
Seems like the weather cooperates nicely, so expect to see more O.S.A.
action supported by LALIZAS next Sunday, on the dead last race of the 2022
season, The Christmas Cup Race!