10:00, Monday 7th April 2025, Alimos Marina N.C.Kalamaki, Greece.
Light and medium wind conditions up to 15 knots true prevailed in this warm and sunny first weekend of April.
Time on the water is essential for crew work and reassuring that all boat systems are 100% functional. It was our pleasure to have on board Rope Aling founder and pro sailor Manos Pasamichalis who along with his team performed a complete mast, rigging and systems maintenance schedule over the winter. We fine-tuned the rig taking also into account Quantum Sails recommendations for the season and evaluated the effect of numerous little changes that we incorporated for durability and effectiveness during action. We clocked about 50 nautical miles and 8 hours over the weekend and looks like we are getting our act together for Season 32.
“It was a very productive second training weekend in perfect conditions that allowed all Team OPTIMUM-Samos Steamship members to get into the rhythm and sort out their individual and unit playbook. We concluded mast tuning, did electronics calibration fine tune work as always, reefed to check all the lock mechanisms on mast and boom after servicing, deployed FRO and both spinnaker and Jib Staysails to validate roller and rope improvements on attachment points. Manos provided a new insight in various crew work operations and especially the use of the overdrive speed on our powerful Harken winch-twin linked pedestal system. It is proved time and time again that every time we go out sailing, we do learn something new. A never-ending learning process. Of course, we also managed numerous tacks, jibes, spinnaker drops and mark roundings to end up dead tired both days or it was just me?” wonders Team OPTIMUM co-leader Periklis Livas.
The crew lineup of thirteen Team OPTIMUM-Samos Steamship members working their way for Aegean 600 glory included Lefteris Grispos, Nikos Kountouriotis, Thodoris Papakyriakou, Apostolos Serraos, Charis Piperakis, Nikos Apostolakis, Vasilis Kritidis, Manolis Markogiannakis, Giannis Kapos, Periklis Hoegger-Anemogiannis, Stavros Papadopoulos-Kouklakis, Nikos Stavropoulos and Periklis Livas. Team OPTIMUM-Samos Steamship heads now for the scheduled third training weekend that includes training on Saturday and a short coastal race next Sunday. There is a list of checklist items to be taken care over the week including issuing our ORCi certificate for 2025. Definitely winter is OFF and the Season is ON!