12:00, Tuesday 5th November 2024, Alimos Marina N.C.Kalamaki, Greece.
For decades now, Winter Series kick on with Saint George Race, a coastal course of 79 miles starting on Saturday and finishing during the night on the early hours of Sunday. However, the Yacht Club Greece Race Committee responded to the very light and variable wind forecast and shortened the course to 40 miles, excluding rounding St. George Island completely. Team OPTIMUM-Samos Steamship competed as part of its end-of season race schedule and enjoyed great competition in the ORC Performance category. The forecast proved true and the whole race was dominated by very light or no wind zones which was slow and frustrating at times for the crew on board OPTIMUM S. It took us 9 hours at an average speed of 4,44 to reach the finish and manage 6th place on the scoreboard and we were happy to do so as we could have easily run out of our time limit and get a DNF.
“Frustrating and slow and at a complete stop at times. The wind direction was all over the place and the guys had their hands full hoisting up and down the Windseeker, the Light Jib, Code0 and A1 spinnaker numerous times each. I say that our result was dictated by a wind hole that caught us just after the start and the competition put on a good distance on us picking the right side of the course and we could only play the middle and left to stand a chance to get back, a bet that we knew was hard to materialize but was the only one we could play. However, although trailing the competition from start to finish, the spirit on board was always positive and we tried to make the best out of it and checked in a nine-hour race learning session in light and variable winds. Long live Team OPTIMUM”, said long-time and loyal Team OPTIMUM member and trimmer Lambros Nakis who joined the crew after a notable absence due to various commitments.
The hero-crew to sustain 9 hour frustration with a smile and be recorded in the OPTIMUM story book included Lefteris Grispos, Mily Tirla, Patroklos Tachtatzis, Giannis Kapos, Nikos Apostolakis, Nikos Kountouriotis, Manolis Markogiannakis, Vaggelis Nikolopoulos, Lambros Nakis, Periklis Livas, Nikos Lazos and new comer and tryout Periklis Hoegger-Anemogiannis.
Looking forward to racing the rest of the Winter Series Cup the following three-in-a-row weekends, always with the Inglessis Family of Samos Steamship on our side, sharing common values and passion for the sea. Hopefully, better sailing conditions will prevail and surely, we will put up a good fight.
Stay tuned!!!