First day of racing in Europe for the Oman Sail Women’s Team this year. They have three regattas planned racing in a J80 and this regatta being at the start of the season is always the hardest. Tami, Marwa and Ibtisam had forgotten a lot about sailing a J80 so Annemieke Bes and I had two days to help remind them before we joined a fleet of 67 boats all racing on the same start line. It is an incredible experience and I have to say their learning curve has been steep. Day one of racing we had beautiful conditions in the Bay of Morbihan. We managed four races which involved about 15 starts. We did indeed need a lot of black flag starts to get our class clean away. It was a long day and we didn’t even get back to he dock before 2000hrs, but great sailing.

Day two was cancelled on Friday night due to the forecast by Meteo France for our class and many others. But now, Easter Sunday, we have sprung forward one hour into Summer time and the weather is rainy, cold and blustery. These are difficult conditions for us but everyday is a school day and we will try and give the girls a safe and enjoyable learning experience.

I am sure we will earn any Chocolate Easter bunnies that may be hidden in the house by he end of the day!

Dee Caffari

British yachtswoman Dee Caffari is the first woman to have sailed single-handed and non-stop around the world in both directions and the only woman to have sailed non-stop around the world three times. In 2006 Dee became the first woman to sail solo, non-stop, around the world against the prevailing winds and currents and was awarded an MBE in recognition of her achievement.

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