Full speed into 2022
It turns out I didn't contribute much to this page during 2021... I guess I was out having too much fun on the water, riding bikes and looking after my kids.
While the pandemic rages on and any sense of normalcy recedes ever further into a faint memory, I was fortunate to put together a great year of travelling, sailing and interesting editorial work.
I joined the press team for the 69F one-design foiling boat and joined them in Gaeta, Lake Garda and Palermo in Italy and got to race the boats myself at an exhibition event in my adopted hometown of Lorient.
I also had the opportunity to join the Lithuanian ocean racing team, Ambersail for The Ocean Race Europe race from Lithuania around the European coast to Genoa, Italy.
I also had the opportunity to join the Lithuanian ocean racing team, Ambersail for The Ocean Race Europe race from Lithuania around the European coast to Genoa, Italy.
Having previously raced with the team in 2013, I enjoyed the opportunity to meet up with old friends again and join the team on Volvo Ocean 65 race yacht. These were the boats I spent 9 months watching when I was commentating for the Volvo Ocean Race in 2017-2018, so it was exciting to finally step on board and take the reins. The team hired me as the offshore navigator, so in truth, I spent most of the time below decks staring at the computer screen to better plan our route. Racing the one-design Volvo Ocean 65 boats offshore was nerve-wracking in the extreme as we were often jousting with the competition after days at sea and missed winning the first leg by 2 seconds after three days of racing!
I also joined the Swiss- Bulgarian team "Chocolate 3" as navigator for the Rolex Middle Sea Race, the famous annual race around Sicily that starts and finishes in Malta. For a new team with a new-to-them boat we were delighted to finish just off the podium in our class, a position we'll certainly improve on next year!
Finally, I am delighted to announce that I am making excellent progress on building a new IMOCA campaign for 2022-2024 and will announce more details shortly.
Wishing you all the very best in 2022, see you soon.