Our really good news keeps going - we just won Princess Sofia Cup, Palma. It was our first regatta in Europe, having been delayed due to our boats being on tour without us. After the container went missing for a week or two and we missed the Barcelona regatta we were very hungry to get racing.

The first day began a bit too slowly for us We had a poor start in fairly light wind. We had to remember how to start in fleets of over 30! We got that sorted out pretty quickly though. The first day was also cut short due to fog. Visibility was so bad that we could not even see the other end of the start line from the committee boat. Not wanting to lose any competitors, they called racing off and we had to use the compass to check the bearing for the harbour!

Some good strong steady breezes followed and we sailed 3 races a day for 2 days. We found that we had good speed and were playing the game well. Our starts improved and we even had one of our best starts ever! We had a really close battle with the Spanish in one race and just beat them over the line. This was to be the deciding factor at the end.

We did not know we had won until we reached the shore. The Greeks who won the last race were OCS (on course side - disqualified). They dropped to 5th overall. We had equal points with the Spanish, but Jenny and I won on countback since we had more second place finishes. A great result for our first regatta here this year.

We now are en route to France and begin racing in Hyeres for the French Olympic Week (Semaine Olympique Francaise) on the 27th of April, finishing on the 2nd of May.

We have and few more days training to fit in before that! More news after Hyeres,

Fair winds.

Regards,

Belinda and Jenny
www.sailinggirls.com.au

Source: Belinda Stowell - Jenny Armstrong