Back in France!

Naho on her Maxi 998.

Back on a Mini!

Oh it felt so good to be back in France for sailing Mini! I had the pleasure to coach Naho, a Japanese Mini Skipper, in Lorient for a week.

Lorient is special everytime I go there. This time it was super impressive - there were 12 IMOCAS, some Class40’s, Figaros and of course many Minis, all together and next to each other at „La Base“. There truly is no other place in the world like this, it’s the center of offshore racing.

What a view.. and what an atmosphere. Beautiful IMOCAs lined up in Lorient.

Naho just got her Mini, a Maxi 6.50 like mine, so everything was still quite new to her.

So we did all the basic stuff, like preparing the boat for her first race, checking all the safety equipment, charts etc, tuned the rig and practised solo maneuvers and sailing in and out of the challenging channel with lots of crazy current and rocks infront of La Base.

Naho and I on her Mini.

It was really fun, also the weather challenged us a bit, and it was just good to be back on the water, on a Mini. It reminded me very much of my first steps in the Mini world, which was so exciting! Naho has an amazing time ahead on her way to the Mini Transat 2025.

Back at home in Austria, the search for partners and supporters for my Class 40 campaign continues and I will soon have a look at another Class 40 – I will keep you posted!

A pontoon full of Class 40’s.