ACTION STATIONS!
The TECHNO293Plus caravan has pitched up here at the lovely Praia Da Rocha, near Portimao on the beautiful western Algarve on Portugal’s southern coast. The warm Easter weather was matched by the warmth of the welcome at this famous and charming spot.
Sunday 21st April saw all the competitors arriving on site for the formalities of registration and the opening ceremony, with a special welcoming address delivered by Pedro Moura, Vice President of the Portuguese Sailing Federation, welcoming the 39 young sailors from 7 different countries and 4 continents to the spot, and setting the scene for what promises to be an exciting week of racing leading to the crowning of the 2019 Techno 293+ World Champions next weekend when the competition closes on Sunday 28th April. He also presented the local club with a gift of 4 brand new Techno293 boards to help boost their training and racing in the future.
We interviewed Pedro after the ceremony and you can hear what he had to say about the class and the event prospects here from 1:09
Also present and helping encourage and coach the fleet is 7 times Portuguese Olympian Joao Rodrigues, an inspiring presence for all the young sailors.
For the competitors it was a day to greet old friends and make new ones, swapping tales and tactics, then to get out on the water and test the conditions in a warm-up practice race, looking to set their markers without giving too much away before the serious race action starts on Monday 22nd. And they’ll all be hoping to get a good night’s sleep to be in tip-top condition after making the (for some of them) long trip to the western tip of Europe.
You can follow the action and check out the results on the Techno293Plus World Championship website at https://worlds2019.plus.techno293.org/