Translemanique en Solitaire 2024 on J/80

 Big day tomorrow! While I was preparing the boat with my mom today, Tim H. unexpectedly showed up to check the rigging. He generously offered to help with the preparations, and I couldn’t turn down the offer! I was really surprised to see him there. Big thanks, Tim! Later in the evening, we took Jedi to SNG with Stefan, Marine, and Christoph. Thanks a lot, guys! The boat is fully rigged and ready to be sailed. I've received so many supportive messages filled with love! Also so many people offered help! It’s already been an amazing experience. Thank you, everyone! Wish me luck! :)

It seems like I'll have a very slow start, with my brain feeling cooked in temperatures over 30 degrees. I will try to go to Versoix side on the small lake as there is no meteo wind yet, and there should be more thermal wind on that side, caused by sun heating up Jura.  By early afternoon, though, the fun will begin with a strong southwest wind. Some forecasts are even predicting gusts up to 6 Bft on the big lake. Thanks to the south wind, I should get a nice downwind run toward Bouveret. I'll try to keep my track close to the French side, but managing the spinnaker in high winds might be tricky. Too much power can force you to sail more directly downwind. I'll see where the wind takes me—if it drives me too far downwind (Swiss side of the lake), I will need to beat against the wind later, I might skip using the spinnaker and keep it simple At night wind is very strong. I’m hoping to reach Bouveret before it gets dark. I'd rather avoid the temptation to use the spinnake...

You can track me live using this link . Filter the boat name: Jedi The race kicks off in front of SNG in Geneva on Saturday, August 24th, at 9:30 AM. Participants will need to cross to the other side of the lake, pass a catamaran near Bouveret, and return to Geneva by no later than Sunday at 4:00 PM. - If you do not reach Bouveret by 7:00 AM on Sunday, you will be disqualified Not that I'm aiming to win! Keep in mind there are different types of boats competing, and some are naturally faster than others. Jedi is in the TCF3 category. My goal is to give my best in the race, enjoy the experience, and ideally finish within the time limit.

I had two more training sessions, one with Diogo and another with Florian. Thank you both! On Monday, we had a wind forecast of 6/7 Bft. Even though I was busy, I couldn't resist going out. Fortunately, Florian felt the same way and was able to join me! We started with a reefed main and full jib. The boat was very stable and fully maneuverable in 6 Bft winds. We encountered 0.5-1 meter waves, which the boat handled well, though every now and then, we got a splash of water on our faces. I was able to safely perform all the main maneuvers alone, including tacking, gybing, reefing, and shaking out the reef. Now, the tricky part: the spinnaker! I was able to gybe, but it's still not the easiest maneuver. I couldn't manage to hoist and douse the spinnaker alone—at least not without broaching or getting into trouble. The improvised steering mechanism on the boat doesn't perform well in waves and high winds, as I'm unable to apply enough force to control it effectively. Al...

 On Saturday I had my second preparation session with Bartek! Thank you Bartek for joining me!      This time, I installed a loop around the boat, attached to the tiller, so I can steer while I'm behind the mast hoisting the spinnaker. It's not the most responsive setup, but it gets the job done.      I'm getting comfortable with gybing under spinnaker in 2–3 Bft winds. I might not do it in the most efficient way, but I'm considering how often I'll actually be gybing throughout the regatta. Even if I could save 5 minutes overall, it would be negligible in a regatta this long.           I found it interesting that if I luff up a bit more before the gybe, then when I bear off to run for the gybe, I have much more time to set the spinnaker on the new side. As the boat has momentum after the speed up, the apparent wind decreases significantly, and also gybing the main becomes much less violent.      This week, t...

     Yesterday, I had my first solo sailing practice session. Well, not really solo—Genrich was there to monitor and support me. Big thanks to him!      We started with a solid 3 Bft Bise and no waves, which was perfect for a first practice. As the session went on, the wind gradually died down and turned into a Molan southeasterly. At first, I was a bit nervous because I was worried that if things didn’t go well, I wouldn’t have much time left to practice before the regatta. But overall, it went okay, and I’m happy with the progress I made. Boat condition      Jedi is in really good condition, the hull was recently repaired, and all the lines look in great shape. The only issue I noticed is that the self-tailing on the port side winch doesn’t hold the line. I’ll check it next time to see if it can be fixed. In the meantime, there’s a cleat right next to it that will do the job. Tiller lock      I installed the tiller lock, whic...