Opening and first racing day: done :).

When me and the NTT-squad stepped out of the airplane three days ago, the good vibes immediately entered our group. The taxi driver who'd brought us from Split airport to the ferry which carried us towards the island of Brac, was very friendly and informed us about the pleasant and hospitable people in Croatia. He was particularly enthusiastic about, according to him, and according to many, the most beautiful beach in Europe: Zlatni rat.

The fact that we where going to race around that area was a gift, like he'd said. And the man was totally right. When you walk downhill from the beautifully tiled boulevard into the pine forest, the first glimp of the blue sea already catches your eyes. A pristine white pebble beach stretches out at your feet, a beach in the shape of a triangle and a forest in the shape of a triangle growing on top of it. Simply a fabulous place! In the mornings of the training/race days our team enjoys a pleasant walk from our apartment located a bit higher uphill in the village, to the impressive beach side. Every day there is absolutely no wind when we arrive at the beach. 30*c and a clear blue sky. But as soon as the time hits eleven a.m. you can spot a line of wind building up in the distance.

Usually we go out on the water as soon as this wind hits us and the race committee preferably puts in a slalom course. Because this wind is very light in the beginning of the afternoon slalom is the only option. When we approach approximately two p.m. the wind gets to an average 14 until 18 knots which means the race committee let us do a couple of course races. And finally when the sun is about to set, we may leave the water and rest out a little bit in the fabulous setting of Bol. In the first races of the week we had, just like I mentioned before, mostly slalom. As slalom has never been my strongest point, trying to keep up with the speedsters isn't the easiest thing. A sunset course race made me feel alive, but the result was not what I hoped for. While standing 33th I'm stoked to get back out there and improve!