Holiday Romance

Falling in love in the Swiss Mountains

Reeling with the heady excitement of my first date with the Mach 2 we kissed good night with a discreet peck on the cheek and I prepared to pack Carbon Footprint up for the Europeans in Switzerland. I couldn’t concentrate, my head was in the clouds, I kept catching myself gazing wistfully into the middle distance, reliving those magical moments of control in the waves. Then the doubts set in, the initial froth of excitement was replaced by nervous butterflies, did he feel the same way? Would I see him again? And most importantly, is a week in Switzerland a bit forward for a second date?

The stars aligned, the hand of fate worked it’s magic and Team Origin called Adam away on a last minute meeting, meaning he could no longer make the trip to the land or purple cows. The Mach 2 was all dressed up but with no one go with! In a gesture of sweeping romance, (and to make up for having to drive 2000 miles on my own), Adam made the ultimate sacrifice and said I could take his Mach 2 to Silvaplana!

What a week we had; we frolicked in the snow, although fortunately that cleared up after the first day and the rest of the week was beautifully sunny. We stayed in a fancy hotel, (-3^o at night, the tent I had been sent with was staying firmly in the boot of the car). We did things I had never done before; we overtook other Moths, (and not just capsized ones either), we travelled at over 23kts and I experienced the complete surrendering of control that is cold water induced foil ventilation.

The racing was brilliant, 80+ foilers on a not overly huge lake and a stonking thermal breeze. Now, normally trailing round at the back of the fleet there is not overly much call to know the rules, ‘don’t crash and break someone’s carbonfibre pride and joy’ being the one that is usually foremost in my mind. It was clear that this was not going to cut it here. The Mach 2 was determined to mix it with the rest of the fleet whether I liked it or not despite my valiant efforts to slow it down on the corners. Some bedtime reading of the ISAF racing rules for sailing was called for. Strangely I was unable to find the rule, ‘Any boat experiencing ventilation as indicated by a rooster tail shall have right of way over any other vessel’. Maybe it will be in the 2012 revision.

All to soon the week was over and the winners were crowned, congratulations to you all, especially Simon, National, European and World Champion, we salute you! My whirlwind romance is fast becoming a fading memory, (and some awesome helicopter shots courtesy of the Sunset and Vine team). The Mach 2 and I have exchanged phone numbers and the nervous wait back in the cold reality of Blighty begins; will we meet again? will we foil at 23kts once more? will he be the one who shows me how to gybe?

T