YEP Selection Camp – Day 4

2nd of December 2009 – Day 4 – Blog written by Valentina and Reuben

Today was our forth day on the Pangaea selection camp. It was an early start with a 1 hour and 15 minute trip to lake Léman. Despite the exciting activities lying ahead, we did not miss the opportunity to enjoy and admire the tranquility of the open water and beauty of the fresh snow on the mountain tops.

We were briefed with all the necessary information and terminology. We were then divided into groups of four and each group was accompanied by a skipper. We received the basic practical training on the water while wearing our life jackets and Panerai sponsored hats.

Our group ( Reuben , Valentina, Catherine and Pawel) was accompanied by Raffael-a previous young explorer on the New Zealand expedtion. We got on well and had lots of fun taking photos and just enjoying the sailing in general.

After lunch at a local Pizza resturant, where we had fun exchanging stories and jokes, we made our way back to the harbour where we were due to begin our regatta. After re-rigging our boats we took off for the start line.
It was interesting to learn the rules of an offical reggatta and was enjoyable to sail competitively against the other candidates. We did not have much sailing experience in our group but despite this fact, our group rose to the challange and through organised teamwork we managed to sieze a narrow victory over the other groups.

After sun-downers in the Yacht club and a few thank-yous we made our back to Château d’Oex where we were introduced to the Mayo sports clinic team who we will be working with tommorrow.

Over all, the day was an enriching experience and another great opportunity to test ourselves as well as get to know each other better.