My First Regatta

Participating in the 8th Catamarans Cup in Athens

My First Regatta – Catamarans Cup

My Experience in a Daily Diary

I was so excited when I found out that I was going to participate in the 8th Catamarans Cup in Athens – this would be my first time taking part in such a great event.

 

Quick Details on the Catamarans Cup

The Catamarans Cup is a Regatta organised by Istion Yachting every October in Athens, Greece. It was first introduced in 2010, and since then, it’s been growing year by year. Participants come from all around the world and are ready to have an amazing time, combining their passion for sailing with other thematic activities each evening.

Day 1

From Alimos Marina (Athens) to Poros

After a warm welcome last night, and the announcement of the crews for each catamaran participating in the Catamarans Cup Regatta, we started with the first “leg” of our route from Kalamaki to Poros.

I am on board a beautiful Lagoon 380 S2, with the name Cataki (The words in Greek that end in -aki, mean that something is small, so a small Catamaran. Could be translated as Catlet in English).

We had a skippers’ meeting at 9:30am, where all skippers met and had a briefing for the racing.

And – Off we go! Everyone was so excited, whilst the winds weren’t ideal for racing this morning. We’re 35 different crews from 18 different countries, on board 35 gorgeous catamarans, from just 36ft, up to 56ft.

After a few hours of sailing, we finally arrived in Poros – we were 6th at the finish line today.

Today’s Thematic Night is called “Cooking Show Off”, were every crew has to prepare a meal for the rest crews. Of course, there was a voting after and we had to pick the best one. The winners were the Russian Crew, with their traditional Russian delicacies.

The best way to celebrate their win? Partying, of course! Then off to bed to get some rest for the next day.

Day 2

From Poros to Porto Heli

We started early today, but the weather was a little bit disappointing again. There was no wind, although most of us were waiting for a good day as yesterday the wind wasn’t favourable either.

We all started racing, despite the lack of wind, but many of the yachts, us included, did not manage to reach at the finish line on time.

The disappointment was prominent, but in the end, we realised that we’ve started building a strong team.

Today’s Thematic Night is called “Circus Competition”, every crew has to prepare a short play, with the proper outfit. There was a winner in the end, and guess what – it wasn’t us!

Day 3

From Porto Heli to Astros, Peloponnese

At last! Some fresh air and great sailing conditions! We are all very excited and ready to start some real sailing.

On our way to Astros, a Lagoon 450 (No 17), got hit by a strong wind, so they ended up with a broken mainsail. Goodbye guys – see you next year!

The winds were so strong, so most of us just turned on the engines and decided to quit today’s race.

Not a fancy party tonight – just a great buffet (as always), the awards and an after-party! Enough to get us drunk and make us seek for spaghetti at around 2am.

Day 4

From Astros to Nafplion

Just 4 hours of sleep, and on top of that – rainy day today!

We start racing but didn’t enjoy it much, due to the bad weather and the strong wind, so most of us just turned on our motors again.

Nafplion has a very big port which offers great berthing facilities, so we all anchored together one next to the other.

Today’s Event is called “Shout off”. All the crews had to take several photos while racing and we had to pick our favourite 3 and present them to the Catamarans Cup Photographer, to pick the best ones.

It’s also the Closing Ceremony of the Catamarans Cup today, so we were all invited to a nice hotel. There was a dress-code for tonight called “formal” – does any sailor out there know what this means? Because I definitely did’t!

Quick Update: We won the Shoot off competition! Congratulations team 🙂

Day 5

Free Sailing - Our Way Back to Poros

The Catamarans Cup has come to an end for this year. After last night’s awards ceremony and the party until the early hours, we started to make our way back to Athens.

The crews could select either Hydra, Poros and Aegina to spend this day, and be at a safe anchorage close to Alimos. We selected Poros and after a 14-hour sail – yes, it was super exhausting and the weather wasn’t great either – we are safe at anchor.

No particular plans for tonight – I we ended up eating and drinking again! Time to get some rest – at last.

If you have a Question on my First Regatta – Catamarans Cup:

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