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Greetings from Limassol, Cyprus.
Team South Africa arrived in Limassol on Saturday morning. Matt and Claire had travelled ahead so the Team was eager to get to work. Bryan Carstens , Matt Ashwell, Karl Hofmeyr, Keagan Nel and Ian Walker the current South African National Champion make up the team taking on the rest of the worlds Optimist sailors. 56 nations and 263 sailors. South Africa and Oman the only countries representing the African continent.
After 3 practice days all ending in over 20 knots the sailors are finding their feet. The heat is excruciating and the only sensible place is in the water. The Club Farmagausta Nautica is the venue of choice having hosted the WS youth worlds in the past. The Team is accommodated in self catering apartments about 2.5 km away from the venue. And are becoming quite versed in the skills required using public transport.
Opening Ceremony is this evening with the Team parade from the Marina.
The sailors will be split into 4 fleets Red, Blue, Green and Yellow initially for the qualifying series for the first 3 days. Thereafter sailors will be ranked overall and split into the Gold, Silver, Bronze and Emerald fleets.
Exciting times ahead.
Regards
Shellee
View Worlds gallery here