Richard Hewson

It has been a massive mission to get the boat ready for the first race of the season but I am nearly at the start line of the Archipelago Talamone Mini Regatta.

The boat arrived in Talamone last week on a truck, and flew out of Australia on Saturday ready for a big week of preparation. After a brief hiccup on arrival in Italy where my backpack containing in all my electronics for the season was grabbed from me at a train station, I finally managed to jump trains and hitch lifts to get to the boat in Talamone in true Australian style. Even without cash or ticket nothing was able to stop me from getting to this regatta.

Thankfully my new sponsors Zhik had a box full of awesome gear waiting for me in Talamone, so dispite my jacket and other clothing getting stolen I am walking the docks in style. Without a computer it has been a bit hard to stay in touch and plan my race, but thankfully mini´s do not allow computer based navigation software so I am not going to be at a loss in this regatta without my beloved macbook that has been with me around the world a number of times.

This week has been full on. It is not as simple as setting up a dinghy to go sailing. The mast had to go in, electronics sorted and calibrated, charging systems re’built and fixed, mast tuned, and a multitude of problems solved on the boat to get it ready for the start. Making it an extra mission is the crazy work hours they seem to operate in Italy, so its almost a gamble to find if the shops will be open or not.

This is going to be one fun and well deserved race.. stay tuned, and it may also be possible to follow me using
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/es/default.aspx and do a search for RG650.

P.S No photo´s today as my GoPro and brand new camera were stolen along with the rest of my stuff.. Hoefully I can post one tomorrow and show you the new cool Zhik Branding!