The 4th Portugal Winter Series will take place this weekend, 10th-12th Feb in Cascais.. With two new Petticrow boats adding to the already building numbers it should be a fantastic event. One of the new boats is none other than the current European Champion Jens Christensen who will be bringing down his winning team to christen his 2012 boat. Also in the who’s who of Dragons is Frank Butzmann who will be crewing for Dirk Pramann, from Germany (chartering “Bear”), my 2011 Petticrow. From the Medway Sailing Club in the UK , Stewart Coultard and his wife will be sailing Finito’ with me, in their first visit to Cascais. They could not have chosen a better weekend, as whilst the rest of europe grinds to a halt, the forecast here is 15-16 degree’s with around 10kts of breeze, & sunshine every day.
Another “full on” racing team with a tremendous support crew is Hasso Platner, also from Germany who has an American and Kiwi crew, backed up by former World Champion and North Sails Guru, Theis Palm who will be coaching them all weekend from a R.I.B…. So Campers you can see that many top sailors are using Cascais as the perfect pre-season training ground to set themselves up for the bigger events to come. Of course I cannot forget to mention the last series winner and probably the most successful German Dragon sailor ever, Vincie Hoesch will be here to be the Man to Beat !!
Bye the way, I still have a 2008 Petticrow available if anyone wants to make a last minute dash to join us in Portugal, with Fridays racing not starting untill 2.0pm, it is easily possible to catch a flight on Friday morning to Lisbon and still be in time for the series… Call me if interested… +44 7788 587017
Lastly, can I stress to all sailors all over the World to please wear a Life Jacket if conditions are at all windy.. I would not be here today sending this out to you all, if I had not been wearing mine last Sunday in Monaco…. Being swept out of a boat takes your breath away, I can tell you and wearing all the warm clothing, plus water-proofs, plus boots.. It’s not that easy to stay above the waves… waiting to be rescued… let alone getting back into the boat!!
Higher, Faster, Longer, …….. Living…. Stavros.