The Boat

To take part in the Translemanique, the most important thing  to have is a boat. Luckily, my sailing club (Yacht Club Cern) owns Mic Mac, an almost 35 year old Surprise. Despite the age of the class, the Surprise is still a very poular boat on the Lac Leman, in big races, such as Bol d'or it attracts more than 100 boats.


Maintenance
Because of its bad hull condition, some members of the club worked really hard (a special thank to Tim and Kirill) over the wintertime to remove old antifouling, sand rough areas, reseal the hull against osmoses and to put a new shiny antifouling on. We also replaced several pulleys on the mast to make it easier to hoist and controll sails.

Mic Mac's hull before the maintenance

In the beginning of June, just one week off the Geneve-Rolle-Geneve race, the boat was ready to be put back in to the water.

It was quite a shock when we found out that someone climbed over the fence at Ba 5 and not only vandalized the two trailers outside by smashing all lights, the person also scratched the newly finished hull whit a sharp object.......

Scratches on the hull after the vandalism

The keel was damaged the most

We managed to repair the trailer the same afternoon and towed Mic Mac to Versoix. The goal now wasn't anymore to have the boat in the water, we also had to re-sand the affected areas and apply new antifouling before we could even lift her in to the water. The work took us almost the whole evening and by 11pm Mic Mac was back in the water.

Mic Mac ready to lift in to the water

The next couple of days the mast got put up, the rig sensioned, the gelcoat cleaned and the sails came on. Now the boat was ready for everyone to sail again. A huge thank to all of you that contributed to get her back on the water!!!

The Race

The translemanique en solitaire is a regatta for single handed monohulls. The course went, until the upcoming edition, from Geneva to Lutry and back. It attracts around 100 sailors, local ones from surrounding Geneva and also international ones.

For the first time ever this year the race-commitee has decided to lengthen the course. The new course will go all the way to le Bouveret and back, which makes it to something like the length of the Bol d'or.

If you draw a direct line from the start to Le Bouveret and back, the total distance would be a minimum of 70 nautical miles or almost 130 kilometers. Given that it is almost never possible to sail the most direct way under sail and that the wind is more favourable on the swiss side, the actual distance to sail is way longer.
They race has now a similar character to the Bol d'or, with the difference that it is sailed singlehanded.
Making this race longer will certainly make it also more difficult to finish. The haute lac, the area from Lausanne towards the Valais is well known for its difficult wind conditions and will add to the challanges the race already provides.

February 2017, or sailing is calling

It is freezing cold outside and all the streets are covered with snow. Despite these perfect ski conditions, I cant wait for the beginning of the sailing season.
During this waiting time, my wish to participate in this Translemanique en solitaire is growing stronger and stronger.
By the end of February I made up my mind and sent the Commitee of the YCC Sailing Club an email about my plans and ask them for permission to use one of our clubboats to compete in this event.