Punat had it all for us this year – from light winds to gales. It’s hard to imagine a better season-opening training session under such varied conditions.

With six teams, the group at this year’s Season Starter Camp and Sea Challenger Regatta was small, but all the more personal and intensive for it.

During the three-day training session, Punat showed itself at its best: glorious sunshine and 5–12 knots of wind provided ideal conditions. The focus was on intensive boat handling – from setting and striking the gennaker in various ways, to steering and accelerating the yacht using one’s own body weight, right through to tacking, jibing and starting exercises. Towards the end, the wind picked up slightly, allowing us to specifically practise sail trim in varying wind strengths.

However, as the Sea Challenger Regatta got underway, a low-pressure system moved in, bringing strong winds to Punat. Whilst snow was falling in Switzerland, we were battling strong winds, pouring rain and freezing temperatures on site. On this day, all the yachts remained safely moored in the bay, and some sailors took the opportunity to pop into the sauna.

On the second day, the sun came out again, but the gusts were still reaching up to 25 knots. As not all teams had sufficient experience in strong winds, we decided to use the day for training. With three boats, we left the sheltered bay and rotated the teams on the water. Sailing with the gennaker proved challenging – and even without the gennaker, the J70 briefly planed in the gusts. Anyone who hoisted the gennaker was bound to get a sunburn sooner or later. Nevertheless, everyone was glad to have been out on the water and to have gained valuable experience.

On the final day, perfect conditions awaited us. From 10:00 am, the goal was clear: to sail as many races as possible. We started in gusts of up to 18 knots and ended the day in a light breeze. After ten races, the women’s team Boddensprotten came out on top, level on points with the Bucerius Sailing Team. Six points behind in third place was the Swiss team from the Swiss Yachting Club CERN.

I would like to thank all participants for their commitment and fair play. A special thank you goes to In2theblue for the excellent venue and organisation!