Cyclades Regatta 2019: It's a win for Team Giorgio!

We won! Giorgio Furuno OnDeck Sailing Team swept in and took first place in the Sport class of the fourth and final Cyclades Regatta race leg on July 6.
Incredibly, not only did we beat out the 32 competitors in our class, we were the third boat to terminate in the entire race, including nine Performance class boats.
The 41.36 nautical mile race kicked off at the Cycladic isle of Serifos and, as we awaited the start, we had the opportunity to take in uninterrupted views of the island’s old town. Built amphitheatrically on a hill, the blinding white of its traditional cubed houses contrasted with the deep, flat, azure waters of the Aegean Sea.
It was, perhaps, one of the most spectacular views we have witnessed in a race start so far in three years of sailing and racing with our club, the Palio Faliro Offshore Sailing School.
This year marked the 25th anniversary of the annual race, whose organisers choose different islands each year – both familiar and less-known, in an effort to support local communities and highlight the attractions of each destination.
Laidback Serifos has long been a favourite destination popular among Greeks thanks to its affordability and proximity to Athens. Locals claim there are some 70 beaches, some of which are only accessible from the sea.
In recent years, the relatively small island has seen the construction of villas - most notably that of Italian architect-interior designer Paola Navone. New boutique hotels are gradually sprouting near some of the isle’s wide, golden, sandy beaches, like a Coco-Mat outpost at Vagia beach – where efforts are being made to limit smoking, and also inland.
Sailing here can be a challenge as windy conditions are the norm, not the exception. Approaching the port can be tough, particularly when the meltemi is blowing in the summer months.
Conditions were relatively calm on the morning of the race, but looks proved deceiving. The racing committee announced two starts: the first for the Performance class and, 15 minutes later, the second for Sport.
As we launched out of the invisible gate, passing ahead of some of our competitors, we raised the spinnaker.
A couple of minutes later, a sudden strong gust lashed down from the hillside windward, putting pressure on our light spinnaker and causing us to heel steeply.
Skipper Panagiotis Skiathitis ordered us to drop the spinnaker and raise the Genoa sail.
It was a bit of a wobbly start and we made mistakes in the slight mayhem brought about by the unexpected blasts of wind.
But Panagiotis wasn’t particularly phased. “The night is young,” he said, as we looked around and forward at the boats that had stormed ahead of us, wondering how we would regain ground.
All boats were moving along nicely in steady 14 to 17 mile winds, many of them far in front of Giorgio. Around us were mostly small boats which had a big advantage over us. We knew we would definitely be handing them points if we couldn’t put significant distance between us and them.
As we passed Kea island, the winds suddenly dropped. Our skipper decided to pulled away from the pack. It was a move, a decision that turned our fate around.
We headed west, further out to sea, and patiently waited for wind to come our way. All we could do was sit leeward, in the searing sun, and watch the Genoa flap lifelessly in a near non-existent breeze. Finally, the wind picked up and off we went.
We were completely on our own out there. There were just two or three other boats in the vicinity, which we could recognise.
Gradually, we saw dozens of boats, which had stayed close to Kea, far behind us turn into increasingly tiny white specks on the horizon.
It was almost impossible to believe. Our eyes were on the prize now. I couldn’t help turning around every few minutes to see if Aeolus had been kind enough to deliver them the same wind he gifted us.
I thought, any moment, they would start creeping up behind us. But that never happened.
The sun was starting to set by now and we were moving closer and closer to the finish line, off the uninhabited Saronic islet of Patroklos, off Cape Sounio and its ancient Temple of Poseidon.
At 8.30pm, just as the sun turned a blazing burnt orange and almost touching the horizon, we crossed the finish line and heard the most beautiful sound; the sound of the race committee horn confirming that we had terminated.
We all roared with happiness, clapping in unison and congratulating our skipper, whom I dubbed the Garry Kasparov of sailing. We’d never seen him with such a wide smile on his face.
We took first place in the final leg and nabbed second place overall in the Sport class.
Giorgio's big brother Erytos 2 Cosmote took the top honours overall in the Performance class and fellow club boat Echionas followed in third place.
To top it all off, we could now relax and enjoy an incredible sunset.
It was a lesson learned for all of us – to never, ever give up.
Videography and editing by Carlo Raciti carloraciti.com

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