View From Apartment Window in Palma, Overlooking The Harbour. Image copyright Anna Tunnicliffe 2011.
by Anna Tunnicliffe
We have been training hard with Team Skudina from Russia, since we arrived here in Spain. We have had some great sailing conditions and some very trying conditions - anything from 3-15kts in big swells and chop. It has been great for us to get comfortable with the acceleration of the boats and with boat handling in these difficult conditions.
We arrived last Saturday around 4:30pm after driving down from France. We found the apartment that Molly booked for us and it turns out to have a fabulous view of the old town and the port. After we unloaded the bags, Molly and I headed out to the airport to drop off the car while Debbie and Coach Dave went grocery shopping. The drive to the airport was an easy 20-minute drive. On the way back we took the airport bus into the center of the town and decided that we would walk back to the apartment. It was a great stroll through the old town and we did a bit of sightseeing on our way. We stopped at the very old cathedral and took a look around. After that we got a little lost in the maze of narrow streets and high buildings, but eventually we made it down to the water and found our way home.
We are sailing out of the Olympic Port which was the site for the 1992 Olympic Games. It is about a 20-minute walk away from our apartment; leisurely walk along the beach...a nice warm up for the day. There is a gym on-site that we use every morning before we head out to sail. After a short debrief using video from the day before, we head out for a 4-hour practice. We have been focusing on specific parts of the game which we have found to be a very productive way for us to practice and develop.
We have one more day of training tomorrow before we take the overnight ferry to Palma for Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofia Mapfre. We have two days off during which we will relax and get ready for our practice day for the event starting on Sunday.
We would like to thank our gold level sponsor 11th Hour Racing, and our bronze level sponsors Carmeuse, Trinity Yachts, and Chicago Match Race Center for their continued support of our campaign for the 2012 Olympic Games. We would also like to thank US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) and its sponsors for their continued support. Also, thank you to our private donors. Please remember that any and all donations/contributions to our campaign should be made payable directly to either The Sailing Foundation of New York (tax deductible) memo'd Anna Tunnicliffe, or to Anna Tunnicliffe.
Team Tunnicliffe
