Our love affair with the Archipelago Raid came to a close yesterday, at least for another year. The pain of the last few days subsided as we hobbled across the finish line off Lindingo.
The previous six days’ raiding now seem like a blur, but the blisters on the hands, the bruises on the knees and the broken daggerboards are the evidence of another enduring event.
A mixed result overall, we came with high hopes of repeating our 2008 result, where perhaps a more conservative approach yielded a strong closing performance. This year we took too many risks and were not on top of our navigation, which resulted in broken daggerboards. To win this event you need to balance the risk. I think we pushed too hard at times.
This event is for me still the highlight of the sailing calender. It produces amazing friendships between competitors, who are drawn from all over the world to test themselves. It is brilliantly organised by Christine Salen and the Atlant team who understand how to push the boundaries of sailing and the limits of the sailors.
The real magic of the event is that over the six days you are forced to make good with what you have. It’s a wonderful metaphor for today’s world where we must learn to be more resourceful. Onboard you carry just enough food and spares and if you break something you find a way to fix it.
It is also an event that perfectly complements the ambitions of the Blue Project. It is a “quest through nature” with every competitor experiencing the breath taking surroundings of the Archipelago through the power of extreme sport.
Conrad and Ryan, Team Blue 2009.
Tags: Archipelago Raid, Conrad Humphreys, F18, Ryan
