Hyères- A Breath of Fresh Air

From start to finish- Hyères was so much more than I expected.  The only time I had ever heard of the village was in a book about Robert Louis Stevenson, Under the Wide and Starry Sky.  He and his wife, Fanny, spent a few years there due to his poor health.  After just one week, I think this magical peninsula- the furthest south of any part of France-  holds the ability to cure most of what ails us as humans.  From the moment we got off the train, the air was fresher, the people warm and friendly and the water an amazing blue and flat even though the strong winds from the east and north continued to blow up to 25 and 30 mph.  The air was dry but the smell reminded us all of home- we were finally at the beach.

 Our morning train ride and taxi out to the beach were uneventful.  Max, the German sailing coach, had to drive towing lasers and a coach boat through Germany, Switzerland, and most of France.  After a long travel day, it was great to see familiar faces and get ready for our two days of practice.

Camille and Pete had two days of on the water training and preparation before the regatta.  We have all decided that this should be status quo for any big competition.  It was nice to settle in, have boats rigged and be familiar with the water before all the other boats started arriving.  Because when they did....wow.  There were sailors from France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Ireland, Great Britain, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Korea, India, Israel, Argentina, Bahrain, Monaco, and so many more countries.  The female who just won the Reina Sofia regatta in Palma Mallorca was competing- she will be competing in her third Olympics this summer in Rio!!

Needless to say, the course was full of strong sailors and Pete was thrilled to have the experience.

 The Europa Cup in Hyères was four days of racing against 240 Lasers in conditions ranging from 5 knots to 30 knots .  I think Pete McGriff would tell you that the experience is one he will remember for a lifetime and both he and Camille were immediately planning their training for next time.  

I was just thrilled to be a part of the event.  My children continue to amaze me.  There is no way I would have had the nerve to sail in a fleet that strong, in conditions that challenging, in a foreign country.  With each experience, I feel like we are broadening our horizons and the scope of what is possible and attainable for both of them.  

Camille exchanging burgees with the President of COYCH, the host club for the Europacup.

Camille rode on the coach boat to cheer Pete on for the last day.

Talk about ideal conditions, the yacht club was a short 5 minute walk from our apartment.  I could see the regatta from the balcony.

Pete and Coach Max Stein, former Europacup winner.  

Mon enfants sont navigateur de voile

My children are sailors.  That is their tribe, that is where they belong.   They feel at home at a yacht club, happy on the water, and, just like anyone else, they relate to the people that love what they love.  

Part of the plan to come to France hinged on us finding a yacht club for them to practice and potentially race.  The closer our departure came, the more our plan seemed to fall apart.  We had two choices for practice but then both teams were full, there were no boats available, I worried that I

would have to tell them that it wasn't going to work out.  Then, a German coach contacted me with an offer to practice two weekends in Lake Garda, Italy.  Kelly and I decided that the side trip to Lake Garda to a sailing hostel(how cool is that) would be a perfect answer in case the day to day training didn't work out.

The first 5 days we were in Nice, Pete asked politely every day if we could please go check out the yacht club.  I was hesitant, not only because my limited French would pose a problem but also because I was worried about getting bad news.  The day Kelly left, bad for me anyway, I decided the kids and I would give it a shot.  We walked(2.5 miles) to the Club Nautique de Nice and met their Opti coach-The laser coach was in Hyeres doing a training week.- He seemed optimistic(ha, ha) that they would be able to practice with either the laser coach, Nicolas or a Swiss guy, Oliver, who was an Olympian...One more time, I emailed Nicolas and he immediately replied back to meet him Wednesday at 10am- that was today.

Our day could not have gone better.  We hiked to the Yacht Club to be there on time for our meeting.  Nicolas turned out so much better than expected.  He speaks heavily accented English but said they could practice Wednesdays and Saturdays with the laser group.  The club boats are battered but they are boats! And we hustled home, had a big lunch, and got back in time for the afternoon practice.  This is our second attempt to plug in here(church was first) and so far we have not been met with any of what I felt might be the classic French Resistance(ha, ha).  Now we have 3 times a week to make friends, practice what we love, and connect rather than just observe.