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New photos by
Mejrema Reuter added
New photos by Ivana Ivanovic added
Day six
 It
is difficult to find the right superlatives to
describe Israel’s Shahar Jacob’s stunning
performance in this year’s championships here in
Trogir. Some of his competitors are bigger and more
muscular but he is clearly stronger. Some are
lightning quick about the boat but he is faster.
Some are tactically intelligent but he somehow seems
to be yet more clever. In twelve successive races he
proved to his fellow competitors and to those of us
who were watching him in admiration that this is a
young man with the brightest of futures as a
competitive sailor. His crown as male world champion
for Laser 4.7 in 2008 is thoroughly deserved.
How interesting it will be in four
year’s time to read through the lists of Olympic
competitors and hunt down the names of those who
have just competed here in Trogir. I have little
doubt that Shahar’s name will be there, as will that
of Scott Sydney from Singapore. Scott has a way of
using his power and height to ride the wind with
real elegance and his runner-up placing in this
year’s championships surely marks him out as a great
medal prospect for London in 2012. Bravo to him and
bravo again to the enlightened government of
Singapore for their far-sighted support to promising
young athletes.
 I
have to admit to some stirrings of patriotic pride.
Croatian competitors have performed exceptionally
well in this year’s competition. When you look at
Lovre Perhat walking down the street you see a
bright, outgoing, sociable and relaxed young man.
When you see him in action on the water, his face
set in rock-hard concentration, you see another side
to him – absolutely determined, hungry for top
placings, completely focused, ruthlessly competitive
and not to be distracted. His third place overall in
this year’s world championships, as well as a
hard-won and thoroughly deserved fourth place from
his compatriot Toma Visic, augurs well for Croatia’s
future medal prospects and we shall watch the
development of these two promising prospects over
the next few years with much interest.
 My
patriotism is fed further by the performance of the
Croatian competitors in the girls competition. Antea
Kordic and Matea Senkic, who came third and second
respectively, demonstrated without doubt that
Croatia has the potential for world-beating
 performances
in future women’s international events. Third and
second in a world championships of this size and
against this kind of competition is an outstanding
result for the girls themselves and for Croatian
sport in general. These exceptional girls now need
to be encouraged and funded to develop their obvious
potential and take their rightful places on the
world stage. For whatever reason – whether it be the
long tradition in Croatia of sailing success or
society’s approval of sailing as an attractive and
suitable sport for young people (or maybe it’s just
the weather…) – young Croatian sailors are showing
that this country has potential world-beaters if
they are given the right support.
 There
are lessons to be learned from Singapore, one
suspects. What better example exists of the success
of a government-sponsored development programme than
the exceptionally talented and skilful Elizabeth
Yin? Identified as a future prospect whilst still
very young, given the facilities and training to
develop her abilities and now – world champion in
Laser 4.7 at the age of 17. A magnificent success
story and a performance to be proud of. Many
congratulations to Elizabeth herself and to her
coaches and supporters.
The closing ceremony managed both to
be a slightly sad occasion – with so many friends
wishing each other goodbye until the next time and a
sense that the party was nearly over– and an
exuberant and sometimes somewhat raucous celebration
of youthful high spirits and patriotism. Flags
waved, klaxons sounded, cameras flashed and cheers
rang out as the award winners climbed to the stage
and were presented with their prizes.
 Mihovil
Dekaris, President of the Trogir Sailing Club,
together with distinguished guests including Mayor
Vedran Rožić, sailing legends Josip Geic, Milovan
Domjan and Vasilij Žbogar (bronze medallist in
Athens 2004 and silver medallist in Chingdao a few
days ago) presented the awards to the competitions
outstanding winners. In a touching part to the
ceremony disabled sailing legend Sutjesko Rožić
handed over the competition flag to a representative
of the next championship host Bruno Marks
from Buzios, near Rio in Brazil, accompanied by the
beautiful voice of AnaMarija Kurolt singing I am
Sailing.
What a week this has been… Six or
seven hundred people representing 43 countries have
worked, played and competed together in harmony.
What better illustration could there be of the power
of sport in promoting mutual understanding and
respect between people of different nations,
religions and cultures?
Lastly, and I hope competitors agree,
I think Trogir and its citizens have risen to the
occasion and done a good job. As Jeff Martin,
Executive Secretary of the ICLA, pointed out – this
is one of the largest and most complex sailing
competitions in the world. The hundreds, if not
thousands of hours of hard work put in by the
organisers and their teams of volunteers have paid
off. It’s now time to browse through the photo
gallery, remember the exciting young people we have
met and whose company we have enjoyed and look
forward to the excitement of future events.
Mejrema Reuter
Final results added
Day Five
 As
everyone who reads these daily reports will probably
already know, one of the wonderful things about
sailing is its unpredictability. Throw a bit of
blustery wind and restless water into the equation
and the form book goes out of the window. Most of
the day saw perfect racing conditions consisting of
a maestral of 12 to 20 knots. However, a
sudden tramontana from the NW, a swing of 600,
called for a radical change in race plan and the
second boys race was interrupted, the course was
changed and after a scheduled delay of an hour the
race re-commenced.
For the first four days of racing I
haven’t even mentioned local boy Lovre Perhat. He
was a respectable 15th overall on day one
but a little below my radar. But then what happened?
Lovre started a quiet but determined ascent up the
leader board without my noticing - to eighth, to
seventh, to eighth again and then today a top
quality performance to leap up to third overall
after the boys Gold races. In a technically
difficult day when even the best competitors in the
world struggled for consistency because of the
course changes, Lovre managed a very creditable
second and seventh place in his two group races and
also just managed to overtake his able compatriot
Ante Botica on the overall scoring tables. Ante’s
coach, Tudor Bilic, was full of praise for his young
sailor, who has been sailing in this class only
since last September.
 Shahar
Jacob’s first race was, by his elevated standards, a
problematical one which the rules allowed him to
discard, but in his second group race and despite
the course changes he again demonstrated his
superiority with a powerful second place. This
leaves him stretching his lead at the top of the
table to a seemingly unbeatable 15 points. To have
scored only 11 points after ten races is truly
remarkable. Bravo to him.
Scott Sidney had a mixed day and was
also grateful for the opportunity to discard
his place way down the field in his second group
race, but his solid eighth place in race one helped
him improve his overall position from third to
second.
It looks like we might be heading for
something of an exciting photo finish in the girls
race for gold. Elizabeth Yin from Singapore, who was
hard on the heels of Croatia’s Matea Senkic, managed
to slip past her today after the girls gold races
with a very strong first place followed by a solid
ninth. Until tomorrow at least, she heads up the
leader board with a six point advantage.
 Matea
Senkic had a slightly trying day with a respectable
eighth place in her first race but a (thankfully
discarded) 28th in her second group race.
With only two more races to go, weather permitting,
it looks like we are in for an exciting end to the
competition.
Spain’s Patricia Coro Leveque, who
lies in third place after her two races today, was
according to her supportive father more than happy
with her performance today. I’m not surprised -
second and fourth places today in technically
difficult circumstances deserves to be applauded.
Patricia now has a good chance of being on the
podium in the closing ceremony tomorrow.
 So,
we’re down to the final stretch in this exceptional
competition. Tomorrow looks to be an intensely
competitive day with victories and disappointments
in plenty. I look forward to being out on the water
and seeing it all unfold before me.
Mejrema Reuter
Day Four
 It
really couldn’t be much closer at the top of the
female race leader board. After an exciting day’s
racing under sparkling weather conditions, Croatian
girl Matea Senkic hangs on to her overall lead by a
single point over Singapore’s impressive Elizabeth
Yin. Matea took a strong second in her first race
and scored a ninth place in her second race – still
a top ten result that many would be proud of but,
under the scoring rules, she is able to discard that
result and retain her overall lead with only 18
points.
 Elizabeth,
on the other hand, had a slow start to the
competition on day one, and has thus far chosen to
discard her first race result of 11th
place, so couldn’t afford to slip up today. She
didn’t. She blasted the competition, demonstrated
real quality and won both her group races in fine
style, coming in with 19 points and opening up a
considerable gap in the results table over the
determined and skilful Croatian Kasia Kurtin who
moved up from fourth to third place overall.
 Elizabeth
is an interesting and charming girl. In Chinese
culture the number 8 is considered to be lucky and
perhaps it is no coincidence that Elizabeth is on a
winning streak. Her birthday fell on the 8th
day of the 8th month this year – the same
day, of course, as the opening ceremony of the
Olympic Games in Beijing. Her dream is to become an
Olympian for her country and she seems to be well on
the way to achieving it. She amusingly recalls being
terrified when she was first put into an Optimist
surrounded by large waves and strong wind, and
remembers once being half-smothered by someone
else’s sail when they capsized onto her, but she
survived these early traumas and began to emerge as
one of Singapore’s most successful young sailors in
the Optimist, Byte and Radial classes.
Interestingly, the Singapore government has an
imaginative and praiseworthy programme called TAP –
the Talented Athletes Programme – which provides
funding for equipment and competition expenses for
the most promising young sporting prospects in the
country. Singapore will host the 2010 Youth Olympics
and has sent two of the youngest competitors in this
event, Najwa Jumali and Mark Wong here to gain
experience. Elizabeth, already a recognised
achiever, was asked to compete in these Laser 4.7
championships, an unfamiliar class for her, only
three weeks ago and happily accepted the challenge.
She has sailed competitively in Italy, Bermuda,
Germany, France, Denmark, Australia and New Zealand,
as well of course as in Singapore, but so far the
results here in Croatia have been her personal best.
And the secret of her success? Her Grandmother’s
chicken soup and poker lessons from her Scottish
coach, Mark Plummer!
What more can one say about Shahar Jacob? He
continues to show real class, phenomenal potential
and a maturity beyond his years. In his two races
today he again dominated the field, scoring a second
and a first place to draw four points clear of
Greece’s Nikolaos Chrisos.
 Nikolaos
is himself is proving to be a competitor worth
watching, having scored four first places in his
group races so far and clearly demonstrating
noteworthy strength, technique and speed. When he
was seven years old his father’s friend showed him a
sailing video and it was love at first sight despite
the fact that his introduction to his first Optimist
was rather uncomfortable. He recalls that it was
January, it was cold, it was windy and it was
 terrifying.
His love for the sea and sailing grew, however, and
he started to become successful in what has,
particularly since the Athens Olympics, become and
intensely competitive field. Christos Chionas, a
well-known coach from the Piraeus Sailing Club with
a good track record of trainee successes in Olympic
and World Championship events, puts Nikolaos’s
success down to his hard work and keen ambition to
improve.
Nikolaos looks forward keenly to tomorrow’s Gold
Group competition when the leading competitors will
go head to head, as does Scott Sidney from Singapore
who finds himself third on the leader board after an
impressively consistent set of races thus far. Scott
tells me he was never very good at sports that
involved a ball and therefore, on the suggestion of
his uncle, he took up sailing, knowing that a ball
would be unlikely ever to come near him. Despite the
fact that Singaporean sailors often do their
training in severe weather conditions he loves the
safety and security of life in Singapore, a place
where an aspiring sportsman can grow not only in his
chosen sport but also in his broader education for
life.
He would like to pursue his studies in finance but,
like his colleague Elizabeth, poker skills
apparently play an important role in his
development. The Mark Plummer training methodology
clearly works. We expect a book any day now…
The finals start tomorrow and it couldn’t be more
exciting. Will Matea Senkic give herself the
birthday present she wants and score a victory? Or
will the fact that the 28th August
contains an eight tip the scales in favour of
Elizabeth Yin? Will Chrisos narrow the gap to Shahar
or will Scott find an ace up his sleeve?
Mejrema Reuter
New photos by Jeff & Keld added
(28.08)
Provisional results after
8 races added
(28.08)
Day Three
On day three I have finally caught up with the extraordinary
young man who had won four races out of four in the first two
days of the competition and who is still in overall lead after
the third day. His name is Shahar Jacob, sixteen years old and
he sails with the Sdot-yam club in Israel. He began sailing
Optimists at ten and moved to Laser 4.7 three years ago. In the
traces of salt on his face when I interviewed him immediately
after the race one could see how much effort and determination
he puts into his competitive sailing. Shahar’s coach, Erez
Eliahou, who has worked with him for four years, confirmed that
grit and determination were Shahar’s principal qualities.
Shahar is aiming for the top. He sees himself as an
Olympian one day and is prepared to put in the work to make sure
that happens. He is already regularly sailing competitively in
Laser Radial class and is thirsty for more experience. In
particular, because in Israel racing fleets are not as big, he
is anxious to familiarise himself with competitive starts with
larger numbers of boats.
For Shahar sailing is a way of life. He feels that it
has given him strategies for overcoming difficulties in life
with calmness, intelligence and fortitude.
Maintaining his impressive record of achievement thus
far in the competition, Shahar managed second in his first race
today and fourth in his second race, leaving him two points
clear at the top of the leader board. Hard on his heels is
Chrisos Nicolaos from Greece who scored victories in both his
group races today and lies second overall with 8 points. Sidney
Scott from Singapore scored consistently well again today and
finds himself in third overall with 14 points.
Giovanni Coccoluto from Trieste in
Italy has now moved up the rankings to take fourth overall with
20 points.
In the female competition, Croatian Matea Senkic has
maintained her impressive run in the competition so far and
today’s excellent results of first and fourth in her two group
races assures her position at the top of the leader board with
11 points. Her birthday, the day after tomorrow, could well
bring her the well-deserved present of yet more high-scoring
performances but she will have to maintain her consistency and
drive to hang onto her current six point lead. Hoping to reduce
that and indeed overtake Matea if at all possible is Singaporean
Elizabeth Yin who triumphed in her first race today and scored a
solid ninth in her second race.
A now familiar face towards the top of the leader board, and
only two points away from Elizabeth, is Spain’s 16-year old
Patricia Coro Leveque from Cadiz in Andalusia. Patricia is
Spain’s national champion in Laser 4.7 and a force to be
reckoned with. It is remarkable that she only began sailing
Laser 4.7 a year ago. She trains four days a week on the sea and
in the gym. When asked what she found most difficult here in
Croatia, she thought hard and then explained that she loved
almost all aspects of what she had seen in Croatia except one
thing – wasps.
Local girl Kasia Kurtin has had an exceptional day with
two top-ten finishes in her group and finds herself fourth
overall with 26 points.
Stepping away from the leader board for a moment, it was
gratifying to be able to chat with a number of competitors
crowding around the results board, anxiously trying to find out
how they had done. My attention was drawn to an extrovert and
cheerful group of Spanish visitors, amongst whom was young
Olimpia Corral and her bubbly family from Majorca – Mama Maria,
Papa Miguel and Sister Miranda. Olimpia is a mature sixteen
year-old ranked second in Laser 4.7 in Spain who believes she
should try to combine her studies with her passion for sailing
and achieve the best in both. Clever girl.
I also had a chat with outgoing and charming Carlos Ferrer from
Ibiza who had scored an impressive second in one of his races
today. Carlos has competitive sailing in his blood. He started
with Optimists at the young age of seven and came to the Laser
4.7 class at fourteen.
“I was extremely lucky today” Carlos said. “At the last
moment, right at the finish, my opponent from Qatar, Waleed Al
Shashani, somehow lost momentum in the last few metres and I
managed to squeeze through ahead of him.”
Later on I talked to
Waleed and his coach, Peter Lester from New Zealand, to try and
comfort them. Peter summed it up with a typical Kiwi twinkle in
his eye.
“Have you ever seen
anything like this before?” I asked.
“Unfortunately, yes I have –
but, hey, that’s sailing…” he said.
Mejrema
Reuter
Provisional results after 6 races added
(26.08)
Day Two
(25.08)
Conditions for racing in day
two turned out to be excellent – a consistent Maestral wind of
around ten knots ensured that six groups sailed two races each
for the day were conducted in optimal circumstances.
Impressively consistent high quality performances over
the first two days have been seen from Jacob Shahar from Israel
and Sidney Scott from Singapore. They were joint first overall
at the end of the first day, having won all their respective
races and therefore scoring only two point each. Showing
terrific skill and determination as well as technique and raw
speed Jacob brilliantly took first place again today in both his
races and remains well ahead overall with only four points.
Sidney, with a solid fourth and third in his two races
today showed that he was someone to be reckoned with and holds
on to second overall with nine points. Chrisos Nikolaos climbed
up the leader board to third overall after an impressive victory
in his group’s first race and third in his second race, scoring
ten points. 15 year-old local contender Ante Botica retained his
hard-won fourth place at the end of day two with a score of 21
points.
Matea Senkic retained her overall lead in the female group
having scored a fifth place in the first race of the day and
taking top position in the second, resulting in an impressive
score of 11 points. She is now four points ahead of Spanish
competitor Patricia Coro Leveque who, by coming sixth in the
first race and second in the following race, scored 15 points
and improved her overall position from third to second.
Elizabeth Yin from Singapore moved up to third overall with her
18 points and Antea Kordic from Croatia, who had been second
overall on day one, had a difficult first race today but hit
back with an impressive victory in race two for her group and
remains a promising fourth overall with 25 points.
Fingers remain crossed for equally ideal racing
conditions tomorrow.
Mejrema
Reuter
25.08. photo gallery by Ivana Ivanovic
(25.08)
Provisional results after 4 races added
(25.08)
Day 1 of the
competition got off to an exciting start with blustery winds
leading to quite demanding conditions for the competitors and
often calling upon the organisers to think on their feet to
ensure that the course had been set appropriately.
Over a well deserved meal after the race, Australian
team members Taylor, Ashlie, Caitlin and Sasha described the
racing conditions as quite challenging but on the whole
satisfactory. They had sailed two races in two different groups,
yellow and blue.
 They
were enthusiastic about Trogir as a venue for the event and even
claimed it was their favourite destination so far. They were all
looking forward to improving their performance in the days to
come.
There was good news of success for the host nation when
Croatian girls Matea Senkic and Antea Kordic took first and
second place in the first day’s races.
Matea, having achieved first place in the first race and
fourth in the second race of the
day now heads the leader board. She comes from Zadar and trains
with a club called Uskok where she began sailing at the age of
nine in the Optimist class. For the past year and a half she has
been sailing Laser 4.7 and achieved a commendable fourth place
overall in the last world championships in South Africa and
first in the category of those born in 1991. She studies at the
Sports High School in Zadar and her dream is to become a
professional sailing competitor. Her idol is Pavle Kostov,
another Zadar sailor who is currently in Beijing.
“The most difficult part of sailing competitions for me”
she says “is to continue to lead from the front throughout the
competition but I also believe I should always sail absolutely
fairly. I can’t sail any other way but I hope and believe this
will take me to the top.”
Matea believes that focus and concentration were crucial
for today’s success. “The wind was constantly changing intensity
and direction but I managed to keep up with the changes as they
occurred. Luckily I like to sail with strong winds so the
conditions suited me.”
Matea’s coach, Robert Sandalic, also mentioned difficult
winds and oscillations on the course but applauded Matea’s
excellent start and credited her success to her exceptional
determination. “She must now remain calm and continue to give
her best. Each point in each race is important. Matea should
continue to show her developing maturity and sportsmanship as
she heads towards senior competition level.”
Second overall after the first day’s competition, Antea Kordic
from Split, began sailing at ten and became national champion in
Optimist Class in 2004. For the last two years she has been
sailing Laser 4.7 and this is her second world championship. Her
best result so far was third overall in the European
Championships in Ireland.
When I went to shake her hand I discovered that she had
a huge blister next to her thumb. Naively, I asked her why she
didn’t wear a glove when sailing and she looked at me with
disdain and said “Have you ever seen a real sailor wearing a
glove?” I changed the subject quickly….
Antea has made a lot of friends through sailing but she
doesn’t confuse friendship with weakness when it comes to
competition. “On the land they are my friends but on the sea I
shall show them no mercy at all” she laughed. She also mentioned
the day’s tricky conditions but, just like Matea, she also
favours strong winds and her coach, Aleksandar Jocic, confirmed
that Antea had been training very hard for the past year and had
developed the self-confidence needed for success in all phases
of the race, especially the start. “Antea has a good sense for
finding the right line and starting precisely. She is heading
for higher levels of sailing. She’s learning to prioritise and
sound racing techniques.”
Let us hope day two will be equally challenging and
exciting.
Mejrema
Reuter
24.08. photo gallery by Ivana Ivanovic
(24.08)
Provisional results added
(24.08)
Opening ceremony photo gallery by Ivana Ivanovic
(23.08)
Opening ceremony photo gallery by Mejrema Reuter
(23.08)
The Opening Ceremony (23.08)
Kamerlengo fortress has
never been so full – full of young people, full of cameraderie,
full of positivity and full of fun. An extraordinary set of
friendships was launched. As each country representative came
forward with their national flag, energy levels grew higher,
young faces were exuberant and excitement filled the air. The
multitude of flags from 43 countries made this unique and
historic setting even more like a Renaissance festival than
usual.
One of Croatia's most recognised baritones, Jakov
Koščina from Trogir, used the majesty of his voice to sing
Croatia's national anthem.
Mihovil Dekaris, the President of the Trogir Sailing
Club and principal organiser of this event, greeted the hundreds
of participants, trainers, parents and support teams with warm
words of welcome and encouragement for participants not only to
demonstrate their talents and skills but also to use this rare
and precious opportunity for the formation of new and lasting
friendships. He was particularly pleased that Trogir Sailing
Club had been delegated the task of organising these
championships because this year marks the sixtieth anniversary
of the founding of the club.
Jeff Martin, the Laser Executive Secretary for the
International Laser Class Association, inspired the young
competitors with wise words on the theme of sportsmanship and
the future of sailing. He referred to the current Beijing
Olympics and future events in 2012 and 2016 to illustrate how
sailing was, for many, a lifetime occupation and not just a
single short-term event. It was gratifying to see that someone
of his experience in international sailing competitions was
impressed with the way these championships had begun here in
Trogir.
The atmosphere became even more charged with the arrival
of Trogir's very attractive young cheerleaders from the Doksa
Sports Dancing Club who performed to much applause from an
appreciative audience.
As the opening ceremonies headed towards their
conclusion, the mayor of Trogir, Mr. Vedran Rožić, added his own
enthusiastic words of welcome and was clearly proud of Trogir's
status both as a UNESCO world heritage site and as a fascinating
venue for a range of cultural and sporting events.
As he declared the world youth sailing championships for
Laser 4.7 officially open, Mario Škrlj – one of Trogir Sailing
Club's most celebrated members – raised the official Laser flag.
The flag raising ceremony was accompanied by the magnificant
voice of AnaMarije Kurolt singing 'The greatest love of all',
dedicated to all the event participants.
The celebrations continued with an exciting Latino Show
dance by the Cimbal Dance Studio and everyone moved off for a
party reception in the garden of the regatta office nearby.
As competitors and guests drifted back to their various
accommodations to rest up in preparation for the first race on
Sunday, the fortress of Kamerlengo returned to its customary
silence, waiting patiently for the return of its flag-bearing
sailor friends at the end of this exceptional competition.
Mejrema Reuter
Photo gallery from 22.08. added
by Mejrema Reuter (22.08.)
Photo gallery from 20.08. added by Mejrema reuter (21.08.)
Preliminary sailing area (21.08.)
Event
program added (20.08.)
GALERIJA PRIJATELJA
POLJSKA
Upeklo je sunce na Solinama i svi bježe u hlad ali ne i dvije
natjecateljke iz Poljske Joanna i Eva. Pažljivo spuštaju brodove
u more i još k tome na odličnom engleskom pričaju da su prvi put
u Hrvatskoj. Kada su iz automobila vidjele pogled na Trogir kažu
da im se oduzeo dah. Doputovale su sa trenerom Michalom
Skaliszom i Evinom mamom Anom koja im kuha i pomaže u svemu,
koliko vidim. Joanni je ovo prvo internacionalno natjecanje i
jako se raduje. Ima 15 godina i ovo joj je tek druga godina u
klasi laser 4.7. Eva je sedamnaestogodišnjakinja i dolazi iz
porodice jedriličara. Tata, djed, stric...Gledam ih kako jedre
prema Šaldunu kao da su kod kuće, kao da to rade svaki dan.
Sigurne, lijepe, pristojne i hrabre su ove poljske sportašice.
Svaka čast!
AUSTRALIJA
Između jedara oko mene govore se različiti jezici. Pažnju mi
privlači djevojka koja pripremajući brod s jedne strane govori
engleski sa jakim australijanskim naglaskom a onda okrene glavu
i nastavi na talijanskom. To je Martina. Jedri za reprezentaciju
Australije ali je rođena u Italiji. Ona i Zac su iz Pertha i
jedre u ovoj klasi dvije godine.
¨Jedrenje nas je puno toga naučilo¨, pričaju mi ovo dvoje
nerazdvojnih prijatelja. Samopouzdanje i odlučnost spominju kao
najvažnije odlike koje su stekli zahvaljujući ovom sportu. Divim
se zrelosti koja izvire iz ovih tinejđera. Vidim ih prvi put
ali unose u moj život veselje u saznanju da ipak postoji zdrava
mladost s kojom se eto može popričati o svemu a da nitko ne
odgovara sa onim... šta ja znam...ne znam...otpuhujući i
kolutajući očima...Veselo me pozdravljaju jer i njima se žuri da
odjedre prema Šaldunu a u pripremi je i najmlađi predstavnik
Australije, trinaestogodišnji Joseph, koji u pratnji svoga tate
Roberta inače bivšeg reprezentativca Velike Britanije u jedrenju
mirno čeka na našeg Milana Vujasinovića, jedriličara splitskog
Labuda, s kojim su se sprijateljili još u Australiji gdje su mu
pomogli oko nabave i opreme broda a sada on pomaže njima. Lijepo
je vidjeti ovo prijateljstvo triju jedriličara da dva kontinenta
gdje se u nekakvom šutljivom nastojanju trude da mladom Josephu
olakšaju tremu i nesigurnost mada nitko o tome ne priča. Joseph
tiho priznaje, ¨volim jedrenje jer je svaki put drugačije, bilo
bi lijepo kada bih mogao jedriti oko onih prekrasnih otočića
koje sam vidio iz aviona¨.
VELIKA
BRITANIJA
Oko nas mirno sjede, nekoga valjda čekaju i predstavnici Velike
Britanije. Trebalo bi ih doći trideset i troje kaže mi jedan od
tata. Njih osmero mi se predstavlja i u jednom su vrlo složni.
Maestral koji nas upravo malo hladi im savršeno odgovara za
njihov način jedrenja. Pričamo o meteroloigiji, dakako, a o čemu
će Britanci nego o vremenu. Ova djeca su tako koncentrirana na
ono što rade da se ne mogu načuditi odakle im ta
samodisciplina. More opet pobjeđuje, nauči djecu prije nego svi
drugi.
SAN
MARINO
Vijore pored mene dva jedra. Jedno pripada Matildi koja je ovdje
došla trenirati u društvu najboljih, objašnjava njezin trener
Marco a Giulia će se natjecati i jedina je predstavnica ove male
državice. Počela je jedriti u osmoj godini sasvim slučajno a
onda se oduševila tom slobodom kretanja, druženjem sa prirodom i
jedriličarima. Voli se i natjecati. Očigledno ju je očarala i
ljepota našega mora. ¨Dijelimo isto more, Adriatik, ali naše
more nije tako lijepo kao ovo ovdje. Naš je Adriatik zagađen
prljavim industrijskim i otpadnim vodama. Bilo bi lijepo da nije
tako.¨ Giulia priča elokvencijom nekog profesora. U govoru joj
nema niti jedne poštapalice. Drži se uspravno i u isto vrijeme
opušteno. Osmjehuje se blago i nastavlja priču o jedrenju koje
ju je naučilo da misli na druge i da uvijek ide naprijed. Samo
naprijed.O postignutim rezultatima sa prijašnjih natjecanja
ništa ne spominje ali doznajem od trenera da se radi o izuzetnoj
sportašici.
Tko ju li je naučio ovolikoj skromnosti?
TURSKA
Izvlače brodove iz mora trener Ismail iz Turske koji nije trener
nacionalnog tima već privatan trener dvoje mladih, djevojke
Beril i momka Leventa. Ujedno pomažu i talijanskoj ekipi. Svi se
druže, svi imaju beskrajno strpljenje. ¨Moj je djed
Martinović!¨,veselo objašnjava Ismail,¨došao je prije 80 godina
u Tursku. Ja znam malo hrvatski ali samo malo¨. Ne želim ga još
dodatno mučiti sa padežima pa se obraćam petnaestogodišnjoj
Beril koja je po prvi put otputovala van svoje zemlje i ujedno
će po prvi put zajedriti na internacionalnom natjecanju ovog
kalibra. Počela je sa jedrenjem u ljetnoj školi jedrenja u
lokalnom klubu i zavoljela je to druženje sa morem, suncem i
vjetrom. ¨Jedrenje odgovara mojoj prirodi i pomaže mi da
vjerujem u samu sebe. Jedva čekam prvi start. Onda će sve biti
puno mirnije. Do tada u meni raste veliko uzbuđenje.¨
Levent je jedrio na očevom brodu ali onda je htio to probati i
sam. Stoga se uputio u svoj lokalni klub i poceo vrijedno
trenirati. Najviše voli napredovati. Prepoznavanje i reagiranje
u skladu sa promjenama pravca i vjetra su po njegovom mišljenju
formula za brzinu koja je naravno u natjecanju najbitnija
komponenta. Voli usavršavati tehniku jedrenja. Tako govori prvak
Turske u klasi Optimist. A što li će tek napraviti u ovoj klasi?
JAPAN
U
nemogućnosti verbalne komunikacije preostaju nam izmjene
osmijeha kao univerzalnog sredstva poštovanja i dobrodošlice.Sa
moje tri i po riječi japanskoga ne uspijevam baš puno više
doznati o našim prijateljima iz Japana. Gledam ih kako spretno
barataju jedrima u ovom njima nepoznatom moru koje vrlo brzo
postaje prijatelj.
ITALIJA
Giovanni Coccoluto. Zapamtite to ime. Taj će petnaestogodišnjak
po mom skromnom mišljenju daleko dogurati u jedrenju. Imao je
samo pet godina kada se sam odvažio na more u Optimistu u rodnom
Trstu za čije neumorne bure svi znamo. Nitko ga nije uputio u
jedrenje. Ni tata ni mama. Sam je htio. Sviđa mu se veliki
vjetar. ¨Oslobađa me svake tenzije. To nijedan drugi sport ne
može za mene napraviti u tolikoj mjeri¨. Imam dojam da pričam
sa filozofom. Ovaj mladić priča o jedrenju sa takvom ljepotom da
ću se odmah upisati u njegov fan club ako kojim slučajem
postoji. ¨Treniram puno¨, kaže Giovanni,¨ jer vjerujem u rad. Da
bi se u ovom sportu došlo do rezultata treba se truditi.¨
Bio je drugi na Svjetskom prvenstvu u Južnoj Africi, pobjednik
je poslijednjih pet Evropskih Kupova u Francuskoj, Švicarskoj,
Italiji, Austriji i Njemačkoj.
Pitam ga koja mu je najdraža zemlja od svih ovih u kojima je bio
na što slijedi blagi osmijeh ¨nadam se da će to biti upravo
ova¨.
Mejrema Reuter
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