“Being at the starting line is already a dream come true.” And the road to get there “has not been easy at all” as will not be the more than 4,000 miles that will travel to the Caribbean island of Guadalupe. The sailor Carlos Manera will compete next month in the transoceanic regatta Mini Transat which is held every two years. He will do it alone and without assistance with his 6.5 mini class sailboat that will leave on September 26th Les Sables d’Olonne (to French Brittany), will scale to Santa Cruz de la Palma (Canary Islands) and will cross the Atlantic until you reach the Carib French.
“My first goal was to get as prepared as possible at the start and we are achieving it,” says Manera, who will present his project tomorrow at the facilities of the CN Port de la Selva, his club of a lifetime, with the support of Varador 2000, the main sponsor (7 p.m.). A month after the most important challenge he has faced so far, the Girona native is satisfied with the preparation that has allowed the classification in the Mini Transat: «I have done the last training sessions in France, where I spent five months, but goes much further. I have been behind this regatta for two years. I have been preparing in all aspects, from technical, tactical and psychological aspects to knowledge in meteorology, electricity or composite materials. In addition to doing two regatta circuits of about 400 miles each across the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
Manner will have to have all the concepts well learned so that once you are on board – the smallest ocean-going sailboat there is – there will be no going back. He will be alone in the face of danger, literally. “It’s a solo regatta. We don’t have any kind of assistance and we can’t communicate with anyone, “he says. It will therefore spend between 8 and 14 days of the first stage and 15-25 of the second without any contact with the ground. “There are times when you like being alone because you enjoy what you do and both sailing and the sea are my passion, but there are also some that you suffer from. That no one can relieve you or take away the burden you carry is hard. You can’t stop when you’re tired, shattered or in trouble and that’s the grace of this sport. I feel prepared and confident, ”he explains.
Like any regatta, speed will be a factor to consider. And here food plays an important role: “Many times we don’t think about it, but the boat is light and the more weight we carry, the harder it will be to navigate. We don’t have a fridge or stove because they weigh too much, but we boil water with a heater Jetboy. Because food for every day can weigh more than 50 kg and is therefore discarded, we take freeze-dried or dehydrated food, which is that of astronauts. Also a little vacuum-packed hydrate.
The rules of the Mini Transat are very strict. “There is no communication channel but we have one radio Bhf to call for help and an emergency radio beacon. In addition, the organization sends us the weather forecast. It’s just a receiver, we can’t broadcast anything, “he said. Given the requirement, three assistance vessels will follow them, albeit only in case of abandonment or danger. This will be the first stone as a professional. “I want to do it, it’s not just an adventure and despite the fact that ocean sailing is forgotten in Catalonia there is a great future ”.
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