At the beginning of June, Athena Pathway returned to the ETF26 Circuit for the second event of the season, this time with an all-male crew of Nick Robins, James Grummett and Matt Beck. With 8 teams completing 15 races over the course of the week, including a 26-mile coastal marathon on the final day, there was no shortage of wind or stoke. Despite a few boat breakages and only one day of training as a team prior to the start of the event, the Athena boys adapted well.
“It was great to race on the ETF in Quiberon for Athena pathway. We were a new team coming into the event with one day of training in a 3-person configuration, so it was about adapting into our roles and working together to get the best out of the boat. We were happy to be in the mix with 3 race wins over the series. We had a few boat issues which meant we missed out on some racing, but we had a great team behind us to get us back out on the course. My highlight from the week was the long-distance race - it was really fun to sail an ETF on a long costal course around the islands of Quiberon.” - Matt Beck
Hear from Nacra 17 superstar and ETF Coach Nikki Boniface, on the Athena Team’s time in Quiberon.
"The team were really looking forward to second event of the season in Quiberon. Due to the weight limitations of the class, it is very tricky to sail 4 up with more than 1 male onboard. With this is mind we decided to sail 3 up (how the boat was originally designed to be sailed) with a male youth team. They only had 1 training session in this configuration before the first race day, so it was always going to be about learning while racing!
The team sailed well and attacked each day with a great mindset of pushing themselves while learning on the job. We had similar conditions each day with sunshine and onshore breeze which dropped throughout each day. Unfortunately, the team suffered a few boat breakages which meant they lost races on the 2nd day and had to retire early on the 3rd. In-between these issues they showed some great performances with a few 1st thrown in! The event ended with a 26mile coastal race around the islands.
The biggest learning points from the week were the routines and communication loops developed in the 3-sailor set up. How the different positions work together to keep the boat sailing as fast as possible while making race decisions. They also learnt a lot about boat set up and marginal foiling techniques.
It was a great week of sailing with beautiful conditions, but the races sailed in full foiling conditions were the team’s highlights. Being able to do a fast-reaching start and pushing the boat against their competitors was a great learning experience. Flying downwind is always fun.
The next event is in Garda at foiling week. We are having an all-female team again with Hannah Mills helming for the first time which will be great to get her involved and start building up the team dynamics."
ETF26 2023 Ranking after Quiberon
- Team PRO 34 pts
- FIN1 RACING - 41 pts
- Entreprises du Morbihan - 47 pts
- Blueshift Sailing Team - 56 pts
- Live Ocean Racing - 72 pts
- Toroa Racing- 75 pts
- Athena Pathway - 89 pts
- Lady Team Pro - 119 pts