Team Canada Begins Training in Hawke's Bay, Napier, NZ

After rigging their boats and having a meeting with their coach Osvaldo Padron this morning, the team began their training for the 2011 IODA World Optimist Championship. The weather was sunny and warm around 20 degrees celcius.  The sea breeze settled in at 8 to 12 knots around noon. The sailing conditions were perfect. Many of the sailors have not been sailing for over a month and a half. This was a great opportunity to get back into the groove... Initially, the team trained upwind with Team Peru for an hour or so to compare their boat speed and boat handling. For the rest of the time, the team joined other nations to practice their starts and practice raced. After 4.5 hours, the team headed back to shore to de-rig and debrief. Tomorrow morning, Team Canada will go through measurements and continue their training on the water.