The Sailing Virus will prevail

Keeping the troops inspired is the job of the leadership, and with inspiration struggling in the wake of haunting health headlines, previous International Snipe Class Commodore Pietro Fantoni seeks to maintain interest in this report:

We are experiencing a strange, almost surreal period. We all have a great desire to race or simply go out on the boat to train, but we cannot do it.

The sailing season should begin soon in the northern hemisphere, but apart from a few races already held, it has been discontinued.

In the last week we have seen the cancellation of many local and international regattas. Now even in the Southern Hemisphere some regattas have been postponed or canceled.

I personally, in Italy, am working at home and can only go outside in cases of need and to buy food at the supermarket. No sailing, biking, skiing, or other activities are allowed.

This week I was supposed to be in Miami, to meet my American friends like I do every year, to chat and race with them at the Don Q Regatta, one of the regattas I am most fond of. But even this regatta, unfortunately, has been canceled.

Now, what we must try to do, while waiting for sailing to begin again on our Snipes and to return to our normal life, is first of all to think positively. This period will end soon.

Then we must continue, as if nothing had happened, to do our sailing projects, to read and talk about sailing and Snipes, to train as much as possible (even from home if we cannot go outside).

We are convinced that this surreal period will end soon, the good sailing virus will prevail over any other bad virus and we will soon return to sailing Snipe anywhere in the world, meeting our friends again.