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Old discrimination, future shame?
Sometimes, while reading old books, you can find awkward sentences like this one: There they lit the fire and Nab and Pencroff, obviously on cooking duties (one being a Nigro the other being a sailor), quickly prepared a rabbit BBQ that delighted everyone. L’Île mystérieuse – Jules Verne – End of chapter 4 – My own translation from Italian What was Verne’s intention when writing this sentence? The book is set during the American Civil War, and the protagonists (the other three are a kid, an engineer and a journalist) are all northeners with progressive anti-slavery views. So is the sentence just a joke? I find the sentence a bit…
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Sailing Down Under, check
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Sometimes I go to school, and I love it!
On Thursday I’ve been at school, and with one of the best coaches around! My friend Paolo, from Scuola Vela Toscana, recently bought a Mini650, ITA520, and invited me to his first training session in Genova where the Italian sailing federation is basing most of the Mini650 activity at the moment. Could I pass on the opportunity to sail on a completely new boat for me, and to be coached by the latest winner of the Mini Transat? I don’t really think so, and in fact I immediately accepted the invitation. We left a bit late from Pisa, so when we arrived, the other 5 crews were ready to go…
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Sailing Down Under, check
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Not only sailing…
A singer once said “when there’s no job is always a Saturday”; and what to do on a sunny fake-saturday of late January? Nicco and I opted for an exploration of the Muzzerone cliffs, just 1h walk from Portovenere (and 1-2h of bus ride) Being the first time climbing together we tackled the easiest multi pitch available, a mix of “Pipistrelli” and “Spigolo delle Meraviglie” (Trentarossi, Viviani, Castagna) 125m mix of cracks, aretes, and blocks and a final sketchy crest. Overall the maximum difficulty was a 5c, but being my first attempt at a multipitch after a long time I found it quite strenuous, and it took us 4 hours…
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Sailing Down Under, check
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Sailing Down Under, check
Flying all the way to Australia just for 8 days of sailing is not exactly relaxing, and not even very good for the environment. Nevertheless while this summer I was in the mid of my job’s boredom, I decided to accept my parents invitation to be their Skipper at the Witsunday Islands, as I was in desperate need for some recreational sailing. My father’s colleague Giulio and his daughter Sophia completed the crew of the little SeawindXL ‘Shearwater’, as we made our way through the tropical waters of the Great Barrier Reef. The sailing has generally been great, thanks to the gentle trade winds and the kick of the swift…
