My Sunday, October the 21st.

Today, is a particular day, it is my sister's birthday! Yes I have got a little sister but she does not live with us because she studies management and marketing at the ESC Grenoble, a great business school (6^th in France). So I sent her a message to tell her Happy Birthday.

But the great moment of my Sunday was the visit of the Airbus factory. I went to the visit with Poulet, one of my rowing club fiends. The visit was interesting because I could chat mechanics with several engineers in particular about composite materials ( one of my university subjects). The interesting thing was I could see several parts of the Airbus A380 and the different tools used to build the plane's parts. It is amazing when you see an aluminium bloc of 750 kg which the weight is divided by 20 after to be machined. Another example when you see a titan piece big as a dictionary which resist to a 160000 Newton strength you can say only one thing: Wao !!!! My last example is when you see a carbon piece, with a circle shape, 3m width an 1m high which the weigh is only 100 Kg ( 8 times less heavier than steal !!!!). But I am quiet disappointed , I think a guided tour would have been more interesting and more alive.

The rowing integration day

Saturday, october the 13^th, we made an integration day in order for the students of the different UFR or schools to meet each other. The idea was simple. During the first part of the afternoon, (because students sleep the saturday morning), we organize a 300 m long gig race mixing in the crew : boys and girls, engeneering school and university, beginners and confirmed. The race took part in this way: At the beginning there were sevral pools of boats. Each pool had a match racing and we kept in competition only the best crew. After we made other pools with only the best crews and we started again until the final to find the best. The award ceremony took place during the party with stupid prizes such as wooden spoon or ...

At the end of the afternoon the students came back home to have a shower and to change clothes. During this time, the organisation staff prepared the room for the party with giant screen and video projecteur to watch the rugby match ( this famous match where the France lost !!!) and prepare the barbeque.

At nine, the match and the dinner started with the enthusiasm proper to this kind of event. Until the end of the match people believed the France team would win. But that's another story. The match finished and the real party started with dance and music and with a short cut for the traditionnal « bateux de l'Erdre !!! », the club members would understand !!!!!

The party finished in a good mood. Everybody was glad and smiling.

It was such a good nigth!!!

I would like to thank Milou and Momo for the media instalation, Seb for the room tidying and Poulet for the race organisation.

My summer - The first week of July

Normally I would have to make a blog only for my summer, it was so much busy : there are too many thinks to say about it. To start I took part to the J80 world championship at the “Trinité sur mer” the first week of July. The J80 is a 8m long sailing boat, and you drive it with a 4 or 5 persons team. It’s a funny boat because you can have some feelings equal to those bring by a smaller boat, but you are on a crew.

The trip starts the Sunday to go from Nantes to the Trinité. The travel was 6 hours long. However it’s nice because you see all the coast and it was the same to the return to Nantes. The championship started Tuesday. The sun was shining although the wind was strong (25 knots) and it didn’t decrease during the whole week. To give you an idea of the wind strength, the first day 21 crews were allowed to repair their torn sails, 21 out of 124!!!!! Imagine?! The other days there were 3 rounds / days. It is tiring, because it's necessary to be at the harbour at 8 A.M, in order to be on the water at 9A.M, to start at 10A.M, and come back to the harbour at 4 P.M , with the wind, waves, sun, it’s hard; and this without eating because between the rounds you haven’t got the time to have lunch.

Besides there are the important race steps: On the boat, my job was to hoist and flop down the spinnaker (what a great job, but sometimes dangerous when there is a lot of wind but so fun!!!!) I remember, once , the skipper jibed and the wind was so strong the boat flattened when the spi changed side. And I tried to keep my balance on a boat that the mast was quiet parallel to the water. It’s not easy !!!!

The other steps were when you arrived on a buoy where there were 30 boats you have to scream “starboard!!!!!” or “water!!!” to get the priority during the jibe. It’s amazing. The last important step or the first on the chronological order: the starting. I have said we were 124 boats to the participate to the championship divided in two pools; the gold and the silver pool. So imagine more than 60 boats on a starting line with a maximum of 1m between two boats. Here my job consisted in to be kneel on the stem and told to the skipper if we were too near or too far from the starting line. And I can tell you when you heard the starting signal, the crew pulls on the ropes and you feel an adrenaline rise in your whole body . It’s so exciting!!!! So to conclude we finished 112th for the first time. There is worse!

My summer - From the second week of July to the first week of September

Two days after the world championship, I started to work as a sailing teacher in the Club Meditéranée of La Palmyre - between La Rochelle and Bordeaux. It was my first summer job, and an unforgetable experience. The sailing teacher's team was so, so… it’s not possible to describe them. They were so fun!!! Everybody has a nickname such as “L’endive”, “Polo”, “Rico”, “Tricard”, “bibi foc”, “La pintade”, “Fred”, “La rafouille”, “ptit ‘homme”, “Pierette” “Max” and mine : “Le dernier Kayakiste” but it's too complicated to explain.

My summer - From the second week of July to the first week of September- the spot

The spot was so beautiful. Imagine a close bay, with white sand, blue water , a big white and red light house and green trees all around the bay. After there was the club. All the houses were so cute in the middle of a large park with trees and grass and a point of view on the Atlantic Ocean.

My summer - From the second week of July to the first week of September - My Friends

Besides there was all the G.O Team to make the shows, help and advice all the clients. The amazing thing was, during your holiday (one day a week) you could use the different installations to practice an activity like wall climbing or archery or go to the swimming pool. The team mood was good and you could chat with everybody and meet lots of different people that come from everywhere; it’s so interesting and good for your knowledge. And I make a kiss to my favourite G.O. Alexia, Sharon, Myrthe, Esme, Pierrot, La Mèche, Daniel, Andrea, Domingo, Coralie, Jeanne, Alicia, Barbara, Servine, Nico, Damien and the sailing team ...

My summer - From the second week of July to the first week of September - My Job

Now an important thing: My job. At the beginning my job used to consist in hoisting and flopping down the sails, keeping security on beach or in the bay and giving half an hour private lessons. So ok you do the same thing every day, but every day it's different because the weather was not the same and you meet different people. It’s good for me and for my English too, I hope!!!! Being seated on a catamaran 3 hours a day I think there are worse jobs. After one month, the boss give me an other job: I always had to do the same thing, but I had to do the “mini club” that consist in giving lessons to children. At beginning I was quite scared for the responsibility but after it was so fun, so great, so… I love teaching to children because they live in another world that looks like mine, with games, fantastic stories, sweets….But it’s so difficult because they don’t see and feel the danger.

So I go back home one day before going back to university, tired ( too many parties!) but glad of a wonderful summer and I would like to thank all the GO team and particularly Fred, my boss and the sailing teachers team for their attention, good mood, life happiness.Thanks Everybody

The international sea rowing competition of Saint Malo.

Sunday, September the 30th we went to Saint Malo to take part to a Rowing competition. Wake up at 5 A.M - it’s soon- and direction to UNA . At 6 A.M I was with three of my friends in the car in direction of Saint Malo. In the car the mood was good, laughing and making jokes about all and nothing. We arrived at 8 A.M in order to assist to the strokes and cox meeting. After direction to the harbour to prepare the boat and put it on the water. The race field on Saint Malo bay was beautiful, with the light house, the Chateaubriand’s castle and the little islands on this clear blue water. On the starting line we were more than 30 boats and the race was hard; the boat is old and heavy and the race is long (12 km). At the end we arrived 2nd (but by the bottom of the classification). The race finished, we tidied the boat and the oars, and drink a beer on the sea side. As the weather was sunny, it was a pleasure to chat about the race and other things. Moreover we went to eat a pizza in a little restaurant in Saint Malo laughing like every time. Last but not least we finish our rowing trip visiting Saint Malo before leaving. It ‘ s so cute and full of history. The return to Nantes was harder, everybody was sleeping in the car but super driver Momo was here to bring back us. I would like to thank our cox for his last race with us, J-P you will miss us, and all the team (momo the driver, Seb and Mate (our famous Hungarian rower)) for their good mood and jokes.