The first meeting began at 06:00, shortly before sunrise local time and 11:00AM in central Europe. I barely made it to the meeting in time and had to participate without having fortified myself with coffee. Today is going to be a long one, a mix of work and play.
Morning
The customer I’m working for is currently testing new software from a large software vendor and trying to shoehorn the old legacy technology into the 21st century. Not an easy task and fraught with pitfalls. Nonetheless it is challenging and interesting work and it will pay for my drinks and dinner ashore this evening.
The boats and racers for the Heineken Regatta are here and already practicing. The inbound and outbound bridge openings have lots more traffic than usual.
Noon
I worked throughout the morning and found it difficult. The wind has died to nothing, and there is a significant swell from the north making life quite uncomfortable. Although I’m acclimated to rolling and don’t get seasick or queasy that doesn’t mean that I can completely ignore the movement. It is impossible to walk aboard the boat without holding onto some surface. I can’t wait to get ashore onto terra firma.
Afternoon & Evening
My early afternoon briefing at Port de Plaisance, the centre of the Heineken Regatta, only lasted a short while. As the pictures below show, construction and preparation is in high gear.
In need of sustenance after my brief work appearance, I dinghied across to the SMYC. I met some old drinking buddies, Ross and Neil (who is skippering EHO1) and we segued from the SMYC to The Dinghy Dock for dinner. I had the honor of delivering 3 young ladies to their various boats afterward. At my age one has to take one’s thrills as they come 🙂