Since the beginning of November, Sailing Club Delfin’s ILCA sailors have been in Split, taking part in joint training sessions with the competitors of JK Mornar. The Tivat team is led by the club’s head coach and selector of the Montenegrin ILCA national team, Ilko Klakor, and currently four of Delfin’s Laser sailors are in Split.
For our club’s currently most successful competitor, Ilija Marković, these preparations are of great importance as he faces yet another ambitious competitive season, while the younger sailors are getting ready for the 51st Opatija Cup in the ILCA 4 and ILCA 6 classes, scheduled from November 29 to December 1 this year.
Alongside Nikola Golubović, Delfin’s young hope and vice world champion in the ILCA 6 class, Petar Klakor and Andrija Marković are also training in Split. Although not part of these preparations, two more sailors from Tivat – Dragan Radonjić and Luka Klikovac – will compete in Opatija.
Preparations are going according to plan, even though the wind hasn’t quite been on their side. Ilija has been in Split since November 4, with the others joining him on Friday, November 8. The past week was marked by light winds of 3–6 knots, and to make the most of their time, the sailors mostly had two sessions at sea each day under those conditions – one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The remaining time was used for fitness training, Marković said. Yesterday, the bura finally arrived, blowing at 20–25 knots, giving our sailors, together with the Mornar team, a challenging, demanding, and dynamic day on the water. They now hope for good conditions in the coming days, with southerly winds expected after today’s bura.
Ilija Marković will continue training in Split until December 10, while the rest of the team returns to Tivat on Saturday, November 16, to carry on their preparations for Opatija in their home waters.