Ana Hernández is a 28-year-old sailor who can boast of being the first Lanzarote native to participate in the 44Cup, the high-performance sailing competition at an international level. Last February she experienced one of the best experiences on a personal and sporting level, but at the same time very demanding and hard. All this in a paradisiacal environment such as the island of Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands.
To achieve this milestone, Hernández has had to prepare physically to be able to reach a clear objective: the minimum weight to be part of the Lanzarote Calero Sailing Team team.
Sailing is a sport that Ana Hernández always had present in her life because her father and brother practiced it. From the age of 8 she signed up for sailing at the Insular Center for Nautical Sports, where she reaffirmed that it was a sport she was passionate about. She continued sailing until she was 15 years old, but then, when she went to study Sciences of Physical Activity and Sport, she put sailing aside.
"When I finished university I returned to Lanzarote and they told me that there was a sailing cycle at the IES Blas Cabrera, so I took it. That's when I started again in the world of sailing and working on it too," she says.
In addition, the young woman also entered the world of barquillos and has worked as an Optimist coach and at the Latin Sailing School of La Graciosa where she still is today. As if that were not enough, at the same time she works for the Canarian Federation of Latin Sailing Barquillos where they promote this sport in different educational centers on the islands.
Regarding the reception of her teammates in the 44Cup, the Lanzarote native says she feels "very welcomed". "I already knew some colleagues and they have protected me a lot, I am learning a lot with them," she says.
The preparation for the competition
In a competition as demanding as the 44Cup, physical preparation is fundamental and it is what Hernández focused on for four weeks, time she had since she was notified to be part of the team. "They called me and told me that if I wanted to participate in the first regatta, try to see if I liked it and if I was good at it," she says.
"On the first day of the regatta they weigh you and you have to reach certain kilos because the team has a maximum weight," explains the athlete. Each participant is informed of the weight they should have and, in this case, the sailor had to reach 60 kilos when at that time she weighed 67. In the end, she managed to reach the weight they required, and even almost a kilo below the objective.
In addition, the high level of this regatta implies this preparation to face the hardness of the circuit. "It is necessary to be on that boat because it is very physical and it was the first time that I got on that boat and, on top of that, I come from light sailing," she says. For this, the young woman practiced crossfit and went running to lose weight but at the same time get in shape.
Regarding food, she says that she "tried to make a caloric deficit", relying on the recommendations of a dietician friend.
Her position within the Lanzarote Calero Sailing Team
Each of the team members has their assigned position within the boat, a fundamental organization in such a small space and that requires a lot of technique. In the case of the young woman, libero and navigation was the position she occupied. "My mission was to support the rest of the positions, I was doing what Nano Negrín was telling me and as in the end I am the one who weighs the least on the boat, I can move well in it to collect all the ropes after each maneuver," she explains.
In addition, something curious about these large boats of more than 13 meters in length is that, to carry out the regatta in a place as far away as the Caribbean, the boats are disassembled and transported in containers.
On the other hand, the team's objective was to start getting back into the 44Cup because the other boats that compete have a very high level and are very experienced. "In this first regatta that we did, the objective was not to have a good position, but to consolidate ourselves as a team and learn from everything," declares Hernández.
A total of nine boats participated in the regatta and it takes place over four days. However, the teams could not leave the port of Nanny Cay one of the days due to bad weather conditions.
The competition is based on a circuit marked with buoys that must be made and the positions of the teams go according to what position they reach and, the one with the fewest points, is the one that wins.
An unforgettable experience
This first experience of Ana Hernández has been a discovery for her. "It has been incredible, I was going in this regatta to try to see how I was doing and they have proposed me to continue in the team because there are still four regattas left in this competition," she says excitedly.
The Lanzarote native, without thinking twice, has accepted the proposal. "I told them yes with my eyes closed," she says. The rest of the 44Cup regattas will be held in different parts of the world, such as Switzerland, Sardinia, the Netherlands and, the last one, in Fuerteventura.
