Pictured above: Michaela Mifsud, Andrew Mifsud and Comanche Raider II skipper Jonathan Diamantino      

Sailing may have romantic connotations associated with it, but in reality it is one tough sport. It is a place where man and machine must work together to combat the elements.  If competition is involved it requires a tight team to work towards triumph and victory.

As a prominent sponsor of the sailing yacht Comanche Raider II, GasanMamo Insurance gives employees the opportunity to head out at sea on the racing yacht, to learn the rudiments of sailing, to enhance team spirit and to enjoy a summer afternoon with a difference.  This is an annual event for GasanMamo where the team can savour a taste of the exhilarating experience that is sailing.

This year the GasanMamo team was joined by the family of one of the employees.  Teenagers Andrew and Michaela Mifsud were quick to get on board for the event, and for a chance to experience a high-performance keel boat.  Andrew and Michaela, together with their father, will next July compete in the World Sailing Championship in the UK.  Both have been involved with the Birzebbuga Sailing Club for the last three years, training to sail and race.

“Going on the Comanche Rider was a very beautiful experience,” said Andrew Mifsud. “Dinghy sailing is great and on a yacht it’s similar but on a larger scale. On the GasanMamo Comanche Raider II I felt I had more space within which to move and when I helmed I still felt like hiking out to trim the boat.”  His sister Michaela continued: “It was a wonderful opportunity. I was impressed by the large sails and the different rigging. When I was helming I was a bit nervous and when I was going to tack or gybe it was very thrilling.”