So that the story has a tail and a head: tell us how you started with ski jumping and what have you been doing in your life since then? Ski jumping and with it the story of the wind started in my early childhood when I was seven years old. I'm fifteen
So that the story has a tail and a head: tell us how you started with ski jumping and what have you been doing in your life since then?
Ski jumping and with it the story of the wind started in my early childhood when I was seven years old. I joined the national team at fifteen and competed until I was 31. I participated in three Winter Olympics, and my best result was in 1988 in Calgary, when I brought home a silver medal. After sixteen years, I stopped competing and joined the FIS, where I worked as assistant director of the Ski Jumping World Cup. I helped with the organization and execution of the competitions and especially focused on the wind conditions, which we know are very important in ski jumping and can even be dangerous for the competitors.
And how does sailing fit into this story?
Sailing was basically an early part of my life, as I started windsurfing (sailing on a board) in high school. During this time, my father's friend had a small competitive sailboat, with which I helped him here and there. After I earned some money from ski jumping, I decided to buy my own sailboat. It has now been 22 years since...
When you talk about sailing, we get the feeling that you really love the moments you can spend at sea since you were little. How does this relationship work between you, the snow and the sea?
So, even as a top competitor, I had a sailboat and that brought a kind of balance to my life. The time I spend on a sailboat is a time to relax and clear my mind, but at the same time it is still an activity where you have to make decisions, study aerodynamics, your movements, the wind... The only big difference between the two sports is that I hate the wind in jumping, but I love it in sailing. Based on personal experience, I could say that the sea and snow are a great combination, inseparable for me.
"The only big difference between the two sports is that I hate the wind in diving and I love it in sailing."
How did you come to the "around the world" project?
Since I was a child, I loved to travel and admired sailboats. I started thinking about traveling around the world about 10 or 15 years ago. About six years ago, I started saving for a suitable sailboat to make such a trip a reality. As a result of all this, four years ago I bought my second sailboat (actually just the base) and started adding everything important. I chose equipment and vital parts and worked, worked... I loved doing this, because I also gained valuable experience.
In addition to preparing the boat, such a trip probably also requires other studies and research. What was the planning of the trip like?
Putting together a schedule for such a long trip requires quite a bit of advance planning, foresight... because you always have to take into account unexpected things that come and go that add a day or two to the trip or take it away. After the sailboat was ready three years ago, I decided to start the journey, but at the same time, to travel in stages - to intertwine work and adventure. My geographical knowledge (graduated in geography) helped a lot in putting together the project, because I knew a lot of things before I set out on my journey. As for other things, it took me about a year to study the climate and currents, to put together a schedule, while also taking into account and balancing my work and family. I think it was the most suitable time as far as the family is concerned, since the two children are already more or less independent. Anja is 16 and Jurij is 18, and both are ski jumpers who train hard; in 2009, the first women's world championship in ski jumping will take place, and Jurij already celebrated in 2006 as the junior world runner-up. I hope they manage to make a career out of ski jumping, but I think they still need to think about life after the competitions.
So how did the family accept your project?
The family accepted the project and also supported me; they also like to sail. The children were always with us on the sailing boat from the age of three months, as this was also the way we spent our holidays. They also joined me during the trip.
So in some parts of the trip you had company - you were visited by friends and family members, but in some parts you were completely alone, like last spring when you sailed alone from Ecuador to French Polynesia - across the Pacific. What did you miss most then?
During such a long undertaking, it is probably quite normal that you felt lonely. That's when you miss family, friends, company. It's nice to be alone for a day or two, but then you get too lonely. When my family isn't around, we still keep in touch every day. When I crossed the Pacific alone, I carried many books and movies with me to ward off loneliness. But the sailing itself was quite tense due to the strong wind, so I didn't have much time to read... In the end, I only read two books and watched a few movies in twenty days.
Have you ever been scared while traveling? What were the most difficult moments you experienced on the road?
I definitely have doubts and fears sometimes, but that's OK. The hardest moment... It must have been a week before I started the project - in October 2005. I attended Barcolana with my sailboat. During the regatta, I collided with another sailboat that crossed my path and damaged my Skokica quite a bit. It took me a lot of time to repair the damage, I had to get the boat ready for the trip again and then wait for the winter to pass. the start of the project was thus postponed for half a year, to the spring of 2006.
So, you've sailed around the world in a 12 meter floating shell. What would you like to achieve on this trip?
Sailing around the world is everything in itself: a dream and a goal. In addition to fulfilling my dreams, I want to see many beautiful things that the world has to offer. There are so many things to see that no matter how hard I try, I always have to make compromises between what I want to see and the time I have available, because I'm always "flying" back to work while sailing. . My work is very intense during the winter and summer seasons, but at the same time I have the most time in the spring and autumn, when it is the most favorable time for sailing. I might do it all over again when I'm older and really take the time to do it then….
