Hello dear readers.
I know it has been QUITE SOME TIME since my last update. But when personal finances come into play, quite a bit of time is needed for a decision, action taken, maintaining momentum for the action, and surmising if this new course of action was a good idea to begin with–while allowing the “thing” to take on a life of its own and thus steamrolling you in the direction you have aimed it at in the beginning.
So, now, TEAM VILORIA YACHT RACING will be self funded.
With much thanks to the sponsors who have tirelessly supported us (and still continue to do so), we will uphold our end of our agreement–and MORE. Because you guys are awesome. You saw what we saw, and though the grand vision for the team may be bigger than what most Filipinos are comfortable with, you committed to our cause when we did not have much to give back–yet.
You became part of our strategic team, became our mentors, and are now our overall motivational team. Your mindset continues to be in-tune with ours and so, to this day, we continue to have a very good relationship.
Sadly–but understandably so–our beloved Philippines isn’t ready for something so disruptive to the status quo as “RACING ALONE IN THE OCEAN OVER A LONG DISTANCE”.
Well, THAT, or we attracted the attention of mostly “not-the-kind-of-corporate-sponsors-we-need”.
Yes. We had 3 different airline groups talk to us–aside from our last airline sponsor who we will forever be grateful to, and 2 different insurance companies express their interest. We just couldn’t come to an agreement that saw the team retaining at least some of its values. We take pride in supporting the fight against cancer, and assisting children who are fighting the disease will ALWAYS be one of our priorities.
We were ALSO approached by politicians who were very enthusiastic, but whose ROI requirements went against the team values. Actually, having political sponsors will always be against our values to begin with. Sorry politician friends, your financial infusion would have solved funding issues for the next 3 years, but TEAM VILORIA and politics don’t mix. Though I did make up for your disappointment through some festive fellowship and satisfactory food, and I am glad you are diverting your attention toward supporting the fight against human trafficking like I suggested.
TEAM VILORIA just cannot be associated with anything political in nature, EVER.
Because our schedule can no longer be pushed-back, the team will now be financed out of our own pocket–which is why, I–Paolo Viloria, am back at my old consultancy gig with a healthy smattering of passive income businesses (being grown) in order to maintain a relentless (YES. STILL) pursuit of that dream that evolved from a childhood love to what is now a project that will make-or-break me as an adult human being.
If you see “Forex related” ads on our leaderboards, this is something you should not be puzzled over. It is intentional, and please do give them a click and a look-see once they are there.
The choice of “first boat” has now changed as well.
From the initial advice of my “intensely French” sailor friends of “joining the Solitaire du Figaro”, I have now taken the advice of “laid-back Kiwi” sailor friends, which is doing the easier Mini Transat. Smaller boat, about 20 foot, the images of which you see here.
Images courtesy of the Finot-Conq group. (Yes. French. They are awesome solo sailors and solo sailboat designers)
Cheaper boat as well. For the cost of a brand new luxury SUV (which I have proven to be quite capable of purchasing back in 2007), I can have a pre-owned (or pre-loved/pre-raced, if you prefer) POGO 2.
The new plan now, is to purchase the boat in Europe, keep it there, and then fly there for a set period of time in a year (6 months minimum) for familiarization and training.
An expensive sounding proposition, to be honest, but not if I can make ample arrangements with friends who live near the area of the Les Glenans Sailing School in Brittany who have volunteered to help-out. If you happen to be reading this, I love you guys.
(More about the Mini Transat later on)
An equal challenge is learning the local language and having some conversational proficiency with it.
French. The language of love.
And because I do have a lot of love in my heart (and passion. MASSIVE PASSION), this will be something undertaken with as much gusto as the sailing.
I have also made arrangements for my local training, here in the Philippines. I am here after all.
We are just ironing things out with the Philippine Sailing Association (PSA), which is our national sailing team. I am being hopeful we can reach a mutually beneficial agreement soon. So updates to follow. These guys run an awesome program, and if you haven’t heard of the Standard Insurance Centennial 3 Sailing Team, then shame on the mainstream media for not bringing them to your attention sooner.
These guys know how to WIN, and have been winning for a long time.
As for my previous injury–yes, Spine Damage is permanent, so said my attending physician–I have taken great effort to re-strengthen my once impressive (haha) core that, according to my wife I have allowed to “flab-out”. I guess having only 4 of the original 8 pack visible (I had 8 instead of 6) constitutes “neglect” according to the better half of the founding members of TEAM VILORIA.
But, standards are what make an athlete. Merely wanting to finish is the road to mediocrity, and so I am reminded of my competitive past and the need for the pursuit of excellence.
The pursuit of excellence and holding yourself up to a very high standard is what makes an athlete, boys and girls. Always remember that if and when you decide to join any race.
Calling yourself an athlete but not having the proper mindset is just being pretentious. And we cannot have that for the team. Alas, I have taken my lessons and standards of the past for granted. Given that I thought I would always have athletic performance on my side.
I forgot the physical–hard work that needed to go with the mindset. While I did put in a lot of work, it wasn’t as intense as it used to be compared to how I did things in my youth. Thank God I got it in my head to pay a visit to my old swim coach who was able to set me straight. I need to get back to being an athlete again. Not just to perform better, but to prevent myself from further injury through agility, speed, strength, and endurance training. Doing all of these sharpens the mind as well. And I am hoping my “alertness and mindfulness” levels will improve. They say your mental acuity improves with age if tempered with intense activity. But I think some crazy guy said that.
AND, I am even crazier to take his advice.
And so now, I find myself training my once neglected body into primal fighting form. Yes. I really meant primal. I have every intention of bringing myself up to fitness levels where I can run-down and take-down medium sized game with my bare hands. No kidding.
Alright. I exaggerated there a bit. Maybe just small game as medium sized prey, when they fight back, makes me squeal in fright like a little girl.
Moving on, I have found that constantly wearing a back brace, not just for support but also for protection, is quite essential in giving myself and those who care for me some peace of mind.
Plus body armor makes you look cool, despite being the one idiot on the boat who is wearing all the body armor.
As my Kiwi and Aussie friends would say, “Whattever gets the job done, Paolo. Just man-up and do it.”
Those who mind, don’t matter. While those who matter, don’t mind.
Anyway, more updates (I PROMISE THIS TIME) soon.
Cheers.
