20 year old Mathilde Larose was born and bred in Cherbourg and recently found a new hobby: land sailing. The accomplished athlete is a youth and sports education apprentice and found out about the well-known Normandy sport at the Office des Sports de Sciotot in the Manche.
Love at first sail
“I was introduced to land sailing under a year ago and I was hooked,” Mathilde says with enthusiasm. “I love the excitement, speed and control, it’s great!” The young woman has always loved sport and enjoys the sensation you get from land sailing. She discovered it during her sandwich course at the OSLC, a sports facility in Sciotot. It’s something that anyone can do and people of all ages enjoy it: “it’s exciting but you can take it down a notch too, you can just enjoy a leisurely ride if you want.”
Land sailing is for everyone: leisure, competition, children, grown-ups and the elderly. It's easy and affordable.
Controlling the wind makes land sailing a unique challenge
Mathilde discovered land sailing whilst working as a sports coach at Tourist Information. “I knew they did it but that’s not why I was there,” she says. She soon fell in love with the sport that sees her soak up the fabulous Sciotot setting and its 3km of beaches. “What’s great is that you can go anywhere, right up to Cap du Rozel if you want.” How about riding the wind? It was a real challenge for her. “The hardest part is getting to grips with wind direction and controlling it,” she says. “People don’t realise but you can’t pull too hard on the sheet line (editor’s note: rope) or else you go too fast and you have to watch out for gusts of wind.”
A jam-packed fitness schedule
Mathilde is an accomplished athlete who has played in a football club since she was 16. She also plays tennis, basketball, badminton, goes swimming and running. “I love doing lots of different things” Nordic walking, table tennis, strength training, football with kids, anything goes! After her apprenticeship, the young woman hopes to continue studying sports health and parasports. In the meantime, she trains hard every Saturday at the ASVV land sailing club. “It’s a sports club with time slots for regulars.”
Mathilde is passionate about her homeland and can’t imagine leaving Normandy. “There’s so much to do here,” she smiles. “La Cité de la Mer, Cap du Rozel, Biville dunes, Gatteville lighthouse, Nez de Jobourg, Saint-Vaast… It’s amazing! I love the architecture in Deauville, Cabourg and Trouville, and I simply adored studying in Caen for a year.”
A region where it all happens
There are lots of opportunities in and around Cherbourg with its many colleges (Intechmer, IUT), major companies (CMN, ORANO and EDF) and variety of schools. “There’s a great social and nightlife here too, especially in summer. I recommend La Potinière beach bar in Carteret and Le Sciocial Club in Sciotot, they’re great places. “
Thematics
