It was a busy week for the new Malta Canoe Federation (MCF) committee, elected just a week ago, while they completed the preparations  leading up to this year’s edition of the Manoel Island Canoe Race.  Early morning storm clouds and force 5 /6 north-westerly winds threatened to wreck the best of plans.  Although the wind continued to blow as forecasted, the day turned out to be bright and warm.   Race control decided to move the start / finish position closer to the Manoel Island bridge, curiously, the original station for the first editions of this annual race.  Furthermore to compensate for the choppy sea on the less sheltered part of the port, the circuit was reduced to a tight circumnavigation of the island for safety purposes.