8.30 AM Sunday Juniors :
With the morning starting with blue skies and just that first hint of winter chill we were soon under way setting up for the first session which as usual ended up with 15 budding junior sailors signing on . The first surprise was to see Ollie walk in at 8.00 am which yes is unusual but he was in early for a good cause as he was taking out one of his school mates for his first sail even with a cold giving him the sniffles . Once everyone was rigged and ready and with good winds from the South ? at around 3/5 knots it was perfect for everyone and with Charlie setting a nice reach off they went . Jack and Dean both took crew with one skippering the Taz and one on a Tera and as usual sailed well and Jade also took a new sailor out but was saving most of her energy for her first go at 10.30 class and Aithan had his first go on the Open Bic with Addys help at first then off he went on his own and despite our predictions didnt capsize . The most popular Instructor on the day was Edwina with all the young ones crowding around the laser practicing knots then she sailed with four crew so we named her the entertainment officer on the cruise ship ( well done eddy ). Finally you guessed it they all wanted to capsize and yes the water is starting to chill down but it was no deterent as the boats fell over everywhere and lots of laughing was heard from both the shore and in the water.
10.30 am Sunday Training;
With the conditions pretty much staying the same as the morning if not a bit lighter and with a windward leeward course set it was a definite sailing skill challenge but just to make it a little more difficult I thought it was time that I introduced apparent wind to their skill set . If you ever really want to confuse a new sailor this is the way to go as all you see in front of you is these confused faces but it has to be introduced so it was a good day to start the process . With no Abbey to show how the upwind was done everyone struggled at first and with the wind shifting and dropping out everyone really had to work hard even Addy who had the added burden of being sick as well but refused to not sail . Jade who was having her first go listened well and managed to pick it up , Jackson and Mason got the upwind but took a while with the down wind and the funniest of all was Karl who took off at one stage by controlling the boom with his foot and as charlie said hey if it works it works !
I have to say that considering the light and flukey conditions everyone did very well even though they didnt seem to think so but Charlie and I did so well done everyone .
Open Racing ;
Ok there was no actual racing but we still sailed just for practice . Lance Steve Ben and Greg went out first but I convinced Charlie Casey and Eddy that there was no hurry as you guessed it the wind was all over the place so we waited for about 45 minutes then launched our boats and became instant drifting obstacles . The other guys went back to the club but I was determined to have a sail and after a short time of no wind it finally came back from the E/S/E around 5/7 knots so off we went to the deep hole .With Charlie and Casey in radials they werent far behind and even Eddy who was having her first sail to the deep hole in the 4.7 wasnt that far behind but when she got too far we just went back so she could keep up . Once we round the west cardinal I challenged Charlie and Casey to a race up to Runners and yes I did flog them but you should have heard the excuses yes I have taught them well ! all in all it was lots of fun!
Upcoming ;
Midwinter Cup ; Just a reminder that if you are interested in sailing in the midwinter cup and want to use a club boat you will need to book your boat at the sailing office as boat numbers are limited . We are also starting to take names for volunteers for the event for on water and land duties , there will be a volunteer sheet at the canteen from this weekend so if you can spare some time just let us know as all assistance is appreciated .
CU on the water
J Murphy