Second annual Wangi Sabot Development Camp a huge success

by Paul Summerell on 14 Mar 2012 It was a bright and sunny Saturday morning after a week of pouring rain and generally miserable weather. There were no complaints about rigging on the soggy grass though. Bare feet and mud between the toes set a fun and casual tone, as over sixty junior sailors of all abilities arrived for the Second Annual Wang Sabot Camp.

There was little wind for the morning coaching session so the sailors took the chance to be kids and enjoyed the waters of West Lake Macquarie (NSW), tipping over and swimming, while the team of coaches and volunteer helpers looked on.

It was hot dogs and soft drinks for lunch with lots of running around, exploring on the Wangi foreshore and jumping off the RSL jetty.

A breeze filled in for the afternoon session and the capsizing continued with a few beginner sailors caught off guard by the occasional gust of wind. For those that wanted, there was racing with the coaches offering advice and tips on the way around.

The fantastic Wangi volunteers prepared Dinner on Saturday night with sausages, steak, marinated chicken breasts and plenty of salads. Over 150 people ate under a full moon and the catering was almost perfect. Only a few emergency snags needed cooking to fill all the orders.

The Mums and Dads left for the night and the juniors settled in for an evening of movies and chatter. Lights out at eleven O’clock and light snoring replaced the whispers and giggles by about two O’clock.

After a breakfast of bacon and egg rolls, the Wangi committee boats were put to good use towing the happy campers around on tubes. There was a brief morning coaching session, but with little to no wind, the kids soon reverted to running, jetty jumping and swimming.

In the afternoon, the Sabot sailors were encouraged to participate in the Lake Mack Youth Regatta. A number of juniors instead chose to stay with the coaches and gained some valuable sailing time on the water.

A de-briefing by the team of coaches followed by the Youth Regatta presentation wrapped up the Sabot camp weekend. Boats, camping gear and tired children were then bundled into cars for the journey home. No doubt, many of the sailors went to bed early and dreamt of future sailing success.

Because as we all know; Sailing success stories begin in Sabots.