RS Tera Northern Squad Training at Leigh & Lowton Sailing Club
by Jennie Clark 1 Dec 2015 05:42 PST
28-29 November 2015
RS Tera North Squad at Leigh & Lowton © Mark Blake
The second weekend of coaching for the RS Tera North squad was held on 28 and 29 November and was hosted by Leigh and Lowton SC. The forecast was for high winds throughout the weekend so the Coaches were a bit stumped when they arrived early on Saturday morning to find little or no wind at all.
By the time the 25 strong squad had arrived, rigged, been briefed and got changed the wind had picked up and the fleet went afloat to practice using their tell tales. The more experienced helms sailed in the stronger wind coached by Bernard and Georgie, with the less experienced group sailing in a quieter area with coaches Brett and Julie. A long session saw lots of smiling faces come ashore – happy sailors ready for lunch and keen to get back out on the water!
The afternoon session gave more focus to upwind sailing and by the end of the day it was clear that the fleet were now much sharper and that despite the driving rain occasionally sticking the tell tales to the sail, everyone was able to read and interpret them and make appropriate decisions on sail setting. Fleet racing gave everyone a chance to show how much they had progressed.
Sunday saw a very early start with the sailors sent out just after Coach Graeme's fitness session and before the wind really picked up. It was fantastic to watch the fleet reveling in the windy conditions, with even the smallest helms coping well with reefed sails. A quick lunch was had then it was back on the water for the final sailing session, the fleet coming ashore just as the wind really picked up. Masts were quickly taken down and sails furled whilst we watched the tops being blown off the waves!
After a great debriefing session the fleet set off on their way home, all smiling after a wonderful weekend.