Stokes Bay Training Weekend 25th & 26th April

Conditions for Training Saturday were far from ideal, a short sharp Solent chop combined with a shifty wind gusting up to 20 kts made conditions challenging for the thirteen sailors, all of whom took at least one swim during the day.

Russ Clark ran a very professional event, and it was obvious that Penny wasn’t the only one who had picked up skills during her Olympic campaign (Eds. note Russ's wife Penny was the GBR Laser Radial Rep. at the 2008 Olympics).

The morning session was based around a short windward-leeward course, with the emphasis on boathandling and starting skills. Some of the sailors new to the class went out in the second RIB to observe and lend rescue help as required. The experienced sailors were coping with the boathandling, just, and some of the less experienced were sailing without the kite. Common problems areas were tacking and gybing, often exacerbated by the unsettling effect of the chop.

After a 2 hour session the fleet returned ashore to recoup and recharge, before a quick re-brief for the afternoon session. Everybody launched for the second session in the hope that the wind would soon moderate as forecast. In fact the wind increased by a couple of knots before starting to drop about an hour later.

As the fleet had rested so the tide had turned and the effect was to make hovering and timing for the many start sequences, much harder. Fortunately all the fun was recorded on video, so it was possible to sit back later and enjoy the sight of boats drifting rapidly past the line at a rate of knots.

Everyone learnt something from the day, and were impressed by Russ’s very analytical approach to what can seem like a chaotic situation. Most were able to stay and put it into practice during Stokes Bay club racing the following day when we were blessed with sunshine, flat water and a 12 knot breeze, typical.

Report by Dan Vincent
Photos by Tania Samus http://www.photoskiff.com/sailing/stokesbaytr09/