Today was the third day this week the kids were able to enjoy a sunny, windy day of sailing! We have been so lucky as coaches to experience back to back days of sailing with the kids. Having multiple days in a row with great weather has allowed their skills to grow enormously. They have become more and more comfortable in the boat- some Beginner Opti sailors even sailing by themselves!
In the morning, the kids started the day meeting with their respective groups, and talking about their goals for the day, and how to accomplish them. For Mercury mentors, the goal is always to develop a love for the sport and promote comfort and confidence in sailboats. After going over more parts of the boat, and the points of sail, the kids went out by the sandbar. They were able to understand the often-confusing terms and references much clearer by experiencing firsthand how sailboats move.
The beginner Opti group were taught a new course today, one that involves a new maneuver they had previously not seen before- gybing. The “hotdog” course as we call it, involves one tack and one gybe, similar to the shape of a Nascar racetrack. Tomorrow, we plan to hold our own “Opti 500” and let them have some fun racing against each other. The kids made real progress in learning how to move their boats around marks and avoid collisions. In the afternoon, they killed it! Some kids were even in Optis by themselves and were doing awesome handling a boat on their own.
The 420 group went out to the Cove this morning, and practiced dry-capsizing, which comes in handy when you capsize but don’t want to get wet! They had a ton of fun getting in the water on such a hot day. During the afternoon, they sailed out by the sandbar, practicing their boat handling skills. Tacking, gybing, and steering all improved tremendously by spending the afternoon this way- the kids getting better and better the more time they spend on the water.
In the morning, the Green Fleet group spent time doing more advanced drills, such as a box-drill. The kids had to make decisions quickly and had to have great boat handling skills to avoid other boats in the box. During all this, they had to have a start on a line once the sequence went off. This drill was designed to keep them close to the starting line before a race, and to make sure they started on time- all skills Green Fleeters need. In the afternoon, they did more practicing with the box drill, and afterwards took a fun break and swam by the sandbar.
In the afternoon, all of the kids used teamwork to help put all of their sails, boats, rudders, dollies and centerboards away just in time to be picked up. We hope for this great weather to continue throughout the week- and see you all for Friday Night Fun Racing! -Coach Emma-
