The weather we had this Thursday could not have been better for sailing. It made for a long day on the water under sunny skies and a great breeze from the southeast. As the day went on the breeze started building making the conditions windy enough for some of the kids to start hiking.
The 420 group started off the day by sailing all the way to the cove with Coaches Calli and Jack. On their way back they worked on their downwind and reaching techniques by paying close attention to the angle of their sails. Towards the end of the day the 420s raced against each other on a windward leeward course. After a few races they continued to work on their reaching technique all the way around the sandbar. By this point in the day the breeze was the strongest we had seen it. This made for good practice in the heavy air conditions.
The beginner optis began their day by going over the three minute starting sequence with coaches John, Emma, and Sophia. The learned every warning signal sound that is made during the start in addition to learning the windward leeward course. When they got out on the water their skills were put to the test. Without using any watches they were able to listen the signal sounds and know exactly how much time was left on the starting line. Each start was followed by a two-lapped raced around the windward leeward course. Racing was continued in the afternoon where most of the kids were able to sail by themselves!
We saw a huge improvement in the mercury mentor group today! The kids learned what every sound of the starting signal meant with the beginner opti group in the morning. Once they were out on the water they leanred how to steer the boat without any help from coach Dae! With one person manning the tiller and the other manning the sail, they were able to sail all around the basin. At times they were even passing the beginner optis and 420s! Whewwww!
Green fleet worked on some pretty complex boathandling with coach Stephen. They started out practicing their accelerations and then worked on their slow boat maneuvers. These are extremely important skills for being able to get off the starting line in a good position. Overall, this leads to better racing results! Another boathandling gain that the green fleet made was their agility through tacks. Faster tacks with a better hand switch are key to getting around the race course faster than your opponents.
