This morning we had stellar conditions for sailing with the storms staying out west and out of our way. The wind was coming out of the south east and at times was strong enough for the kids to get hiking.
In the beginning of the day the Green Fleet had a mini regatta were they sailed a windward leeward course twice around. Scores were kept and an eventual winner was crowned. The racing was tight the whole time with sailors moving up and down the scoreboard. This kind of competitive drive was something the coaches love to see. At the end of the day Coaches Anna and Sophia held a hiking competition where each sailor was timed for how long they could hike on the hiking bench. The kids had to stay inside due to thunderstorms in the area so this was a perfect opportunity to work on their hiking technique. Again, the competition was fierce.
The beginner opti group sailed a triangle course today to work on learned their angles and points of sail. This was only their second time steering and playing the mainsheet without being towed, and they did exceptionally well. The improvements they made today were huge given the large puffs we had rolling down the basin.
The mercury mentors split up into groups with Coaches Isa and Dae. Once out on the water, the kids worked on steering the mercury without help from their respective coach. As I mentioned earlier, with the wind being as strong as it was, singlehanding a mercury can be quite a challenge but the kids were able to steer perfectly to the conditions!
The 420 group practiced their mark roundings today. In regattas it is crucial to have a wide and tight marking rounding in order to keep or improve your position in a race. A wide and tight mark rounding is when you overshoot the mark instead of aiming straight at it. It is not until you go a little past the mark that you can either head up or bear down to round.
