Hi, this is Dae, the Mercury mentor coach. Today there was very little wind in the morning. It was so light that we weren’t able to take our Mercury out. However, we still had a super fun day! We went over the parts of the boat and how to tell wind direction, as well as puffs and lulls. We then played Drip Drip Drop, which is like Duck Duck Goose, except you drop a bailer full of water on the Goose’s head. Then, we played around with squirt guns!
Beginner Opti’s tried to sail in the morning, however it was extremely difficult in the light wind. They slowly sailed on a sausage course. Luckily, in the afternoon they were able to sail around for their first time! They practiced steering and feeling their boat angles in relation to the wind. Some of the sailors caught on so quick that they were able to sail by themselves in the afternoon. After sailing upwind to the coaches, they were allowed to spend some time on the sand bar before heading in. We also are giving candy tomorrow to the four sailors who helped the most today with derigging.
Green Fleet spent their morning sitting in on an advanced Red White and Blue fleet clinic and learned about body position and tacking technique, as well as how to set their sails up properly. In the afternoon, they worked on their pre-start maneuvers such as slowing and stopping the boat, then accelerating when necessary. They then practiced these maneuvers with a drill called Mystery Starts, which means that they had to be prepared for Coach Sophia to randomly blow the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!! whistles without warning. Finally, the Green Fleeters ended their day with full races.
In the morning, the 420 Group went over points of sail again and then practiced that knowledge on a sausage course on the water. One boat was towed behind Coach Sam so that they could zero in on their steering and sailing techniques. After lunch, Coach John made a mock 420 to talk through the motions of tacking. On the water, they did a modified triangle course with a reach, a run, and a slight upwind so that the sailors could practice their upwind sail trimming.
Today all the sailors in each group took on loads of information, yet it was lots of fun. I saw tons of smiles on the water! So, hopefully, we will have another super productive day filled with sailing tomorrow!
