Hi sailing parents, this is Coach Chase here to fill you in on a huge day of sailing camp! We had great weather all day and consistent wind from the northeast so every fleet sailed all day.
Mercury Mentors tackled individual steering with each camper getting the chance to skipper the boat upwind and downwind. Everyone was thrilled to drive the boat (see gallery below)!
Beginner Opti’s second day on the water (with sails) was spent learning how to read the sail to respond to it. Sailors learned about tell tale, upwind angles, and steering to the sail. We practiced by sailing an upwind triangle course with two legs that required good trim to sail. Everyone made it around a few times so the fleet is doing great!
Green Fleet spent the morning learning the differences between headers and lifts and using shifts to minimize their distance to the mark. They practiced long upwinds with lots of tacks to work on their exit angles and trim. In the afternoon they did the cone drill to perfect these concepts and finished with long start, short course races to better identify laylines.
The 420 group sailed a triangle course to practice their steering and sail trim in the morning. They did a windward leeward in the afternoon to help sailors navigate crowded courses in windy conditions. I didn’t spend any time with 420s today, but I did see a huge high-speed capsize thanks to the high winds in the afternoon!
The opti race clinic practiced starting with a “silent start” drill, a start with no audible signals to make sure sailors can read flags and use their own watches to keep time. After, racers practiced perfecting their tactics with the golden route drill, designed to force interactions between boats in intense racing scenarios.
Thanks for another great day, sailing families; we can’t wait to go to Whiskey Creek tomorrow for our environmental education day!
-Coach Chase
