RS Tera Welsh Region Training Weekend at Port Dinorwic Sailing Club
by Alan Knock, PDSC 24 Feb 2020 18:40 UTC
22-23 February 2020
On the weekend of 22nd - 23rd February the Welsh Region RS Tera fleet enjoyed their first weekend boot camp of the winter with coach Brett Cokayne, hosted by Port Dinorwic Sailing Club.
A particularly hardy group of Teras assembled on the Saturday morning to be faced with challenging conditions. A strong south westerly wind coupled with an equally strong tidal flow in the opposite direction kicked up a very lumpy Menai Strait. Not ideal for training unless you happen to be planning to cover wave sailing, which happily was the case!
A very windy morning session ensued and the intrepid sailors honed their wave sailing and improved their ability to cope when conditions deteriorate. They who sail and run away survive to sail another day, was the motto for the afternoon and a classroom session of video analysis was the popular decision.
Sunday saw much better wind for training allowing Brett to run two sessions of sailing covering:
- Starting (lots)
- Mark rounding and mark room with a round the clock exercise and two RIBs
- More upwind and downwind wave sailing down the middle of the Straits
The sailors came off the water both buzzing and shattered. One sailor (who shall remain nameless) when asked, "How many capsizes was that in the end then?" was heard to reply, "I'm not sure, lots, I lost count after seven!" A sure sign that the group both had been pushed by the coaches and were pushing it in response.
Thanks must go to Brett for coaching a great weekend and to PDSC for hosting. The warm club house and galley with endless supplies of hot drinks were most welcome.