Sail training this year will happen in two "blocks" in June and August, with a special event in August, after sailing, to finish off with a bang.
The sessions are open to sailors of all abilities (adults and juniors) who want to improve their sailing, and perhaps begin racing. For absolute beginners, we start off in larger dinghies (e.g. Wayfarers), covering the real basics of sailing – rigging the boat, sailing where you want to go, and turning round (i.e. tacking and gybing). Once these essentials have been mastered, we put them together, sailing around simple courses on all points of sailing, and in different boats (e.g. single-handers like Lasers, Toppers and Optimists).
Parents should be at the Club while their children are involved in the training. We hope that most parents can help in some way with the sessions and encourage parents to be closely involved with the youngest children in particular. If you can’t sail already, why not take part in the sessions, and if you can, why not help instruct? You do not need to have your own boat to take part since the club owns several boats used for training, and has access to many more lent kindly by club members. Buoyancy aids are compulsory and a wetsuit is essential for all but the warmest days. Please speak to us if you do not own them, and we’ll see what we can do!
Of course, racing is what LLSC is really all about, so once you’re confident in sailing around and going where you want to go, we’ll try to add in a bit of healthy competition! Most people soon find out that the real fun isn’t just in going from A to B, but in trying to do it faster than other people! For those interested in learning how to race, we’ll cover the basic rules of the game before running training sessions and trial races to help build confidence in starting, tactics, boat handling, and sailing fast.
The sessions end in a mini-championship towards the end of August after normal club racing. This will consist of a number of short races with the overall winner being awarded the Conic Cup at the AGM. There will also be prizes for those who have improved the most over the course of the year.
We look forward to seeing you on the water! – for more details, contact Jamie Crockett sailtraining@lochlomondsc.org.
