It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon with quite a fresh SW breeze, and a very low tide to welcome the Juniors when they arrived at the club from 4.30pm. The kids are beginning to realise that if they want to sail a particular Opti they need to get there early! Sean Munro and Hunter each took out a Sunburst, which was wonderful as we had two new potential members, friends of Mackenzie, and we could offer them instruction in bigger dinghies than Opti's. Aman also got out in Sean’s Sunburst and learnt some of the basics, and finally he went duo with Connor taking the Opti back to the slipway. Brooke, Poppy, Harrison, Mackenzie, Kieran and Connor took out all six Opti's, the first time we've had enough experienced children to take the Club Optis out en masse. It was a brilliant sight watching eight dinghies sailing the short course just outside the club, and Poppy entertained them with a graceful capsize, after an impromptu tack. She got back in and bailed furiously, but by then was very cold. So Grace took over and we dropped Poppy onshore for a shower and warm up. Mackenzie’s two friends the had a go on the Sunbursts, and Mackenzie was having such a good time throwing water around she stayed on the Cube all evening.  Best sailor was awarded to Brooke who did amazingly well on the water, learning to use the tiller extension, trimming the hull in the water and an excellent return to the slipway, under control at all times. The debrief also highlighted the need for a wind/waterproof on top of a wet suit, which on its own is useless for sailing as it just loses heat when exposed to wind.The all round awareness has improved with all the juniors, with no reported collisions, despite eight dinghies sailing in a very restricted area for over an hour. Well done and one of the best evenings on the water, since the Junior Sailing started. Gill Moore Dinghy Sailing Coordinator |
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