Musto Skiff Training at Rutland Sailing Club

By Patrick Keen, GBR MS 246 on 7 Feb28-29 January 2012

On the weekend of 28-29 Jan 2011, 7 hardy Skiff sailors congregated at Rutland Water with respected sailor and trainer Ian Turnbull - to be put through their paces and learn a few tricks.

The motley crew of class-newbies, old hands (including local hero Richard Stenhouse) and those in between completed 7 short (2 lap) races on the first day. We were kept moving by a good 10mph wind and Ian hot on our tails - as he shadowed everyone round to give timely hints, and capture all the right and wrong practice on video for forensic examination later. Under the pressure, few managed to avoid capsize (though performance clearly improved as the day wore on). However, with everyone dressed for the 4C forecast and the sun shining strongly, the occasional swim could be welcomely refreshing. We managed to get the boats away at dusk before the water froze on the decks and spent some very useful hours in the bar - reviewing the footage from the day and good examples of how to do it from Ian’s extensive video library (topping up the first hour’s review of critical points over lunch).

The clear skies and wind had gone on Sunday, so Ian had us concentrating on sorting out on land the issues that had hindered our performance the day before: important boat pimps, and tack and gybe choreography (aboard David Annan’s boat – kindly lent); as well as more video comparison between our practice and best practice, and how to bridge between the two. The day was rounded off with a discussion about the 2012 Worlds at Weymouth, including how to find useful sources of information and intelligence to inform your tactics.

Whatever their level, everyone seemed to not just enjoy the two days, but to take a lot away from it (much more than the ‘party bag’ of video clips we received for further study at home). The session on land gave as much or even greater value to the one on water, and the two days together made it a complete and rewarding package. I, for one, am looking for some big performance improvements once I can put this learning into practice. If you want to benefit from similar training and some Weymouth-specific learning, you can join Ian at the venue before the champs. Check the details online and contact Ian if you want to book a place.