Winter chance for West Wales sailors
by Hamish Stuart, Welsh Yachting Association 10 Feb 2014 15:14 GMT
10 February 2014
Sailors in winter action in West Wales © Hamish Stuart
Sailors know there are few things are better than sailing the West Wales coast with the sun on your back, but those looking to develop their skills over the winter can do so through Open Training.
The Welsh Yachting Association are holding winter training for Under 19's in partnership with Neyland YC, Tenby SC and Fishguard Bay YC. WYA Winter Training is open to all sailors in the region, and includes Optimists, Toppers and General Handicap classes of boat.
It is an opportunity for anyone who wishes to maintain and improve their skills in the winter, ready for better sailing in the summer months for competition of pleasure, in training run by the club volunteers. It is open to anyone under the age of 19 with a basic knowledge of sailing who is keen to learn more, in a partnership between the WYA, local clubs and the regional committee.
"The activity is based around RYA Race Training syllabus, giving these sailors the opportunity to develop their racing and sailing skills and potentially move forward into Regional, Welsh or GBR Squads," explained WYA's West Wales development officer Hester Walker.
"There is no bottom limit on age, however most sailors start sailing through the winter from age 8 upwards. The top age limit tends to be dictated by what class of boat you sail, some boats like the Optimist have an upper age limit in their class rules.
"This training takes place in all three regions. West training has seen Coaches Richard Owens, Chris Jefferies and Steve Small joined by Regional/National Coaches Paul Simes and Bill Jackson to deliver some training over the Winter.
"Tenby and Neyland have already hosted successful events, while we have had to reschedule an event in Fishguard because of the weather. We rely on good weather to encourage new sailors, so we are used to rescheduling events.
"West Wales Open Training has grown from strength to strength over the last couple of years and has started to produce some top sailors from the region who are causing a real stir on the national circuit.
"The WYA runs a full program of events and training across Wales, and also support a number of other events that are run by clubs many of which are open to all ages.
"Quality racing is the intention of the series, but courses maybe adapted and training may be provided to suit the age and ability of competitors. The series will cater for experienced racers wanting to practice against their squad mates, through to novice sailors travelling to their first event.
"We also have the national events like onboard regattas in Early September, Llangorse and Bala this year and the RYA zone championships at the end of September. These events attract in excess of 100 boats, so they are quite something to build towards."
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