Get Racing gets going in light winds at Draycote Water Sailing Club

The pre-race briefing is a feature of Draycote Water's Get Racing initiative for Novices and Juniors © Malcolm Lewin / www.malcolmlewinphotography.zenfolio.com/sail

Not even an almost complete lack of wind at the scheduled briefing time, and cancellation of the warm-up race, could deter seven youngsters and three have-a-go parents from rigging up for the first race in Draycote Water Sailing Club's monthly Get Racing series for Novices and Juniors.

Shore side briefing focused on light wind sailing techniques such as heeling the boat to leeward to help fill the sails, minimising use of the rudder and getting the weight forward.

Four lasers, a Laser Radial, Topper, a three-up Rs200 and a Pico were all hovering on the start line as the gun went, making for a very competitive start. The wind, which had been minimal for the first club starts, began to fill in half way up the beat. Suddenly all the other fleets who had completed one lap were now bearing down on our novices as they made their way to the windward mark.

Full credit, the Get Racing boats gave no quarter and asked for none as they made their way on two broad reaches with a tidy gybe between and were closely packed as they crossed the finish line. Only one minute separated all seven finishing boats. The late start made for a short race but it's likely that earlier decisions about the wind strength meant there were no takers for the afternoon race, even though it stayed steady if light.

Overall Results: