RS Tera North Squad Coaching - the winter draws to a close
by Jennie Clark 22 Mar 2016 10:14 GMT
19-20 March 2016
RS Tera North Coaching at Windermere © Mark Blake
The RS Tera North squad drew their winter coaching to a close with a fantastic weekend in the glorious surroundings of Lake Windermere. This final weekend was hosted by Windermere School who put aside all the horrors of the pre-Christmas floods and worked tirelessly to get their Hodge Howe sailing centre back to full use for the session. Their efforts were so very much appreciated by the sailors and their parents who enjoyed a first class weekend of Lakeland hospitality, including an end of coaching Sunday Roast Dinner served at the school for over 60 parents, coaches, sailors and siblings.
This year nearly 30 young helms have taken part in the coaching, which started in November and has taken in clubs across the North of England. The weather conditions have been brutal at times, with freezing conditions, strong winds and driving rain/hail all conspiring to keep the coaches busy planning and re-planning the exercises to take account of all that was being thrown at them. For the large 'new to coaching' contingent it was a wake up call to the realities of winter sailing for them – and their parents – and there was plenty of discussion about the best wellingtons, waders and drysuits for the launch crew, and what gloves, socks and combinations of layers worked best for sailors. Father Christmas was clearly very busy over the festive season as a rash of new gear appeared at the first session for 2016! The last weekend saw absolutely no wind at all on Sunday and after a heavy session on the rules, Coach Graeme Rowe ran some very entertaining water sports which made sure everyone got very very wet!
Now the squad go back to doing what they do best – racing and enjoying each other's company at their home clubs and out on the circuit. Many are looking forward to sailing in the sun at the Worlds in early August, and the Nationals at Plas Heli in late August will also see a large turnout. Before then the squad join up again for a weekend of coaching at Plas Heli in late June, learning about sea sailing in general and more specifically the venue specifics which will help them at the Nationals. They will also be competing in the the 4 events which make RS Tera Northern Series, starting with the Northern Championships at Bassenthwaite SC on 30 April and 1 May.
The coaching team were presented with thank you gifts by the squad, and each squad member received a Magic Marine 'North Squad' Race bib (worn back to front for impact in the shot here!) in recognition of their hard work and skill development before the team went their separate ways after an amazing winter together.