Ripon Sailing Club RS Tera Launch and Start of Season Party
by Fiona Spence 21 Apr 2018 08:10 BST
14 April 2018
Ripon Sailing Club's RS Tera Launch and Start of Season Party © Kirsty Moss
Ripon's Youth & Junior season got off to a great start at the weekend with over 20 Y&J taking to the water (and some adults!) for race training and advanced improver training and a pre-sailor adventure.
The club also celebrated the launch of their three Eric Twiname Trust grant-funded RS Tera boats. The boats were launched with over 40 Y&J and their families in attendance and their maiden voyages were completed by Finlay & Aidan Ranns and Seamus & Rufus McClean who had helped rig and prepare the boats during the winter along with Tom Moss, Grace & Bethany Stockdale & George Spence - who made sure the boats were christened with lashings and lashings of ginger beer!
Some of our younger members also got on the water with a pre-sailor adventure (U7s), these sessions are designed to introduce younger members to the club activities, help them get acquainted with our floating jetties, feel familiar with a buoyancy jacket, talk about water safety and have a trip out on the water. The low wind prevented them from enjoying a sailing trip, but they had a great trip round the lake on the power boat instead!
Club Youth & Junior Sailing Secretary Fiona Spence comments, "These new boats join our existing fleet to help new members learn to sail, practice skills, enjoy being on the water and start to race. 2018 promises to be even more exciting for RSC than last year with plans to re-start team racing at National School Sailing Association events as well as increased participation in the Yorkshire & Humberside / NE Youth Travellers Series, as well as other competitions nationally and internationally.
"At our home waters we continue to focus on encouraging all the family to come sailing and progress through our pre-sailor sessions, learn to sail courses into club racing, with race training available throughout the year.
"We are also re-introducing Fun Friday sessions - with an emphasis on fun and the pure joy of sailing, after an absence of these from our programme for over 10 years. We will hold our annual & much enjoyed Family Weekend in July. Our Youth & Junior open is on 19 May and we hope for more entries than the 37 boats that took part last year. RSC is grateful to ET Trust and RS Sailing for helping us sail into our next 60+ years of family focused sailing".
After the day of sailing, a pot luck supper and social was held and all enjoyed the beautiful evening sunshine and sunset. A great start to 2018.