Paul Brotherton Coaching Day at Ullswater Yacht Club
by Sue Giles 6 May 2009 09:34 BST
2 May 2009
Olympic coach Paul Brotherton in ‘full sail’ during his talk on Upwind Strategy at Ullswater Yacht Club © Sue Giles
A Golden Day at Ullswater
It was a ‘golden’ day for sailors at Ullswater Yacht Club on Saturday, May 2. The club had pulled off a coup in the sailing world by persuading Olympic coach Paul Brotherton to take time out from working with some of the world’s top sailors to help launch a new coaching scheme.
Paul, who guided the ‘Three Blondes in a Boat’ to gold at the Beijing Olympics last year gave a fascinating talk on Upwind Strategy at the club.
A total of 70 sailors, of all ages gathered on the waterside lawn at the club in the golden early evening sunshine to listen to Paul’s gold medal-winning tips.
He explained his racing strategy in a practical way with the use of ropes illustrating laylines and sailors gathered round him in a large circle. Club members were joined at the talk by visiting Tempest, Soling and Flying Dutchman sailors who were taking part in an open meeting at the club at the weekend.
The talk, which was judged by all to be a great success, also marked the launch of the Ullswater Race Development Programme (URDP) for 2009 which aims to help all club members to get the most out of their sailing.
The URDP, set up by long-standing club members Brian Moreton and Lester Noble, gets into full swing with a series of ‘friendly coaching clinics’ on May 23. The informal coaching sessions on and off the water will run through to September and will cover all aspects of sailing, racing, boat set-up and tuning.
The URDP is sponsored by Link Project Services and Orange Mountain Bikes.