RS Feva Squiddies at Burnham Sailing Club
by Squiddie Caitlin 12 Feb 2016 15:52 GMT
6-7 February 2016
Will Caiger and Caitlin Morley during the RS Feva Squiddies at Burnham © Nicky Johnson
Take 11 boats, 22 gutsy sailors, 2 brave coaches and add 30-40 knots of wind! The VR Burnham Squiddies Feva Squad was out on the water over the weekend of the 6th and 7th of February. Caitlin (crew) tells us how it was....
Despite the blustery forecast of gusts over 40 knots, the VR Squiddies Fevas were back in action. On Saturday, the noise of sails flapping was deafening as the squad prepared to launch after a short briefing and depowering talk. The main focus of the weekend was upwind technique and high and fast windy weather sailing.
Parents helping on the pontoon were getting soaked as waves leapt over the whole surface of the jetty. The gusts were ballistic and unpredictable. As we bore away and put up our spinny, we hung on for dear life as the entire squad was roaring down the river, the parents watched nervously from the clubhouse in awe.
There were whoops of excitement heard from around the squad which were soon silenced when the sailors realized they now had a hard slog back upwind, against the ebb tide. The coaches were roaring helpful words of advice from their RIBs so that we were always sailing at maximum effort.
A late lunch was taken and the coaches announced that we were going again. We all strolled confidently towards our boats until called back when a 45 knot gust was recorded. A video de-brief followed where we could identify what fine tuning was needed.
On Sunday morning the Squad awoke tired but still eager to go. A mere 25 to 30 knots.... Easy! Coach seemed keen to reinforce the previous days learning with a "fly-past" of the Corinthian Yacht Club.
By the end of the weekend we are all absolutely exhausted but I had amazing fun and learnt heaps.
As a squad I know we all gained a lot of confidence in windy weather sailing (except Ellen who was already awesome) and I, as a crew, gained a lot of trust in my helm. I really enjoyed this weekend as planing down the river was exhilarating.
For further information on the East Coast Squiddies, check out www.burnhamsquiddies.moonfruit.com.