West Wales youngsters hit Feva pitch
by Hamish Stuart, Welsh Yachting Association 4 Aug 2014 11:40 BST
4 August 2014
A group of West Wales youngsters took to the Pembrokeshire waters as their sailing experiences hit Feva pitch.
Almost 20 young sailors from Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion were trying the RS Feva boat at Pembrokeshire Yacht Club, crewing the dinghy over two days of intensive training to learn or develop their skills delivered by Richard Owens, PPSA Pembrokeshire Performance Sailing Academy, and Bespoke and Target Sail Training.
The aim was to develop the skills of those who had experience in the Feva, while introducing the rest to crewed boat handling as the next stage of their sailing development.
The RS Fevas were supplied by Pembrokeshire Yacht Club, Fishguard Bay Yacht Club, Pembrokeshire Adventure Centre and RS themselves.
Welsh Yachting Association club and pathway officer Sean Evans said "Having the use of these fevas from RS is amazing, the opportunities that it has created for sailors in South and West Wales is invaluable.
"With a keen group of volunteers and coaches that help make the use of the fevas ever more enjoyable for the kids, it means that the experiences they are getting in them will go a long way.
"And who knows we might be seeing our next national champion just starting to make the transition this season?"
WYA West Wales sailing development officer Hester Walker added, "The aim of the two days was to conduct continuation training for those that had already done some training in the Feva and an introduction to crewed boat handling for those that were new to the boat.
"In some very fickle and light winds, the sailors put their all into the two days and the training included rigging instruction, sail controls, boat handling drills, starts and some racing.
"The use of the RS Feva in the WYA area has seen a keen interest amongst the young sailors with the added challenges of team work and the use of the additional sails that a crewed boat requires, including the extra thought processes and interaction between helm and crew that flying an asymmetric spinnaker.
"Many of the youngsters have shown a very keen interest in the boats and have enjoyed sailing with somebody else in the boat that they can share their tactical ideas with during the racing/sailing. They have certainly expressed interests in taking this type of sailing further.
"It's hoped that we can build further on this interest and the success of the two days to develop the sailors further in time for racing later in the year whilst also introducing more opportunities for double handed sailing within local clubs at grass roots."
Pembrokeshire Yacht club delivers sail training and race training evenings. They welcome new members, For more information check out their website www.pembsyachtclub.org.uk or contact Christian Smart or 07966505767. Pembrokeshire Yacht Club will be hosting the RYA zone championships at the end of September where in excess of 100 boats will be competing – hopefully including a few more Fevas!