Hansa Advanced Coaching at Rutland
by Richard Johnson 24 May 2018 15:07 BST
10-12 May 2018
Hansa Advanced Coaching at Rutland © Richard Johnson
Anyone watching a big 29er or Topper event will clearly see the benefits of Advanced Race Coaching but it is not easily available to the average sailor, so the Hansa Class have put two measures in place to narrow the gap.
The first is "Blue Fleet Training", designed to help and encourage people new to racing, with a series of entry-level training days added to selected T.T. events. The second is Advanced Race Coaching for more experienced Racers, with two dedicated sessions that began with three days at Rutland in May.
The programme consisted of classroom briefings and on-water exercises, followed by de-briefs and video analysis. The mixed fleet of liberties and 303s had a chance to practice new techniques, push the boundaries and view themselves via the camera to see the real effect of their actions in the boat.
The coaching was organised as a series of "Games", using different course configurations to concentrate the fleet and practise multiple starts, mark roundings and particularly downwind sail set and tactics, which can easily win or lose races in this type of boat.
On the last day, a series of races was planned but, as there was not a breath of wind, the morning was spent usefully in the classroom discussing rules and tactics, culminating in a "Prizegiving" that had to be hastily re-arranged, with awards going to Furthest Travelled, Best Girl Sailor and Brightest Newcomer, rather than First, Second or Third in the – non existent – racing.
The success of the Coaching can be judged by the closeness of racing, particularly in the Liberty fleet and thanks are due to the coaches, who included Brett Cokayne and Leon Ward (Blue fleet) from RYA Sailability.