RS Aero UK Youth Team Winter Training at Hayling Island Sailing Club
by Marcus Pakes 23 Mar 2023 17:53 GMT
11-12 March 2023
RS Aero UK Youth Team Winter Training at Hayling Island © George Cousins
The UK Youth Team enjoyed a great training weekend at Hayling with lots of time on the water to practice in good wind and waves.
Saturday - The RS Aero Youth Team rigged on Saturday morning to cold and brisk breeze blowing from the north. We started the morning with a briefing from our coaches Sammy and George about the plans for the weekend to come. This was followed by a mobility session to warm us all up. We then headed to the water to practice racing tactics. This was followed by a quick lunch break, after which we were back out on the water where the wind and waves had built, and we were able to focus on wave technique.
Sunday - We arrived on Sunday to a brisk wind and low tide. After a quick briefing from our coaches we wasted no time in getting back out on the water. After sailing through the channel to deeper water, we started a team racing activity to practice race strategy and in the afternoon some fleet racing with recorded results. The increasing wind and waves made for some great downwind surfing, although the upwind legs were hard work!
George Cousins added; "We started with rabbit runs beating against a lot of tide and later managed to lay a course over the bar and enjoy a F4 southerly with ebb tide – doesn’t get much better than that! A team racing session really enlivened the group to work in their teams of 3 on attacking and defending. Longer triangle sausage races then stretched their legs. Great to finish on a high with big tide, big waves and good breeze. We managed to make the most of a pretty challenging but rewarding venue!"
Thank you to our coaches Sammy Isaacs-Johnson and George Cousins, to Hayling Island Sailing Club for great hospitality and to Rooster for their support of the Team.