March Cadet Winter Training 2025 at Fishers Green Sailing Club

by Angie Meyer 16 Mar 19:34 GMT

They say 'once a Cadet, always a Cadet', and we were fortunate to have several generations of cadets at this year's 2025 Cadet Winter training event hosted by Fishers Green SC.

The brainchild of Edwin Buckley back in 2023, this annual Cadet Winter training event has grown from a collaborative training event between Fishers Green and Corinthian Otters to a regional event that saw Cadet Youth Squadrons from Fishers Green SC; Corinthian Otters; Stone SC; Welsh Harp; Waldringfield SC; Frensham SC; and Rickmansworth SC in attendance.

There was no mistaking the energy, enthusiasm and commitment from this year's cohort of Cadet Sailors who all rocked up bright and early each Saturday to be rigged by 9.30am. Classic varnished wooden Cadet boats proved popular amongst the fleet of youngsters, with well-known names Zephyr (10006); Challenger(8415); White Stuff (9000); No Fear (8846); Stress (8541) and Deecider (6842) all taking their place on the bustling berth line.

Our weather forecasters predicted no wind (or was it 0 knots with a heavy gust of 0.2 knots?) for our very first event on the 1st March and yet enthusiasm remained undiminished. I was impressed by the 'can do' attitude of coaches Christian Hill (FGSC) and Paul Buckley (Corinthian Otters) and my fellow squadron leaders as we considered the options available to us in the face of zero wind.

Heavy mist shrouded the legendary islands of Fishers Green and yet within the hour every youth was actively engaged in on shore coaching and the lack of wind became unimportant. This first Saturday really set the tone for the rest of the month. As the mist receded, and the breeze set in, it became clear that progress; participation and performance from youth of all seven squadrons was consistent and most importantly, the youth were having fun!

"Why Can This Boat Sail Fast" was the focus and Christian and Paul tackled the many aspects of youth improving their boat speed with precision. This provided a solid foundation for our second event on Saturday the 8th March when attention turned to upwind tactics and a thought provoking session lead by guest coach Matteo Mancini (FGSC) along with Paul and Christian.

Our third event on Saturday 15th March dawned with a promising forecast of 12 knots gusting 24 knots, just enough to put some serious pace into our youth boats particularly around the gybe mark! Building on all the knowledge and skills youth had gleaned from the previous weekend the focus of our final week of training was very much preparing youth for taking part in events with Paul and guest coach Matt White(Waldringfield SC) confidently supported by Youth coaches Rhona Enkel (Waldringfield SC) and Jess Cooper (FGSC).

They say 'once a Cadet, always a Cadet' and it is perhaps no co-incidence that all of our coaches at this year's event are ex-cadets who bring with them a passion for sailing a Cadet to the table that I suspect is unrivalled in many other classes of youth boats. Since the inception of our annual March Cadet Winter training event at Fishers Green SC in 2023, it must also be said that it is the knowledge and expertise of coaches Christian and Paul in particular that has provided the consistency to drive the engagement with youth of all ages and stages in their Cadet sailing journey forward. It is no co-incidence that Christian and Paul are both ex-cadets who make a superb coaching team. They used to sail together as boys and they have stepped up and volunteered each year to impart both their energy and considerable racing experience to the fleet of youth before them without hesitation. Together they have a knack of holding a room; of making learning fun; and of making the impossible seem possible. Their commitment to coaching Cadets has me convinced that the saying 'once a cadet, always a cadet' is about more than just a boat.

In a world of ever increasing competition for ones' time and attention, there is considerable pressure on youth and their parents these days to make choices. Time is precious. Weekends are busy, and the development of the Cadet Class continues to fall almost entirely to team of volunteer (parents; ex-cadets; ex-cadet parents; grandparents; squadron leaders and ex-cadet squadron leaders) who give their time freely to move it forward.

I consider it an achievement for our event to gather over 30 families, over three weeks in March, from three generations. Our March Cadet Winter training continues to be a success story of enabling Cadet youth to achieve their goals through pooling our inter-generational collective Cadet knowledge and experience. I am in no doubt that this inter-generational Cadet family is a big cog amongst many cogs on the wheel that drives the Cadet class forward and a big thank you to everyone who came along to support our March Cadet Winter training 2025 event at Fishers Green SC.

Well done to all the youth who participated and worked hard to achieve their goals this year and thank you to all the volunteers including those FGSC members who provided safety cover on RIBS and help in the galley.

Special thanks must also go to:

• Kevin O'Brien, Fishers Green SC Commodore and also ex-cadet Squadron leader, who gave generously of both his time and energy each Saturday to run the gallery;
• Our Fishers Green SC fundraising team who sponsored spot prizes each week;
• The Old Salt Loft / Stitch Print for generously sponsoring our official event prizes
• The UKNCCA for funding our guests coaches at each event and providing administration support

Further news and event coverage of our March Cadet Winter training events at Fishers Green SC, including our related FGSC Cadet Open events, can be found on our social media channel @fishersgreensailingclub and www.fishersgreensc.org.uk