ILCA Women's Coaching Weekend at Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy with SailingFast
by Suzie Munnery 3 Jun 19:18 BST
31 May 2025
ILCA Women thrive in 'champagne to fruity' conditions at Weymouth
ILCA sailors from as far away as Norwich gathered in Weymouth when The Andrew Simpson Performance Academy hosted the ILCA Women's Coaching Programme led by Georgina Povall and supported by Molly Sacker from the British Sailing Team, both fresh back from the Worlds in China.
Happily, Weymouth outshone Qingdao in terms of conditions: champagne sailing in the morning growing to way to what even George described as "fruity" later in the day.
George's focus for the morning was upwind and downwind speed: her briefing gave us all a clear picture of what we're aiming for and belief that we could achieve it. Splitting into two groups on the water allowed for individual feedback on the water. This what set's these sessions apart: nothing beats immediate and detailed feedback from world class coaches. Molly's advice and enthusiasm had an instant and I hope lasting impact.
For the afternoon session we worked on mark roundings with a series of drills and paired exercises. Planning conditions were enjoyable and but certainly made leeward mark roundings "exciting" as the wind strengthened! This didn't deter our coaches from delivering 1:1 feedback on the water to keep everyone motivated and pushing for more.
Molly summed up "It was such a fun day! I couldn't believe how enthusiastic all the girls & ladies were and everyone was chatting away sharing escapades from the day and what they'd learnt which was amazing to hear. Even when it got a bit breezy near the end of the session, high spirits were never far away and they were able to make big steps forward in challenging conditions!"
The proof of the pudding is in the results: Sarah Harding returned to Chew Valley SC to take first place in the Club's ILCA racing on Sunday in distinctly "breezy" conditions.
Andrew Simpson Performance Academy gave us a warm welcome, great facilities and all the support to feel comfortable in this Olympic venue. The programme sponsor SailingFast once again provided rigging to ensure that everyone could put George's set-up advice into action: more than a few people realised the value of an 8:1 downhaul by the end of the day.
ILCA's programme of events for Women continues with the Women's Regatta over the weekend of 28th/29th June, coaching and racing at Stokes Bay on 26th July. Keep an eye on the ILCA Calendar for events at Parkstone YC and Queen Mary SC in September.