Calling all Otters! 19 Apr 2013
Did you see the Cadets out on the water a week or two ago enjoying their first session of the season in the spring sunshine? How would you like to join us or try a Cadet?
As many of you know, Cadets are double handed boats with three sails including a spinnaker and young sailors can either helm or crew depending on preference, confidence and experience. It is a very sociable and supportive fleet and suits sailors who want to develop their sailing skills and become more confident in their sailing as part of a team of two. Younger sailors often start out as crew and progress on to helming themselves from about age 10-12.
What is involved?
The Cadet fleet trains Saturday mornings. We meet in the boat park at 09:00 so that the sailors can rig their boats and be ready for a briefing at 09:30. Matt Barr and Carl Anderson are the trainers and safety rib drivers, often assisted by one of our ex-British Team sailors Sam Barr, Nick Sutton and Katie Barr. Parents are always welcome on the water to assist & get a close up view of what is going on subject to space in the RIBs.
At the briefing we discuss the theory behind the training being delivered that week and then we launch and put it into practice with lots of fun exercises and mini races. We aim to finish by 12:30 following which we have a short debrief to discuss the lesson and then head off for lunch in the club.
Many of the Cadets stay on for another race session in the afternoon and you may have heard about exciting plans afoot to develop this into a general dinghy handicap race in front of the club to include racing against other classes, (and even parents!) which will hopefully develop sailor’s racing skills and encourage a bit of healthy competition! Not to mention something for parents and friends to enjoy watching from the balcony of the club.
We hope you will be up for this, Otters!….
What can I aim for?
For Cadet Sailors who enjoy racing and are willing to travel to events, there is an extensive programme of competitive racing run by the UKNCCA and many other clubs run ‘open’ events. There are three – four clubs within an hour’s drive who have healthy Cadet fleets so you do not have to travel miles to sail on different stretches of water and expand your experience if that is what you want. The selector series run by the National Association gives an opportunity to qualify for winter training squads where you would get top quality training with the ultimate goal of being selected to sail for team GBR in the World Championships. Just ask our Cadets about the amazing experiences some of them have had in Poland, France and Tasmania, Australia recently.
For those not ready or not wishing to enter competitions, arrangements are in place for training to continue with Matt’s brother and former squadron leader Andy Barr agreeing to step in this season on those weekends when our training teams are away. It is our ambition to have a healthy home squadron that sails each weekend even when some boats are away at ranking events & open meetings.
Interested in finding out more, want to try or join us? Then call either Matt Barr on 0774 046 9344… or Carl Anderson on 0771 333 2035 NOW and make it happen…
Check out the video to see what you could have been doing last weekend!