It was a fantastic weekend at Carsington with the North Zone Squad, National Squad and Winter Squad. The combination of squads proved a real success over the weekend as they split up into the separate squads on each morning and then came together in the afternoon to race. With a total of 26 boats, the racing was very competitive and I think it’s fair to say that it was dominated by the veterans of the Winter Squad!!
The coach of the Winter Squad, had them working hard on fundamental drills on Saturday such as tacking and gybing on the whistle and focused them on mark roundings as they sailed a very short figure of 8 course, integrating the importance of boat on boat tactics in small spaces. On the Sunday morning, the squad did practise races and tacking on the whistle.
The National and North Squads practised their starts and boat handling skills, in anticipation of the afternoon racing, in a good sized fleet. When it came to the racing I thought it gave the least experienced a great opportunity to see what a busy start line looks and feels like. A couple of more experienced helms who had teamed up with new crews got in amongst the action and were able to cascade their knowledge to the crews. It all worked very well.
I would like to thank Carsington Sailing Club for allowing us to use their club and it was a perfect venue for the weekend, also the galley who worked tirelessly to feed the vast number of sailors and parents. I would also like to thank all the coaches for their time and the parents who ensured that the weekend went ahead SMOOTHLY!!!
Eddie and Matt Grayson (enthusiastic Dad)
