Issue date
The first of this season's YNZ Paralympic Sailing Development Clinics took place in late November, attended by seven potential paralympians. They sailed in modified Etchell keelboats, using those as a three person alternative to the Paralympic class Sonars of which there are none in New Zealand.
YNZ's new Coach Development Officer Charles Baillie Strong sends a report:
The weekend (November 24/25) went really well, it was a mixture of conditions which kept everybody on their toes. It was great to see some of the guys from last years' training camp are still going strong, and some new faces are promising for the future too. We got three Etchells on the water, which allowed the seven sailors to take turns in different positions on the boat, while the club helpers Geoff and Jeff and my co-coach Steve Cranch we able to jump in and out of boats to make up the numbers. I ran most of the activities and drills from the coach boat.
For most of the weekend, we focused on decision making and what to do in situations where you have reduced options. It was really a new challenge as compared to what we spent time on at last years' development clinics: Speed and starting.
On Saturday, we had 6-8 knots of wind, perfect conditions for upwind decision making. We used offset top marks so that sailors had to hold lanes and make best use of the position they were in - even if this meant sailing in dirty air sometimes.
Drills focused on holding lanes off the start line, until people reached the first shift and also tacking straight off the start line into a port lift. We used gate markers upwind too to keep the fleet sailing up the middle of the course- this caused some close contact situations through out the race course! Sailors learned how to use the sides of the course, not focusing on shifts, but purely holding lanes.
Sunday saw a much fresher day of 20-25knots. Again we focused on decision making, but this time with more emphasis on the downhill part of the course. For example, we did downwind starts where the leeward mark rounding was set to starboard, or port. Sailors had to position their boat to gain inside overlap, again bringing some tricky rules situations. Then we added a bottom gate, which brought a new set of options for the sailors.
Unfortunately it got a bit too windy later in the day, conditions were unmanagable, so we cut the on water time short and went inside to analyze video footage we had been taking up until that part. Minor problems with the trackign devices we were using, but the footage will be available online soon for you all to check out.
From here- the Etchells will be part of Oceanbridge Sail Auckland, so a couple crews will take part in this. We'll do another training weekend in six months or so- so keep your eyes and ears tuned for a date and location to be determined some time in March.
We're working forward to getting some Paralympic class Sonar Keelboats in NZ, so until then Etchells are the one design alternate of choice. It's time for crews to start considering what their four year plans will be toward 2016, and workign toward the next major International Event which is the IFDS Worlds in 2014.
Many thanks for the weekend go the Lake Wanaka Yacht Club who made facilities and coach boats available, and club member Quentin Smith who pulled it all together. The three Geoffs (or Jeff's) and Roger again generously made their boats available to use, without this... nothing would be possible. Sailors travelled from Queenstown, Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington - so it took a big effort for some to make this come together - thanks for coming!
