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Queen Charlotte Yacht Club's first High Performance Clinic of the season finished up with a lot of very tired but enthusiastic Optimist and Starling sailors.
Club Junior Convenor and Coaching Co-ordinator, Ben Cowley, pronounced the weekend clinic as a great success and said the young sailors were very keen for the next one; “their skills have improved dramatically.”
Yachting New Zealand sent down one of their top coaches, Jim Maloney, to run the two day Starling Clinic for the teenage sailors. Jim usually coaches the two handed youth Classes and has three sailors himself that he has coached to high level. Look for the name 'Maloney' as we draw nearer to Brazil 2016. Yachting New Zealand's support for Queen Charlotte Yacht Club in running the free clinic is a great boost for our growing Starling Fleet and gives a great early season lead up to the Starling National Championships being held in Picton during the April school holiday 2013.
The younger Optimist sailors had Briar Dye-Hutchinson from Auckland to put them through their paces over three days. Briar has coached two of the Club's top sailors, Hamish Clark and Alistair Gifford for several years at regattas nationally and internationally and was a natural choice to give her top level competition knowledge to the Junior Fleet.
Picton Harbour was very busy on Saturday morning with Club Coach Neeta Cameron running a large Learn to Sail course and Green Fleet training alongside the High Performance Clinic
The sailors enjoyed a mixture of conditions over the weekend from strong, gusty winds on Saturday to much lighter conditions on Sunday. Monday was Southerly and a little chilly but great sailing conditions all day. Every sailor was challenged physically and mentally on Saturday in the tough conditions and only minor damage suffered by two boats during the biggest wind gusts.
Hard work on the water earned good rewards off the water. The sailors, Coaches and parents were treated to a vineyard Barbeque at Auntsfield Estate on Saturday night to give the sailors a chance to unwind from the tough day at the office and enjoy each others company.
The Clinic is timely preparation for the Nelson Marlborough Regional Championships being held next weekend in Nelson. This important early season regatta encompasses the P Class Tanner Cup Trials to select a regional representative for the P Class Nationals next January, the South Island P Class Championships and the first of the South Island Starling Traveller series. There will be no Club sailing this coming weekend as the whole Club will be heading over the Hill to Nelson to enjoy the competition.
Words and photos by Rob Burn
QCYC Publicity Officer
