The Dinghy Class started its season off with a two day coaching session for Merlin Rockets over Easter Sunday & Monday, run by Richard Whitworth, the Merlin Rocket Class trainer, for five local and two visiting boats.
It was sensibly decided to replace water-based activities with classroom instruction on the Sunday morning while the 40 knot north-easterly wind abated. In the afternoon the crews braved the wind and cold to fine tune their boat-handling skills on the water. Fortunately the wind moderated in time to allow everyone to enjoy and benefit from their time sailing.
Easter Monday was a very different day with light winds and sunshine which is an all too rare event for a Bank Holiday.
We all learnt some new skills and perfected old ones. These included how to match mast and centreboard rake and how to keep the spinnaker flying throughout the gybe. The group finished off the event with an informative video debrief and recorded their individual learns for future reference.
All agreed it was an excellent way to start the season and hopefully something we can repeat again next year.
Mark & Rima Bugler- Merlin 3607 “The Fifth Element”
Submitted on 22nd April 2014