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There were six double-handed boats on the water today with 16 members and their guests afloat for Saturday Sailing. Laurie decided the conditions were perfect for the Seamanship skill of rudderless sailing.
After a quick briefing, including some top tips (centreboard half up, crew and helm sit forward, only do one thing at a time), the boats were launched and one by one the rudders were hoisted out of use. There was a bit of going around in circles in some boats, but others surprisingly-quickly got the hang of steering using body weight and moving just one of the sails in or out at a time. Fantastic weather, wind and water temperature for sailing and perfect for those who took a refreshing dip in the sea afterwards.
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There were 15 (or possibly even 16) dinghies and 25 people on the water for Saturday Sailing on the 28th May, making the most of a steady breeze and the sunshine. The lumpy sea due to a NE/E wind made the conditions a little challenging for the recently-qualified Level 2 sailors, but all did extremely well and one pair participated in their first ever race. Meanwhile 3 trainees were completing day one of an RYA Powerboat Handling Level 2 course.
Saturday Sailing is open to all members who hold RYA Level 2 or have equivalent experience. Be rigged and ready to go on the water by 10am if you want to participate. Club training boats are available to hire. Congratulations to seven trainees who completed their RYA Level 2 Basic Skills dinghy course in April or May. All are now capable of sailing independently in good conditions and we hope to see them joining club sailing and the Saturday morning sailing sessions.
Nine HBSC members have refreshed their safety boat skills and are ready to provide safety cover during sailing activities. Click here to find out about future training opportunities for members and non-members. Dai Griffiths and Ben Skull ran the first training session of the year last weekend with a second delivered by Dai this weekend. They trained three groups of members in the roles of Race Officer and Assistant Race Officer and how to use of HALsail to calculate race results. Thanks Dai and Ben and great to see recently-joined members and experienced racers getting to grips with what goes on in the race tower and how to produce results easily with HALsail.  The provisional plans for training in 2018 include
Over the Summer HBSC hosted two RYA Dinghy Instructors course. A total of eleven people undertook the training including seven members of HBSC, one Scout Leader and three members of a Medway sailing opportunities charity. The first course consisted of 6 people, two members of HBSC and four visitors. The club members having a slight advantage, being familiar with the water and the boats. However, all settled in very quickly with the club members providing guidance to the visitors. Both courses had to battle the ravages of the English weather. However, the sun shone and sufficient wind prevailed to allow the courses to be completed successfully. There were varying practical challenges that faced the students on the course because of the different levels of experience, knowledge of the location and boat type. The courses began with a general discussion and sailing session, and soon all were in the full swing of the course, learning to deliver the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) ‘Method’, the core programme for teaching someone to sail a dinghy. This was followed by many sessions on various topics, both practical and theoretical, ranging from teaching delivery methods to managing multiple boats on the water while also trying to deliver the RYA Syllabus. The second course was made up of 5 members of HBSC, 3 of whom had come up through the club cadet system. The delivery was again provided by Laurie who was very ably assisted by Jo (who took it upon herself to ensure all had FU N, one of the key aims of teaching people to sail). The facilities at HBSC, (galley for coffee and refreshments, and the many training boats) ensured that both the courses were a success. The wide-ranging Training Fleet and the various Power boats gave a flexibility not normally found at a Club venue giving students the opportunity to utilise a wide range of boats. All the students successfully completed the course, having gained a great deal of experience and knowledge along the way. STUDENTS COMMENTS The DI course was an enjoyable and full of valuable knowledge to take aboard. Laurie with his vast coaching experience skilfully shared loads of practical and effective tips how to teach people sailing. One of the best practical courses I have ever done. Thank you Over the past five years both myself and my family have been lucky enough to receive fantastic sailing coaching from the instructors at Herne Bay Sailing Club. When the opportunity came up to undertake a Dinghy Instructor course myself I jumped at the chance. The course was a great confidence booster and provides the essential knowledge and skills necessary to coach safely and effectively to recognised RYA standards. It is an intensive course, but thoroughly enjoyable with a good mix of class-based and practical sessions. I now have the confidence and competence to coach and support others who want to learn to sail. Many thanks to Laurie (Coach) and HBSC for supporting me though the training. I thoroughly enjoyed the DI course and have come out of it a much better and more confident double-handed sailor, as well as raring to help out with HBSC training as a new instructor. I also will take what I have learned about teaching small groups in a highly-interactive way into my day job. Thanks to Laurie and Jo, who are both extremely good at teaching and coaching, and all the students on the course for a fantastic week on and off the water. It was fun and challenging. One space is available on an RYA level 1 Start Sailing course running on the 16th and 30th September.
The cost is £100 for members or £250 for non-members; the cost of membership until the end of 2017 including the course cost is £177. Email hernebaysailing@btconnect.com to find out more or to sign up. WANTED
Volunteers to run Saturday morning (Improvers) sessions in Aug, Sept and Oct. We are looking for people to run the Saturday sessions if you think you could help out (even if it is only one session) or would like to assist in the running of a Saturday morning session please either speak to Laurie or drop him a line (details on Dutyman) as soon as possible. URGENTLY WANTED Volunteer Urgently needed to run/supervise the Saturday Morning session on the 7th July ? If you can help out please contact Laurie ASAP. Regards Laurie Dengate It has been a busy season so far for the training team.
Allan, Dave, Doug and Laurie ran the first HBSC safety boat course at the beginning of the season. Twelve members improved their PB skills and practiced the particular skills needed for competent safety boat support. More dates will be advertised as several members have expressed an interest in improving their skills. Under the stewardship of Laurie and with the support of instructors, assistant instructors, shore crew and safety boats teams, the Saturday Sailing improvers group has met weekly since April with the weather only preventing sailing on two occasions. There has been 15+ boats on the water many Saturdays, ranging from sailors who are newly-qualified Level 2's to those with more experience who nonetheless value feedback from an instructor. Richard and his team of instructors, assistant instructors and safety boat drivers has been training several groups of level 1 and level 2 dingy sailors on Saturday mornings in the club double-handers. We hope to see many of the participants moving into the Saturday Sailing Improvers group and out on the water independently soon. Allan, Dave and Doug have also been busy with PB 1 & 2 courses. Congratulations to those members and cadets who completed their courses this weekend. The next PB1/PB2 course will run at the beginning of August. If you are interested in learning to drive a powerboat, go to the training page for details of how to sign up. Cadets over the age of 8 may take PB1 and then PB2 at the age of 12. Clare organised two RYA First Aid courses and 15 people have now updated their first aid skills. Richard and Dai have run a couple of sessions to train members and cadets on everything one needs to know to run a race. Contact Dai if you would like to join the next evening session on Race Officer training. Finally, following on from the Assistant Instructor course, Laurie has planned two Dinghy Instructor courses, one in July and one at the end of August. All senior instructors, instructors, assistant instructors, shore crew and safety boat crews are unpaid volunteers. A huge thank you to everyone who lends a hand to help others learn a new skill or improve an old one. SATURDAY SAILING
The Saturday Sailing plan for May to July has been updated and can be downloaded here. I am looking for volunteers to take the lead in July and Aug particularly on the 29th July, if anyone would like to run a session or would like to suggest a topic for a session please contact Laurie. INSTRUCTOR TRAINING There has been a lot of interest in RYA Dinghy Instructor training, the course planned for the beginning of July is now full, a second course will be considered if enough people are interested, If you would like to do the course then please contact Laurie, if you could provide dates that will suit you this will aid the selection of a suitable date( this is a five day course it might be possible to split the course over a couple of weeks (I.E. 2 days one week and 3 the next) but due to club activities weekends are not an option. Regards Laurie |
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