Saturday Cadets 1st June

With a forecast for a sunny day and 8-10mph wind from the SW, all was looking promising for Saturday's Cadet session (as long as parents remembered to bring industrial quantities of sun cream!).

After a bit of boat prep and a short briefing, we soon had power boats in the water and were busy getting the young people afloat.

A Vision and a Wayfarer were launched so that the less experienced young people could get direct supervision from instructors, while four more-competent cadets headed out in single handers to be coached from the water.

This turned out to be trickier than we had hoped due to the wind dropping off rapidly, possibly due to a sea breeze working against the predicted wind, or perhaps someone had just knocked the weather dice over.

Whatever the reason, it made for some very challenging sailing to keep ahead of the fast running tide. At times boats would be moving quickly in good wind, but only 20 metres away others were becalmed and drifting backwards.

Frustrating conditions, but taken in good spirits by the cadets, and a good opportunity to build light wind skills.

When asked 'Which way is the wind coming from?' the only answer we could give was 'Look at your sail, the wind is different for everyone!'

Many thanks to Ben G, instructors and the cadet team for running the day.

Lastly, a special welcome/thanks/congratulations to Adrian P for power boat assistance with his spangly RYA Safety Boat qualification. We look forward to having you on board for more cadet sessions and especially for club week!

Ian M.