Preparations in Blanes

With poor weather through December there has been little chance for time on the water since the End of Seasons and we have had just one squad weekend at Cumbrae and one day at Annandale so we are glad to be in Spain today setting up for some training before the Grand Prix Vila de Blanes 2014.  Thirty five pre entries in the 420 class so looks like a good event if the weather will just co-operate....

Hard at work today setting up a charter boat ready for early start tomorrow.  Samantha is our team coach, chief cook and "responsible adult" this time with Jo and Jo doing the sailing.

It is cold here but the sun is shining. Hope the parents are behaving themselves at home!

420 End of Seasons

Just back from the 420 end of seasons.

Busy start line - 41 boats

Reaching action

Great weekend. Not quite the results we wanted but one less set of turns for hitting a mark and we would have made 15th which was about what we were hoping for. And anyway it was a process regatta and we learned loads. Next up is a weekend at Cumbrae with DK. Lots to work on for team Jo Jo.

November News

I can't believe it is almost three months since we last updated this blog! And yes I have turned into Victor Meldrew.

Team Jo-Jo

So what has been happening since July?  Team Jo-Jo left their "training alongside" weekend and headed down to Pwllheli for the 420 UK Nationals where they continued to improve every day but did not quite achieve their days one and two  target of gold fleet but at least this gave them the chance to sail at the front of the silver fleet on days three and four and prove to themselves that they had the potential as a team to lead the fleet and achieve single figure results if they cut out the rookie errors like capsizing on the spinnaker reach!  They also learnt a cruel lesson about checking the points situation and staying close to your opposition on the last day when they where caught on the wrong side of a huge shift during the last race and dropped more then ten points on their main opponents to miss out on a possible podium.

After the Nationals it was back to Scotland with great results at Largs and Loch Lomond to build confidence and some time for some self-coaching time working on communication and boat handling before the Inlands at Rutland and the Autumn Championships at Torbay showed their continued steady improvement with results in the top ten and low teens now becoming a regular feature.

Midst all this sailing there was the small matter of returning to school with both girls making a splash - Joanna was embarrassed to be interviewed on the National Television News at Lockerbie Accademy and Joanne was delighted to be appointed as a House Captain at the Mary Erskine School.

An invitation to represent the 420 class at the RYA Scotland Champion of Champions Event was a real confidence boost and allowed a chance to practice their new skills against a very determined and competitive adult fleet of mixed handicap dinghies at an event where for once there was no pressure at all. Despite prevailing light winds the girls showed their mettle winning several of the starts and showing the old timers that Youth (and Ladies) 420 sailing is alive and kicking in Scotland!.

In October the girls were selected for the RYA Scotland Development Team but celebrated that by heading all the way South to Itchenor to take advantage of a 420 Class October residential training week and had a great week with Jonny and Tom working on their boat handling.  http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TnVcZd72Ebs

This weekend they are at Grafham Water as one of 36 boats at the Class Open Training and in two weeks they will be heading back there for the End of Season Championships 2013.  It has been a great year.

Away from 420 sailing we were delighted to have Sammi home from her season with Neilson at Lemnos. She had a particularly good last month when she was seconded across from the beach team to the Ski team and she has been loving her work as a waterski instructor.  What a surprise she had when she discovered the Scottish National Waterski Centre is at Hillend in Dunfermline - just a few minutes drive from our home.

After a summer in the sun Sammi has developed a taste for windsurfing and so she spent the three weeks that she was home on e-bay and the internet buying up cheap masts, booms, sails, boards, harnesses and all sorts in preparation for a relocation to Malta where she is going to be windsurfing her way towards Christmas when we hope to have her home again.    What a job we had compressing all that kit into an Easy-Jet compliant baggage allowance! Vaccum Bags R Us.

So that is my November update.  Jo and Jo have prelims and Highers next spring so they have to be highly organsied if they are also to complete their planned programme of training and fit in some International Reagttas too but it is all great fun.  Sammi has no firm plans after Christmas but is available for coaching duties until Easter when she plans to return to Greece.

Summer update - lovely Lemnos, European events and 420 partnership changes

Time for a Summer update I think!

Samantha headed to Greece in April and is working very hard for Neilson holidays at the Porto Myrina Hotel on Lemnos.  After a few weeks of running introductory windsurfing courses she was delighted when she was allowed to make use of her newly acquired dinghy coaching certificates and offer some advanced racing skills sessions for the guests.  We were lucky enough to be able to join her at the the resort

Samantha and Joanne in Greece

for a couple  of weeks and had a brilliant time.  Canoeing, windsurfing and dinghy sailing every day with some swimming and a daily game of volleyball too.  We met lots of Sam's fellow instructors who were very friendly and attentive and we enjoyed several lovely evenings with various members of the team.  It is very hard work in such hot conditions but they clearly take it very seriously and work extremely hard to look after all their guests.  Oh and the weather is a bit better than winter training at Cumbrae on the Clyde!

Joanne had a very busy Spring, sailing in the RYA Youth Nationals and then the Spring Champs at Pwllheli despite being in the final weeks of exam prep for her eight Intermediate 2 exams.  After the exams were over it was off to Neiuwpoort in Belgium for Flanders Week which Heather and Jo had decided would be their last serious event together as Heather has developed a taste for 29ers and is also missing out on her Laser sailing and Joanne is still growing and really is getting too tall to be a sensible sized 420 helm.

Chilling in France

During Flanders week we heard that Joanna Barrie was looking for a new crew and so arrangements were hastily made and bookings changed so that Joanne could join Joanna in Pleneuf Val Andre for the 420

French Nationals.  Sadly it was a case of prepare in haste, repent at leisure when the boat was unpacked in France for measurement and the surprised girls un-bagged a suit of sails to discover the sails were several years older than they were - oops!  So the French Nationals became a bit of a shake down and practice event but a great opportunity to develop the partnership and socialize with nearly 100 other 420 teams.  Results? What results - we won't mention those.

Pleneuf Val-Andre, 420's wait for the fog to clear 

After France it was straight up to Loch Tummel our home club, for Tummel Week, a great family

sailing week which takes place every year and always gives a fantastic family holiday.  This week there was a mixed fleet of RS200's, National 12, RS 400 and Flying Fifteens and as the only 420 the girls were delighted to win 2 of the ten races and lead the very competitive fast handicap fleet at the half way point.  This was an impressive achievement in light and shifty conditions and we are hoping it is a sign of good things to come. As the last few races were completed in almost drifting conditions it became a damage limitation exercise but we were proud parents to see the girls hang on in there and complete the week in third place conceding the lead only to a National 12 and a very lightly crewed RS200!

This week the girls are very pleased to have been invited to train alongside the RYA Scotland Development Team for three days which will be a big help in their pre-Nationals preparation. Thank you RYA Scotland and SportScotland who provide financial support to that team.  After weeks of drifting conditions they are praying from some breezy practice where Joanne's height can be put to good use on the trapeze.

Next week they have another two days of Class Academy training and then it is off to Pwllheli to start preparations for the UK 420 National Championships - then back to school!

News from Cowes - a busy winter

Samantha has had a great winter completing her Tri Watersports Internship at the UK sailing Academy at Cowes.

Learning, boat building skills in the
workshop.  Mould something, break it
 and repair it four simple steps, now I
 can help dad who usually mends
our prangs!

Commencing in November she spent several very cold weeks kayaking around the Isle of White completing various levels of training including basic skills, safety techniques and instructor skills and concluding with the formal assessment to be become a qualified paddlesport coach.   She then had some time focused on Powerboats and on key skills such as Short Wave Radio and First aid at Sea.  Together with the opportunity for some keelboat sailing on a J80 and some dinghy fun in an RS500 when time allowed before completing her formal training and assessment as an RYA instructor.

Between practice sessions in Egypt

It was great to have her home for Christmas for a few days before she headed off to Egypt for three weeks to work on her Windsurfing skills before returning to Cowes for a week learning Coaching Techniques and her formal Windsurfer Instructor Qualifications.  Windsurfing at Cowes in February is not warm so the time in Egypt learning how to stay on top of the water was very worthwhile!

The formal teaching element of the Internship then concluded with an opportunity to do the formal land based day skipper training which covers skills such as navigation and chart work and then a week more keelboat sailing to gain the Instructing in Keelboats endorsement. Followed by a week of high Adrenaline twin trapeze Dart 16 sailing on some very windy days before also completing the multihull instructor endorsement.

i am loving work experience; finally instructing sailing!
hoping Greece will bring heat with the sun though,
unlike the solent. still quite picturesque though :)

Having completed the taught phase of the course Samantha is now loving the work experience which mixes opportunities to instruct some of the current courses at UKSA with other relevant work experience such as boat maintenance along with some career planning.  Daily tasks have varied from teaching beginners in Pico's to re-roping dinghies in the workshop or leading a group in Kayaks.  As an intern Sam already has her first formal Instructor job arranged with Neilson Holidays but will be looking for further work after the summer season in the Greek Islands.

Where next?

The work experience phase of UKSA Internship also allows a chance to do some flexible extra training and Sammi has now added an International Certificate of  Competence for powerboats, personal watercraft, yachts and dinghies to her portfolio and will also be completing her RYA Safety Boat and RYA Race Coach qualifications before heading home at the end of March.  We are very proud of our girl.

UKLA Laser 4.7 Winter Championships

This weekend is the UKLA GUL Laser 4.7 Ladder 4 and ESSO Winter Championships and ILCA Worlds and Europeans Qualifier at Datchet Water Sailing Club.  Although we will not be taking part in any Laser events this spring we would like to say good luck and good sailing to Melissa Brady of Dalgety Bay SC and to Jamie Calder of Loch Tummel.   It is great to see you both flying the flag for both of our home clubs.

Action from the 2011 Laser 4.7 Worlds

Much has changed in our lives since my last post in October and I will post an update on our new sailing plans later.
G.