Pre-Season Training

Training got off to an early start this year with three courses - one built on previous work by Giles Passmore and two new courses.  The first was a race office management course and was presented using the extensive course preparation and delivery made by Giles over the last few years - three people were inducted into the world of race management.  The second course was actually delivered a number of times by Dave Drewery and this was concerned with PowerBoat training.  Although this course is not entirely new to KWSC this is the first year that we have our own qualified PowerBoat Instructor thanks to Dave.  Finally, we had several volunteers to help the training team and in late March, Steve Gibbon and Dave Drewey (as Senior Instructors) ran an RYA Assistant Instructor course to get our new volunteers started on their instruction careers.  Many thank to all those who attended.  We also have an article covering winter squad training from two of our younger members.

• Race Office Management
• PowerBoat Training
• Assistant Instructor Training
• Winter Squad Training

Race Office Management

Building upon the excellent Race Management course ran by Giles Passmore in previous years Steve Gibbon ran this year' course for one refresher, Dave Rosser, and two members new to Race Management, Mark Hawes and James Roff.  As usual the course was held in the club house.

We largely used the notes prepared by Giles which had proven successfully on previous occasions but this year we added some practical sessions as well.  So this time the course attendees had to actually set a course on the day, hoist flags and sound horns, deal with various issues arising in the race (boats over the start line and shortening a course for example) and finally calculate some results for a handicap race.  In addition everyone was familiarised with the race office and our race equipment and also given some example courses to use or build upon when it comes to their turn on duty.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the day and get through the large amount of information.  Please give them all - particular Mark and James, who are new to Race Office Management - your support when it comes to their duty turn, especially if you are a more experienced Race Officer.  Well done to everyone and thanks for attending.

Steve Gibbon

Having received the letter about club members doing duties I contacted Steve Gibbon about doing the race officer course.  As it transpires I had not been put on the rota to do a race officer duty.  However I thought it would be handy to be able to cover if necessary.  Also I haven't raced dinghies for many years, my sailing recently being cruising,  I thought I might make one or two appearances this year racing (Laser 1) and hoped that the race officer's course would refresh me on the basics.  So the 6th of March found three eager students stoking up the stove, all a little unsure what to expect.  Last time I was using the stove I left the door open for a little too long as I put more wood on and the smoke set off the fire alarm. It took us quite an ear-splitting time to work out the (very straightforward) way to turn it off.  Not an exercise I intended to repeat!

The course definitely gives a full knowledge of what a race officer has to do, how to do it, and common errors etc. This was the object of the course and it does all that very well, and I really couldn't find any way to improve it.  That’s not to say we three can now effortlessly run races.  It's clearly one of those jobs which requires experience as well as qualification.  I find myself now qualified but not experienced, a distressingly common situation in the sailing world, and one of my hobbyhorses, so it's poetic justice I guess that now it's me!  I  certainly intend to have an experienced race officer in the wings when I do my first duty, hopefully Steve!  Though not strictly the remit of the course we did manage to get Steve onto the subject of race rules once or twice and I realised that my memory definitely needed refreshing.  I am reliably informed however that I am not alone!  Steve mentioned the possibility of some race rules courses in the future.  I hope so!

The unexpected side of the course for me was just how much it motivated me to come and do a race or two.  Having been undecided about competing again having got very used to "sandwich sailing", I half expected to go home still unsure about racing.  Quite the reverse, I finished the course determined to get myself on one of those (hopefully 5-10° port biased) start lines this season.  So, I thoroughly recommend the race officers course to enable you to be a race officer, to better understand races you are doing, and to better understand the challenges which face a race officer (and maybe sympathise a bit when it all goes wrong!)

James Roff

PowerBoat Training

Colin Chandler, attendee on of the weekends writes:....An  essential for all those who drive the RIB! These two days enabled us to become confident in handling the RIBs at both low and high speed and more importantly safe when working close to other boats or powering across the lake. As usual the course consisted of some theory worked out in 'hands on' practice.  The days were cold and moderately windy. giving ideal conditions for getting a good feel of the boat.  Overall a most enjoyable (but rather chilly) two days of fun learning.  Many thanks Dave!

Colin Chandler

Assistant Instructors

Over two Saturdays in March six volunteers attended an Assistant Instructor's course at KWSC ran by Senior Instructors Dave Drewery and Steve Gibbon with help from Julie Gibbon and Alan Kemp.  This is an important first step in becoming a Dinghy Instructor and enables attendees to assist under supervision on some of our sailing courses we will be running at Kielder.  It is also a very important step in our growth and capability to deliver more and varied training and our six volunteers make a welcome addition to the team.

This was the first formal Assistant instructor's course we have ran at Kielder and despite a Force 8/9 on day 1 of the course it all went well in the end.

Well done to Viola Scott, Mike Scott, Colin Chandler, Fergus Holland, Thomas Holland and Francis Scott who join our other Assistant Instructors Ed Morris, Jack Holland and Steve Rushton.

Steve Gibbon

Assistant Instructor Course - a view from two attendees:

To set the scene, I look back on the fantastic opportunities for sailing I had as a child with such pleasure that I want to offer the same for the children at Kielder. Lots of new members and their children have recently arrived, wanting to experience the delights of sailing. We need to encourage them to get onto the water.

The first step is obviously to learn the basics. I decided to discover how they can be acquired from the inside and train to be an Assistant Instructor. The dedication of our small volunteer training team is seriously impressive but they have been asking for more help, especially for the juniors. It was very enlightening!

Firstly my eyes were opened what a strange experience it can be for a novice. So much is second nature to me that it was salutatory to realise how much can be a new experience to someone who has never been in a dinghy before.

Secondly I was impressed by how the RYA has approached teaching to sail. It is practical and positive, extremely well thought out. Sailors are led through the steps at their own pace, covering all the techniques and rules of the road needed, so that at the end of Level 2 they will be able to safely take a boat out on their own.

However, if these new skills are not practised they will soon deteriorate! So thirdly I realised how important it is for us as a club to encourage those who have done their Level 2 to get onto the water and build their confidence. Sailing is a very tactile activity and repetition is needed to consolidate new skills.

So I finished the course full of enthusiasm to assist with the club’s training and a determination to encourage people to sail after they have completed a course. I am already looking forward to seeing people I have helped train come back at the end of a day with eyes shining and enormous smiles all over their faces. For that is still how I come ashore, every time!

Viola Scott

Essentially the Assistant Instructor's course is the first step to becoming an instructor. It teaches you all the different ways of teaching children and adults. Minimum requirements of sailing qualifications are level 1&2 and 1 advanced course.

The RYA doesn’t specify which course you do but preferably the seamanship because most of the skills needed for the Assistant Instructors and Instructor’s course are included in the seamanship course. After you have learnt how to teach the different methods you have to put it in to practice in some role-play on the water which I found sometimes embarrassing but good fun. For those wishing to become an instructor, do this course and it will give you a great head start.

Thomas Holland

Winter Squad Training

For those juniors who have done some club racing and are ready to make the next step up (and there are plenty at KWSC) you may be wondering where the next rung on the ladder can be found. The best place to do this is winter training. This is available at several RYA centres across Britain, including Port Edgar sailing school on the Firth of Forth (between the two famous bridges) which is where Fergus and I have been going over the last few months. (Tom Somerville has attended Topper training in North East England, which will be closer to home for most of you).

Our training was in Laser Radials, which are the most popular option for youth sailors. The coaching is superb, almost as good as our own training team (not that I’m trying to get a certificate at the moment) but perhaps the most beneficial part of it is the opportunity to get some really good competition. We both felt we had made some drastic improvements in our sailing by the end of the course, and we moved several places up the fleet. It is also an excellent opportunity to make new friends, and since sailing is such a social sport this was obviously a high priority. At times lack of wind also helped with this.

If anyone is interested in this training, it is also useful to have one or more training partners, so why not group together and show the rest of Britain what Kielder’s made of?

Francis Scott

Francis Scott and me (Fergus Holland) have been putting in the practice all through winter to get, and stay one step ahead of the competition. We have been going to Port Edgar Sailing School and Marina for the Laser winter training weekends and even purchased some newer gear. But that’s not all!!! Francis has not missed a weekend of sailing since Christmas and I have only missed one!!!

The winter training at Port Edger, involved three weekends of race training although we did miss one weekend and one day, after breaking two road trailers in the space of twelve hours on the way there.

But the final weekend was different, the Saturday was training, and there was a Regatta with Toppers and 420’s on the Sunday. Four Laser Radials competed in the regatta (Francis & me being 2 of them). The strong winds and big waves gave Francis and Ben an upper hand because they were both 3 stone heavier and had more experience in the sea and waves. In the morning we had two long course races next to the Rail Bridge and underneath the Fourth Road Bridge in winds of about force six. Francis won one of them Ben won the other one and I came third in both. In the afternoon we had three short course races inside the harbour, due to the amount of capsizes and the sinking of a 420 in the morning. It was a triangle sausage course and it was very gusty, Francis won two of them and I came third in both, though I won the final race to leave the water in a good mood after the frustration of the morning. Francis seemed pleased with his days racing, I quote "I was on fire". The final positions of the day ended up as 1st Francis 2nd Ben 3rd me.

We are hoping that all our hard work will pay off for the start of the season’s racing and we are eagerly awaiting the youth championships in Pwllheli in Wales at Easter.

Fergus Holland

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