Report by Gordon Guthrie
The HYC youth program is alive and thriving. This season has been very successful with on average 20 sailors taking part. At times we had 25 sailors on the water with the ages ranging from 7 to 14 years old. It was encouraging to see a large number of girls taking part. We were also well supported by the Bridger House group who came through from Franschhoek.
The sailors are split into 3 fleets: A Fleet (advanced), B Fleet (intermediate) & C Fleet (beginner). It was promising to have a large number of first-time sailors, as a result the C fleet was the largest fleet. Many of the beginner’s progressed to the B fleet in the season, which is hopeful for the future. The weekend training is broken up into 3 sessions starting with the first session on Saturday morning, a break lunch (which is included in the fee) and then an afternoon session. On Sunday we have a morning session and are finished by 2pm so that the parents can make an early start back. HYC has a fleet of 8 Oppies for those sailors that don’t have their own boat.
The success of the program is largely due to the coaches, and we had a excellent team of coaches and helpers with Arin, Tom, James, Chiara, Michaela, Megan, Jessica, Nika, Shaun and Jordyn.
A highlight of the weekend is the sail across the lagoon to the Coot Club where there was lots of fun had on the Slip & Slide and the sailors also receive milkshakes as a reward.
Another positive is the growing participation from the local’s which we are nurturing.
The condition on the final weekend of the season were very challenging, with the wind well over 20 knots and gusting 25 knots. It was extremely rewarding to see the A fleet out and enjoying those conditions.
We plan to continue the A fleet coaching through the winter to continue the momentum and are considering adding the B fleet to the winter coaching.
Another positive result of the training is that many of the parents have join HYC.
We are optimistic for the next season and would like to invite all those who would like to learn to sail or improve their sailing.