Bram has some great ideas, and I believe a lot of what he says here is
similar to our focus in the Musto fleet. The best way for everyone to have
a great time is to help newcomers get up to speed. That way you get more
people to push everyone better in the end, and it's just good fun.
Also, I have found that two things that really help on the learning curve.
Doing the 2 up sailing, or dighy assisted sailing keeps people from getting
anywhere near as fatigued while getting up the curve quicker. You are going
to capsize plenty and get practice at righting, so getting over the bits of
figuring out how to sail in a straight line quicker is probably the first
thing to learn on the boat.
Second, I have found that going out with a couple of sailors in a dinghy,
and one coach, and trading off on the sailboat works well too. That way
people can take shorter rests in between, and learn from the other sailors
on the boat while resting.
Look forward to seeing you folks at Huntington!
Ron
_____
From: BDally6107@xxxxxxx [mailto:BDally6107@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2007 10:06 AM
To: swiftsolo@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: re: Huntington clinic suggestions
Ron, Robert and all
After thinking about last years clinic, a couple of ideas.
It's my opinion that the major objective of the clinics is to focus on the
newer guys. We will again have several Swift sailors who will be launching
their boats in the spring and attending the regatta at Huntington as well as
guys from last season with not much time in the boat. I think the two up
sailing (for those who ask) is a good idea and shore clinics are very
important for newcomers. I also think an on-the-water capsize righting
clinic would be helpful. Saw a lot of extra energy being expended last year
on righting Swifts! Huntington is great for this kind of thing because the
dock provides a good viewing platform right at the action.
I personally don't think we need an on-the-water coach. Instead, a
debriefing in the evening with video might be the ticket. I think everybody
gets a little tired of being yelled at from a coach boat. Often times, a
newcomer will have just learned something new that he wants to consolidate
while the coach is bringing in other ideas. With a debriefing, newcomers
can talk about what they learned, ask questions from the experienced sailors
and, if they ask, we can show video of them sailing.
It would be good if each of the experienced guys would agree to spend a 90
minutes in the rescue boat during one of the newcomer sessions to answer any
on-the-water questions and assist in rescue. If each of us agreed, we could
easily cover all of the sessions. This person could offer suggestions to
those who are obviously making things difficult on themselves.
Circuit racing in the afternoons for the experienced guys with good video
coverage showing sail trim etc. would be good. We too could join the
debriefing and bullshit session in the evenings with the top few of each
days racing talking about what they thought they saw on the water regarding
sails trim and technique (after the newcomers have covered what they want to
ask / talk about).
The newer Swift sailors are the life blood of the class. Let's make a
special effort to ensure that the experience at Huntington helps them
improve their skills while having a great time. I always come back to the
fact that the good sailors in the 505 class taught me how to beat them. Few
classes have this kind of spirit. Let's continue that tradition in the
Swift class. When the racing does start, let's put having fun first and not
get too serious. Our first two regattas were great examples to follow.
These are just ideas. What do you think?
Best regards,
Bram
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