Write-Up

RS Aero UK Winter Training - Oxford SC, 9/10th March

Thanks to George Cousins for his summary of the training weekend;
The topic for this weekend's training was piecing a race together.  Building on all the previous weekends of training to put it all together in a bigger race format. After a quick morning briefing the fleet hit the water for some rolling start practice and first beat tactics. The moderate easterly wind proved perfect for this. Just windy enough for some smiles on the top reach but light enough that we could still communicate on the water and keep warm. 

After lunch we rolled into a larger course format; a longer start line to test the sailors ability to get transits and develop their start line awareness. I then laid a leeward gate for added complexity. We then explored the importance of which leeward gate to chose and how it will be informed by which way you wish to go up the next beat.

Sunday dawned with drizzle and no wind. So boat work, land drills  and rigging were in order. Especially optimising control lines and toe strap settings. Following this we did more theory work looking ahead to the World Championships at Hayling. The wind might on occasion be fickle and unpredictable but you can always bank on some predictability with the tides! Accordingly a theory session on how the tide impacts course skew, the start line and the approach to marks of the course seemed appropriate. 

It was great to see a mixture of rigs as well as abilities and ages this weekend. A real testament to the design of the RS Aero. 

NEXT UP in the winter training series is the final training weekend at Wimbleball SC, Exmoor, on 13/14th April followed by the 2024 UK Youth Cjhamps at Lee-on-Solent on 27/28th April.
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