Day 3: The focus for day 3 was a simple one. Do a crash course on how to sail a Sonar. It was the first time any of us had been on the water on one.
We were blessed with the conditions with a beautiful 12 to 15 knot breeze on flat water.
Our on the water exercises were:
-straight line boat speed (two boating)
-smoothness of tacks
-kite hoist/drops/gybes
-mark traps (in strong tide/powerful boats)
-tacking duals
-practise starts.
We managed to achieve all our exercises and got a lot more comfortable in the boats. While we aren’t fully 100% we really enjoyed our time on the water.
Tomorrow the event kicks off with a Round Robin with all teams racing each other (72 races). From there it will be a split to gold and silver. We will take one race a time and not get results oriented but we will focus on our game plan.
In all my years coaching I haven’t seen sailors more excited to get out on the water. Every conversation we have as group always goes back to this format of racing.
As a group we all appreciate the opportunity and support we have received from SSCBC. A standout of this was Fred Allen and Stephen Harvey giving up their time and boats for a Sorrento training session. We also received a very kind letter written by Milton Green which shared his experience at Newport (and a round of drinks post event).
You’ll notice we are in fantastic new Ronstan gear which I would strongly recommend!
Tonight we are being hosted for dinner by our Commodore Graham and Annie Cunningham, who made the big trip over and will be supporting our team on the water.
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- TomTrotman
