SSCBC Couta Coach

SSCBC is thrilled to announce the appointment of the Rhys Tucker as our Couta Coach. Rhys has a wealth of on-water experience, sailing many classes, and in last few years he has focused on Couta boats. Rhys has received many bottles of wine on our deck for winning Couta boat races and series. His motivation to take on the position is to help grow the fleet, pass on his skills and the joy of sailing to others.

This sailing season SSCBC is using our own Couta boat, Ripple, to promote greater sailing participation and encourage Members and their guests to get on the water for some fun, excitement and even a little competition.

The Couta boat program, using the Club’s Couta boat, Ripple, has been designed for Members who would like a way to get back on the water, to either enhance their skills or to give it a try for the first time but don’t know where to start. SSCBC sees Ripple as a perfect steppingstone to encourage more Members to go sailing through the following ways:

1. Club Racing: Ripple will participate in all Club Races and will have spots available to take guests/ trainees. Each race will be customised to our guest’s needs, so if you would like to experience your first Couta boat race or learn more advanced Couta Racing, this is the pathway for you.

2. Couta Boat Sail Training Course: This is the more formal pathway which will teach beginners / novices and even more experienced sailors to have enough skills and confidence to sail Couta boats. The course will go through the basic fundamentals and expose Members to different positions around the boat, including skippering.

3. Other customised programs will be considered, please just ask. In particular, we will be seeking to sail Ripple available for the Twilight races, to possibly provide an avenue for Next Gen sailors to participate in these more social races.

All of these programs are subject to COVID restrictions, but we want to hit the ground running the moment we are allowed to proceed in a safe manner.

In order for these initiatives to be successful, we need your help. If you are Member who hasn’t been out on a Couta boat, please try it and bring a friend and spread the word. If you have sailed occasionally on yachts but would like to become a Couta boat sailor, these initiatives are for you.
If you are a Couta boat owner and would like your crew trained and or are looking for additional experienced crew members, we can provide you with graduates of our Couta boat Courses and training.

Rhys Tucker has been appointed as our Couta Coach, to help the Club achieve these goals. Our aim is to increase participation in the Couta boat fleet. Rhys will be managing Ripple and the Couta boat training courses in conjunction with David White, our Training Manager.