Team Grafham News
Saturday 31st August saw an epic turnout of 21 young sailors for Team Grafham. The group were split into two, with 3 Oppies, 3 Teras and 2 Toppers joining Nige and Skye in the intermediate group while the rest, sailing Toppers, Picos, Lasers and the double-handed Magno joined Matt and Reece in the advanced group. The wind was quite strong and there were several capsizes. The two groups joined together at the end of the session for a sail to the tower on the north shore and back. The photo shows the group returning to shore at the end of the session. Quotes from the coaches: “what a fantastic turnout”; “they did so well in really difficult conditions”.
Summer Camp 2024
This year’s Summer Camp took place at the start of August. There were quite a few new faces as well as those who have been coming for many years. Monday morning saw two sailing groups, one led by Matt and Mandy and the other by Kiera and Skye. In light winds everyone was reminded about the basics of launching, sailing a triangle and returning to shore. After lunch two groups had a chance to try windsurfing or play games on the mega paddleboards. Meanwhile Reece was taking pairs of youngsters for trips on his Spitfire catamaran. Mid afternoon there was a welcome break onshore for squash and snacks.
Tuesday dawned cooler and showery, although the wind remained light. The morning saw more sailing exercises and the afternoon was again taken with paddleboard games and more trips on Reece’s Spitfire. The Magno, recently repaired and back in service, was also out on the water with two of the group sailing it.
On Wednesday, the group sailing with Matt and Mandy set off in breezier conditions for a sail to the Tower off the north shore of the lake. On the way back the wind had gone a lot lighter and it took quite a while, especially for the two Oppies, to get back.
On Wednesday afternoon it was time for something completely new. Our Wingsurfing instructor Angus was on hand to give the whole group an on-shore demonstration of how to handle a Wing. Everyone had a practice on land, and in the breeze which had picked up quite a lot over lunch, some of the smaller members of the group found it quite a struggle!
Then it was time to go afloat for the afternoon’s activities. While two people at a time took it in turns to have a go at wingsurfing, the rest of the group were sailing in the double-handers: the two 2000s, the Magno and the Hartley 12. The double handers were reefed as it was really quite breezy.
As the group were later than usual going afloat after hearing Angus’s excellent briefing, there was no time to come ashore for afternoon squash and snacks, Instead these were ferried out to be consumed on the water, kudos to Reece and Louis who delivered the drinks without spilling a drop.
And Kudos to all those who had a go at winging, there were some impressive performances and there was general agreement that it was good fun.
Thursday morning saw the whole group sail a tour round the whole lake – which is a long way, about 9 miles! Various games were on the agenda for the afternoon, but as it was getting quite windy, the group all went afloat two or three up in Picos for a treasure hunt. This involved sailing to club buoys W, X, C, F, B and E and noting the pictures, words and letters on them. The groups then returned to shore and wrote stories using the things they had found on the buoys. Some of the stories were very exciting and most involved horrible deaths (but everyone lived happily ever after!).
Friday morning was, as is traditional, Regatta time. It is also traditional for it to be very windy for the Regatta. Because of this, the group were split into pairs and each pair sailed a Pico with jib. After a briefing on the course and starting/finishing procedure, the races got underway, sailing a triangle close to the shore. Racing was very close, with several capsizes and everyone demonstrated how much their skills had improved during the week. After three races, Lucas and Ellie were declared the winners, with two firsts and a second place. Then it was back to the shore for the prizegiving and farewells, until next year ….
Instructor Profiles
Also coming soon, bios of our Training School instructors. As a preview here are some mug shots.
