The 2-3rd June saw the Saltash fleet of National 12s (plus a couple of laser 2s) gather at Saltash SC in Cornwall for a full weekend of class coaching, including four boats from the home club and visitors from Avon and Birmingham. Also making the long trek down were John and Katy Meadowcroft and Graham Camm who dispensed their wisdom on all things 12 (and filmed us falling in!)
The weekend provided an excellent mix of weather with strong northerly on saturday to test boat handling while the lighter sea breezes on sunday provided opportunity to practice close quarters starting, roll tacking and run a short series of races.
Saturday began with a quick runthrough of the aims and objectives for the day, mostly concentrating on staying upright through the gybes... By the end of the morning all crews we're substantially wetter but noticeably more confident in the conditions. After a quick break for lunch a small triangle course was set to test mark rounding skills. The coaching team kept the fleet at this for quite some time, insisting on perfection!! At the end of the day a video debrief provided plenty of embarrassment for everybody, and that it's always easier to spot the mistakes from outside of the boat.
Sunday started with a fitful seabreeze
that strengthened as the day progressed. First task was judging
the line, with the crews sailing across
the line and holding up their hands when they thought the bow
was on it. Next up was continuous rolling start sequences so now
the fleet not only had to be on the line, they had to be on the
line at the right time! Something of a tall order to begin with.
To finish off the weekend a short
series of 6 races were held over a trapezoid course allowing everybody
to put into practice what they had
learned. The twelves gave the laser 2s a good run for their money
in a number of the races and with the sea breeze strengthening
it made for a great bit of sailing in the sun. Although, unusually,
Gill Moore was spotted swimming at the leeward mark...