HISC Get Racing Club succeeds at building racing confidence for members
The new HISC Get Racing Club has been hugely successful in bridging the gap between the experienced, core group of HISC racing members and those standing on the shore wishing to get into racing for the first time. Launched at the start of this season the club relies on experienced member volunteers to assist those members keen to have a go at racing by offering tips, skills and coaching as well as putting on a series of informal races on selected Saturday’s.
June saw another two highly successful Get Racing Club events with a good number and mix of boats attending including RS 200’s, RS Qubas, Lasers and RS Visions. Both weekends saw sunshine and good winds which enabled the participants to build their confidence and develop their racing skills in a fun and friendly, learning environment.
The volunteer mentors, all hugely experienced racing members, focused on key themes including getting to the start line in time and the use of outhauls, downhauls and kicking straps; a real improvement was seen amongst the Get Racing Club participants in terms of their race starts and sailing skills by the end of the sessions.
Mentoring tips and advice progressed at the most recent event, to working on helming skills to achieve a more efficient line through the water and moving around the boat more dynamically in response to wind changes to keep the boat speed consistent.
The racing last weekend was fun and relaxed with several capsizes due to the shifty and gusty wind conditions; the 200’s dominated the day and were the overall winners.
Special thanks go to the HISC Mentors Andy and Karen Partington, Nick and Kate Peters, Jude, Steve Storey, Graham Williamson and Mark Pollington who gave up their time and teaching skills to put on the most recent HISC Get Racing Club events.
Forthcoming HISC Get Racing Club dates are:
Saturday 30th August
Saturday 13th September
Saturday 4th October
It’s not too late to get involved; for more information please visit the HISC website at www.hisc.co.uk or contact Leah at sailingsecretary@hisc.co.uk to register your boat.