This year we held a series of 9 Friday nights of Youth Training in the lead in to EDYC Youth Week, and 24 young sailors took part in some or all of these, with most gaining RYA certificates. This meant that our Youth Week this year had a good number of sailors who we knew, and who had already progressed from last season. The week’s activities have been kindly supported by Newry & Mourne Council.
The week ran on 1-5 July, with 16 young sailors participating, as well as 4 Assistant Instructors in training. We enjoyed 4 full days of sailing with generally two ‘long on the water’ sessions per day. Most of the club dinghies were in use, with 4 Toppers, a Pico, a Wayfarer, and 6 Fevas. The week was quite windy, and we were lucky to get a long day of sailing, with Taggart Island landing, and capsize practice in on Wednesday. Thursday was not suitable for dinghies, so we took a trip by power vessels around Dunny Neil and back into the waves and spray. The rest of that day was filled with land activities involving boats, sails, and flipcharts. Friday started much more pleasantly with sun and a moderate breeze. We went North with the tide and tested Stage 2 helms around a triangular course and then everyone on a ‘follow my leader’ exercise, when sailors practice adjusting the speed of their boat to stay in perfect formation behind a RIB.
After some pontoon jumping and a change of clothes, the sailors, course staff and parents were treated to a welcome barbeque, and the course was rounded off with a presentation of course logbooks and certificates. The Senior Instructor thanked the big team of instructors, supervisors, Assistant Instructors, and other helpers who had made the course possible, along with others who work hard behind the scenes.
Race Coaching continues with a small number of attendees on Saturday mornings, and the Strangford Lough Youth Series provides racing opportunities during the summer. A further EDYC Youth Week (or almost week), will be held in mid-August, with a focus on RYA Youth Scheme Stages 1-3 plus ‘Start Racing’, which is suitable for those of Stage 4 sailing ability.
