WANTED
SKIPPERS & CREW
Girls and Boys 6-15 years (Club boats available this year)

PLYC Holdfast Trainer Sailing Report 25/10/2008

By Tiffany Perin

Gail force warnings and 25 knot winds were not what we ordered for a great day of Sailing for our juniors second week of racing. After not being able to get on the water for the Opening the Week before it was decided to get the boats on the water Friday night for an hour or so just to build up the confidence of the ‘first timers’. The art of collecting yellow rubber ducks, tacking and jibing ensuring not to hit another boat was a great way for our young Sailors to hone their skills. The boats on the water were Hannah Hood and Kiara Baillie in ‘Boeing’, Mark Barwick and Marty Hood in ‘Bring It On’, Amy Perin and Rose O’Donnell in ‘Mermaid Sister’, Georgina Hughes and Isaac Scott in ‘The Whippet’, Luke Plomka and Sonny Puglisi in ‘Pavana’, Sophie and Harry Hood in ‘Wahine’ and Kelsey Allen and Alyssa Kelsey in ‘Show Me The Money’.
The weekly Come & Try program was again a success on the Saturday with Warren Hood leading many children on the safety aspects of yachting. The basics were covered along with caring for the equipment, especially the centre board as “this makes the boats go fast if they are kept in great condition”, a very important point if you want to win a race!
Eager faces learnt what to do if the boat does tip over and with the help of our friendly Commodore real life examples could be seen as Ben held the yacht on its side and then upside down!
As a Club we are impressed with the attendance at our Weekly Come & Try’s but we still have a way to go to keep the Parents of these kids involved each week. A Club is only as good as its members and to get these kids on the water we will need more Dads and Mums with boat licenses to assist out on the water each week.  I encourage anyone with a tinny and/or a boat license to join us on Saturdays at 10.30am to ensure we can keep our young kids safe on the water.

 For more information please ring either Warren Hood on 0427 202721 or Ben Kelsey on 0419 828626.