Manx Sail Racer

The conditions varied from strong wind and rain to light breezes and sunshine for the Manx Youth Sailing Squad’s second training session with RS Tera GBR Squad coach Jonathan Lewis.  Six Manx sailors were invited to join the GBR RS Tera Squad following their performance at the UK RS Tera National Championship last September.  They will all be representing Great Britain at the RS Tera World Championships in Carnac, Brittany this summer.

Jonathan spent three days on the Isle of Man, continuing the coaching programme he had begun on his last visit to the Island in November.   He was impressed that the team had continued to train through the winter and that they had been practising the techniques which he introduced on his last visit.  Boatspeed was the focus of this coaching session and the sailors worked hard to improve their upwind and downwind performance and boat handling.

Squad members Hannah Howitt, Izzy Sharpe and James Kelly have recently progressed into the RS Tera ‘Pro’ class.  The ‘Pro’ class uses the same RS Tera hull but has a taller rig and larger sail area which is more suited to the bodyweight of older squad members.  All three have demonstrated their skill and enjoyed some excellent sailing since moving into the ‘Pro’ class.

Younger squad members Amie Shute, Ffinlo Wright and Greg Kelly will compete this season using the RS Tera ‘Sport’ rig.  Amie has been with the Squad for two years and is a consistent sailor who puts a lot of thought into her racing.  The youngest member Ffinlo was new to the Squad in 2009, his sailing has improved enormously during the training sessions with Jonathan.  Greg Kelly has an excellent track record finishing 3rd in the 2008 RS Tera Inland Championship, 3rd the under 12s at the RS Tera European Championship and 10th at the RS Tera National Championship in 2009, he is the quickest Tera Sport sailor in the MYSS and there are high hopes for a good result at the World Championships.

All six members of the MYSS will attend a GBR Squad training weekend at Draycote Water next month to prepare for the World Championships.  The MYSS were the grateful recipients of a grant from Manx Telecom’s ‘It’s Our Community Awards’ to help meet their costs of attending this vital training weekend.

2010 will see more MYSS places become available for sailors aged 13 and under who are keen to develop their racing skills.  The Isle of Man Yacht Club will host an RS Tera Open Meeting on 24th & 25th April, this event will also be used to identify any potential new squad members.  Anyone who wishes to be considered for the 2010 MYSS should contact Jenni at 7th Wave RYA Training Centre.