The rain was pouring but that didn't stop the morning classes! The beginner and intermediate 420 and opti classes geared up, put their game faces on and battled the breeze. Ali worked on safety and parts of the boat with the beginner opti's and said that, "the kids from last year really worked to help out the new kids which allowed everyone to get out on the water for a great morning!" Brooke's intermediate opti class learned the value of helping others. They worked as a team to rig their boats and get out for their first sail of the season.
While the opti's were hard at work, DJ and Mildred combined their beginner and intermediate 420 classes to work on rigging and tacking. They wanted everyone to get a good feel for being back on the water. They made it all the way out the mouth of the river to Nantucket Sound! It was quite the accomplishment for the first day.
As the afternoon approached, we saw a foreign object in the sky... THE SUN! As everyone put their shades on, the 420 and opti race teams went out for the first day of tryouts. The opti race team had a rough start off the dock, but made a huge come back on the way in. DJ put a call into the office and thinking there was trouble on the water, I ran out on the dock. I quickly spotted an impressive line of opti race kids one behind the other totally rocking the wind! Awesome job opti race!
Coach Mildred sent the 420 race team out of the river to work on boat handling and racing basics. The sailors all had a great tryout. The highlight of the day included one 420 sailor in particular capsizing right off the dock, trying to show off those roll tacking skills to the coach (looks like we have some work to do!) The team will continue their tryouts tomorrow focusing on spinnaker work.
All in all we had an AWESOME day at WDYC. We will keep our fingers crossed for good weather and a strong wind. Thank you to all of the parents who offered their help today! It is great to know I have so many helping hands. A reminder to parents (and I know it's hard to resist) PLEASE don't rig your kids boats! The instructors will continue to work hard and assure that all sailors are working as a team.
Smooth sailing,
Meghan
