WYA Squad Newsletter Spring 2014 The Windy Winter This winter we have seen endless Low pressure systems, howling gales, floods and high tides but we have made it through in one piece. Many weekends were postponed and rescheduled. There were a record breaking number of capsizes and land days which tested both the coaches and sailors to their limits with regards to theory sessions! RESULTS THIS WIN- TER Optimist The 2013/2014 winter season kicked of with a few International events. Four Welsh sailors ventured over to Palamos where they reported huge waves and tough conditions. All worked hard and highlights include::- Will Hall (43rd) Rhys Lewis (99th) Hannah Robert Straw (143) Mila Monaghan (167). Kai Wolgram also trav- elled over to Malta finishing 59th. Three sailors were selected to represent GBR at Naples—Rhys Lewis (18th) Ciaron Jones (41) Chris Jones (53) Then the bginning of the IOCA series with the Spring Champs in Torbay— Rhys Lewis (2nd) Haty Morsley (3rd) Chris Jones (7th) Jamie Cook (13th) Will Hall (17th) Iago Davies (18th) The Easter Regattas—Magic Marine Easter Regatta: Will Hall 4th, Rhys Lewis 5th, Chris Jones 32nd, Ciaron Jones 50th, Hatty Morsley 1st Silver Fleet (carrying a BFG in qualifying.) Out of 214 sailors. Lake Garda Optimist Meeting : Gethin Owen 68th, Iago Davies 95th out of 623 sailors. Kai Wolgram 24th, Tyler Green 104th out of 205 sailors. Laser The lasers have had a tough start to the beginning of their race season. Three qualifiers were held in succession on the south coast with strong tides and breeze. Qualifier 4 at Stokes Bay Results—Matt Whitfield (16) Will Thomas (20) Merrick Stanley (2nd Silver fleet) Standard—Micky Beckett ( 5) Eifion Mon (9) Jack Preece (12) Qualifier 4 at Pevensey Bay Results- Matt Whitfield (11) Rhiannon Massey (17) Standard—Micky Beckett (7) Jack Preece (10) Qualifier 6 at Highcliffe Results - Rhiannon Massey (6th) Matt Whitfield (11th) Standard— Micky Beckett 6) Jack Preece (13) 420 Winter Championships—Mari Davies and Sarah Norbury (2) Dan Whitley and James Clemetson (11) Dan Atherton and Matt Viney(18) Jemma Viney and Matilda Matthews(26) Spring Championships—Mari Davies and Sarah Norbury (3rd) Dan Whitley and James Cle- metson(5th) Jemma Vineyand Matilda Matthews (20) Dan Atherton and Matt Viney (23) 29er A glorious weekend of racing for the 29ers in Rutland for their first Grand Prix. They were met with sunshine, warm weather but a slight lack of wind on Sunday: Grand Prix 1—Rowan and Dan (10th) Alex and Tom (19th) Topper Winter Regatta—Callum Elwin (11th) Chloe Butterworth (17th) Alex Whitfield (23rd) Topper Nationwide Queen Mary—Alex Whitfield 21st, Tom Renny 26th, Harry Pulford 35th Eric Twiname Team Optimist—Callum Davidson-Guild, Emily Hall, Felicity Allen, Guy Farmer, Alice Reynolds, Lorelei Bates, Tyler Green, Luc Sharrock, Alex Lewis, Maddie Leary Topper—Rhys Chandler, Zac Orehawa, Harry Pulford, Ben Roberts, Abigail Roberts, Jess Sillitoe-Price, Nina Til- ley, Ffion Thomas Feva’s—Thomas & Amy Bale, Ewan Luke & Daisy Lee-Browne, Iwan Roberts Ellie Meopham—Welsh Sailors of the Year Once again Ellie was crowned Welsh sailor of the year after a spectacular summer in 2013. Not only did Ellie secure her spot in the ISAF Youth Worlds Team for the second year running but Ellie also finished 5th at the Radial Youth European Championships. Ellie is now taking some time out coaching and about to start training as a Paramedic . RYA Youth Nationals Results: 29er—Gold: Rowan Edwards & Dan Blight 10th, Tilly James & Robbie Robinson 13th, Huw Edwards & Josh Dawson 24th, Silver: Alex & Tom Joesbury 2nd, Tommi Coode & James Guinan17th, Chelsea Jackson & Ryan Jones 26th 420—Mari Davies & Sarah Norbury 4th, Daniel Whitely & James Clemetson 7th, Matt Viney & Dan Atherton 16th, Jemma Viney & Tilley Mathews 21st Laser—Micky Beckett 3rd, Alex Jardine 14th Radial—Gold: Matt Whitfield 7th, Rhiannon Massey 19th, Merrick Stanley 27th, Frankie Dickens 28th, Aled Goddard 35th, Archie Dodwell 53rd Silver: Dan Jones 2nd, Sam Thomas 6th, Jack shepherd 29th, Emily Roberts 36th, Ben Johnson-Rolfe 37th, Francesca Murphy 40th Stevie Beckett’s thoughts for the week Starts: The fleet seemed to lack line awareness on occasions, in particular, where the line was, what the bias was, and how to put this together with a strategy. There tended to be a lack of response to changing conditions in the later races of the day as people got more tired, which though understandable, is not ideal. If you bear in mind that conditions change continuously, then by the final race in the day, you stand to make gains while everyone else is asleep. Awareness of changing conditions: Whilst some sailors were good at responding to different days, there was also a tendency to assume that because something was important yesterday, it would be important today too. It is much better to perform your own analysis before each race to en- sure you don’t make assumptions and miss things. This was particularly relevant with the changing effects of the thermals and the tides from day to day and even race to race. Laylines and rhumb lines: I saw some very bad laylines last week, and I also saw many reaches with the entire fleet above the rhumb line, and runs with the fleet all one side or the other. Trans- its to ensure you don’t sail further than you need are really important in these cases, and planning for how the tide might effect the different legs will also help (particularly important on Fri- day). You stand to gain many places by getting these things right. Dates for the diary WYA Bala OnBoard Festival and Acorn OnBoard Regatta 6-7th September Events Welsh Zone Championships 27-28th September Pembrokeshire Yacht Club CYRC’s North West South 1st June—South Caernarvonshire YC 31st May—Dale YC 7th June—Llangorse SC 22nd June—Port Dinorwic SC 21st June—Tenby SC TBC—TaTa 28th June—Llyn Brenig SC 28th June—Pembrokeshire YC 21st June—Cardiff Bay YC 20-21st September - Clywedog SC 19th July - Neyland YC 5th July—Mumbles YC 4th October—Dovey YC 13th September—Fighguard YC 20th July—Penarth YC Welsh Optimist—CBYC Topper—26-27th April combined with Welsh Youth and Junior Championships Champs Laser—Cardiff Yacht Club 12-13 July Open CBYC—running some summer camps—please check the CBYC website for more info Training IOCA training— 25-26 May—Clywedog / 7 June Llyn Brenig / 21 June PDSC (TBC) / 24- 25 July Abersoch/ 13-14 Sep Holyhead Sailors who are Graduating from their class this year are: SPEED & SMARTS Optimist Topper 29er These are amazing newsletters written by Dave Dellenbaugh, winning Ameri- Gethin Owen Callum Elwin Chelsea Jackson ca’s Cup Tactician. The newsletters are Cori MacFarlene Iago Davies packed with tips to improve your racing Hatty Morsley Chloe Butterworth performance and have some great dia- grams . You will need your login to view Charlotte Watson the newsletters but well worth the read. Nina Tlley Jess Slitoe Price Useful Laser Videos Ffion Thomas COURSES Coaches Top Tips RYA First Aid Course dates: Paul Simes—Relax & Smile, you will sail faster and better CBYC Chris Gowers— Put the bung in before you launch 7th June—£50 members £55 non-members Dave Jones—Hike harder Contact—02920 666627 Sarah Williams—Poor Preparation leads to Poor Performance Plas Menai 31st May, 23rd Aug, 1st Nov, 22nd Nov—£100.00 Contact—01248 670964 Dinghy Instructor Course Dates: Plas Menai 21-25 July, 4-8 Aug, 18-22 Aug, 27-31 Oct—£350.00 Contact—01248 670964 The Transition from Optimist to 420 1. How are you finding the 420? 420s are going great and a lot faster than Optimist’s! It’s been great fun learning to sail in a new boat with 2 other sails and another person! 2. Was there a big jump between optimist and 420 sailing? It felt like quite a big jump going from an Optimist to a 420 especially because it’s so much more tech- nical and physical than an Optimist. But whilst I was in my Optimist I also sailed Feva’s for a couple of years to learn how to sail a double handed boat and did some events 3. Who do you sail with and what class did they sail previously? I sail with Tilly Matthews who previously sailed Toppers and also comes from Cardiff Bay Club. It’s really convenient we sail nearby as in the summer we can train after school. 4. What squads are you currently part of? We are currently in the GBR Transitional Squad which is going great as there are both people who have previously been in Optimists and other boats like Cadets. We are also in the Welsh 420 Squad with a rec- ord number of 5 other boats! 5. Any advice for sailors looking to transition this year? If I had to give any advice for anyone who was looking to go from their Junior boat to a Youth boat, try out lots of different boats to find what you like and get lots of time on the water being a helm and crew to find what you prefer! And have fun! So You Thought You Were Busy……. The Viney Family’s Story It almost seems easy now! With just Matt and Jemma in 420 Squads (different boats of course!), Gareth now coaching and doing A levels, and Sam sailing a Feva locally, we even have the occasional weekend when we are both at home at the same time. The sailing Calendar is still very busy and most weekends have been tak- en up by Class training, Welsh Squad, GBR Transitional Squad or simply time on the water getting to grips with a new boat.