First Sailing Drills

This week was the first practice our sailing team had together, and it was full of new experiences and learning curves. I was able to watch those who have been doing this for a while, as well as learn with people who know about as much as I do.

The practice started with us being ask to rig our boats, which are 420 boats. 420 boats are used mostly for races, as well as for teaching sailing. They are one of the easier sailboats to sail, but this means they are better for teaching and training purposes. Rigging a boat was tricky at first, but after the first time it is simply mussel memory they said. You have to learn about 3 different knots and how the sails sit on the booms. I got to watch my skipper rig the boat, and then we rolled it out of the shipyard and onto the beach shore. Once we all were told which drills we would be doing, today’s were called sausage and infinity, we headed out.

My skipper and I started by getting used to the boat, and then started our first drill of sausage. This was one of the easiest drills, and it is simply moving in a round shape between two markers. At every marker, we tacked in order to effectively move around the course. During this time, my coach told me to try positioning myself backwards in the boat to see if I liked it more. I turned fully around and tried sailing backwards essentially. At first, it felt super uncomfortable to be unable to see the front of the boat, but it just enforced the trust I had to have for my skipper and their sailing skills. I liked to sit forward as it was more comfortable, however, it was definitely good to be able to try it out.

After this drill, we moved into the infinity drill which allows for more boat to boat interactions as you have to cross each other’s paths. This drill was definitely more difficult for the skippers. However, we all were able to do it. The wind on the shore wasn’t intense during practice, and this slowed us down quite a bit, but it also allowed us to work more on our skills without the idea of capsizing, which is a very real possibility.

After the drills were complete, we headed back in and discussed the practice. We talked about what went well, and things we want to improve on. Then we headed home! Overall, it was such a new experience and pushed me to learn so many new things. I felt exhausted when I came home, but it was a good exhausted!