(5 photos) (5 photos) CAMPAIGN SUMMARY
My sailing partner, Elizabeth Sheehan-Vela and I, Chloe Childs, are determined to compete in every 2012 Texas Junior Regatta with the CCYC sailing team.
Elizabeth and I are sophomores in high school and practice several times a week during the school year and every day during the summer. In 2011, we were able to complete in only two 420 regattas together, sailing at Palacios and Rush Creek.
Prior to teaming up together, I had the brilliant opportunity to sail in the Melges 24 Worlds Championship held in Corpus Christi on the only local Corinthian boat and Elizabeth competed in several laser and 420 regattas with the CCYC team. In a few short months together, we have dramatically improved our starts downwind and trapping whilst flying the spinnaker.
Our goal for 2012 is to attend and compete in all Texas Junior Sailing Regattas, advancing to a national qualifying event. Wish us luck!! Will keep you posted.
Posted By: Chloe
Skip Whyte 420 Clinic, Houston Yacht Club, Feb 10, 11 & 12, 2012
This past weekend was a blast. I learned so many new tricks and basic skills that will hopefully help with future regattas.
I learned a lot about how to gibe when going downwind with the spinnaker up. Skip showed us a special trick that he had always used where the crew flies the spinnaker through the gibe then once the boom has come across, the skipper grabs the spinnaker sheets while the crew goes up and switches the pole to the other side.
I learned the most whilst we were on land because I found it harder to concentrate on the water. This was mostly because it was 36 to 40 degrees with a lot of chop and about 15 knots of wind. It was definitely colder than we expected. We are pretty used to it being too hot most of the year. On land Skip made it very clear that the most important job for the skipper is steering. He would ask us questions like “when you are going downwind, what must the skipper do that is very crucial to the outcome of the race” or “When turning through a gibe what must the skipper be concentrating on the most” The answer was always STEERING the boat. However, most of us would mutter things like “paying attention” and “making sure the sails are full all the time” which are things that you need to do but not the answer that Skip was looking for.
