It was another windy weekend at Grafham Water Sailing Club on Saturday, 10th October, for the latest Women and Girls ILCA training session. With Grafham set to host the upcoming Inland Championships, it was the perfect opportunity for sailors to get out on the water and familiarise themselves with the venue.
A large group gathered for the event, featuring a great mix of women and girls across both the ILCA 4 and ILCA 6 fleets. The day was led by Head Coach Charlotte Fensom, supported by Senior Coach Jack Graham-Troll.
The session kicked off with a quick round of introductions before diving into boat setups and sail controls. Afterwards, the fleet headed back into the warm clubhouse to go over the planned on-water exercises.
Once out on the water, the wind began to build. The sailors started with a "follow-the-leader" upwind drill before moving on to a windward-leeward course. As several squalls blew through, conditions grew challenging, leading to quite a few capsizes and making it tricky to maintain speed and direction. Although several of the sailors did an amazing job managing the heavy breeze.
Returning to shore for a well-deserved lunch, the Grafham club members were exceptionally welcoming and helped pull boats up the slipway. Following lunch, the group held a debrief and paired up to set their individual focus areas for the afternoon session. However, shortly after relaunching, the wind built so much that Grafham closed the water, forcing an early retreat to shore.
With the boats packed away, the group took advantage of the extra time ashore for a comprehensive debrief. It proved to be a fantastic opportunity to deepen their knowledge on a wide range of topics, with everything from tell-tales to body position in the boat.
A massive thank you goes to coaches Charlotte and Jack, Grafham Water Sailing Club, and the ILCA UK class association, without whom the event wouldn't have been possible. Special thanks also to the RYA Evolution Fund and Sport England for financially supporting this initiative.
Upcoming Events & Host Opportunities:
Next Session: Delph Sailing Club - 12th December
Booking: Visit ILCA UK Events to secure your spot
Future Dates: Look out for upcoming sessions at Parkstone (February) and Royal Harwich
Interested in hosting a session at your club? Please reach out to the team at training@ilca.uk or women@ilca.uk
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