Opti Racer

TP recently attained his Opti Racer qualification (after a few attempts for the theory test). This would allow him to race in the regattas, and to move on from the B Squad to the A3 Squad. Looking back, his sailing journey has been quite interesting.

He started with the Get Kids Afloat (GKA) programme in Mar 2010 during the school vacation. As I was overseas during that period and HL was busy with work, Dada was the one who brought him to Sembawang for the lessons every day. Here are a couple of photos from the GKA.

Notice the shorts he's wearing. He'll continue to wear this all the way through C and B Squads. The GKA graduates with their certificates below.

As TP's GKA was held during the Mar holidays, the Club did not start a B Squad till Jul or Aug in 2010. The next few photos are from his C Squad days, in which they used the Red Optimists, which are heavy, slow, but probably indestructible. Perfect for beginners.

TP then moved on to the B Squad in Dec 2010. The timing was not ideal as this coincided with the North East monsoon. Shortly after he started in the B Squad, he had an incident that almost put him off sailing completely. He capsized one day and got stuck between the inverted boat and the main sheet. Fortunately, Jedi abandoned his race and jumped in to help TP. TP went home with abrasions on his neck and face that day.

Sensing his apprehension following the incident, HL and I took him sailing at Constant Wind. Expectedly the waters there were choppy and the winds gusty and shifty. He was on HL's boat and was probably quite shocked by how much the Laser heeled. Thereafter, he decided he would not want to sail with HL or myself again, and would rather skipper his own boat.

We were really glad that he decided to overcome his apprehensions face-on. Expectedly, for a few months, he was a very cautious sailor. He would not aim for speed, but stability instead. So he would never kite till much later. At least he was still enjoying sailing.

It was only in the last few months that he fully regained his confidence and aimed to do well in the races. We would see him hiking out when the winds were strong, and he even began to enjoy the capsize drills. He started to get the Uncle Low rewards in the weekly training, and finally managed to get a podium finish in the Nov 11 Monthly Medal Race (MMR).

TP really enjoyed his B Squad sailing, especially the before and after sailing activities. He would finish his homework on time so that he could go to the Club earlier for more play. And we also had a Sunday lunch routine. We would buy the Kay Lee Char Siew rice (fei de) on the way to Sembawang.

TP with some of his sailing buddies - Daniel, Caleb, TP, Jabez and Wenxin.

The boys playing rugby ... with a coconut. A couple of weeks later, a whole bunch of them attempted to throw coconuts from the 2nd level of the Clubhouse. Boys will be boys.

The B Squad Sailing Expedition to Sembawang Park