Starting on Regattas

After 1 weekend of training at SAFYC Changi, TP and his new A3 buddies were entered in the 7th SAFYC Optimist Championship. We were a little apprehensive initially, given their inexperience sailing the Changi waters which are typically windier and the waters choppier. It was also their first time taking part in a regatta, which for the Optimist fleet, comprised close to 200 boats in the Gold and Silver fleets.

The first weekend on 25th and 26th Feb 2012 saw decent winds, with an eventual thunderstorm on 26th Feb. The decision to abandon the race was late and the sailors were caught in the thunderstorm. Fortunately, Y and myself were out on Y's RHIB and we were eyeballing our boys as the storm approached. As soon as the abandon flag was raised, we raced to picked them up. We also picked up a few other sailors who were capsized.

TP was fortunate that he did not feel the brunt of the storm in his dinghy. It was traumatising for quite a few of the kids, especially the less experienced sailors in the Silver Fleet. Quite few parents were also worried waiting for their kids to return at the Clubhouse.

The 2nd weekend on 3rd and 4th April saw almost no winds and the Silver fleet ended with a total of 5 races. TP was placed 88 out of 109, and was happy that he stayed away from the bottom few.

Here are the photos from the regatta. Expectedly, I did not manage to get the photos during the thunderstorm. At one point in time, it was so bad that I couldn't make out the direction to shore.

Two weeks later, TP took part in the Singapore National Youth Championship that was held at the National Sailing Centre from 13th to 17th March 2012. This was not our "homebase", so it was an interesting experience getting the logistics settled, and trying to figure our way around at NSC. Fortunately, the more seasoned sailors and parents from the Club were on hand to show the way.

The first day of sailing was not very positive for TP. The winds were light and the current was strong. He ended with DNFs for all the 3 races because he was too far behind (more than 20 minutes) the first finisher. It was worse when he saw the committee boat going past him to collect the ending mark before he could finish the race. Nonetheless, I thought it was a good lesson for TP in sports.

Fortunately, TP started to figure his way around better and got only 1 more DNF on the 4th race. Thereafter, he was placed for the rest of the 14 races. He eventually finished 82 out of 100, and is really starting to enjoy the regattas.