Howth – August 29, 2017
At their annual conference in March, the Irish Cruiser Racing Association launched their Crew Training Grant. Affiliated clubs were afforded the opportunity to apply for grants of up to €1000 to support dedicated crew training.
Emmet Dalton, Vice Commodore Howth Yacht Club(right) and Sam O’Byrne also Howth Yacht Club(left) receiving their Crew Training Grant from Colin Morehead ICRA(centre)
ICRA’s vision is to introduce the idea of coaching and practice for the entire cruiser fleet in Clubs up and down the country thereby improving the quality of club cruiser sailing for the benefit of all participants.
Howth Yacht Club were first out of the blocks under the supervision of Des and Graham from UK McWilliams Sailmakers. The day commenced with a briefing with instruction to head out on the water as quickly as possible where a short series of races would be run. Both coaches were in ribs with drivers provided which enabled them to focus on the task at hand.
Things that were focussed on by the coaches on the water were shifting modes and gears as the wind increased, both upwind and downwind. This included adjusting the rig, weight placement and crew communication. As the wind steadily increased throughout the day, participants experienced varying conditions.
Once off the water, all went for a classroom style debrief where an in depth discussion on heavy wind trim, boat handling and rig tuning took place. All participants believed the day to be hugely beneficial.
Colin Morehead from ICRA speaking at the presentation of the grant to Howth Yacht Club recently, thanked the team in Howth for their commitment to this initiative and welcomed their plans to undertake further training in advance of their forthcoming Autumn Series.
ICRA Crew Training Grants remain available and full details can be found on here
