Season 2014 ? Challenges?

.....Well I think 2014 is going to be a bit of a repeat run at previous years in not being a boat owner at the moment.

So this is plateauing a little as crew and instructor?

Hell yes and hell no!

I felt really rusty this year, but also really confident and we were able to turn up at a Melges 24 regatta , end of season shake down, and kick last year's opponent into touch.

Next year I had ruled out the Nationals, but loh! and Behold! The M24  class have proposed to get rid of the weight limit while limiting crew number to 5. So the nationals at around 400kg is possible!

Our nationals are now the second biggest behind the USA apparently, with over 40 melges out. A handful of them compete at keywest.

As for being instructor: well, I have to say that I am not very motivated to teach teenagers this year, mainly because it just wasn't good craic. So this year it will be adult new beginners or developers - at least then there will be a bit of craic.

As for helming, not owning a boat, well this year will have to be as an instructor which is a good coincidence because we borrow boats and I can borrow my own. An alternative is to get a club Snipe and work on it and that is a good proposition too in fact, given there are some ok sails lying around. If  the older youth are into Snipes then we can do some regatta sailing and tune ups with just a handful.

My aims  for my own sailing are as stated in the blogs:

1) Get better at starts:

2) better coming out of the tack

3) smoother in the gybe

4) tuning my feel for the angles on the line and the shift / favoured side

5) learning about tidal wind vectors and decision making based on this (Rodney Pattison style)

6) Working on my communication with crew - being confident and clear and thinking before ordering.

7) Understanding the wind and effect of tide better. Understanding why wind creates holes.