RDO East Blog May 2022

Hi everyone,

At the time of writing the sun is shining and there’s a nice breeze and I am hoping it will continue over the weekend as I take to the water dinghy sailing for the first time in a while. I know that many of you have been very active over Easter and it’s been great to see all the pictures popping up on social media feeds, hopefully signalling a successful first month or two back on the water.

Training Opportunities 

As many of you are aware the RYA has launched a ‘Winging’ Training Scheme. Winging is a fast-growing waterborne activity that involves the participant balancing on a board whilst using a wing (sail!) to propel themselves around the lake or on the tide. As users progress, they can foil and you may have seen people wing foiling at your clubs or on open water. I have organised for a Winging Trainer to come to the region and deliver some taster sessions for instructors, which will take place on the 18 June at Grafham Water and on the 30 July at Alton Water, so if you haven’t yet had a go and fancy trying this fantastic new discipline then please do book a space. May I also remind you that we have a host of other regional courses and development opportunities scheduled for the coming months, these include a development day for Dinghy Instructors on the 21 May and a Powerboat Instructor course starting this month. There is also a Race Coach level 3 course taking place in July at Alton Water and a Start Windsurfing Instructor course taking place in August, all subsidised to support instructor development. For information on all courses keep an eye on the website here

Regional Junior Championships next month

Next month sees the Regional Junior Championships take place at Grafham Water. This is the first time the event has been held during the summer months and we are very much looking forward to seeing sailors from across the region take part. There are fleet options that allow for a range of abilities and classes and once again we will be running an OnBoard Fleet. This fleet is supported by experienced instructors and is aimed at sailors visiting another club for the first time . Our target audience is dinghy sailors (from any club) that can comfortably sail to RYA stage 2 standard and are between the ages of 8 and 13. We recognise that going to their first away event can be daunting for many young sailors so this will primarily be a series of fun on water and on shore sessions aimed at building confidence and skills. We have Toppers, Picos and Fusion Dinghies available to charter for free, or you can bring your own dinghy. Get in touch with Jen if you’d like to find out more: jen.miller@rya.org.uk

Keep in touch

Hopefully you’re seeing your newer ‘lockdown’ joiners getting back on the water this Spring. I know many of you have been working hard to develop your communication with, and activity for new members and I look forward to getting out in the region and hearing all about your successes over the coming weeks and months. Should you have any good news stories about your initiatives then please do get in touch, we’d love to share all the good work that you have been up to.

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Hope to see you soon,

Robbie