SAILOR ABILITY
Our Junior Oppie program typically has a group of between 6 and 10 sailors aged between 9 and 11 years of age.
There are 2 levels of ability catered for:
REGATTA FLEET: sailors who are able to tack, gybe, beat, run, reach and are able to get around a race course. These sailors are not yet racing but are looking to learn some of the basic skills and rules.
JUNIOR FLEET: sailors are looking to start racing in the IODAI junior fleet in 2018. These sailors have mastered the basic sailing rules and are now focusing on race technique, rules and start strategy.
Our lead coach is Cian Cahill who has extensive Oppie training experience and he aims to keep the training fun, low pressure and above all, safe. He is accompanied by a second assistant coach and this allows them to split the group into 2 to facilitate both ability levels.
We will be training on Sunday afternoons and will be extending our sailing hours as the temperatures rise and the days lengthen. When weather forces us to cancel sailing, we will instead focus that training day on theory and land based training.
Spring 2018 we will run 3 programs on the following dates:DATES & TIMES:
April Course: 15th April, 22nd April, 29th April
May Course: 6th May, 13th may, 27th May
11:30 arrival for those who need to learn to rig.
12:00 arrival for those who know how to rig and change in 30 min!
12:30 Rigged and ready; briefing
13:00 Launch
15:00 approximate time of return, de-rig and debrief
16:00 finish
COACHES:
Our coaching staff will be headed up by Cian Cahill and have been selected on their sailing coaching experience as well as their ability to connect well with children. We intend maintaining a coach to sailor ratio of around 1:6.
The coaches will teach the sailors to rig their own boats and to launch without parental help. Teamwork between the sailors will be encouraged.
We will try and coordinate our coaching activities with those of the RIYC and the NYC to facilitate better safety and collaboration on the water.
EQUIPMENT:
RSGYC does have some charter boats available for booking, but it is advisable that the sailors have their own equipment. It is imperative that they have adequate warm sailing gear and that the boats have all appropriate safety equipment.
We are looking at putting on a “buy-and-sell” date for 2nd hand equipment within the coming weeks.
EXPECTATIONS:
• Volunteering: Parents will be expected to volunteer to help with the coaching sessions and we will run a roster for sign-up.
• Punctuality: All sailors must be rigged and ready by 12:30am
• Rigging: Coaches are there to teach the sailors to rig their boats but not to rig for them. Sailors who do not know how to rig should arrive earlier to allow time for the coaches to instruct them.
• Food: all sailors should have had lunch before arriving and should have water and snacks for on the water
• Safety: Before getting onto the water, the boats will be inspected to ensure that all safety equipment is in good working order. All sailors are expected to dress for the conditions and to follow all safety instructions given by the coaches.
PRICING
Each block of courses is based on a per session fee of €25. Sailors are expected to sign up for the full block of course dates and cannot pay for ad-hoc dates. No refunds are issued for missed sessions unless the sessions are cancelled by the Club in advance of the sailing day.
All payments and bookings can be made by clicking here for the booking form.
COMMUNICATION
We will be setting up a George Oppie WhatsApp group to facilitate rapid communication amongst the group
Robbie Walker
+353 87 4000045
