A weekend of match race training was scheduled for Marconi as our members were warmly welcomed by the Royal Corinthian YC this week.
Not only did we have 5 sailors competing in the event, but RCYC RO Edwin Buckley and his team invited fledgling race officers Debbie Grafton and Lana Clarke to shadow his teams activities from the committee boat. In amongst the rapid succession of races, the RCYC team explained the processes and sequence of events to our members so that they might bring back what they learned to Marconi.
‘An invaluable and exciting insight into the intricacies of match racing, which was further enhanced by the knowledge of the RCYC volunteers and RYA staff who were very patient and kind in answering all my queries‘. Debbie Grafton
Out on the ribs dashing at speed between the duelling Hunter 707’s, Martin Maloney, Anita Baynham and Bryan Spencer, got to shadow the umpires and see first hand the theory now put into practice as they furthered their umpire training.
Bryan echoed the thoughts of the others saying, ‘It was really exciting close racing’, whilst Martin stated that ‘Shadowing was a great opportunity to gain an understanding of racing rules in a fast paced environment’.
Our team of ‘shadowers’ was led by Mia Morgan, the driving force behind out Marconi Match Racing initiative, and on Sunday she swapped training positions and moved from the committee boat onto the race training team as Tristan Walker Hutt stepped off.
Here’s a report from David Nickalls with a competitors perspective from our team which included Dan Nickalls and Hannah Bard as well as Tristan and Mia.
We were excited about our first foray into match racing, and the weekend didn’t disappoint.
I would like to thank Marconi for supporting the keelboat academy and helping us develop our skills and supporting the wider sailing community. I would also like to thank the RYA and the other competitors, who welcomed us warmly and were quick to offer us advice throughout the weekend when we asked.
Ed: Well done to all the Marconi members who participated in this event, the experience gained will be invaluable to us, not only for match racing but also for when we run our British Keelboat League event in June. And a big thanks to the members of the Royal Corinthian YC for assisting us on our way.
Marconi members who would like to test themselves in match racing against other members, then come and join one of our teams at our Easter match race training event. Contact Mia Morgan for more info or email keelboats@marconi-sc.org.uk
