SAILING: Coleraine Yacht Club hold dinghy sailing Taster Days

The club has been gathering interest and some members also visited Dominican College with Olympic sailing coach Joe Glanfield to enlist budding sailors.

The first of the Taster Days was held in conjunction with the recent Riverfest at Christie Park in Coleraine when two-person Fevas were used to take young people sailing accompanied by an experienced sailor from the club in each boat.

Each person got out several times with different sailors and there seemed to be a big demand for the boat that was practicing a capsize drill.

Getting wet is very mich part of sailing and it appears the younger you are the more capsizes you want!

Afterwards the club ran a short dinghy race and some of the new sailors got out to crew.

The Taster Days also continued at the Coleraine Marina clubhouse with two sessions each day. These were well attended and each two-hour session was thoroughly enjoyed by the participants including several disabled young people. For most this was the first time in a small sailing dinghy.

To allow parents see the clubhouse and experience the friendly atnnosphere for which the club is well known for, coffee, teas and home-baked cake and cookies were available.

The demand for the Taster Days was such that many had to be turned away but next year the club will be running many more similar events.

Some of the participants have booked on the RYA Level 1 (beginners) course. Such was the response that the club had to expand the course and provide more instructors.