The following report was written by Brad Bell from MYC. I have also updated the photo section.
A Dabchick training weekend was held at Mountain Yacht Club in Limpopo over the weekend of the 16th and 17th February 2008.
This event was organized by Mr Owen Baxter from the Dabchick Class Association, coached by Mr Ivan Gibbons, and supported by Aunty Daphne Kasselman from the NSA.
The training was attended by six Gauteng-based sailors, Gareth Baxter, Ryan Hadley, Angela Fraser, Warren Hadley, Dru Connold, and Gary Norton, and twelve Limpopo-based sailors, namely Doug and Timmy Elphinstone, Rain and Talon Patterson, Beki and Benji Bell, Neo Mathe, Rodney Stevens, Ayanda Buthelezi, Keegan Havermann, Tudor Wolff, and Ingrid Vaughan.
All the Limpopo sailors were sailing their Dabchicks 2-up so that as many youth as possible could benefit from the coaching.
The wet misty weather of the previous week cleared up for the weekend, with warm sunshine and steady breezes (which allowed occasional planing and the odd capsize) on both days.
On Saturday, Coach Ivan started with a few short windward-leeward races to assess the sailing levels of the Limpopo sailors, and then paired off each Limpopo team with a Gauteng “shepherd”.
Thereafter, the races continued around a standard triangular course, with each Gauteng “shepherd” sticking close to his/her partner and coaching them around the course by word and example.
This system of “peer partnering and coaching” worked fantastically. The Limpopo teams could benefit from continuous coaching input at all points throughout each race, not only from the typical 2 minutes or so when the coach boat pulls briefly alongside before moving on to the next boat.
Just as importantly, the Limpopo teams also benefited from watching the personal examples set by their “shepherds”, who were constantly demonstrating the technical sailing skills that the Limpopo teams needed to acquire or improve.
Everyone present noted how effectively Coach Ivan’s partnering system worked, with parents commenting on the visible improvements of the various crews literally on an hour-by-hour basis, e.g. “Look at how Red Devil’s pointing now. He couldn’t get that right in the last race”.
After lunch on Saturday, most of the Gauteng sailors took a Limpopo crew member on board their own Dabchicks, so that all the youth sailors could be on the water at the same time, and this method continued on Sunday morning as well.
On Sunday morning, Coach Ivan and Aunty Daphne had to leave early .Messrs Baxter and Connold filled the gap, moved the weather mark significantly further up, and ran another four races for the fleet.
All four races were won by girl teams, with girls taking the first three positions in the last race, the results of which were:-
(1) Angela Fraser (Gauteng) with Neo Mathe (Limpopo)
(2) Beki Bell (Limpopo) with Ayanda Buthelezi (Limpopo)
(3) Ingrid Vaughan (Limpopo) with Ryan Hadley (Gauteng)
The Limpopo youth sailors gained a huge amount from the weekend – they improved their conceptual understanding of the art of sailing, they learned practical skills, and they grew in confidence as well.
And then, most importantly, they checked out the “hot and hunky” young men and women from Gauteng and decided that Dabchick sailing is COOL! And it is – far healthier than playstation and the mall.
A weekend of this nature never just happens, so many thanks are owed to all of the people who helped make it a reality. First and foremost, thanks must go to Owen Baxter, who conceived the original idea and demonstrated serious logistical commitment to getting sailors, parents, boats, equipment, and rubber ducks 400kms north to Limpopo.
Some of this was done at the last minutes, as when Owen generously made his rubber duck available for the weekend after learning a few days before the event that the MYC rescue/coaching boat had been damaged by vandals. In between coaching, he even took the parents of some of the Limpopo development sailors, such as Mrs Mathe and Mr and Mrs Buthelezi, out on the water to watch their children sailing close up so that they could get an idea of what sailing is all about.
Thanks also to Coach Ivan for his professional coaching systems and inputs, during which the Limpopo teams (and even occasionally a Gauteng team) demonstrated vast improvements.
Thanks, too, to Aunty Daphne Kasselman, from the NSA office, who came up herself with SA Sailing cards for the Limpopo Youth Sailors so that they can participate in the NSA Inter-Schools next month, colourful boat stickers, and prizes for every boy and girl youth sailor.
Finally, and most importantly, thank you to all parents who attended the weekend, making their time, vehicles, trailers, finances, catering skills, cameras, etc. available for their youth sailors. This programme couldn’t happen without the parents’ support and encouragement, so thanks for making it possible!
This type of training event was a “first” for Mountain Yacht Club, whose clubhouse, accommodation, parking area, and slipway were full of people, cars, trailers, and boats – a sight we haven’t seen for many years! It may have taken a lot of work from many people, but it was definitely worth it!
PS – Pictures to follow soon!
Sounds great (especially the numbers…) – well done 🙂