GO Racing (Intermediate) Coaching

Our GO Racing sessions are friendly and supportive sessions to build skills and grow confidence.   They are run by a lead coach with supporting race coaches so that the supervision ratio is no more than 1:6 and the day is focused on fun sailing and improving skills.  

​​​​

There are two sets of sessions listed, what is the difference?

This year we are pleased to be partnering with Yorkshire Dales SC and supplying additional coaching resource to their existing Pathway Club Race Development Programme.  This partnership allows all sailors participating to be put into a group at an appropriate competency level as there will be more coaches and RIBS available.  YDSC club boats will be available for hire for these sessions.  If you have your own boat you will be able to leave it at the club between sessions if you wish to for a small storage fee. 

​​

We recognise the region is large and expecting novice sailors to travel large distances to attend coaching is unrealistic and not cost effective.  So we are also offering additional GO Racing sessions at other clubs, these will follow a similar syllabus and be overseen by the lead coach delivering the Performance coaching sessions running in parallel.  This offers opportunity for sailors to move between groups as necessary.  The more you sail, the better you get so we encourage all sailors to attend as many sessions as possible. 

​

Please see the bottom of the page for the various session dates.   ​​

​

What Standard Sailor Do I Need To Be?

These sessions are aimed at sailors just starting out at club or regional level.  Ideally they will have done some club racing or participated in our regional series in the regatta fleet.  

We expect all sailors to be able to confidently sail a triangular course and have suitable winter sailing kit to enjoy a day on the water in the winter.  See our FAQ page & booking form for information about winter kit.

We don't expect them to have intimate knowledge of the sailing rules but we do expect them to know the basic sailing rules (port/starboard, windward boat, overtaking boat etc). 

​

What will the sessions cover?

A typical session will look like this:

• Short shore discussion to explain the plan for the day then launching to practice an element of sailing such as;

• Tacking, gybing, sailing upwind, sailing downwind, starting.

• A mix of exercises will be used which are fun, aimed at the competency & age of sailors participating and their concentration level.

• Ashore for lunch and another quick chat before more sailing in the afternoon. 

• Several of the venues we use for GO Racing coaching offer easy access to the water so we can "pop" ashore quickly if the sailors get cold, need a break or something needs talking about in the comfort of the clubhouse.  

​

Session Times

• We like to start early so we can make the most of the daylight hours in winter.  We expect boats and sailors to be ready no later than 9.30am although this may be earlier or later pending the plan for the day. 

• Typically, sailors come ashore about 3pm, pack up and get changed before a de-brief session.

• We expect sailors to attend the briefing and de-brief sessions as these are part of the coaching session. 

• Sailors are encouraged to bring a notepad and pen and take notes but this is not enforced and we recognise some sailors' are either too young to take good notes or do not learn this way.   

• Information will be sent out the week prior to the session detailing start and planned finish times and other pertinent information. 

​

​​​​How good does my boat need to be? 

• In GO Racing sessions we expect boats to be fully race rigged (so for example, Toppers need to have a 6:1 Kicker or Downhaul) and they must be in full working order.  We don't expect our coaches to spend their time fixing boats, they are there to support the sailors' sailing development not demonstrate their prowess with a screwdriver!  

• The boat should be water tight and bungs should fit snugly.  

• Buoyancy bags must be properly secured in the boat.  Optimists must carry a bailer.  

• Control lines must work and all fittings must be securely attached. 

• The daggerboard must be attached to the boat with a piece of elastic which is short enough to stop the daggerboard falling out when the boat is inverted. 

• Tillers must have an extension of the right length for the sailor.

• Toe-straps must be in full working order & properly secured into the boat.   

• Rudders must have a retaining clip to keep them attached to the hull in the event of an inversion.

• Sail control ropes (mainsheet & jib sheet) should be in good condition.

• The sail should not have any holes (patches are fine) or worn rigging points and all 3 corners should be free of frayed stitching.  

• The trolley must be in good working order with 2 wheels that don't fall off and pneumatic tyres should be fully inflated.

• All boats must have a securely attached painter which is at least 2m long to facilitate towing.  

• Some venues have boats available to hire, please contact us to discuss this if you would like to hire a boat.  Sailors progress best when sailing a familiar boat. 

​​​​

There are a mix of boats at the session, why is this? 

Most of our intermediate coaching is class specific coaching, we are starting to look at boat specific skills as well as the key aspects of racing - the start, beat, downwind and overall boat control and sailing competency.  

​​We may run a few bespoke fleet sessions pending numbers.  If a large number of sailors are in one specific boat we The YDSC pathway partnership sessions may run as menagerie coaching pending sign ups but the coaches involved in these sessions have good knowledge of all boats likely to attend.  

 

Why is a day of coaching priced as it is /  Why do I have to pay for coaching?

We employ highly respected coaches who bring a wealth of sailing and coaching talent, experience and energy to regional sailing.  We pay our coaches as we believe professional high quality coaching should be paid for and many of our coaches make their livelihood by coaching.    We recognise that some clubs deliver lower cost coaching offers due to the generosity of their members offering their coaching time for free, this is fantastic and should be celebrated but all our coaches are paid.  As a minimum we follow RYA recommended payment rates for coaches.  We also have to cover the cost of venue and RIB hire.  We also have some overheads (like this website, the booking platform and our significant annual insurance bill).  There is no such thing as a free lunch and whilst we endeavour to keep our costs down, we do have to pay for things.  We believe our offer is extremely good value, delivers excellent results and also contributes to the feeling of community our sailors enjoy and value.  

​

​

​​​​​​​​​