Youth sailors learn the ropes of the exciting 29er skiff.
The West River Sailing Club (WRSC or West River) in Galesville, MD, hosted its first 29er skiff sailboat clinic in mid-November. Sailing director Heidi Bay recruited four kids, and 49er Olympic aspirant Casey Cabot agreed to organize and coach the clinic. We lucked out with beautiful fall days and still relatively warm waters, which as it turns out is important at your first 29er clinic!
It all started several weeks prior with a visit to West River by 29er class president Jim Bonham and Maggie Roesch, class representative for the Mid-Atlantic Area. There they met WRSC vice commodore Jahn Tihansky. Bonham and Roesch liked the beach launch area, the beautiful river, and the lack of congestion. The pair also was looking for a place to store a big trailer of 29ers. One thing led to another, and it was suggested that a good way to start interest in the 29er at West River would be to host a clinic.
After a planning meeting via Zoom, Casey Cabot agreed to organize the clinic with help from all, and a date was selected. Caroline Atwood, owner of Skiff+ 29er Sailing team, loaned a boat and suggested that the right formula for our first clinic would be four youth sailors, one 29er, one coach, and one assistant coach. This would allow for two kids on the 29er while the other two were in the coach boat. When the young sailors become tired, they switch out.
Bryan Bay, high school head coach at West River, agreed to be the assistant and shadowed a clinic held by Caroline on how to coach 29ers. Caroline is committed to helping this class become a potential platform for youth sailing. “By teaching coaches how to coach we get more bang for our buck”, said Caroline who runs practices five days a week and welcomes potential coaches to shadow her sessions.
29er delivers enthusiasm and smiles
The four adventurous young sailors were Sarah Ramson, age 15, Zachary Wells, age 17, and sisters Molly and Maggie Dowling, ages 17 and 16. Asked what interested them in signing up for the clinic they answered: “I signed up because I never sailed this kind of boat before”; “I might want to switch to 29ers”; and finally, “I just never want to miss an opportunity to sail for two days!”
Asked how the first day went the answers were all delivered with enthusiastic grins, “We were more of a swim team yesterday than a sailing team!” said Molly. “The boat has no will to live… it does whatever it wants!” said Brian. “You have to sail the boat, or the boat will sail you,” said Sarah. “Crew/skipper communication is much more important; otherwise, things will go terribly wrong,” said Maggie. “I wish that both the skipper and crew had traps,” said Zachary, who is already dreaming of sailing a 49er.
More high-performance clinics on the horizon
What’s next for high performance sailing at WRSC? Heidi says they are planning a high-performance week next summer. The kids (and possibly adults) would have the chance to sail a different high-performance boat each day, to include a Melges 15, a 29er, a 505, a Chesapeake 20, and a multi-hull. The club has already committed to hosting a 29er class at the Junior Regatta next June, and they are hoping to host another 29er clinic, this time for eight youth sailors, in May. They have dreams of purchasing 29ers and Melges 15s.
For Casey Cabot, who started his sailing career at age nine at WRSC and competed at the high school and college levels, and nationally and internationally in the 49er class, coaching kids back at his home club was both fun and rewarding. Casey committed three years to an Olympic campaign which culminated in competing in the US Olympic Trials. As one of the parents of the four participants said, “We couldn’t miss the opportunity for our daughter to be coached by an Olympic aspirant”.
Thank you, Casey and the many others who made this possible including the board of WRSC. I was amazed at the beginning of day two when I watched the Dowling sisters pop that spinnaker and sail out of the West River, gybing without problem in the early morning winds. What a difference a day makes for talented young sailors!
To learn more about sailing at WRSC contact Heidi Bay at [email protected]. or visit westriversc.com.
by Kathy Parks
