e-Sailing Easter Weekend 11 & 12 April, 12:00 - 13:00 (and through the rest of the month)
Published 10:56 on 10 Apr 2020
In Emsworth Sailing club's 101 year it has achieved an historic milestone of running its first eSailing event!
BUT FIRST I want to announce the exciting news that we have added this to the club Programme starting with races this Easter weekend 11 & 12th April at 12.00. Follow the link to get all the joining instructions. There's links to other races throughout April there too.
Back to the big story. Last weekend we invited members to join a couple of eSailing racing sessions and were delighted that 18 or so turned out each day to race. There were a few very minor technical hitches experienced by both the competitors and the race officer Simon Langford which got some laughs and we were quickly underway. Many thanks to Simon for the clear pre-race briefing using Zoom and the efficient running of the races in Virtual Regatta Inshore. Competitors ranged widely in range and gender which was great and it was a great laugh for all. The Zoom chat room unmuted was fun to hear. The gasps, curses (well done for keeping it clean) and general banter made for a good social event as well as competitive racing. Some interesting statistics give us food for thought about how to improve our performance and individual sailing style. I seem to remember that in one of the races Simon got the record for gybes, the youngest sailor had the most amount of wind and I had shortest distance which I'm not proud of considering we were in 49ers! Some tips for the next race, don't hit any buoys, follow the people in the lead and keep asking the leader which side of the beat they're going.
I'm sure we will have more laughs and stories to share from the forthcoming weekend of racing and I believe Simon has entered us into an RYA event in a few weeks' time when the best ESC eSailer will be put forward to represent the Club. Now if that's not a challenge..... Go for it, give it a go. It's fun, free and a great way to catch up with other Club members.
Mark Holliday