NYC Nipper Report

This years Nippers finished last Wednesday with 14-young sailors receiving their certificates. The course was run on 6-consecutive Wednesday evenings and included children mostly sailing for the very first time aged from 6-11 years. We used mostly the club optimists which got some emergency repairs and also a facelift with some new (second hand) sails donated by members. We were very fortunate this year to have had three super coaches who were with us for the entire programme which provided consistency for the sailors. These were Jill Roy, Eimear McIvor and Guy Cresswell. The coaches were also assisted during all the sessions by Mary Gorman who by now has gained a lot of experience in teaching our youngest sailors both at major IODAI events and within the club. > Sailors learned what to wear for sailing, how to rig an Optimist, how to launch it and most importantly how to steer it and get the sail to work. We all learned that a ‘flappy sail’ was not a ‘happy sail’ . They figured out the rudder very quickly and learned the difference between a tack and a gybe. We didn’t do too much on capsize drills as it was a bit cold although swims at the end of the sessions were considered by most a ‘highlight’, followed quickly by a hot shower. > As always some of our sailors who are a little more experienced helped out. This is a great help as they can sit comfortably in an optimist with our nippers and ‘steady the ship’ while maneuvers are being learned. They also helped with rigging and packing up. They were William Spain, Tom Shanahan, Clare Gorman and Peter Fagan. As sailors progressed their help was needed less and less! > James Fagan (6) said his highlight was the party at the end where there were biscuits, crisps and endless Mi-Wadi along with the presentation of certificates. We couldn’t hang around too long because we were all freezing after our swim, but we left with our certificates, chuffed that we had got out sailing our boats and dreaming of the great sailing challenges that might be ahead of us! We look forward to sailing with our new friends again soon. Thank you to all who helped out with this years Nippers programme.