Dear BYC Maritime Sciences and Seamanship Foundation:
Thank you for the Foundation’s generous support of my attendance at the Chris Barnard Laser Clinic on June 21 & 22. The two-day clinic was held at the U.S. Sailing Center in Alamitos Bay and I was very excited to be able to improve my skills in the Laser.
The first day, Saturday, the participants arrived, unloaded boats and rigged. We then had a quick chalk talk in the classroom to go over what our day would look like. We launched and sailed to the inner end of the jetty where we re-grouped and began a race to the seaward end. Following that we had an hour-and-a-half tow straight upwind, towards Catalina Island and a long downwind practice heading back towards Long Beach. I learned and practiced the concepts of S-turning and how to better catch and advantageously use waves and swells.
The next day we headed out and did some upwind practice and then some races where we could practice what we had learned on Saturday.
There were six participants, three from BYC and three from NHYC. The small clinic allowed for a lot of one-on-one coaching from Chris Barnard as well as good competition from some excellent and upcoming Laser sailors. In all, the clinic was a valuable experience. I learned a lot that I can now put to use.
My sincerest “Thank You” to MSSF for all of its support!
Sincerely,
Britton Hammock