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Plas menai National Water Sports Centre has built up a reputation
as one of the best places in britain to learn a wide range of watersport
activities. sailpower sent its designer and novice sailor Rob Trikilis,
to test out its single-handed dinghy course for beginners.
Getting started
I have been working on Sailpower for 18 months without getting my
feet wet, and thought it was about time I gained some first-hand
experience to find out for myself what this boating lark was about.
After some discussion with my Editor, Sue Pelling, it was agreed
that a good option was to start with an RYA introductory course
to single-handed dinghy sailing at Plas Menai, Wales.
It was a couple of hours into the journey from Euston to Bangor
when a realisation hit me. So far my boating experience amounted
to a trip on a speedboat aged five, which had left me shaking with
fear; a couple of trips on cross channel ferries and a barbecue
on a friend's barge, not much preparation for a week's sailing.
Now I was actually going to be spending five days in (or more likely
out of) a single-handed dinghy. And disturbingly, whilst packing
my rucksack on the evening before I left for Wales, I had happened
to catch a television programme featuring a sailing holiday in the
Med. Watching a novice dinghy sailor screaming as she capsized her
boat, I couldn't help wondering, "Was this an omen?"
The first evening consisted of an evening meal and an introductory
tour of the centre and its facilities. After collecting my keys
from the reception I sheepishly headed to my room to unpack.
Accommodation
There are two types of accommodation at Plas Menai: rooms situated
in the residential complex and on-site house accommodation. Those
rooms situated in the complex itself were comfortable and clean,
each with an en-suite shower, toilet and tea-making facilities.
In addition some rooms have a pleasant view of the Menai Strait.
Rooms situated in the on-site houses were more basic, with shared
shower facilities, and were more suited to groups. They are also
used to accommodate an overflow of guests for the main residential
area. To ensure a room in the residential block it's well worth
checking your accommodation details when booking.
Breakfast, a packed lunch and dinner are included in the price.
Vegetarians are catered for and special dietary requirements can
be met on request. The food was good: just the ticket after a day's
sailing. And I seem to remember the desserts proving extremely popular
Ç used solely for energy purposes, of course. As a vegetarian I
was impressed with the variety of food on offer, and although I
didn't get to try the meat dishes I have it on good authority that
they were just as impressive.
Initial briefing
The introductory session at Plas Menai was hosted by that particular
evening's Duty Officer, Stuart Johnson. He showed us around the
centre and familiarised us with its facilities, particularly the
wet area where we would be spending most of our time during the
week. I also got the chance to meet a few other people on the course.
Sean who was taking the Intermediate Level had previously been on
the Beginners' Sailing Course and informed me that I would probably
be spending most of Monday in the water Ç very reassuring.
Instruction
Monday morning began with breakfast, and a briefing from Head of
Sailing, Nic Wymer. The talk was welcoming and relaxed, setting
the tone for the week. We were taken through the various procedures
at the centre, how the course would be structured and what to expect
over the following few days. Emphasis was placed on enjoyment, safety
and learning. It was reassuring to hear that the instructors would
be taking a flexible approach to teaching, catering to individual
and their specific needs.
Later in the morning we were introduced to our instructor, Arwyn
Thomas, who was to be with us for the first half of the week. There
were five of us in the Beginners' class (the limit for the course
being six). We were taken through to the wet area for a more detailed
discussion on the week's activity.
Our instructor explained that we would initially be learning in
Laser Picos and possibly moving on to Lasers later in the week.
Then we were taken through some basic land drills, including rigging,
tacking and most importantly how to right a capsized dinghy.
Following this, we were kitted out with wetsuits, waterproofs,
buoyancy aids, and they advised us all to wear helmets to begin
with, a necessary precaution, as we were to find out.
Generally the equipment and sailing kit was well maintained but
we were encouraged to point out any wear or tear on anything we
were using. However, I did feel a little uneasy about wearing a
used wetsuit, particularly after hearing stories about 'natural'
ways of keeping warm in the water. Leaving my worries about wetsuit
stories behind, I decked myself out in a full-bodied suit that made
me feel more like the wrestler, Giant Haystacks, than somebody who
was about to go sailing. Thankfully I progressed to a short-armed
wetsuit later in the week, which was a lot easier to move around
in but still kept me warm.
After we had rigged our dinghies and made final checks we made
our way down the slipway, ready to be towed by Arwyn and his safety
boat to the other side of the Strait where we were to begin our
first day on the water.
The slipway was about 30m wide and although adequate in size,
could sometimes get a little hectic during the week with eager school
parties all trying to get on the water simultaneously. A bit more
organisation could have been beneficial.
After further instructions and a demonstration we were left to
our own devices to try out some tacking for ourselves. Initially
I found it difficult to co-ordinate controlling the main sheet and
the rudder, whilst trying to get the boat to face in the right direction
after a tack. I'd often end up head-to-wind like a sitting duck,
which was very frustrating.
After lunch and a brief discussion about tactics we were back
on the water for round 2 with the Menai Strait. A two-buoy beam
reach course had been set up, and once more we were out in the elements,
putting our new skills to the test. I heard our instructor Arwyn
shout out "4-0" as one of our group capsized Ç he had obviously
been keeping a score! I was quite proud that I had so far managed
to avoid capsizing, however, that was soon to change. Losing concentration
on a tack led to me receiving a hefty blow from the boom and I realised
why wearing a crash helmet had been strongly advised. "Here I go,"
I thought, as I plopped into the water. Now the score stood at 4-1.
On the first day I actually found capsizing fun, and after getting
my bearings found righting the Pico surprisingly easy.
As the day progressed everybody seemed to become a little more
confident with the dinghies, so much so that we were allowed to
sail back to the centre at the end of the day for a positive and
constructive debriefing.
Some informative lectures on safety, tides and weather were held
over the first three evenings, and were taken by that particular
evening's Duty Instructor. Although we were all quite tired from
the day's activities the lectures were easy-going and relaxed. The
evenings also gave us all a chance to get to know each other and
have a chat in the bar.
For the next few days we progressed through lectures, dry practice
runs and on-water training. We were taken through personal preparation,
rigging and launching, and the five essentials: sail trim, boat
balance, fore and aft trim, making use of the daggerboard for different
points of sail and the idea of a course made good plus we got to
grips with the rules of the road.
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