Yesterday was meant to be a family of 3 onboard for the member’s fun day. The Father was unable to attend at the last minute but Mother and Son joined me to go 3 up with some concerns on my part regarding experience onboard and light weight crew on what can be a challenging passage.
Ian, is 12 years old and a fine young man. He has participated in the last 3 club member events and thoroughly enjoyed them all across the various boats (Last year being Tara).
His enthusiasm for sailing was lit 🔥 as a result of his SB20 introductions, subsequently joining the Optimist program out of the NSC where he has actively sailed for the last year developing his sailing skills and knowledge.
At yesterday’s event, Ian capably helmed from start to finish, including the tricky exit from the Marina entrance, crossing the many tidal overfalls, navigating the full island circuit across different wind angles and hazards, retaking the Marina entrance with a strong cross-tide and capped it off by coming alongside the dock to allow me to comfortably step off amidship with a mooring line in hand. Perfect execution.
He handled it all with aplomb.
Well done to all in the SB20 fleet for introducing this aspiring talent and nurturing his ambitions in sailing.
I call that a WIN for all!
