| Sailing Courses at Taplow Lake |
| Feedback from previous students.... |
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Anise having fun during the 2005 Summer
training course I went to Taplow Sailing Club with my sister and family to watch my sister learn to sail. While I was there I made friends with Lucinda who is 7 and Megan who is also 7. We are really great friends now. The three of us walked around and told jokes. After that we played some games like I Spy and who could spot the smallest dinghy. We built ourselves a pretend tree house but before we could finish we stopped for our picnic lunch. After our picnic we watched Maja and Lucinda?s brother sailing their dinghies. I thought Maja would capsize and get wet but she was completely dry when she finished for the day....< Read the rest of Anises' story here!> Frances (aged 13) on her TLSC training experience in 2004... The course was great. All the instructors were really enthusiastic, always ready for a laugh, or to give advice and as they were volunteers, they genuinely wanted to be there. Even though the wind was non-existent, they found useful things for us to do, such as rigging and de-rigging the boats on the water, and paddling off the front of the boat. It was fun sailing our own Toppers in a small group. Now my friend and I are really keen on sailing and would jump at the chance to do another course for the next level at Taplow. Thank you for the experience and the fun we had! Cara Chapman on her TLSC training experience in 2001... I suppose you could say I was a typical case scenario - I had been on a sailing holiday with some friends and was bitten by the bug when I discovered Taplow Lake Sailing Club. Although I had been introduced to the basics of sailing, I was very much a beginner, and in need of some training. I contacted the club and was invited to come and visit at one of the racing days. I was invited to the Friends and Family day in August, and went out in one of the club Enterprises with a club member. I also attended the social sailing on the bank holiday weekend, which gave me another opportunity to go out in an Enterprise. Not long afterwards, I got a phone call from Brian Welham to discuss some ad-hoc training. As it was almost the end of summer, I had missed all of the formal training courses, and would have to wait until next year. However, Brian had other ideas and we discussed the possibility of arranging some training days over the next few weekends. We arranged our first day of training at the beginning of September, and this was a full day in the club Toppers. Myself and one other "trainee" were given individual tuition by Brian and his band of helpers. It was good to get in a boat on my own and see if I could cope! We spent the morning mastering the basics of tacking, travelling a short distance from the jetty and back again. We even got to practice on dry land, using Malcolm's stool and tiller extension contraption! Having got our confidence up, Brian and Ray then put out some marks for us to aim for, and we mastered the "figure of eight". We did manage a tea break, but there was no let up in the training, with Brian giving us some of the theory behind sailing. I must admit that at this stage, it all seemed a bit mind-boggling. After lunch, we decided to have a go at gybing. This did not seem to present too many problems, although my fellow "trainee" did feel the need to test the water temperature a few times! At least he got plenty of practice at the capsize drill! I (rather stupidly, on reflection) was feeling quite confident at this point, particularly as I had not yet fallen in. My turn was to come! I was gybing round a mark, and just feeling pleased at how close I had managed to round it, when I noticed that my main sheet was wrapping itself around the mark. With the inevitable about to happen, all I could do was watch and wait. Almost in slow motion, the Topper started to tip and I made my first visit to the water of Taplow Lake. Fortunately, it was not too cold, but I was furious with myself for having made such a silly mistake. I managed to swim around the boat and (eventually) put it back the right way up. However, getting back in the boat was more of a problem and when the tiredness kicked in, I realised that I simply could not do it! Fortunately, Ray (one of the band of helpers) was on hand with the rescue boat and I was lifted into the boat by Mike Hamilton in an extremely unladylike fashion! With dry clothes on, we then attempted to sail a triangular course, but at this stage, I was so tired, I was really beginning to struggle. Again, I was rescued by Ray, with Dave Killey taking control of my wayward Topper! A couple of weeks later, we decided to have another training day, this time in the Enterprises. I must admit that this worried me at first, as I had only just got my confidence with the Toppers. However, Brian and his crew were on hand again to help, so there was nothing to worry about. The one thing that frightened me was the way the Enterprises tipped when a gust of wind came along. I mentioned this to Ray, so he decided to teach me the wonders of "roll-tacking" in order to try and alleviate this fear! I have to say that I think it actually worked, as I am now a lot less nervous when the boat tips. We spent the morning alternating between crewing and helming and learned a lot about how a double-hander boat works. For a start, there's an extra sail to worry about, not to mention an extra person! In the afternoon, Brian decided we were ready to face a race, so we paired up in the Enterprises with the training team and joined the afternoon's racing with the other club members. I remember being told "We're not in it to win, we just want to see how far we can get before we are lapped by Cyril and Margaret!" I was pleased to have taken part in a race, as I had been convinced that I would not cope with racing and was quite worried about it. A week later, Brian and I met up again for the racing and to continue with my ad-hoc training. I was really enjoying the racing and felt very grateful to Brian, who was giving up his Comet racing to take me out. Each time we went out, I seemed to learn something new, and was still feeling as keen as ever to keep practising. I missed a couple of weeks due to family commitments, but Brian put me in contact with another club member who was looking for someone to sail with in an Enterprise. We went out one Sunday afternoon after the lack of wind rendered the racing impractical, and just pottered up and down the lake. This was a good opportunity to practice all of the things I had learned on the ad-hoc training days, as the lack of wind meant that there was plenty of time to think about what I was doing. In addition to this, the lack of wind meant that it was harder to keep the boat moving so it was putting everything I had learned to the test. The ad-hoc training has given me enough knowledge to be able to sail a club boat and the theory does not seem quite so mind-boggling now, although there is always something new to learn. I now try to get down to the club every week for a sail, as I am anxious to keep practising everything that I have learned. The ad-hoc training method suited me because, as I work full time (in London) I did not have enough time to do a weeklong formal course, or anything in the evenings, but wanted something that I could do at weekends. Everyone at the club has been tremendously supportive and still is?now they are all giving me advice as to where to buy sailing kit from! I hope to continue sailing at Taplow Lake and who knows, one day I may be able to afford my own boat! |