The second of Scottish Open Race Training’s 2012 weekends took place at Helensburgh Sailing Club on the 4/5th of February. With a small group present it allowed coach Michael Gorzkowski to focus on individual sailors needs in the challenging conditions.

Saturday dawned with a fresh 15 or so knots, with large waves rolling in up the Clyde. This presented perfect conditions for a chance to practice wave technique. Supplimented with video debrief and examples the sailors improved noticeably, however found the at times very large waves challenging and hard work!

Sunday arrived without a breath of wind, so time was spent onshore going over points learnt on the Saturday before a slight wind filled in across the channel. With the sailors taking part in the Helensburgh Winter Series Regatta it was an excellent opportunity to race in some shifty winds. When coupled with a strong tide and the arrival of a Royal Navy submarine it proved to be rather exciting!

Keep an eye on the website for more details of future SORT weekends.

The Cost will be £50 (cheques made payable to Scottish Open Race Training). This will include lunch on Saturday and HSC temporary membership. There will also be a charge of £35 to Helensburgh Sailing Club (£25 for HSC members), which includes a pie on the Sunday and entry to all 4 of the HSC Winter Series races; 5th Feb, 19th Feb, 4th March & 18th March. Subject to demand, SORT can organise further training around the Winter Series apart from 19th Feb, which clashes with the RYA Winter Squad Regatta at Largs.

This is your chance to put into practice some of your training and a chance for any Mums or Dads to race to!

The first Scottish Open Race Training event of 2012 took place at Loch Venachar Sailing Club on the 7 and 8th of January. Lead by National Laser Squad Coach Michael Gorzkowski the 11 sailors from around the country experienced varied sessions brought on by the challenging weather.

Saturday dawned with a strong Westerly blowing down the loch. Due to the strong winds, which were pushing 25 knots at times, the group was split with half the sailors working on heavy wind boat handling and the other half preparing a presentation on an aspect of racing to deliver at the end of the day. These roles were reversed for the afternoon session which culminated in some very professional and inventive presentations.

Sunday dawned a completely different day, with the Loch as smooth as glass, prompting further on shore work on the basis of sail design and how the controls affect the shape and performance of the sail. Thankfully the wind filled in for the afternoon and it was possible to finally get the entire group on the water at once.

Whilst the weather had proved challenging for all involved the sailors covered a great deal, and found the information on sail design particuarly interesting.

The next SORT weekend is at Helensburgh Sailing Club on the 4 and 5th of February. For details please contact Alastair.

Scottish Open Race Training has confirmed the second of it’s training weekends for the 2011/12 winter at Loch Venachar Sailing Club on the 29th and 30th of October 2011.

Coaching is provided by National Laser Squad Coach, Michael Gorzkowski and National Topper Squad Coach Robin Paris.

The cost of the weekend is £50, however payments received within 7 days of the coaching starting will be subject to an additional £5 late entry fee.

The coaching will start at 10:00 and finish at 17:00 each day with a hot lunch included in the fee.

To enter please send the form located here, with payment, to Alastair Wilson at the address stated on the form.

Current organised Scottish Open Race Training events:

15/16th October 2011- Helensburgh Sailing Club

29/30th October 2011- Loch Venachar Sailing Club

Scottish Open Race Training has confirmed the first of it’s training weekends for the 2011/12 winter at Helensburgh Sailing Club on the 15th and 16th of October 2011.

Coaching is provided by National Laser Squad Coach, Michael Gorzkowski and National Topper Squad Coach Robin Paris.

The cost of the weekend is £50, however payments received within 7 days of the coaching starting will be subject to an additional £5 late entry fee.

The coaching will start at 10:00 and finish at 17:00 each day with a hot lunch included in the fee.

To enter please send the form located here, with payment, to Alastair Wilson at the address stated on the form.

The first joint RYA/SORT training weekend was held at Loch Venachar Sailing Club for the Topper Class on 19/20th March 2011.

We welcomed a group of 8 hardy Topper sailors to the loch and coaches Emma Wilkie and Anna Gorzkowska ran a full programme despite the forecast of very light winds which turned out to give almost perfect training conditions over the entire weekend. We were fortunate to have a reasonable breeze from the SW which allowed the coaches good opportunities to observe and work with all the sailors.

Adam McGovern the RYAS Club and Pathways Development Officer attended for the two days and it proved a great success with Adam updating the sailors on future events and training opportunities. Adam was also on the water to see at first hand the sailors and coaches at work and note the improvements made by all by the end of the weekend.

We would to thank Adam and the coaches and also the girls who fed the coaches and sailors so well over the weekend. Thanks also to Alastair Wilson who’s tireless energy and enthusiasm made it all possible.

For some images from the weekend, please click here.

The date remain the same, ie the 22/23rd January.

There are still a few spaces left if you know of anyone who might be interested.