Last Saturday, just as some of the British sailing team were thinking of heading off to the warmth of Australia for an international regatta, I got up early on a cold morning on Portland.

I was off to SailLaser to volunteer with OnBoard Club in the morning and, after lunch, sail myself at Race Club.

With winter nearly here, it was difficult to know exactly what kit to take but I decided I couldn't go wrong with ‘as many layers as possible’ - warmth being the key but it can’t be too restricting.

It was cold but bright with a good breeze so I was looking forward to my day. When I arrived at the academy, I helped to prepare the Laser Picos for the morning session and made sure that they were ready for the day.

This week I was on the RiB assisting with the instruction of the OnBoard Club members. They were undertaking a shallow triangle course, sailing upwind without tacking. It was a good session and I stayed dry, which was a bonus!

After lunch I got myself prepared to go sailing. We were going out in Laser 4.7’s, so I began by rigging my boat. Once out on the water, we were instructed to do long runs downwind and then beat back up again.

We used ‘sailing by the lee’ to improve our speed when sailing downwind. This is a useful tactic to use when racing.

After an in-depth debrief where we analysed our afternoons sailing and listened to our instructor, who gave us general or more specific advice, I got into some dry clothes and went for some Halloween fun at the Revive Portland Event.

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Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here