- Day 1, Saturday November 25
A group of 11 strong teams joined together in San Francisco to work off their Thanksgiving feasts and sail 29ers. Ben Glass and John Heineken did an excellent job running drills and giving lectures. They started with some short course drills heavy on boathandeling just at the end of the breakwall.
Great practice picking shifts and puffs inside the breakwall
While the focus of the weekend was to be on light, shifty winds, which are the norm in San Francisco during the winter, Mother Nature had a different opinion. By 1pm a 14-18 knot westerly filled, surprising the under-dressed and under-tensioned fleet. After a short lunch break to add more clothes and tension up, the group went back out on the water and raced until dark.
Ian Simms and David Liebenberg (blue kite) and Willie McBride and Craig Shifferns (green kite) sail downwind in an increasingly strong ebb.
- Day 2, Sunday November 25
Sunday brought rain and colder temps, but the clinic went on nonetheless (everyone was happy for some snow in Tahoe!). The storm brought southerly winds, which come through the city first and then hit the Bay, making for very shifty sailing. Coach Ben took the opportunity to work on starting in light air and current with the group, forcing everyone to hold their position on the line for as long as they could. He then transitioned into some longer speed runs, sending the fleet down towards Alcatraz and back.
A long downwind speed tune under the grey skies of an approaching storm.
To finish off the day, the fleet was paired up for match racing. It was really fun to step away from the norm and focus on one boat instead of an entire fleet. It was really important to keep your heads up for the next puff, and react immediately to the changing conditions, while keeping one step ahead of your pair.
Finn and Alek (yellow kite) in a close match race with Andrew and Ben (blue kite).
Make sure to put this clinic on your calendar for next year. This year's fleet was very good, and improved tremendously thanks to the direction of John and Ben. St. Francis would like this clinic to be an annual event, and hope to see more of you next year!
Also, thank you to John Liebenberg and Tom Driscoll for sharing their photos.
