My name is James. In early 2017 I was looking for a new adventure to get involved in and my parents found dinghy sailing at Llangorse Lake.
I started sailing during the spring half term holidays with cadet training, I didn’t know a thing about sailing so, starting from the beginning I was introduced to an Optibat dinghy.
I remember seeing it for the first time and thinking it looked like a bath tub I thought to myself that thing wouldn’t go very fast (how wrong I was). I had a fantastic time learning about the different parts of the boat and what everything did, I also made lots new friends that were all learning to sail too.
As the week went on and my skills were getting better, the trainers put me into an Optimist. Whoa! I thought the Optibats were good fun, but in an Optimist I could go even faster!
To start with it was a little bit scary because of the speed I could go, and it was quicker to move around. This made it more agile on the water, so I had to think and react more quickly.
I didn’t want the week to end. I had sooooo much fun, had learnt to sail, and made new friends who loved sailing as much as I now did. I had also achieved my goals by passing RYA level 1 & 2.
Wait for more in my next blog when I start to practice the new skills I have learnt..
Watch James video here.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/243192280
Ed: We will be following James’s progress as he expands and improves on his racing during 2018. #dinghydreaming