EARLY last month a group of ten Laser sailors, two of which are youth members, met at Roadford Lake for training afternoons.

Chief instructor at Roadford Lake, Bob Hindmarsh, ran the event which had been organised to encourage long term participation and to increase the number of Laser sailors who regularly race their lasers.

The sailing takes place every Saturday afternoon, starting from 2pm. The first session with more than eight boats taking part was aimed at boat tuning and rig set up and then on the water for a quick coaching session on tacking and gybing. Other sessions included focussing on the start line — a crucial part of every sailing competition.

Quite often the weather was too rough even for experienced sailors, instead classroom based sessions were held including race tactics and race rules, hints and advices on how to get the best out of your sailing. The first five sessions have proved to be a great success with newcomers attending each week, the second set of five sessions tested the newly learned tools sailing in harsh condition.

Mark Stitson the new Laser captain at Roadford Sailing Club has been a great help in organising these sessions. These sessions will now be increased and are planned to run until at least Easter. There are also plans now to include the Finn sailing dinghy in sessions from January 2010 and in early March to have Topper dinghies sessions.

New members are always welcomed, for more information please phone 01409 211507. For more seasonal events at South West Lakes Trust see the web http://www.swlakestrust.org.uk">www.swlakestrust.org.uk or by calling 01566 771930.