The latest ILCA Women Coaching session took place on 26 July at King George Sailing Club (KGSC) in East London.
Originally scheduled for mid-July, Lead Coach Georgina Povall made the pragmatic call to postpone after 36°C heat and the threat of lightning were forecast. But Georgina’s drive, alongside the energy of KGSC organiser Abi Woodman, ensured the clinic was rapidly rescheduled. Renowned ILCA Coach Eve Kennedy stepped up to run the day, supported by Mick Keates from KGSC, who joined Eve in the safety boat.
ILCA Women's Coaching Weekend at King George SC with SailingFast and Wildwind © Lotte Johnson / www.lottejohnson.com
The weather forecast was, again, the hot topic. It was a breezy day, with gusts up to 27 knots. A brief squall even passed through, although it was the only rain to appear all day and it was perfectly timed to arrive while the tight-knit group of five participants were briefed in the classroom. Perfect timing!
Holly Winship shared her experience of the day.
“Eve outlined our morning agenda, focusing on points we mentioned we were keen to work on: a faster upwind leg, gybing, downwind practise and overall confidence building. First exercise: the trusty triangle sausage course. The strong, sweeping gusts ensured we were all a little out of our comfort zone from the start, with regular capsizes in all directions: a powerful injection of the confidence-building we had requested! Everyone righted themselves, dusted themselves down and hurtled off again.
“After an early, re-fuelling lunch, Eve ran through boat controls and their particular importance in stronger winds. In short, we needed to be using dramatically more kicker and downhaul. We were also shown some videos of our sailing which were very helpful to see. The triangle sausage was broken down into parts, with each mark rounding becoming a separate drill. The repetition helping to cement what we’d learned and undo bad habits. The wind eased a little, then filled in again in the final hour of sailing, with many white horses making an appearance.
“I left KGSC tired and aching, but thoroughly satisfied. Thank you very much Eve!”
Three of the five participants were sailing club boats. They are well maintained at KGSC, but pulling on enough downhaul with a 2:1 system is a losing battle. Luckily, programme sponsor Sailingfast has supplied full sets of top-grade rigging, which meant all five boats on the water had a high-performance 8:1 downhaul fitted, ensuring every sailor had the mechanical advantage needed to pull the cringle down to the gooseneck and keep their boat sailing.
The ILCA Women’s Coaching Programme is designed to tackle the barriers experienced by women sailors, creating a space for women of all abilities to experience top-level coaching and take their sailing to the next level. Drawing on her experience of coaching national ILCA and Topper women’s fleets, Eve Kennedy noted that "when younger female coaches face condescension or are talked over in mixed environments, it filters down. Creating a dedicated, all-female training space allows sailors to drop their guard, make mistakes and build genuine confidence."
Further ILCA Women Coaching events are scheduled at Grafham Water Sailing Club and Queen Mary Sailing Club. Keep an eye on the ILCA Calendar for further details.
The programme is also expanding across the country. If your club is interested in hosting an ILCA Women Coaching event, email hello@ilcawomen.uk.
Our thanks go to Eve Kennedy, Georgina Povall, Abi Woodman, Mick Keates for an exceptional clinic, and to Sailingfast and Wildwind for their vital, ongoing sponsorship of the programme.
