More than 250 young sailors from schools around the country have descended upon the otherwise peaceful County Durham setting for this year’s National Schools’ Sailing Association’s Regatta. Sailing a range of Optimists, Toppers, Lasers, Wayfarers and 29ers, kids from as young as eight up to the age of nineteen are competing head-to-head over the following three days until Friday afternoon.

This morning, sailpower began the day with an introduction from RYA National 470 Squad Coach, Adam Bowers with a few helpful tips for rigging and tuning. After the breakfast meeting, Adam took a walk around the dinghy park offering some on-hand practical advice on setting the boat up for crew weight, wind conditions and optimum sail shape.

The first race of the day is now well underway, and the light winds of the morning have picked up to a moderate to fresh breeze of about 15 to 20 knots. Conditions are ideal for some exciting racing, and with Adam Bowers out on the water armed with a video camera, the best and hairiest moments will be caught for later. Later, the young sailors will have the opportunity to review what they’ve achieved and the mistakes they made after a dinghy park debriefing. Although having their mistakes highlighted to the entire fleet may be a little embarrassing at first, the ultimate goal will be to see a vast improvement in sailing technique over the rest of the week.