Welsh

Topper

NationalSquad

2015-16

Insidethisissue

Roll Tack ......................................2

Roll Tack (Con�nued) ..................3

Roll Gybe…………………………………..4

Nutri�on ......................................5

5 Essen�als ..................................6

“The Unit” ..................................7

Nest Session ................................8

Specialpointsofinterest

• Fitness—How fit do you think

you are, do you have to work

on it?

• Boat—Is your boat the best it

can be or can you make it

be3er?

• 5 Essen�als—Do you apply

them at all �mes?

Session1-FeedbackWe got together on Friday evening for the 1st �me this squad year and you all and you all had a

weather forecast, a set of �de �mes for Pwllheli and a drink in front of you so well done, it’s a good

start. I then explained what was expected of you and what I and the other coaches would be able to

do if you did your part. We didn’t find �me to do the Squad Ethos and Rules but here they are:-

1) Treat other squad members as you’d like to be treated yourself.

2) Never be late to an agreed �me & place.

3) Work as a Squad.

4) Help each other as much as you can.

5) Don’t stop other squaddies learning.

6) Never be afraid to ask a ques�on..

7) Have FUN!

9thNovember2015

Volume1,Issue1

RollTack-Ahowtoguide:-

RollTack

We came up with the following:-

1) Bear away ease Main.

2) Lean in —boat heads up—sail in.

3) Luff backs—shoulders out

4) Sail fills on wrong side—ease mainsheet.

5) Tiller straight.

6) Get across—fast, gentle, cat-like.

7) Fla3en the boat— Bum in (Light wind); Hike (Medium wind); Hike + dump mainsheet (Heavy Wind).

8) Squeeze Mainsheet.

Remember to view the videos posted in the Video Sec�on of your Squad Area.

2

Why would you want to use a Roll Tack?

• To reduce the amount you lose by tacking.

• To generate some speed when the wind is light. (It’s actually illegal to do this as it breaks Rule 42 but only if you so mul�ple tacks.)

• To get your boat to turn more quickly when you want to posi�on your boat as fast as you can.

RollTack-Ahowtoguide(Continued):-

3

AIer sailing we came up with a few more steps and I’ve added in some that I think we missed:-

1) Hold Tiller Extension at the end before ini�a�ng tack.

2) Look to make sure you know where other boats are and plan for aIer the tack.

3) Bear away ease Main.

4) Lean in —boat heads up—sail in, push �ller gently follow turn, �ller not outside of boat.

5) Luff backs—shoulders out.

6) Sail fills on wrong side—ease mainsheet.

7) Tiller straight, grab edge of deck to make sure it’s straight.

8) Get across—fast, gentle, cat-like. Pounce.

9) Fla3en the boat, just below close-hauled — Bum in (Light wind); Hike (Medium wind); Hike + dump mainsheet (Heavy Wind).

10) Squeeze Mainsheet, head up to close-hauled once boat is flat.

Discussion Point:- Ben and Harry have been asked to put their back foot across so when they pounce across the boat their now front foot will

go under the middle toe-strap so they can hike quicker, ques�on to you squaddies is:- How can they throw their shoulders out if their back

foot is across the boat?

These steps are not prescrip�ve e, they are a guide, you will have to amend/adjust them for different weather/wind/sea condi�ons. Also

they should be used so that whilst training away from the squad weekends you can analyse your performance., de-brief the exercise and

make correc�ons.

Remember to view the videos posted in the Video Sec�on of your Squad Area.

RollGybe-Ahowtoguidein15+knots:-

RollGybe

We came up with the following star�ng from a Broad Reach and not running by the lee:-

1) As fast as possible.

2) Ease mainsheet—boat bears away to run

3) Pull mainsheet in un�l leech flicks.

4) Heel to windward—boat bears away, �ller to windward a li3le, pull mainsheet.

5) Tiller straight.

6) Get across—Beat the boom, TSCHHHHH!.

7) Catch the sail — Reverse Pump.

8) Trim Sail to new course..

Remember to view the videos posted in the Video Sec�on of your Squad Area.

4

Why would you want to use a Roll Gybe?

• To reduce the amount you lose by gybing.

• To generate some speed when the wind is light. (It’s actually illegal to do this as it breaks Rule 42 but only if you so mul�ple gybes.)

• To get your boat to turn more quickly when you want to posi�on your boat as fast as you can.

Nutrition

5

On Sunday aIernoon aIer lunch Ellie took you through what we should/should not eat whilst we are in training/racing mode. She discussed

Carbohydrates, Sugars, and fats, both Saturated and un-saturated, lis�ng examples of each. We then went on to have a look at being able to

read a food label correctly and not assuming that just because it says “Low Fat” it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is low in Fat!

TheFiveEssentials

1) Daggerboard—Stops your boat

going sideways and also can

generate liI to windward.

Needs to have Flow over it to

make it work. If the wind is

light or I’s blowing but without

waves then raising the dagger-

board will reduce drag.

2) Balance—From side to side,

keeping the boat in balance

from side to side makes the sail

work in a ver�cal manner,

makes the sail as tall as it can

be and lets the Daggerboard

work at it’s maximum.

3) Trim—From Front to Back.

Keeping the boat flat on top of

the water reduces drag, also

liIing the stern out of the

water on some boats reduces

the drag in light winds. Just

beware if you sit too far for-

ward in the Topper you present

the fat part of the bow to the

water, especially wavelets

which bounce back and slow

the boat down.

4) Sail Trim—Keeping the sail

working at it’s maximum means

it’s genera�ng the most power

which is great for speed. This

can be seen by using the tell-

tales or seeing if the Luff backs

on the sail I.e. wind pushes the

far side of the sail back towards

you.

5) Course Made Good (CMG) -

Making best distance towards

the next mark is ideal,

Remember applying the 5 Essen�als

as best as you can all of the �me will

mean that you’ll be difficult to beat if

you start well and go the right way.

6

Here Finn is sing to leeward to get the sail to pre-form so that any wind at all will

generate power and therefore speed. However he could be sing a li�le further forward

to raise the stern and his view of the sail luff to check sail trim isn’t good.

Here Alex is sing well forward to raise the stern to reduce drag as the wind is so light however his

control of the "ller isn’t good and his view of the sail luff to check sail trim isn’t good either. If he moves

a li�le further back so his head is just behind the mast then he would be able to see the sail luff and the

stern would s"ll be out of the water.

On Sunday morning we all got up very early to get on the bus to go to “The Unit” so that we could so our 1st Fitness Test of the Squad year. Some of

you were surprised how physically easy it was, apart from the Supine Pullups that is.

Firstly your weight, height and wingspan were measured by Issy, Ellie and myself so that we can see changes throughout the squad year. You then did

a quick stretch session followed by a warm up running along the green mat using different techniques. This was followed by a 10m lunge walk where

Issy looked to see if your hips, knees and feet were in-line. We then moved onto the three sta�ons where you did press-ups & supine pull-ups with Ellie

and I; Standing long-jump and squats on medicine balls with Chris; side planks 30 secs per side, T holds with 1kg weights for a minute with Issy.

Once these had been done we moved onto the rowing exercise. As we were quite late we didn’t show you the technique but a good target would be

about 30 strokes per minute, this will allow you to get through the 4 minute test . Most of your techniques were not that good so I suggest that you go

to the following webpage, view the video and read the technique to improve your technique. This will allow you to get be3er scores without actually

having to get fi3er, you’d be mad not to have a look wouldn’t you?

h3p://www.concept2.com.au/indoor-rowers/training/technique-videos

For your informa�on and to help you replicate the test in your local Leisure Centre/Gym the resistance was set to seven (7). Remember physical fitness

is very important in sailing and it’s easy to do press-ups, planks and core exercises in your home and as men�oned above if you haven’t got access to a

rowing machine or weight machine at home you could always go to the gym. If you haven’t already done so I can provide a le3er of support for a Gold

Card Membership Gym Applica�on for you, but do it quickly as some�mes the Areas only have a certain number so apply quickly to maximize your

chances of geTng one. Talk to your parents about it, so they can help you apply.

Ellie and I discussed what exercise/sport you did on a normal week and whilst we want you to play as much sport as possible please remember to make

sure that you enjoy it. Also push your Aerobic, Endurance and Power limits but if it begins to hurt don’t keep going, by hur�ng I don’t mean a S�tch!

Finally on your Squad Area in Sailor Resources under Physical you will find Physical-Prepara�on-Junior it’s very long but it does have rowing technique

on Page 24 to Page 30.

Also have a look at Pathway SC Level 1 as this is a good start to aid your fitness drive.

7

“TheUnit”

7

8

Accelera"on — Why?

Why would you want to use Accelera�on?

• To get your boat up to maximum speed in as short as distance as possible so that you can hit the line going as fast as you can on the “B”

of the bang of the gun.

• To get you out in front at one of the most cri�cal �mes of the race i.e. The Start.

• To give you OPTIONS during the race.

Next Squad Session—Star"ng

• Stopped, hove to just below close-hauled to reduce driI

• Li3le/No kicker to allow boat to sit s�ll and spin on it’s daggerboard. NB make sure that boom can’t jump off!

• When it’s �me Jab �ller to windward to turn boat to a reach ready to accelerate. NB Do not cross centreline with �ller.

• Take slack out of mainsheet

• Kicker on

• When ready to go sheet in slowly, connect flow over foils.

• When ready to turn up heel boat to leeward

• As boat turns to windward follow with rudder and sheet in at the same �me.

• Fla3en boat just before close hauled. NB don’t bring it over on top of you.

• Head up to close hauled, sheet in as you do so

• Concentrate to hold your lane. High, normal or low mode.

Accelera"on— A How to Guide:-