12:02 AM Mon 26 Oct 2009 GMT
The kids votes are in and it's a definite Yes for the RS Feva class as they experience the new fleet of fun, fast, stable boats.
Belmont 16 Footers Club Sailing Manager Vicki Engert said the success of the club's junior Learn to Sail Program was evident during the recent October school holidays when a group of 34 children leapt into the club's new seven RS Fevas for a week of great sailing.
With the assistance of Performance Sailcraft from Gosford, the club was able to purchase a fleet of the boats rather than one at a time. This allowed the club to move immediately into using them in its fleet training program.
'What we have discovered previously during the school holidays is that often the kids come in and they are a little bit coy especially when there is a little bit of breeze out there (on the Lake) and a bit of chop.
With the RS Fevas they all felt very safe. We had them out in the school holidays and it was quite breezy in the second week. With the instructors on board the kids were handling the weather quite well because they didn't get over powered.
'We did a survey afterwards and all said they felt safe and secure so it sort of takes that edge of it.
When we were actually using the Lasers they were a little more unstable and not as easy to control. With the RS Fevas the kids are actually inside the boat and they feel safe and happy, and the boats are quick. We had no complaints at all.'
The RS Feva is a 12-foot sturdy, stable dinghy. The boats have a big cockpit and high boom making them comfortable for juniors and adults. The mainsail track and halyard mean the sail can be hoisted and dropped for easy handling ashore. The mast can be stepped without the mainsail and the two-part mast and boom stow within the length of the boat for easy transport.
'They don't have a huge sail mass so they are very stable. They are very easy to rig, they are very easy to maintain. I love their simplicity.
'As training boats we can fit so many more children in that boat. We can have three kids and an instructor in them and there is still plenty of room. They have a very high boom which makes them every safe. With the kids we have in them they don't have to duck under the boom.'
Engert believes the RS Fevas will be great for parents and their kids to sail together. 'You can put two little kids in that are really confident and they'd be able to go out, putting up the asymmetrical spinnaker within a day because it is so simple to work. All the lines are so easy and they're so easy to rig. I look at these and I don't understand why nobody has thought of it before. They're so easy to sail and they're perfect for training.'
The Belmont club plans to also use the RS Fevas in its new Teams Racing development program for high school students. Engert wants to get some the club's kids back into this discipline and into racing in Sydney. 'Having the one-design boats makes it very easy to train them up in the teams racing situation.
'We used to do Teams Racing then it sort of fell off. It is something that is very Sydney-centric at the moment.
'We have some really good little sailors up here. I think if we get the people in to train them, our Teams Racing groups will be just as good as the Sydney groups.'
Once through the RS Feva Learn to Sail program the smaller juniors are encouraged to move into the Pelican training class where the club offers constant coaching and small race courses. The bigger juniors are put into the Flying 11s.
For the moment though, the Learn to Sail focus is continuing to increase the number of juniors hopping into the RS Fevas. Through the support of the families and a fun filled coaching program, the program is expected to continue to go from strength to strength.
For more information
Performance Sailcraft Pty. Ltd.
Lot 7 Catamaran Road
Ourimbah, NSW 2258, Australia.
Ph: +61 (2) 4389 1088
Fax: + 61 (2) 4389 1085
Email:
[email protected]
Web:
www.rssailing.com.au/index.html
by Tracey Johnstone
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