Long Beach Match Racing 101 Clinic
The Long Beach Yacht Club Sailing Foundation hosted a very successful Match Racing 101 Clinic on the weekend of March 17-18. Four teams of seven sailors per team participated in an action packed and educational weekend sailing the Foundation’s Catalina 37s. Over the two days of the clinic there were six hours of classroom work and ten hours of on-the-water training, culminating with a formal Regatta. The classroom work was led by Liz Baylis, 2002 Women’s Match Racing World Champion and Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year from San Francisco. The Long Beach Yacht Club hosted the clinic and ran the on the water portion with their usual efficiency and precision.
In the classroom setting, Liz presented all aspects of match racing from the basic concepts of the match racing starting sequence to more esoteric boat on boat situations that arise in a match race. On the water, the participants went through about a dozen starts and experienced a plethora of situations. This type of on the water training is the only way to really learn how to match race. No matter how much you read and study, there is nothing like going out and doing hands on training.
The LBYCSF has an incredible asset that they are willing to share – the availability of a fleet of equally matched boats for teams to practice match racing is invaluable.
With the momentum and enthusiasm from this weekend, the LBYCSF has more events planned in the near future.
Come out and give match racing a try. It’s fun and will make you a better sailor!