Southport Yacht Club Sailing Academy host first Nacra 15 training camp
by Bronwen Hemmings 18 Jan 2017 23:36 GMT
17 January 2017
Australia's first Nacra 15 training camp, conducted at the Gold Coast's Southport Yacht Club Hollywell Sailing Academy © SYC
On Tuesday 17th January, Southport Yacht Club's (SYC) Hollywell Sailing Squadron held the first session of a four day Nacra 15 Training Camp. Conducted by Olympic Silver Medallist Darren Bundock, this is the first training camp of its kind in Australian history. Darren heads the Multihull division for Australian Sailing as the Development Officer and Multihull Sailing Coach. Darren will be joined by coach's Danny Fuller and Brady Lowe along with Olympic Class, Nacra 17 sailors Sam Simmonds and Mac von Richter.
The objective of the camp is to ensure the boats are setup correctly and the sailors adapt the correct techniques from the start. At least 11 vessels will be sailing on the Gold Coast Broadwater during the training sessions including Southport Yacht Club junior sailors, Matthew Hatton and Matthew Dickinson, on board the brand new Nacra 15, Team Fastway which is proudly sponsored by Fastway Couriers.
"We are ecstatic to have the new Nacra 15's at Southport, they are such an inspirational design for our youth sailors and assist immensely in gaining the on-water skills required to follow Olympic dreams. The Hollywell Sailing Academy continues to grow with the future of International Sailing, and opportunities like this allow continual expansion and improvement for our sailors," said Southport Yacht Club Commodore, Kerry Noyes.
Designed to meet the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) criteria, the Nacra 15 class has become the new official ISAF youth catamaran. Giving world class youth sailors a modernised catamaran that can carry more crew weight than current designs. The Nacra 15 resembles a lot to its bigger sister, the Olympic Nacra 17. In fact, the Nacra 15 is a mini version of the Olympic Nacra 17, creating a pathway towards the Olympics.