A big step has been taken this year in keelboating, as we made great use of the two keelboats we bought by training at Bewl Water and going to fleet and team racing events around the country. This has been a refreshing experience as it brings out different skills, such as using the massive symmetric spinnaker; it was tough to learn but the result was satisfying.
Our training programme has significantly advanced this year, as Mrs Johnson has brought greater emphasis on team racing from Year 9, and it was very impressive to see two Year 9 teams do well at events despite being in their first year of sailing. Furthermore, there has been a push for starting to sail Fireflies earlier, which makes Year 10 and Year 11 more eventful for sailors as they can try Firefly sailing while keeping up their Feva racing.
This year’ s sailing dinner was a great evening as always, but especially bittersweet for me, as it marked our final year with the Upper Sixth, whom we have known since Year 9, and their departure will have a profound impact on the team. On that note, Miss Caswell will also be sorely missed; she coached us all at some point and is big reason for the sailing programme being great. We hope she enjoys her next steps.
This year has seen incredible achievements from all the students and coaches, and I’ m sure we can do even better next year for my final year.
Jamie Middleburgh, Lower Sixth
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