86 COACHING FUNDAMENTALS
3
1
2
4
5
Other suggested essentials and extras
another matter though…1980s/1990s bumbag anyone?
Sticking your car/van key in a soft waterproof case around
your neck and inside your wetsuit is something I would
recommend to avoid the classic ‘leaving the key on top of a
wheel’. A coded keysafe securely attached to your vehicle
is another option for vehicle security when afloat
3. Healthy packed lunch: containing carbohydrates (to fuel
muscles and brain and to keep you going for longer), low in
fat and with an easy-to-digest snack like a banana…unless
you’re lucky enough to have a lovely café by the beach.
Not forgetting to take a little bag of Scooby Snacks to keep
you going and to share with grateful friends…
4. Hot/cold drinks: to keep warm/hydrated
5. Backpack: to chuck it all in the car/van
History repeating itself
Essentially think about taking as much kit as you can without
being silly! You can always return it home unused but you
cant use it if its not there on the day.
Confession time. As I write this I am on the road on a 20-day
coaching trip including South Wales, Weymouth and a number
of inland locations. It was the middle of the no-wind heatwave
of the decade when I left home and it still is. The long and
short term forecast was for such little wind that, whilst I took
kit as small as 4.7 and 103 I purposely ignored the advice I
have just given above and left home without my 4.0 sail, 370
mast and 86l board on the basis that there was no way it
would remotely be needed (probably at least until the late
autumn). Then what happened? Over the last three days the
forecast for the Weymouth area this coming Sunday has gone
from 13 knots to 45 knots, the coaching is cancelled (giving
me a day to play) and I’m despairing at my decision to leave
the small kit at home just to save a little space. It’s not the
first time this has happened. Will it be the last?
Rip the seats out of the car and take it all.
uk
WIND
SURFING
Simon Winkley is a RYA Advanced
Windsurfing Instructor and a RYA Windsurfing
Trainer running clinics and instructor courses
across the UK and overseas.
Sponsors: Starboard, Severne, Bray Lake
Watersports, Spinlock and Flymount.
2019 Coaching Weeks:
Langebaan, South Africa:January & December
Lanzarote, Canary Islands: March
Safaga, Red Sea: May
Vasiliki, Greece: June
2018/19 Coaching Weekends:
Weymouth:8/9 September, 8/9 December,
30/31 March, 27/28 April, 8/9 June, 27/28 July
Foiling:
QMSC, SW London: on demand
Contact: [email protected] for
bookings and info. Facebook @swwinds
Instagram @simonwinkley