Fishers Green Sailing Club - Cadet Squadron 273

Cadet News

Last Saturday saw a great days training at Fishers Green, despite the challenges of having to dodge the weed at regular intervals. We had thirteen boats on the water split into two groups and my thanks go to Guy Brearey and to Louise Latham for their help and patience with the coaching. And also a "thank you" to Yiorgos for bringing his RIB along to give us more flexibility with the support boats. This Saturday we are back to "normal" with training in the morning provided by Phil Brearey followed by the first of the Saturday Winter Series racing in the afternoon. (The winter series is a set of the four Saturdays in November.) Kevin O'Brien FGSC Cadet Squad Captain

What's happening this month

Morning Briefing at 09:30hrs and afternoon Racing start time of 13:30hrs

Sat Nov 5th - Training in the morning, racing in the afternoon - followed by the FGSC Bonfire Party.

Sat Nov 12th - Training in the morning, racing in the afternoon

Sat Nov 19th - Training in the morning, racing in the afternoon

Sat Nov 26th - Training in the morning, racing in the afternoon - followed by the Youth Prizegiving, Youth Tea and the Cadet AGM

What is the Cadet?

The Cadet dinghy was designed in 1947 by Jack Holt as a specialised design for the sole purpose of training young people in sailboat racing. That’s why it’s too small for adults to sail in and the class rules specifically exclude people over 17 from taking part. In order to make it a better trainer it was purposely designed as a two-person boat so that children would learn the complexities of working together as helm and crew. To prepare children for adult racing boats that may have mainsail, jib and spinnaker, it possesses all three, so that there are no fundamentally ‘new’ sails when children move on to other boats. The hull design is particularly sensitive, giving lots of feedback, and this means that learning is fast compared to boats which may still work fairly well when mishandled.

The result is a boat that is arguably the best youth training dinghy for the 6 to 17 age range in the world. It has produced a remarkably high proportion of champions in adult fleets. A number of the leading names in British competitive sailing have sailed the Cadet in their youth - Rodney Pattisson, Harold Cudmore, Chris Law, Keith Musto, Phil Morrison, Matt Humphreys, Francis Elkington, Storm Nuttall, Sally Cuthbert, Richard Sydenham and Ben Vines to name but few.

FGSC is an RYA Volvo Championship Club, and since its formation in 1999, the FGSC Cadet Squadron has been among the most successful in the country. Three FGSC boats qualified to represent team GBR at both the 2009 World Championships in Argentina and the 2010 Worlds in Poland.

What is a Cadet Squadron?

Cadet fleets are organised within their clubs as squadrons of the UK National Cadet Class Association, which in turn works to the rules of the International Cadet Class. Squadron 273 is one of the newest Cadet squadron in the United Kingdom and achieved squadron status in November 1999. Members of the squadron consist of the children and their parents who sail the boat at Fishers Green Sailing Club.

The Cadet squadron organizes regular training and competition between 10am and 4pm on virtually every Saturday from early March to the end of November. Cadets also take part in main Club events on Sundays and in away meetings in which the whole FGSC Membership takes part. Additional events are the Eastern Zone Cadet training, our own annual Cadet Open Meeting and the CSSA Youth Championships. Away events supported include the more advanced Cadet crews taking part in National Squad training and Open Meetings. These are usually timed for holiday periods and run through most of the sailing season.

Who can join in?

Children range from around 6 to 17 years old, usually starting off as a crew and moving on to helm as they get more experienced. Typically, one or two years will be spent crewing to get to know the basics of sailing and boat handling before moving on to helm. Crewing for a good helm also offers the opportunity to gain experience at advanced events such as squad training, National Championships and Open Meetings.

As a parent of a Cadet, you will be expected to get involved in a co-operative way in helping to make the Cadet squadron operate. You will help to organise and operate the facilities that the Cadets need, and this can include everything from running the canteen to giving coaching on the water. Parents are responsible for looking after their children while they are at the club and need to be around to do so. Of course as a full member of the club, you will also, we hope, take part in all aspects of the FGSC sailing and social programme.

What equipment and clothing does my child need to take part?

All children must wear an adequate buoyancy aid when they go on the water and they will need appropriate clothing to cope with wet and cold. On a hot summer's day shorts, t-shirt and trainers may be OK but for regular sailing they will probably need some sort of wetsuit and sailing shoes. In colder periods a drysuit over thermal clothing is almost essential. The purchase of a boat is not essential, as there are Club and Association Cadet and Oppi dinghies available at FGSC.

About membership

Family Membership of Fishers Green Sailing Club, which includes both parents and all children still in full-time education, entitles you to full participation in all the Club events including the Cadets. For membership information contact the Hon Secretary, Alan Francis, via email - secretary@fishersgreensc.org.uk

Who should I contact to find out more about the Cadets at FGSC?

Please contact the Squadron Captain, via email - cadets@fishersgreensc.org.uk