WA’s annual coaching clinic, Westsail, was held from September 24 to 27 at Mounts Bay Sailing Club.

Participant numbers in 2022 saw 82 boats and 92 sailors on the water for the four-day event, supported by 14 Coaches across all fleets.

The weather conditions presented the first fine weather of the season, with warm temperatures and mild breezes. Some mornings saw no wind, leading to some diverse and exciting exercises conducted by the coaches, from hiking to towing.

Along with sailor development, the Coaches’ experience of Westsail was also a strong focus. Matt Jerwood representing WAIS was on hand for each day of the event, to focus on Coach development. Tokyo 2020 Olympic Coach Tristan Brown also shared his time, engaging in sessions on and off the water with sailors and Coaches.

The Peter Hosking Perpetual Trophy for outstanding ability at Westsail was awarded to ILCA 6 sailor, Lili McAullay.

For the first time in 33 years, Chris Kelly was not in attendance at Westsail, the Chris Kelly Award for coaching excellence was awarded in his honour to Optimist Coach Shelley White.

Following Westsail, the WA Youth Championships were conducted on 28 and 29 September. This event saw 92 boats and 104 sailors on the water for two days of great racing, ably led by Principal Race Officer Larry Smith and his team.

Thank you to the volunteer team who made this event possible and big congratulations to the sailors. Full event results can be found here: https://mbsc.com.au/sailing-results/.

Mounts Bay Sailing Club were fantastic event hosts, with positive feedback received for all aspects of their hospitality. We look forward to working with MBSC to grow the events in future years.

We now turn our focus towards the 2023 event and growing participation across all levels, from Green Fleet to the WA Sailing Squad sailors, engaging more coaches and race officials for the regatta.

Stay tuned for updates as we plan and prepare for 2023 and save the date, with the Westsail coaching clinic to be held from 23 to 26 September, and the WA Youth Championships to follow on 27 and 28 September at Mounts Bay Sailing Club.