Review of South Island Optimist Clinic

Awesome, learning, and fun were the words of choice when sailors were asked to describe their 3 days at the recent NZIODA South Island Opti Clinic held at CBYC before Christmas, with 26 sailors in attendance from as far as Auckland.

These clinics are all about meeting new friends (sailors and parents), learning a lot, and having fun.

This year the coaches picked the theme of mana motuhake (independence) and mana kaitiakitanga (self-sustainability). This was with a view to develop themselves to rely on their parents less, and think for themselves more, including the environmental aspect. 

We had a fantastic three days. The weather wasn’t the typical Lyttleton harbour conditions, but rather a damp affair, with light wind flows. Nevertheless, we sailed all three days, with a destination sail on the 2nd day to Quail Island, and a number of on shore activities as well. 
 
A HUGE shoutout to Ruth Connor from CBYC, and Sarah Nicholl from NZIODA for making it happen. And of course the coaches. The bonus for this clinic was the inclusion of buddy coaches, who gave up their time to come and learn more about what AND how to coach more effectively. I would also like to thank OWNZ for their generous sponsorship of our sailors allowing us to keep our costs as low as possible for our sailing families.

Thanks to everyone involved.
Gareth Moore
Head Coach