In this publication1 photo
27 August 2022. My previous session with #sailingacademy at Oreshek had inspired me. It had also been my first time on an Open 800. I booked again, this time with a specific aim: practising man overboard.
I was greeted by a gloomy-looking man in glasses and an instructor, Elena, a woman in early middle age. Their dynamic was odd: she asked only him to do anything, addressing him affectionately as ‘Alyoshenka’. It made the rest of us feel like spare parts, not to be trusted with anything.
I explained what I wanted from the session. She responded enthusiastically, and Alexei agreed that he was interested too. Our ‘casualty’ was a fender with a bucket tied to it. Each of us made about five approaches involving a tack and one involving a gybe.
The instructor picked up mistakes in the turns, both from the helm and the sheet handlers, and I’m grateful for that. She clearly had a great deal of experience. But I wouldn’t want another session with her.
I was greeted by a gloomy-looking man in glasses and an instructor, Elena, a woman in early middle age. Their dynamic was odd: she asked only him to do anything, addressing him affectionately as ‘Alyoshenka’. It made the rest of us feel like spare parts, not to be trusted with anything.
I explained what I wanted from the session. She responded enthusiastically, and Alexei agreed that he was interested too. Our ‘casualty’ was a fender with a bucket tied to it. Each of us made about five approaches involving a tack and one involving a gybe.
The instructor picked up mistakes in the turns, both from the helm and the sheet handlers, and I’m grateful for that. She clearly had a great deal of experience. But I wouldn’t want another session with her.
Original and discussionOpen post in Telegram ↗
