MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The two Mossel Bay Yacht and Boat Club (MBYBC) teams that race the 420 class of boat will be attending their first provincial event this coming weekend, 3 and 4 February, the Southern Charter Classic regatta, in Hermanus.

The 420 has a large jib and main sail and the added feature of a spinnaker that is flown downwind.

The crew wear harnesses and must trapeze off the boat to use the power of the sails. 

"This makes for exciting sailing but also means there is much to learn," the sailors' coach, Elfie Holden, says.

"These teams have started to learn the finer techniques of this racing boat and are now ready to go and sail against a wider fleet of sailors."

The two crews consist of: helmsman Shadley Thomas and crew Dylan Solomon; and helmsman Waydon Goliath and crew James Bull.

All of them started off in the Learn to Sail School at the MBYBC with free training and have come up the ranks, honed their skills and now are high performance sailors. 

The Learn to Sail School offers free training to school children. Shadley has been training with Elfie for three and a half years and the others, three years.

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