by Jen Moffitt
The Women of Arizona Yacht Club (WAYC) Race Clinic was held Saturday, April 1, at Tempe Town Lake. Seventeen (17) women sailors turned out to learn boat handling and race techniques aboard Sunfish. Participants got to learn about boat rigging on the infamous Sunburn before taking a break on the hill to learn about typical wind patterns of TTL.
Retiring to Hundred Mile Brewing down the road to beat the heat, Sunfish legend Vicki Palmer had diagrams galore to help participants learn about racing strategy and racing rules of sailing. With a delicious lunch and drinks as a midday break, sailors had a great time discussing sailing and making connections before heading out on the water for the afternoon. Although the current and wind were not cooperative, sailors had a great time (or at least faked it well).
Thank you to all participants for being eager to learn and flexible with the wind, and thank you to our manpower and organizers for pulling it all together!
See more event photos by Eric Bruce and others here: WAYC Racing Clinic photos.
Patti Pearson sails Sunny Petal during afternoon drills (Fun fact: after receiving her customized sail from Chris Picknally, Patti used the artificial intelligence engine ChatGPT to come up with the name for her boat!).