Navy cadets at Datchet Water

After last year’s storm-force winds, this year the boys were welcomed to Datchet Water by the chilling embrace of a light Northerly breeze. Datchet gurus Rosie and Charlie had the boys afloat in a flash and worked on advanced techniques such as the roll-gybe and racing starts in a variety of single handed craft throughout the morning.

Meanwhile, Dr Chapman and Mr Hall cruised menacingly around the boys in a Dart 16 catamaran, slicing through the gloom of the solar eclipse. In the afternoon the Datchet and HABS instructors joined forces to treat the boys to a roller-coaster ride of catamaran experience, trapeze experience, spinnaker sailing and even rudderless sailing in double-handed racing machines.

The learning curve was steep but the HABS boys performed magnificently well, their skills already having been honed by long hours at Aldenham Sailing Club with the HABS extensive dinghy fleet.