FIFTY-six youngsters, with ages ranging from seven to 16, took part in Llangorse Sailing Club's Cadet Week.

Many others had to be turned away from the very popular week to enable the club to match the strict safety ratio of children to qualified instructors and safety boat support.

It was the 12th consecutive year the club's junior member training week has been held.

There was a very light fickle wind on the first day and although the more experienced sailors were disappointed not to have a blow, the conditions were virtually ideal for the beginners, some of whom had never been in a boat before.

The young newcomers learnt the basic principles of sailing in small Oppie dinghies, while the older participants were in two-person Mirror dinghies, or in single-handed Toppers and Lasers.

The more experienced sailors spent the first four days under rigorous instruction to improve their boat handling and sailing techniques to increase their levels of competence. They spent time practising race starting techniques and honing the skills required to sail competitively around a racing course.

By the end of the week all the instructors commented on the improvement in the abilities of the juniors.

Friday afternoon saw many of the participants taking part in racing within their own groups. That was followed by more racing on Saturday morning to count towards the overall prizes. There were some close finishes with many of the overall places not settled until the last races of the series.

The prize-giving and presentation of the RYA certificates gained during the week were awarded on Saturday afternoon, followed by the now traditional barbecue put on by the parents.

Results

The Racing Group: 1 Simon Erhardt in a Topper; 2 Mark Roberts in a full rigged Laser; 3 Ben Gibson, in Radial Laser.

Mirror Class: 1 Siobhan and Harriet Orr; 2 Katherine Taylor and Emma Cianchi; 3 Annabel and Laura Read.

Advanced Toppers: 1 Edward Aston; 2 Gethin Phillips; 3 Charlie Orr.