[MHml] Plas Menai Catamaran Week

[Graeme Sutherland]

I spent last week at Plas Menai, which is an outdoor (primarily watersports) 
centre in Wales

http://www.plasmenai.co.uk/

I've not sailed for a year, and wanted to take a course to get myself back 
into it. The options that I considered were RYA Coastal Skipper (cruising on 
yachts), start dinghy sailing, and the catamaran week. I figured that my 
weaknesses were mainly in trim and boat handling, and that a small boat 
course would sharpen my skills up more than on big boats. The dinghy course 
seemed aimed at complete beginners, and so as a regular MHml reader, I 
really had to go on the catamaran week.

The course was a lot of fun. I'm a complete novice at dinghies (my 
background is mainly on big boats), and picked things up quickly. Cats are a 
bit more capsize resistant than dinghies, so there was less time spent in 
the water, which probably makes them a better place to learn. Although I did 
manage to pitchpole on the first day. :)

Most of the sailing was done on Dart 16s, though at the end of the week I 
got to play on the Hobie 16, and happily hanging off the trapeze. (Between 
spells of being dragged through the Menai Straits when I lost my footing. 
Converse All-Stars are bad sailing shoes!)

The weather was lovely all week: Warm, sunny, and a decent breeze.

The only downside is that I had a lot of tendonitis trouble. I lost one day 
sailing when my hands swelled up, and spent another on a J80, which felt 
very slow after the Darts. (Why do people get so excited about keel boats?)

Overall, I really enjoyed myself, and am considering going back. Plus I keep 
on getting the urge to buy a cat. :)

Graeme