Learning What?

As in most sailing clubs we really encourage the youngsters as they start racing. Not just the parents, but all of us enjoy seeing them participate.

Very gratifying to see them progress, but occasionally something happens that makes us wonder what they are learning and from whom?

Our Club uses personal handicaps to score some of the events and these handicaps are, of course, a function of how well the sailor does in prior races.

So, yesterday the PRO was dutifully preparing to score the end of the youngsters' race and was perplexed to see the leader coming toward the finish line with a substantial lead suddenly starting to sail in circles just before the finish line.   Clearly it was not a penalty and the PRO asked him what he was doing.

The young lad replied, with a disarming honesty "I'm winning but I don't want my handicap to go too low."

The PRO put short work to that and we all had a good laugh over it at the bar later on.