FIRST ANNUAL NEILL ADVANCED SAILING CLINIC - Chicago, IL

Over the past six months, the Chicago Yacht Club has been working hard to put together what turned out to be a phenomenal event: the first annual Neill Advanced Sailing Clinic, a four day clinic for some of the best youth 420 sailors in the country. Applications were due back in April to help select the elite group of twenty boats that would participate.  The organizers wanted the coaching to be more than just great instruction, so they brought in some of the best college coaches in the country, giving the sailors a chance to form a relationship and start networking with coaches that could help them as they move toward their college sailing careers.

The Neill clinic is a unique event in that just about everything is provided for an extremely modest entry fee: the yacht club has a fleet of twenty-four 420s in impeccable shape, so the newest twenty, none older than the 2008 vintage, were used, giving each sailor access to a great boat that was ready to sail upon arrival; sailors coming from out of town were all provided with housing from other local participants; all meals were included; the sailors were outfitted with some great gear from the sponsors including an embroidered spray top from Atlantis WeatherGear and a long sleeved tech shirt from Crowley's Yacht Yard in Chicago.  All sailors were required to bring were sails and their own personal sailing gear.

On June 9th, junior sailors ages fourteen to eighteen from all over the country arrived in Chicago to sail on Lake Michigan, get four days of coaching from NASC's amazing coaches, and meet fellow top-level competitors.  Forty kids from nine different states, including Florida, California, Texas, Maine, Oklahoma, and New York came to participate.  The coaches were Frank Ustach from Stanford University, Bill Ward from St. Mary's College of Maryland, Justin Assad from Dartmouth University, Nick Ewenson from College of Charleston, and Amanda Callahan, coach of the 2011 ICSA Team Race Champion Roger Williams University. 
On the first morning of the Neill clinic, the sailors were greeted by fog and glassy water.  The coaches took advantage of the unsailable conditions and taught the kids how to set up and tune the boats, then hit the water in the afternoon.  After an assessment of individual skill level, the coaches split the participants up into skill level groups and began a rotation, giving each boat specialized help catered to the skipper and crew's ability level.  Though the weather was unseasonably chilly, in the mid-upper fifties, cold, damp and raw the first two days, the winds certainly cooperated over the four days, giving the sailors a great range of conditions in which to practice, from windy and wavy to light and flat.  The sailors were able to put their brand new spray top to good use!  Finally, by the third morning, the sun came out and continued to shine through the rest of the clinic, with clear skies and good breeze to accompany.   

To conclude the Neill clinic, the sailors put all of their skills to the test with a race day.  Each boat was assigned to a coach for the day to be their "regatta coach", who would help them with everything from tuning their boat on land, running a team meeting beforehand, speed tuning out on the water before racing, and coaching between the races during the day.  Very flat water and light shifty breeze made boat handling and finely tuned boat speed extra important during the races.  Stewart Draheim (Heath, TX) and Allison Aughtry (Edmond, OK) were able to dominate the day with two seconds and a first.  Alex Curtiss (Lake Bluff, IL) and Alex Woloshun (Lake Forest, IL) finished in second and Deirdre Lambert (Cumberland, ME) and Tierney Driscoll (Bayport, NY) rounded out the top three.
In addition to some great time out on the water, the NASC program included other activities that helped to make the clinic a well rounded and wholly fulfilling event.  Before and after each session, the sailors met with their coaches to review skill sets, talk about specific drills and focus points, and answer any questions that may have come up during the day.  The coaches put a strong emphasis on sportsmanship and rules, both enforcing fair sailing on the water and reviewing certain scenarios on the white board during debriefs to go over rules situations that may have been unclear.  Each coach was also equipped with a camera to shoot video on the water so that they had specific examples of good skills and could show individual boats what areas needed work.

The program also included evening events to introduce other avenues of sailing that are available to them.  On Friday night, the sailors were taken over to the Chicago Match Race Center located at the opposite end of the harbor from CYC, where they enjoyed a delicious barbecue hosted by the Center.  After dinner, the CMRC staff ran small breakout sessions that included an introduction to match racing, information about the Center's Tom 28 and Elliott 6 sailboats, and being a freshman on a college sailing team.  Saturday night, the sailors and coaches enjoyed a lovely dinner at the yacht club, joined by world renowned sailor Buddy Melges.  Melges donated his time and expertise to give the kids a rousing talk on his experiences throughout his extensive career as a sailor, inspiring the young sailors to embrace sailing as a lifelong sport and to fully enjoy every moment of it.  Both of these programs gave the kids a glimpse of the opportunities available to them as they grow up and hopefully continue to sail.
At the conclusion of the Neill clinic on Monday afternoon, three awards were presented to some sailors that went above and beyond the rest in working hard, getting the most out of the clinic, and demonstrating the Corinthian sailing spirit.  The Most Improved Skipper award went to Addy Ferguson (Deephaven, MN); Most Improved Crew was Alex Driessen (Edina, MN); and the Sportsmanship award went to Stewart Draheim, also the winner of the clinic race day.  The awards, beautiful solid crystal etched with the clinic logo and the title, were generously donated by member Victor Chigas as a token for those who deserved some extra recognition at the end of the event.
With the help of the NASC Committee, donors and sponsorships from the Chicago Yacht Club Foundation, Atlantis WeatherGear, the Chicago Match Race Center, Crowley's Yacht Yard, and Melges Sailing, the Chicago Yacht Club Sailing School was able to host an event of the highest caliber, whose inaugural year turned out to be a great success and set a precedent for many great Neill Advanced Sailing Clinics to come.  The positive response already received by the yacht club from the participants has been almost overwhelming, providing great excitement and encouragement as we begin planning for the 2012 NASC!

For more information, photos, and video of the 2011 Neill Advanced Sailing Clinic, check out the website chicagoyachtclub.org/nasc, or the page on Facebook.