In Praise of the International Cadet

As I was finishing our most recent batch of cadet sails I began to muse on how we as sailmakers and myself personally have been involved in the Cadet class for many years as a sailmaker and more recently as a coach.
Our cadet sails began over 25 years ago in a small tin shed on the waterfront, the sails were hand cut on a bench and assembled, one of our very early sets went on to win the Australian Championship that year. Our sails now are designed on the latest Smar Azure software ( the same software that was used in the design of the wing sail for Oracle in the Americas Cup) and computer cut for assembly by us. These sails have been constantly evolving and had much success at World, National, State and Regional level.
After a break from the hands on role with the cadets whilst I did some big boat sailing. I decided to help out with the coaching at Royal Geelong Yacht Club ( mainly to avoid getting press ganged to one the various committees, it must be said).  This has led to some wonderful opportunities and a lot of great friendships.
The cadet is a great class, sure it looks a bit dated with it pram bow, Dacron sails and symmetric spinnaker. But it is the only International Junior Class with three sails! This is such a more dynamic educator than the various single handers, although they all have their place and role. As I have coached for a few years now, I often hear from other coaches how the ex cadet sailors are such great kids and easy to work with. This highlights the real strength of the cadet, the pairing of a 13-16 year old skipper with a young crew, sometimes as young as 8! The need for the skipper to get the crew to contribute takes a nurturing aspect that is missing in other classes where peers race together. Sometimes it can go astray, I can remember bawling out my cadet crew, not for a bad race move but for getting my cigarettes wet, very different times folks! But If you do not nurture your crew, it will lead to all sorts of performance and social issues. You need to be a leader, this leads to well rounded people with the ability to work in a team. Priceless! Long live the Cadet.

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