Youth Sailing Camps 2022

青少年航海夏令營

The idea of sailing camps for youngsters at Hebe Haven Yacht Club goes back almost 20 years when sailing manager, Rob Allen, came up with a programme, formalized in 2004, which attracted between 20 and 25 young sailors. Held annually from then on, the camps proved popular and grew rapidly in size.

Numbers of participants reached as high as 120 and their ages extended from six to 15. But, as Allen points out, the club did not have the instructors and support staff to handle the variety of courses on offer and today participation has been stabilized at around 80 young sailors per camp. This 30% cut has also allowed for improvements to the courses provided by the club’s Sailing Centre, and more individual attention where needed.

The camps encompass more than sailing and take in paddle boarding, kayaking, beach games and even basketball – hence the term ‘multi activity week’. This can mean “as many as 30 kids on shore engaged in physical activities that go towards promoting a healthy outdoor lifestyle and, as you would expect, contribute to character building.” Snorkeling is also included in the camp itinerary and is conducted from the club’s catamaran, Hebe One, in Rocky Harbour. “All these activities go towards feeding the principles of a summer camp,” says Allen.

在白沙灣遊艇會爲青少年舉辦航海營的想法可以追溯到近 20 年前， 當時的航海訓練部經理 Rob Allen 在 2004 年提出了一項計劃，並吸 引了 20 到 25 名年輕航員參加。自那時起每年都會舉行一次這些航 海營，可見其十分受歡迎，規模更迅速增長。

參加人數高達 120 人，年齡從 6 歲擴展至 15 歲。但正如 Allen 所指 出，遊艇會沒有教練和支援人員來處理提供的各種課程。到今日為 止參加人數穩定維持在每個夏令營約80名年輕航員。這30%的減幅 也讓遊艇會航海中心提供的課程得到改善，並在需要的時候為個別 人士給予更多的關注。

夏令營不只有航海，更包括槳板衝浪、皮艇、沙灘遊戲甚至籃球—— 因此被稱為「多元活動週」。這即是多達 30 個孩子於岸上進行體 育活動，以促進健康的戶外生活方式。並且，正如你預期，有助於人 格的發展。潛水也包括在夏令營行程之中，由遊艇會的雙體船Hebe One 在糧船灣海進行。「這些活動都符合夏令營的原則，」Allen 說。 Getting ready to take to the water

Happy RS Quest crew

Preparing the sail

“The Sailing Centre has between 20 and 25 instructors / assistant instructors providing weekly assistance, all qualified either through us – some 80% – or the Hong Kong Sailing Federation. I’m very proud of our achievements in both the competitive and recreational aspects of what we do and praise must also go to club staff, Nigel Slattery and Lily Mae Reid. They make sure it all happens,” says Allen. “Not forgetting the huge support from our Rear Commodores, Harvey Jessop and Bridget Chan.

There are currently nine weeks of summer camps, with more than 720 young sailors taking part. Incidentally, Sailability, which is home-based in the club and provides instruction and support for disabled sailors, “has its own programmes running through the week alongside ours,” says Allen.

“Of the 80 kids that join the weekly camps, some 30% are members and 70% who are non-members. I would say, 20 to 30 of them come back and join the club as cadet members. This is very encouraging not only for us, but also for sailing in Hong Kong. Sailability’s participation figure can be between 50 and 60 sailors.”

Dinghies used during the weekly camps include Optimists, Lasers, Quests and Pico’s. As an aside, Allen says the club now has 82 dinghies and six J/80s, all used regularly. For back-up and support, there are 11 safety boats and the multi-purpose, 43-foot catamaran, Hebe One.

Over the past two decades, the club has sensibly invested money in the Sailing Centre as it represents the future of the club’s core interest – sailing. It has paid off.

The centre, under the strength and guidance of Rob Allen, now employs nine full-time staff and an amazing 50 part-timers. A crack team of youngsters – the Hebe Dragons – does the club proud at national and international dinghy racing events. Head Race Coach Alfred Okoth recently took a team of six Hebe Dragon sailors to compete in the UK Laser Nationals at Hayling Island on the south coast of England. One of the sailors, 14-year-old Peter Jessop, scored an impressive 5th place out of a field of 48.

At the time of writing, Okoth and eight Hebe Dragons were heading off to Singapore, despite quarantine requirements on their return, to take part in two regattas and a sailing camp.

The Covid restrictions over the past two and a half years have affected dinghy sailing and the summer camps. The Hebe Dragons have lost more than 30% of their members but, on a positive note, a lot more is being done to attract new recruits. “This has spurred the Sailing Centre into action and that’s why our Sailing for Schools and school holiday camps are so important. We are already seeing results,” says Allen. “The catchment area is all Hong Kong. We’ve even had a group of 150 students from Discovery Bay!”

The Sailing Centre must be doing something right!

「航海中心每週有 20 至 25 名教練或助理教 練提供協助。這些教練或助理教練均通過我 們（有些甚至得到 80%）或香港帆船運動總 會而獲得資格。我爲我們在競爭和娛樂方面 的成就感到驕傲，同時需要讚揚遊艇會的職 員，Nigel Slattery 和 Lily Mae Reid。他們讓這 一切順利進行，」Allen 說。「別忘了還有我們 的助理會長 Harvey Jessop 和 Bridget Chan 的 大力支持。

目前有 9 週的夏令營，有超過 720 名年輕航員 參加。順道一提，總部設在遊艇會並爲殘疾航 員提供指導和支援的的航能，「每週都有專屬 的項目和我們的一同進行，」Allen說。

參加每週夏令營的 80 名孩子中，大約 30% 是「 會員，70% 是非會員。我會說其中 20 到 30 人會 回來加入遊艇會成爲學員。這不只對我們來說 令人鼓舞，而且對香港的航海運動來說也是如 此。航能的參與數字能達至 50 到 60 位航員。」

每 週 訓 練 營 中 使 用 的 小 艇 包 括 Optimists、Laser、Quest 和 Pico。而且 Allen yu 說道本會現有 82 艘小艇及 6 艘 J/80，都是 經常使用的。有 11 艘安全船和多用途的 43 英 尺雙體船 Hebe One 作後援及支持。

在過去的 20 年裏，遊艇會明智地投資於航海 中心，因爲它代表着本會中心興趣──航海運 動的未來。並且已經有了回報。

此中心在 Rob Allen 的力量和指引下，現已擁 有 9 名全職員工和 50 位優秀的兼職人員。一 支由年輕航員組成的精銳團隊——白沙灣龍 隊，讓遊艇會在全國和國際賽艇比賽中感到驕 傲。首席教練 Alfred Okoth 最近帶領由 6 名白 沙灣龍隊航員組成的隊伍參加了在英國南部 海岸的海陵島舉行的英國 Laser 全國大賽。其 中 1 名航員 14 歲的 Peter Jessop 在 48位參賽 者中獲得了第 5 名。

縱使回港時需要隔離，Okoth 和 8 名白沙灣龍 隊成員在撰寫本文的時候，正前往新加坡參加 2 項帆船賽和 1 個航海訓練營。

過去兩年半的Covid限制影響了小帆航行和夏 令營。白沙灣龍隊流失了超過 30% 的成員，但 他們正在積極地致力吸納新成員。「這促使航 海中心採取行動，這就是為何我們的航海學校 和學校假期營如此重要。我們亦已經看到了成 果，」Allen 說道。「招生區域為全港。我們甚至 有來自愉景灣的 150 名學生！」

航海中心一定是做對了！