Ustinov Travel Awards Conference Report 5

By Dori Gasparikova

Last year in June I attended a Learn to Sail course with the Durham University Sailing Club thanks to the Ustinov College Travel Award.

The course took place over two days, and it taught me the basic theory behind sailing, including sailing terms like the point of sail, starboard, port, and tack. Before heading onto the water, we were shown how to set up the sails and make sure the boat is secured.

We also practiced sailing manoeuvres on land and on the water. These included jibing and tacking. The sailing course took place at the Derwent Reservoir on a very nice sunny day and the wind was definitely working in our favour. One of the things I enjoyed the most about attending this course was learning how to read the wind, its direction, and strength to determine how to control the boat in the way I wanted to. My appreciation for the sport also grew, I love that sailing requires not only physical skills but also requires you to be in constant connection with the weather and the wind to ensure the best control. On the second day, our team managed to capsize so I also got to practice how to overturn a boat. The entire experience was great fun. In the end, I managed to earn my RYA (Royal Yachting Association) Level 1 Certificate and I’m excited about progressing to Level 2 sometime in the future!