I wasn’t looking forward to the winter months – it’s a long time without Sailing, but now Christmas has come and gone, the season isn’t far away.

OnBoard and Race Club officially start on the 5th February but during the winter I was lucky enough to secure an interview at the Sailing Academy itself.

I was being interviewed to be one of the 25 volunteers that are needed to assist with events over the course of 2011.

At 14, I was the youngest applicant but I didn’t let that put me off. I love being down at the academy whether it be sailing or instructing and I am a huge fan of 2012, so applying seemed the way forward.

When I arrived at the Academy I was met and interviewed by Georgie and James. I had met and worked with Georgie before but I still had to convince them both that I was worth taking on as a volunteer.

We chatted about what I had done and the courses I had taken, and also about my commitment to volunteering. I was ecstatic when, at the end of the session, they said they were please to invite me onto the team.

I was so excited but I didn’t feel that jumping up and down with delight in an interview was relevant so I shook their hands and said ‘goodbye’.

Once out of the door, I donned a huge smile – some would say silly grin – and went home to wait for the all important confirmation email.

As a volunteer, I will have varied duties, many of which will become clear over the coming weeks but first I have to undertake a couple of courses to get me up to speed.

The first is the RYA Club Race Officers Course.

This will teach me some of the important rules of racing.

The second, which I am really looking forward to, is the Power Boat 2 course. Here I will be shown how to handle and drive the RiB correctly and safely.

I have driven the RiB and crewed on it several times, always under strict supervision but I am pleased to be doing the course to further my knowledge and ensure the correct handling of the boat.

I’ll let you know how I get on but at the moment it is safe to say that the New Year is looking good!

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