IT was love at first sight for a number of Bermuda's single-handed sailors over Valentine's Day weekend.

The object of their affection? Norwegian Tine Moberg-Parker.

But that love was more attuned to what the Norwegian could teach them. For Moberg-Parker is one of the world's top sailing coaches and she put her charges through two intensive clinics.

A very accomplished Europe Dinghy sailor, Moberg-Parker was World Champion in 1991 and represented Canada in the 1996 Olympics. She was also selected as Female Sailor of The Year in both Norway (1991) and Canada (1994) - her home since the late '80s. Her achievements as a coach are equally impressive.

She has been the Canadian National Team Coach since 1999, and last year at the ISAF Youth Worlds, she led Canada to a first place finish in the Byte (female single-handed event) and a fourth place finish in the Laser (male single-handed event).

The clinics were run by the Byte Class of Bermuda, and working initially from the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club.

Moberg-Parker kicked off her visit with a one and half day clinic with a keen group of 10 of Bermuda's youngest skippers from the Optimist Green fleet. In very strong winds in Hamilton Harbour, these rookie racers, amongst other things, mastered the S-gybe giving them confidence in one of the toughest dinghy maneuvers. Coach Moberg-Parker then moved out to Sandys Boat Club in Mangrove Bay for a four-day clinic for both youth and adults sailing the Byte or Laser dinghy.

Although clinic organiser, Mike Wicks, has been trying to bring Moberg-Parker to Bermuda for several years, she is no stranger to local sailors. Bermuda Olympic hopeful, Zander Kirkland, benefited from her coaching when preparing for an Optimist Worlds competition several years ago. And as recently as last year, Bermuda's top youth Laser skipper, Ben Wicks, joined her Canadian Youth Worlds single-handed team as he prepared for the 2002 ISAF Youth Worlds.

Training on the waters of the Great Sound for four days, the Bytes and Lasers represented a very broad cross-section of Bermuda's hardcore dinghy sailors. Among the youth, were two Byte sailors, Rajae Woods, BTC Mobility's sponsored youth sailor, Geoffrey Smith, Bermuda's top junior triathlete and Katrina Williams, Bermuda's first female youth sailor to come along in a number of years, who was training in the Radial.

The timing of this clinic was also excellent for Ben Wicks as he prepares for the 2003 Laser Mid Winters East Regatta next week in Clearwater, Florida, where he will be contending with fellow Bermudians, Zander Kirkland and Brett Wright, for the honour of representing Bermuda at this year's Pan Am Games. The adults in the clinc included founding Byte members, Pat Humphrey, Lisa Spurling and Dick Tulloch, as well as Laser regulars, Mike Cameron, Jay Riihiluoma and Martin Vezina who will also be in Clearwater, along with Malcolm Smith, in early March, for the 2003 Sunfish Mid Winters.

Winds were light for this group's first two days, conditions which Moberg-Parker believes are ideal for perfecting technique. Countless tacks and gibes on the whistle together with drills forcing the skippers to hold their position on the start line for long minutes all led up to, on Sunday afternoon, a three-hour round trip to the North Channel. Running downwind back to Mangrove Bay, sailors had to control their boats, not with their tiller and rudders, but only with mainsheet play and body movement in the boat.

Day Three of the clinic was wild. All sailors, regardless of ability, were pushed to the end of their physical limits after four hours of grinding upwind and surfing downwind in three-foot seas off of Dockyard whipped to a frenzy in 20-25 knot southeasterly breezes. The final day of the clinic, in 30 knot gusts, the group spent the morning in sheltered waters working on starting tactics followed by another pounding in the waters of the Great Sound.

Clinic organiser, Mike Wicks said: "Beat, bruised and brain-dead from an intense four days, most of the sailors felt that this was our best clinic ever. Coach Moberg-Parker was also very impressed with Bermuda's sailors."

She said: "As a coach it was fun and encouraging for me to see just how much all the sailors wanted to learn regardless of whether they were 15 or 50 knot winds. They never gave up and always wanted to spend more time on the water. It is hard to find sailors who so loved what they were doing and were so enthusiastic and worked so hard to improve, not afraid to try new things."

Coach Moberg-Parker now has a brief stop back home in Vancouver before she takes the Canadian team of 16 youths to the Laser Midwinters.