Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series - Gearing up for the King George Gallop

 

With support and prizes up for grabs from Magic Marine, the King George Gallop looks set for light airs in North London this Saturday.

The King George Gallop follows in quick succession from last weekend's GJW Direct Bloody Mary, as sailors continue to turn out in force for events in the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series. Last year three trapeze boats took the top three spots at King George Reservoir in North London, with Ben McGrane and James Ross sailing their Osprey to the narrowest of victories.

As we saw last Saturday with the success of the Pank family in their Firefly, the predominantly light airs of the 2024/25 winter are working to the benefit of the slower handicap boats.

Enter at  :- www.sailjuiceseries.com

Merlin Rocket Class Training is back for 2025

 

The Merlin Rocket class is running training on the 1st and 2nd March at Hayling Island Sailing Club. Open to all Merlin Rocket Owners' Association members, it is a great start to the season. Whether you are just starting out on your Merlin sailing journey or looking to learn some new skills to improve your results there is something for everyone.

Training  gives you access to all those Merlin sailors who know everything. You can talk to them anytime but at a training weekend we are giving exclusive access to let you ask them anything. I'm always up for new thinking but most of these guys have tried it.

The Merlin class is passionate about helping everyone learn. We have some of the best sailors in the country on our circuit, but we are well aware that without every part of the fleet there isn't much of a class. We are aiming the training at the middle of our gold fleet all the way to every bronze sailor. The plan is to do everything from rig set up to racing skills. It is piecing all the little things together that will make that difference when you hit the first open meeting a few weeks later.

We've all taken part in Merlin training over the years, and we know that this weekend will kick start your season.

Spaces are limited to 18, MROA Members please book here  : - portal.merlinrocket.co.uk

SWYSA Youth Winter Training at Paignton Sailing Club

 

Paignton Sailing Club hosted a fabulous weekend of South West Youth Sailing Academy (SWYSA) Winter Race Coaching over Sat 11th to Sun 12th Jan. Conditions were cold but clear, with a perfect 8-15 knots of winds.

The Topper Fleet were first out on Saturday coached by Stuart Jones and Duncan West. The training focussed on hovering, and the delicate art of sailing backwards. Sunday saw the turn of the Fevas and Lasers.

Teddy Denn and Jim Rosser coached a strong showing of sailors in the Feva fleet, consolidating skills they have built up during the previous three Winter series sessions.

Duncan West and Hazel McDonnell coached the more senior ILCA fleet in trigger pulls and stop tacks. All sailors enjoyed a pasta lunch prepared by volunteers from hosts Paignton Sailing Club.

SWYSA Winter Race Coaching sessions across all fleets aim to be fun, friendly and inclusive - it has been most rewarding to see these young sailors meeting up and developing their friendships as the season has gone on.

Thanks to all of the coaches, the parent volunteers who helped organise and who were on the water in safety boats and coach boats. A huge thank you to Paignton Sailing Club for hosting such a great event, and making everybody feel so welcome.

The next SWYSA Winter Race Coaching event is on the weekend of 15th to 16th Feb, again hosted by Paignton Sailing Club.

Paignton Sailing Club :- www.paigntonsailingclub.co.uk

SWYSA on Facebook. :- www.facebook.com/swyouthsailing

Why you should buy an RS600 in 2025!

Autism On The Water joins Cowes Week as one of the Official Charities

 

Cowes Week Limited has welcomed Autism on the Water as one of the Official Charities for the 2025 edition of the Regatta. They will be joining the RNLI who became an official charity partner in 2024.

Founded in 2016, Autism on the Water (AOTW) is a charity with locations in Scotland and the South Coast of England. AOTW is the only known charity in the UK that provides sailing and motorboating opportunities to people of all ages on the autistic spectrum plus their families to experience a potentially life-changing experience in a safe, fun and stress-free environment.

AOTW have been regular competitors at the regatta in recent years and will be racing their Impala 28 with guests and crew throughout the week in 2025. Shoreside activities are also planned, and more details will be available closer to the regatta.

Round Iceland Race '25 Date Change

 

The Round Iceland Race 2025

The Round Iceland Race 25 will now take place on Sunday 1st June 2025, and not as previously advertised as 31st August. This is due to continued monitoring of conditions particularly around the Northern coast of Iceland.

International entries continue to be received, and we are soon to reach double figures for what must be the most challenging 2000-mile offshore yacht race there are on the planet. We have entries who are using this for their qualifying miles for the World Star '26 as well as those who simply want the ultimate challenge within the northern hemisphere.

The Round Iceland Race (RIR) will be in its second edition and will start from Plymouth Sound National Marine Park. The course, quite simply, is to leave the Eddystone Lighthouse to Starboard, Iceland to Starboard and finish on the Royal Western Yacht Club line.

This ORC Cat 1 race will be open to solo, double handed and fully crewed yachts. Classes will be open to multi and monohulls from 27ft to 65ft. IRC, MOCRA and non-rated yachts may enter, along with Open60's pre 2007 and Open40's who will be offered their own class.

The notice of race amendment has been posted along with date changes for all specific qualifying criteria.

For more information on the Round Iceland Race and to enter please go to :-

 www.rwyc.org/round-iceland-challenge

SailGP Auckland New Zealand 2025 - update 10.

Charlie Dalin on MACIF Santé Prévoyance smashes the Vendée Globe record!

Northern Winter Single-Handed Open Race Coaching Series at West Riding Sailing Club

 

After Christmas, it's time to hoist your sails and join the Northern Winter Single-Handed Open Race Coaching Series. Whether you're looking to trim your skills or plot a better course for race success, we've got you covered.

Head coach Dom Barnes, along with Jack Hopkins and an experienced crew of coaches, will help you navigate the finer points of single-handed sailing and racing tactics.

These coaching event dates are open to ALL sailors from around the region.

Dates and Locations:

18th January - Ripon SC

1st February - Ripon SC

15th February - West Riding SC

8th March - Delph SC

22nd March - Pennine SC

29th March - Pennine SC (Note: changed date)

Cost: £45 per day

West Riding Sailing Club is proud to be hosting the Northern Winter Single-Handed Open Race Coaching Series on the 15th February 2025.

For more information or if you have any questions about the Northern Winter Single-Handed Open Race Coaching 2025 event at WRSC email Mark Robinson :-

 mar02@hotmail.co.uk

For any general information or enquiries about all Northern Winter Single-Handed Open Race Coaching Series 2025 events visit :- www.facebook.com/DomBarnesCoaching

Don't get caught in irons, book now!

To book for any of the Northern Winter Single-Handed Open Race Coaching 2025 Series dates including the WRSC Coaching date head over to the bookings page at WRSC :-

 www.wrsc.org.uk/wrsc-members-page

RS200 Scottish Tryhard at North Berwick

 

The weather was crisp for the first Tryhard of 2025 and fourteen RS200s descended on North Berwick. We were greeted by current national champion Ben Whaley and 10-15kts of breeze. We discussed rig setup and techniques before heading onto the water for some warm up races and blasted the cobwebs away.

After a quick lunch we went back onto the water for some longer tuning runs in marginal planning conditions looking at kicker tensions and body placements downwind. Upwind we discussed sail shapes and rig settings particularly the influence of spreader deflections on the leach profile. Coming back in, Ben showed videos from on the water which crystalised some of the concepts from on the water.

Sunday the wind was up and the waves were punchy making tough conditions for the fleet. Brendan and Ellen narrowly won the first race just ahead of Roo and Morven in the class's newly refurbished demo boat courtesy of Eyemouth Marine. He managed to get them back in race 2 flipping the tables on Brellen. In race 3 Ben's hours of tuning paid off with James and Isobel managing to grab the bullet in their New (to them) boat.

Overall consistency paid in the end for newcomers to the fleet Niamh Harper and Hamish Taylor grabbing 3rd spot at their first RS200 event (in a long time) they will be ones to watch. After the racing Hamish said, "Wow that's the best sailing I've done in my life I need to buy my own boat, you try and stop me!". Just ahead of them was Roo and Morven with Brendan and Ellen stealing the overall win.

A massive thanks goes out to ELYC for hosting the event and all the volunteers who made it possible, as well as the RS Class Association for the Coaching grant. Also Ben for his fascinating insights into the boat and Eyemouth marine for their support of the class. Hope to see everyone at the next event - 15/16 Feb at Helensburgh!

UK team clinches inaugural Macao Match Cup at international regatta

 

British sailor Ian Williams has led his Pindar by Manuport Logistics team to victory in the inaugural Macao Match Cup – the marquee race of the 2025 MGM Macao International Regatta, which concluded yesterday.

This Macao Match Cup is the opening competition of the 2025 World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) season and saw 12 top international teams from the United States, Italy, New Zealand, France, the United Kingdom, Australia and Sweden vie for the silverware.

A New Zealand team led by Nick Egnot-Johnson came in second, with the USA’s Chris Poole and his crew in third.

See why small yachts rule! This British boat is packed with good ideas...

GJW Direct Bloody Mary 2025