Intrepid sailors prepare for £50,000 fundraising challenge, sponsored by Ramada Plaza Southport

A pair of sailors whose plans for an extreme nautical challenge were scuppered last year due to bad weather are preparing to try again, with backing from the Ramada Plaza Southport. The hotel is sponsoring former Southport man David Summerville and fellow sailor Steve Cockerill as they attempt to cross the Irish Sea in two single handed Laser class dinghies – which are only 4m in length each. The duo had planned to make the crossing last September, but 50 knot gale force winds and a 12 foot tidal swell sadly forced them to cancel their plans. Now, they will be attempting the challenge from mid-April, waiting for a window of good weather before they begin the voyage. Ramada Plaza General Manager Enda Rylands said: “David and Steve will be covering 115 nautical miles during the challenge. They will set off from my own home town of Dublin and finish in Southport, aiming to raise £50,000 for mental health charity Mind and the John Merricks Sailing Trust. “It was a real shame that they had to postpone the challenge last year, but they have had several months to ensure they are at the peak of physical fitness for the challenge, which is a really epic endeavour. “David actually learned to sail on the Marine Lake which the hotel overlooks - so it is very fitting that the Ramada Plaza should sponsor him in this challenge.” David, who grew up in Rawlinson Road and attended Christ the King Catholic High School in Stamford Road, is a championship sailor, winning regional and national titles in the UK and the Middle East. The 53-year-old grandfather of two explained that he was keen to raise money for Mind having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder 16 years ago. “Mind has really helped me control my condition,” he said. “A fellow sailor friend from Dublin has also lost two friends to mental illness, so together we formulated the idea to sail from Ireland to England in aid of Mind. “I have also been a supporter of the John Merricks Sailing Trust for a long time. It helps many young sailors and youth sailing organisations to achieve their goals and fulfil their dreams.” David, who now runs a boat repair business in Hertfordshire, said the date of the challenge would again depend on the weather and tidal conditions. “We will be fully prepared and ready to go from mid-April through to mid-September, which will give us a possible 65 days for the crossing over this five month period.” Enda added: “We wish David and Steve all the very best in their challenge and hope that the weather proves to be kind to them. We’d also urge as many people as possible to donate to the cause and raise thousands for Mind and the John Merricks Sailing Trust.”

Yacht Club Spotlight Erith Yacht Club

Sailing clubs awarded

SOMERSET Youth & Community Sailing Association (SYCSA) and Durleigh Sailing Club have gained full status as a clubs that delivers safe, efficient racing and race training. The clubs were awarded the Volvo Champion Club award at the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Dinghy Show at Alexandra Palace. The award was presented by Saskia Clarke and Hannah Mills from the women's Team GB Olympic 470 sailing team. SYCSA chairman Peter Branson said it had taken three years to achieve the award. He said: “We are so proud of all of our young sailors and volunteers who have helped us achieve full VCC status. “It has taken a while to get there, but now we are there we can savour the moment. We are sure that the publicity will attract more youngsters into sailing.”

Sailors To Attend World Record Regatta In Italy

The 30th Lake Garda Optimist Meeting in Italy runs from 5th – 8th April, and with the largest number of single-class boats in the world taking part, the event will be officially classified as a “Guinness World Record”. Over 1,100 Optimist sailors are already entered to race and e26 nations will be represented including Bermuda. Sailors are entered in the Juniors Fleet for kids aged 12-15 and the Cadetti for under 12 age group. 15 of the sailors have competed in Bermuda recently at the Ren Re Junior Gold Cup and the Bermuda National Championships. While the Bermuda Team of 5 older and more experienced Optimist sailors compete at the IODA South American Optimist Championships in Argentina, The Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association has encouraged the up and comming Development Squad sailors to attend the Lake Garda Regatta. Youngsters Campbell Patton (11) and Matilda Nicholls (10) are both Junior Squad Sailors from from the Royal Bermuda YC Sailing Academy and Junior Members of Sandys Boat Club. They will be travelling to Lake Garda in Italy to compete in this Guiness World Record Regatta over the Easter weekend. Campbell and Matilda have both won their classes at International Regattas in the past 12 months and have been training hard in the build-up to Lake Garda. Patton won his age group at the Canadian National Championships in August 2011, while Nicholls won the Regatta Racing Fleet at the UK National Championships in July 2012. Their Coach in Bermuda, the Director of Sailing at RBYC, Tom Herbert-Evans said “This is an huge undertaking by these youngsters, they will have an experience of a life-time to be sailing in a fleet rapidly approaching 1,000 boats. Here in Bermuda we think a Fleet of 20 boats is a good turnout, the Under 12 Fleet is ten times that amount…. just image the spectacle of racing against 1,000 boats!” Former Olympian and now Olympic Coach Zizi Staniul will assist the Bermuda sailors on the water in Italy, they will be joining his elite squad of Internatrional sailors from Germany, Poland and Switzerland. After 4 days of practice on Lake Garda just prior to the event, they will compete for 4 solid days against some of the world’s best Optimist sailors. Coach Zizi said “It is important that Bermuda’s talented sailors travel to larger overseas regattas to gain the all important big fleet experience. Development is all about focused practice and gaining experience, many of the World’s top Olympians regard Lake Garda as one of the best sailing venues in the World and the Fleets do not get any bigger than the Lake Garda world record breaking Optimist Regatta! Not only will it be good experience, it will also be very good practice for the 2013 Optimist World Championships at the same venue.”

Job Vacancy At ISAF - Connect to Sailing Administrator

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) is pleased to announce that the Training and Development Department is expanding and searching for a new staff member to work at the ISAF UK office in Southampton. This exciting opportunity to join the World Governing Body for the sport of Sailing has come about through the success of the ISAF Connect to Sailing Initiative and the successful applicant will be required to assist the Training and Development Manager with all areas of administrating the various innovative projects that are helping to grow participation in sailing within the 137 countries that make up the membership of the federation. For information on all Connect to Sailing related activity please visit the dedicated ISAF website pages here. Applicants are asked to provide a covering letter stating the reasons that they would be suitable for the job and what makes them suitable a role within International Sport. A Curriculum Vitae (CV) showing a full employment and formal education history as well as sports related qualifications that can add value to the role as outlined in the description provided on the ISAF website here should be attached to the covering letter. Deadlines for application are 31 April with candidates successfully chosen to come for a formal interview being informed at the beginning of May. If you think you have what it takes or know of someone that may fit the profile then please pass on this information and ask them to contact ISAF via the address provided on the Job Description.

Disabled sports group sails towards fund-raising target

A £500,000 boathouse for disabled sailors is nearing completion. Rudyard Lake-based Sailability needs to raise £90,000 to finish work on the long-awaited store. It will be a dream come true for the charity, which fought a long-running fight for planning permission for the boathouse. The building work has been done by volunteers, who overcame disabilities to help out. They formed a human chain to tile the roof with 14,000 Welsh slates. The scaffolding will come down after the finishing touches have been put to the exterior and a footpath will then be re-instated. Work started in October and the charity hopes it will open by May. Secretary Jackie Griffiths said: "It has been a triumph over adversity. "When we started, we needed just shy of £500,000, and now we are looking for the last £90,000. "We are so tantalisingly close. It is fantastic. We are so indebted to so many organisations and our hard working volunteers. "It has been very moving. In spite of some volunteers being disabled, they have braved the weather to keep the show moving. It has been amazing. "We are now looking forward to the day when it will be finished and we can once again offer gold standard sailing." Members missed out on sailing last year and several of them also saw their hopes of taking part in this year's Paralympics dashed. It came after the charity was refused permission for a temporary base on the lake, which is managed by Rudyard Lake Ltd.

learning to sail in Cornwall

With the Olympic Games appearing on the horizon, one of Britain's strongest medal hopes is triple gold-medal-winner Ben Ainslie, hailed as "Britain's greatest sailor since Nelson". I think of him as I make my way along the jetty in the bright Cornish sunshine, clad in thick waterproofs and a lifejacket, ready to embark on my RYA Start Sailing Level 1. Ainslie learned to sail here in Falmouth, while yards away is the dock where Dame Ellen MacArthur was greeted by thousands of people after breaking the solo round-the-world record in 2005. Years before her, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston also returned here to a hero's welcome. My friend Fiona and I may not incite such heady levels of excitement among Falmouth's locals as we take to the water, but we can dream. Majestic ships The sun is blinding and the air is crisp, while the wind is a steady force 4/5. We start with a classroom session on safety and the principles of sailing before being transported, along with our instructor Chris, to Goldie, moored on a nearby pontoon. Goldie is a keelboat – a 20ft keeled sailing boat, ideal for beginners because of its stability. We spend the first 30 minutes getting the feel of Goldie under motor, taking turns to manoeuvre it under the gaze of the majestic ships being repaired at Falmouth docks. Fiona and I master steering – or pushing the tiller the opposite way to the direction we want to go. Finally, we hoist the sails. With the mainsail and the jib (the foresail of the boat) raised, we switch the throaty motor off to be greeted by a welcome stillness. The sails catch the wind, snapping and cracking before filling and propelling us along, silently. Falmouth unfolds in front of us, sprawled along the coastline. High on the hill is the prepossessing Observatory Tower – our home for our stay and the town's highest point. Behind us, the Carrick Roads waterway reaches the open sea. The first lesson is tacking: turning the bow of the boat through the wind to alter its course. I am at the helm and I call: "Ready about," as instructed, which prompts Chris and Fiona to take up position on the jib sheets (the ropes attached to either side of the jib). I shout: "Lee ho," push the tiller away and Goldie's nose turns through the wind. We duck, in readiness for the boom swinging overhead. Fiona releases the jib sheet and Chris hauls his sheet in on the other side. There is something very therapeutic about this. We happily tack all morning, swapping roles and barely noticing the sky growing ominously black. Before lunch we are pelted by a short, sharp hailstorm, but it fails to dampen our enthusiasm. After warming up with a welcome Cornish pasty, we tackle the art of gybing – turning the stern through the wind to change course. Chris teaches us to bring in the main sheet and, heads down, we complete a gybe. We continue to tack and gybe our way around a series of buoys under a brooding sky, but, as we head towards Trefusis Point, a squally wind hits us, heeling the boat over sharply and propelling Chris and Fiona across the deck. Fiona's look of horror subsides as Chris adjusts the main sheet and Goldie returns to a more pleasing angle. Buzzing, we return to the pontoon and learn how to secure Goldie for the night. Panoramic views As for us weary sailors, we seek respite in Falmouth's five-storey Observatory Tower, an incredible former meteorological tower built in 1868. It has been recently refurbished as a self-catering property, with wooden floors, nautical lights, reclaimed fittings, funky weather instruments and a lavish wet room and bathroom. But the icing on the cake is the fifth-floor lounge, with its panoramic views over Falmouth, taking in the seas we have sailed – and miles beyond. We feed our raging appetites with a tasty fish-and-chip supper from nearby Harbour Lights. We eat, drink and watch, mesmerised, as the port is transformed into a mass of twinkling lights. Stunning morning Rejuvenated, and buoyed by another stunning morning (not to mention homemade porridge cooked on the sleek Neff hob), day two has us practising our tacking and gybing. After a couple of hours, we head to nearby St Mawes, rounding its handsome castle 45 minutes later to carefully manoeuvre Goldie alongside a buoy. On land, we sit outside the Rising Sun pub supping hot soup, our cheeks glowing. We sail back to Falmouth, the impressive form of Pendennis Castle welcoming us home as we glide past. Right on cue, a rainbow appears. It is not quite what Ellen MacArthur must have felt on her return, but it must be close.

Sailing Club Spotlight Thorpe Bay Yacht Club

Hobie 18 going 20 MPH

Australian Sailing Team looks to London and beyond

Defending world champions, returning Olympic Gold medallists and stars for the future have all been named in the 2012 Australian Sailing Team, racing against the best sailors in the world in the coming year. While the focus is firmly on the year’s two major events, the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Australian Sailing Team athletes will compete at world championships, European championships and ISAF Sailing World Cup events around the world. The 2012 Australian Sailing Team features 20 athletes competing in eight Olympic and two Paralympic classes, with the European season beginning this week with sailors competing in the RS:X World and Finn European Championships. Included in the Australian Sailing Team are the six athletes who have already booked themselves a seat on the plane for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Triple Laser world champion and current world number one, Tom Slingsby, will continue his campaign towards the Games having most recently stood on the top step of the podium at the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships last December. Slingsby will be joined in the team by fellow world number ones and 2011 world champions, Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page. Belcher and Page have kicked off their year in style, winning the recent ISAF Sailing World Cup round in Miami, the first time an Australian crew has won an Olympic class at the event in its 22 year history. The 49er crew of Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen round out the current Australian world champions, with the pair picking up their second title together, and Outteridge’s third, in Western Australia just before Christmas. They will be keen to continue a great run in Weymouth, once the Games comes around, having been undefeated in the four regattas they have contested there so far. Jessica Crisp is the final sailor who is already confirmed for London 2012. The windsurfer to contest her fourth straight Olympic Games and her year begins with the 2012 RS:X World Championship in Spain this week. Yachting Australia High Performance Director, Peter Conde, said that after a very successful 2011, the Australian Sailing Team will be out to push both themselves and the competition over the coming year. “With the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games just around the corner, attention is firmly focused on Weymouth, but for the Australian Sailing Team, every regatta they contest is an important opportunity to monitor their progress,” Conde commented. “This year there is a good mix of youth and experience with Olympic gold medallists and world champions combined with up-and-coming champions and I’m looking forward to what will be a busy year on and off the water.” This year, 470 Women's team Elise Rechichi and Belinda Stowell, are both returning to the team, with Rechichi back for the first time since 2009 and Stowell since 2004. The pair, who teamed up just prior to the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships, qualified for the team following their ninth place finish on home waters. Rechichi and Stowell, gold medallists in 2008 and 2000 respectively, are busy preparing for their first European campaign together as they work towards booking themselves a place on the team for London 2012. The Australian Sailing Team will feature Women’s Match Racing crew - Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty - continuing towards representing Australia at the one and only Women’s Match Racing appearance at the Olympic Games. Getting off to a strong start with a silver medal at the Sailing World Cup in Miami, 2012 is another busy year ahead for the trio. Krystal Weir qualified Australia in the Laser Radial class and aims to get herself to a second straight Olympic Games after competing in the three-person Yngling class in 2008. Australia has great depth in the Laser class, with three sailors in the team for 2012. While Tom Slingsby continues to hold down the world number one spot he’ll be racing with two team mates this year, with Tom Burton and Ashley Brunning also joining the Australian Sailing Team. This will be Burton’s second year in the team after debuting in 2011, with the Sydney based sailor qualifying for 2012 with his top 10 finish in Perth. He’ll be joined in the Laser class by Brunning who is making his debut in team after a great finish to 2011. Brunning finished seventh at Perth 2011, his best ever result at a Laser world championship after being in the mix all regatta. Two Paralympic crews have qualified for the 2012 Australian Sailing Team after having strong performances at January’s IFDS World Championships in Florida. Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch continue to develop as a crew in the Skud 18 class, winning Bronze at the IFDS Worlds, their second straight third place finish at the event. The pair then went on to win Gold a week later at the Sailing World Cup in Miami. A new addition to the team this year is the Sonar crew of Colin Harrison, Stephen Churm and Jonathan Harris, who finished fourth at the IFDS World Championships, an impressive result in their first ever regatta together. Harrison is no stranger to the team, having won Silver at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games and will be keen to take a new crew to the podium in London.

Hunter's Yard cabin yachts sail into 80th year on Norfolk Broads

In the past few days the "lovely ladies" of Hunter's Yard, as they are affectionately known, have slipped back into the water of the Norfolk Broads - ready to embrace another season of visitors looking to adventure on the Broads in the style of a bygone era. Celebrating their 80th anniversary, the boats are the only fleet of traditional Norfolk Broads mahogany cabin yachts and day boats powered by sail alone still operating on the Broads. Cared for by the Norfolk Heritage Fleet Trust, the 20-strong fleet is lavished with attention during the winter months by a small group of dedicated craftsmen at Hunter's Yard, based on its own dyke off Womack Water near Ludham. Continue reading the main story History of Hunter's Yard Percy Hunter, with his two sons Cyril and Stanley, designed, built and launched the first two cabin yachts of the fleet in 1932. The fleet grew before the outbreak of war, with the last two boats completed in the late 1940s. The Hunter family operated the yard until 1968 when it was sold to the Norfolk County Council and renamed the Norfolk County Sailing Base. In a need to make savings, the council decided to sell the yard in 1995 and break up the fleet, but a group of people agreed to form a trust to keep the fleet intact. On 1 April 1996 the Norfolk Heritage Fleet Trust took over the yard, thanks to £100,000 of public donations and a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £200,000. It re-established its original name, Hunter's Yard. As spring arrives, so does the delicate job of coaxing the "ladies" from the warmth of the boat shed back into the water via a wooden slip so they can be rigged and ready for Easter. 'It's magic' Jennifer Mack, granddaughter of the yard's founder Percy Hunter, has watched the annual launches since the mid-1940s. She said: "Every time I come in the spring and see the boats launching it's magic. Gleaming varnish, the wake-up of a new season and the start of another flourishing year - with luck, it's very special. "During the season I remember my father [Cyril Hunter] was always a bit worried when the boats were due back in case they were damaged. "If they were he'd often rush home and borrow my hair dryer so he could repair them, dry off the varnish, and get them back out as quickly as possible. At this time of year, all those memories come flooding back to me." Lifetime experience Little has changed in the boat shed since it was built by Percy Hunter & Sons in 1933. A heady aroma of sawdust and varnish hangs in the air as if suspended in time, the walls are densely packed with rigging, blocks and tackle - all lovingly hand-crafted and labelled with old-school brown swing tags showing the name of the boats to which they will be fitted for the new season. Looking after the fleet has "been a lifetime" for Tom Grapes, 82 Tom Grapes, 82, started working in the yard in 1947 after serving with the Royal Marines. He retired a couple of years ago but still spends many happy hours at the yard surrounded by a lifetime of memories of Percy Hunter's "lovely ladies". "I worked with them for so long over the years, it was just a way of life - the years just rolled by. No sooner are you pulling them out at the end of the season, you're getting them all refitted and back in at spring," he said. "With these boats you just fall in love with them and that's it - you try to look after them the best you can. When Percy Hunter designed them he so got it right. You can sail one up the river and they'll spin round on the spot. "I worked 21 years for Percy, he used to be in the top of the shed with his old pipe going - always surrounded by a cloud of smoke. He was a real gentleman to work for. "It's been quite an experience looking after the fleet, it's been a lifetime." 'Overwhelmed and humbled' Jennifer Mack with her father Cyril Hunter (left) and grandfather Percy Hunter at Hunter's Yard in 1947 With plans to expanded private moorings at Hunter's Yard to help generate income, the running of courses in keel boat sailing and the ongoing hire business, Jennifer Mack is confident the family fleet will be navigating the tranquil waters of the Broads for years to come. "We have this niche market that's amazingly good. They [the clients] can't have a motor and don't have electricity, so it's gets them away from the hustle and bustle of the everyday world. If we can still appeal to them it'll be the best way to go forward. "Most of the time when I come here I ask myself what would Percy, my father and uncle think about everything. "I think they'd think like I do - absolutely overwhelmed and humbled by the massive support we've received."

Sailing Club Spotlight Reading Sailing Club

New 5 Series Brands Next Generation of Catalina Sailing Yachts

Catalina’s new designs, coined the Catalina 5 Series, is the new generation of Catalinas, a deliberate move to brand the line to a higher level of performance, finish, engineering achievement and sophistication. There are currently four models in the Catalina 5 Series, the Catalina 445, 385, 355 and 315 ­– cruising yachts that are designed and built in the United States with custom features not found on many of the world’s sailboats. The move created mass appeal in the global sailing marketplace. “When the first two yachts in the 5 Series, the 445 and 355 won awards, we knew that we had designed not just two new models in the line, but a whole new line of yachts with award-winning features that represent Catalina’s next generation of fresh, contemporary yachts,” reported Gerry Douglas, vice-president and chief designer for Catalina. In the new 5 Series, there is a bold emphasis on strength; a five-part construction with a dedicated structural grid insures ruggedly-built boats that stand up to the test of time. Design features unique to Catalinas are a watertight StrikeZone™ collision bulkhead forward; DeepDefense™ rudder system for failsafe steering, and a T-Beam MastStep™ structure, with all the benefits of a deck-stepped mast and the strength of a keel-stepped mast. The SecureSocket™ mast support/chainplate system facilitates perfect load resolution and watertight integrity. Knitted fabrics create a stronger laminate without additional weight. Catalina’s trademark lead keels absorb impact for safety and require less maintenance than other materials. “When we bought our boat, we found that we got more boat for the money than any of the other manufacturers we looked at,” reported Alan Valliere of Coventry, Rhode Island, who, along with his wife, Glenda Aronhalt, bought a 5 Series boat, the Catalina 385. “The more we looked, the more we liked it. Solidly built, smartly designed and functional, but with the rich, traditional style. Every time we looked at it, we found one more little detail that we thought made sense, from the deck layout, storage areas, mechanical and electrical systems and layout, to the large roomy cockpit, big enough for me to sleep in during overnight sails. We were impressed with how solid and strong the boat feels when walking around, as well as details like the metal doorframes and solid wood interior,” he said. On deck, low profile cabin designs have a sleek appearance and low windage, and a durable diamond non-skid pattern adds the element of safety. Ergonomically correct cockpits are optimized for efficiency, with great visibility from the helm. Internal flange hull-to-deck joints are capped with slotted toe rails, and wide deck designs allow effortless movement forward. Oversized travelers and winches ease sail handling in all conditions. All Catalinas larger than 30 feet are built to robust standards—rated CE category A Ocean, NMMA Yacht Certified, and follow all applicable American Boat and Yacht Council Standards. Catalina’s philosophy is straightforward: Design boats that stand up to real world conditions and sail well. They must be comfortable above and below, easy to maintain and hold their value. A commitment to owner satisfaction has enhanced customer confidence and loyalty, so that Catalina has become one of the most prominent builders of sailboats in the United States and the world. For more information, visit www.catalinayachts.com.