Sailing the Rebel dinghy - a potential Olympic skiff 2016

Preparing for heavy sailing weather before it arrives!

Safety and preparation go hand-in-hand for heavy weather. Crew, topsides, and below decks need to be readied if you suspect a blow in the offing. Even if it never develops, you will have the peace-of-mind that you, your crew and small sailboat are well prepared for what may come your way. John Jamieson (Captain John) here offers some salient advice: Crew Safety ~ Take Care of Your Sailing Crew Why place sailing crew first? Your crew represents the most important element in successful sailing. Heavy weather sailing--in particular in cool or cold weather--can take a toll on crew. Take care of yourself and your crew first, whether there is only one or a full crew. Count on the fact that most sailing crew shy away from discussions of sea sickness, fatigue, aches and pains, etc. Take the lead and suggest that all crew begin sea sick medication, rest, and hydration at least 48 hours before a trip. This will help control sea sickness and fatigue. If sailing in cold weather, make sure that crew have adequate outerwear. Be alert for the first sign of hypothermia--shivering. Rotate watches at a more frequent interval to keep your crew rested and warm. If sailing in warmer weather, make hourly hydration your priority. Encourage your crew to drink water or one of the popular electrolyte replacement beverages (Emergen-C, Gatorade) to keep hydrated. Deck Topsides Safety ~ Clear, Lash, and Coil: Think of anything in the open of a sailboat as topsides. If you climb from the cabin to the cockpit, you are 'going topsides'. Clean decks make for safer sailing. Matter of fact, a quick study of sailboat racing disasters shows this one factor again and again. Those boats that had clean, clear decks sustained less damage, less injuries, and less rescues! Keep the bow and side decks free of debris or sailing gear and fenders. After each tack or reach or trim, insist that lines be coiled. This needn't be anything fancier than a simple stack of bights. Mainsheet and Genoa sheets need to be ready to run, free of kinks and snarls. Use extra lashings on liferaft canisters. Check the lashings on flaked headsails stopped off along the toerail or lifelines. Double check lifeline end points (cotters, rings, pelican hooks). Tape over pelican hook bales. Turn cowl vents around so that the open vent faces aft. This will keep the cowl from blowing out of the mount in gusts or waves that break aboard. Below Decks Safety ~ Lash and Stow Below Stuff lockers that you suspect have loose gear with towels, pieces of foam, or rags. These will keep small containers or silverware from rolling about. Double check that locker hasps, latches, and dogs are closed and anchored. Stow any loose gear with bungee cord or line to prevent 'missile hazards' (flying objects that can cause injury or damage when the boat takes an unexpected roll).

Extreme Sailing Series - 2012 highlights

winter sailing escapade

Scottish Challengers Review of 2012

Sailing Club Spotlight Salcombe Sailing Club

Sailing Club Spotlight Channel sailing Club

A sailing club has raised money to help train sea rescue volunteers. Channel Sailing Club presented £1,300 to the Solent Sea Rescue Organisation(SSRO) this week to support its work to stop people dying at sea. Members, who meet weekly at Epsom Sports Club, often go sailing in the Solent between the mainland and Isle of Wight. The club’s Commodore Diana Coman said: "Our members spend a lot of time sailing in the Solent, and if any of us get into difficulty, it is likely that one of the local rescue services will be called out. “We just wanted to support and important volunteer service." Over the past two years Channel Sailing Club has held raffles, cake sales and other events to raise money for its Commodore's Charity, which donated to SSRO.

Sailing Club Spotlight Porthpean Sailing club

THE 2012 season may have drawn to a close on one of the stormiest weekends in recent years, but Porthpean Sailing Club are already looking forward to next year's action – and you could be a part of it. There are fewer better sights than that of a fleet sailing across the coast line on a Sunday afternoon. But as pleasurable as it is watching from a distance, Porthpean is encouraging more sailors, with or without experience, to join this friendly, family club. Boasting around 80 members, from aged seven upwards, the club is hoping to attract more members before sailing starts again in March next year. In the meantime, the club hosts social evenings every Wednesday (from 7.30pm) from its clubhouse. Those interested in sailing are more than welcome to attend. The club's press officer, Chris Hazell, who regularly joins in on the sailing action, would like to see more people getting involved. He said: "Our objective is to raise awareness, and to encourage new members, both with and without their own boats. "We have people of all ages, anybody can give it a go, whether they've sailed before or not, it's really easy to get involved. "We'd especially like to hear from youngsters, at the base of the pyramid, and the future of the club." During the season the club hosts three races a week, regularly attracting more than 20 boats. The club class is now the tasar, an exciting, and very fast boat to sail. For those who wish to sail something different (including one or two Scorpions), there is a handicap fleet, where race times are adjusted to allow for the varying speeds of the different boats. The club has hosted National Championships, and has run 21 successful events, and one World Championships. This year the Tasar National Championships were held at Porthpean Sailing Club, with around 30 of the UK's best tasar crews in action. And as well as bringing the country's most talented sailors to the county, there are also the economic benefits. Hazell said: "When the Nationals take place we bring a lot of business to the county, which can only be a good thing." Next year, the club could well boast two world champions, when husband and wife tasar team Jeremy and Susan Hawkins compete in the World Championships in North America. Hazell said: "I really think they have a very good chance of winning, which would just be fantastic for the club." For more details on Porthpean Sailing Club visit their official website, www.porthpeansc.co.uk

Prout 45 catamaran

Bavaria Cruiser 36

.Red Bull Youth America's Cup Sailors Learn the Ropes with ORACLE TEAM USA

Ainslie retires from Olympic sailing

His spot in Olympic sailing history secure, Ben Ainslie will now try to become the first Englishman to hoist the America’s Cup in victory. That would be one silver trophy he’d be eager to achieve. The four-time gold medalist announced his retirement from Olympic sailing early Tuesday, saying it was time to move on to the challenge of trying to end Britain’s long drought in the competition for the oldest trophy in international sports, the America’s Cup. Ainslie’s decision wasn’t a surprise. While he said he wanted to take some time after winning the gold medal in the Finn class at the London Olympics, he’s already sailed in two America’s Cup World Series regattas with his Ben Ainslie Racing team, finishing second in one of them. The 35-year-old Ainslie became the most successful Olympic sailor ever when he won his fourth straight gold medal at Weymouth in August. He also won a silver medal at Atlanta in 1996 in his first Olympics. “When I look back there are so many special memories; from that first medal in Atlanta 16 years ago to carrying the flag at the closing ceremony in London 2012,” Ainslie said in a statement. “London was an incredibly special Olympics, competing on home waters and in front of a home crowd, I don’t think anything will be able to top that experience. But you have to move forward and it is time to move onto the next challenge in my career.” Ainslie was so successful as an Olympian that he was called Britain’s greatest sailor since Admiral Lord Nelson, who was killed while leading his fleet to victory over the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar. A statue of Nelson rises high above London’s Trafalgar Square. Ainslie, known for an intense focus and work ethic, felt that comparison was hype. “I didn’t rescue the nation from the depths of Napoleon Bonaparte,” Ainslie said after winning his final Olympic gold. “You do the best you can do in your style of racing.” Ainslie was 19 when he took silver in the 1996 Olympics in a bitter loss to Brazil’s Robert Scheidt in the Laser class. Scheidt induced Ainslie into a penalty at the start of the final race and then sailed to gold. It was the last time Ainslie didn’t stand atop the medals podium. Four years later, Ainslie expertly exacted his revenge on Sydney Harbor to beat Scheidt for the gold. After moving up to the heavyweight Finn class, Ainslie had another remarkable performance at Athens in 2004. Disqualified from his second-place finish in the second race due to a protest by a French sailor, the British star fought back from 19th overall to win the gold. Now his racing shifts to bigger, faster boats. He’ll skipper his 45-foot wing-sailed catamaran in the remaining regattas in the America’s Cup World Series and then will sail with defending America’s Cup champion Oracle Racing in the 34th America’s Cup on San Francisco Bay in 2013. It’s expected that he’ll helm one of Oracle’s two 72-foot catamarans in the buildup to the America’s Cup match. Oracle suffered a setback when its first 72-foot catamaran capsized on San Francisco Bay in mid-October, destroying its giant wing sail. Oracle’s second 72-foot cat is under construction. Ainslie’s goal is to then launch a British challenge for the 35th America’s Cup. Great Britain has never won the America’s Cup, which began in 1851 when the schooner America beat a fleet of British ships around the Isle of Wight. Ainslie lives in Lymington, across the Solent from the Isle of Wight. “The America’s Cup has always been a goal for me,” Ainslie said. “With the new format of the America’s Cup World Series and the increased commercialization of the event, I feel confident that we can continue to build toward creating a commercially viable team, with the ultimate goal of challenging for the 35th America’s Cup.” John Derbyshire, performance director of the Royal Yachting Association, said Ainslie “has nothing left to prove in Olympic terms and there can be no question that he’s more than achieved his first goal. It’s therefore entirely understandable that he should now want to turn his attentions to the second, and hopefully lead a British team to win the oldest trophy in sport for the very first time.”

Ellen MacArthur sailing charity to open Scottish hub

DAME Ellen MacArthur will soon set sail around the Scots coast – with a group of brave youngsters. The group will be ­celebrating the new Ellen MacArthur Trust hub in Largs, Ayrshire. Ellen, 36, set up her charity almost 10 years ago to help people aged eight to 18, who are recovering from cancer. And as they prepare to open their first Scottish base, she says rather than using her skills to inspire the young sailors, she is in no doubt that she will be the one being inspired by them. Ellen said: “In the 10 years I have been going out in a boat with these ­amazing children, I have been blown away by how inspiring they are. “I have faced big challenges in my boat but these are ­challenges I have chosen. “These children had no choice and battle against something harder than many of us could ever imagine – but they do it with the biggest smiles on their faces. “We have always included children from Scotland on our trips but as our main base is in the Isle of Wight, it has meant our children from Scotland have had lengthy journeys to get to us. “I love sailing around ­Scotland and for us to have a sailing hub there now is a dream we have been working towards. Round-the-world sailor Ellen MacArthur steers cancer victims to brighter tomorrow “Our first trip sets sail from Largs next summer and I’m looking forward to it.” The Ellen MacArthur Trust aim to help youngsters regain their confidence after ­battling cancer and the new hub has been funded by the People’s Poscode Lottery. Youngsters spend four days sailing in cruising yachts, accompanied by volunteers and medical staff. Ellen, who makes a point of joining all the sailing trips, said: “Our charity is less about the children actually sailing and more about them using their time with us to step out of their illness. “We see what they are capable of doing and we encourage them to just join in and have fun.” Lara Govier, of the People’s Postcode ­Lottery, said: “The Trust has been working with young people from across the UK and it has been their dream to bring that ­experience closer to home for the Scottish youngsters living with or diagnosed with ­cancer or leukaemia. “This couldn’t be possible without the support of ­players and it really is thanks to them that the Trust can achieve this fantastic ­milestone.” Jodie Waters, of Dumfries, was just 16 when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour and the ordeal of life-saving surgery hit her confidence. She said: “I had become afraid of doing normal things I had done before. “One of my nurses asked me if I wanted to go with the trust and although I said yes, as the date drew nearer I did start to panic. But it was the best thing for me. “I was surrounded by people who really understood what I had been through and we all just had an amazing time.”