The Fishwives - 'A Sailor's Lot'

Great Sailing in Scotland

Brightlingsea Sailing Club to host Solo National Championship 2014

The 2014 Solo National Championship will be hosted by Brightlingsea Sailing Club, Essex, from 26 July to 1 August, with some sixty-six helms travelling from across the UK to compete. The regatta opens with registration and inspection on Saturday 26 July and championship racing will run from Sunday 27 July to Friday 1 August, with up to two races per day planned. Brightlingsea Sailing Club has a world-renowned reputation for its regatta management and runs several major championships each year. Racing will take place on windward leeward courses on the Colne and Blackwater Estuaries which offer sheltered open sea sailing at all states of the tide. As well as the main championship prizes, there will also be a number of special trophies including the first wooden boat, the leading Veteran, Grand Master, Septimus, Junior and Lady sailors and a Top Club Trophy. There is also a full social programme starting with a Commodore's Welcome Reception on Saturday 26 July and including a Curry and Quiz Night on Tuesday 29 July, a BBQ on Wednesday 30 July and a Prize Giving and Buffet on Friday 1 August. The British National Solo Class Association will host its AGM on the evening of Monday 28 July and the Solo Fleet is invited to join in the Club's very popular Thursday Night Pursuit race, just for fun. Designed by Jack Holt in 1956, the Solo is a classic one-design, single-handed dinghy sailed at many clubs in the UK, Holland and Australia. The entry list for the event includes defending champion Charlie Cumbly and last year's runner up Andy Tunnicliffe, as well as many of the top names in the class, so competition is expected to be fierce. Further information about the regatta is available at the event website or from David Charlton, Vice Commodore Sailing, Brightlingsea Sailing Club, Email vcsailing@sailbrightlingsea.com, Tel 01206 302206.

Disabled teen to embark on extraordinary sailing attempt

Inspirational sailing teenager Natasha Lambert is scheduled to embark on her latest challenge today. The 17-year-old was born with athertoid cerebral palsy, which affects her limbs and speech and confines her to a wheelchair. She sails using ‘sip and puff' - using her breathing alone to control her sailing boat. Last July Natasha, then aged 16, sailed across the English Channel from Boulogne, France to Dover, Kent in four and a half hours in her Artemis 20 boat Miss Isle. The previous year she sailed around the Isle of Wight, about 60 miles, which is the longest she has ever sailed. This afternoon, between 1pm and 4pm, Natasha is scheduled to set off from Cowes Yacht Haven on the Isle of Wight on her biggest challenge yet. 'Sea and Summit' is a month-long challenge sailing her 21ft Mini Transat, Miss Isle Too, single-handed around the South West coast of England to Wales - some 430 miles. She will then swap her boat for a special walking aid to climb Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons, the highest peak in Southern Britain. Natasha, who lives on the Isle of Wight, aims to raise money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust and the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Foundation, and to encourage others with disabilities to get on the water. The teenager will be supported during the challenge by her sailing coach, Phil Devereux, who is managing the event, plus powerboating champion Shelley Jory-Leigh who will be leading Natasha's safety boat team. Find out more at www.missisle.com

Grant lands Sidmouth Sailing Club new dinghy

SIDMOUTH Sailing Club can splash out on a new vessel and will be given a storage boost thanks to a £2,950 grant. The match-funded amount, from the Sid Vale Association’s (SVA) Keith Owen Fund, will be spent on an adult training dinghy. SVA chairman Alan Darrant congratulated the club on the development of its facilities when he handed over a cheque on Sunday. The sailing club’s commodore, Steve Smith, expressed his gratitude and said: “Three years ago, the Keith Owen Fund was able to make a grant to purchase four RS Feva dinghies for youth training. This latest award will now enable the club to purchase an RS Vision Adult training dinghy, which will be ideal for training adult members. “We will also now be able to provide much needed improved storage facilities for the care and protection of our sailing craft, as the grant will be used for improved racking. This grant will be used to purchase the necessary materials, from which the voluntary help of our members will complete the work.” Mr Darrant said this was a good example of how the club and the SVA has worked together to improve a local facility. He invited any voluntary organisation seeking help with projects within the Sid Valley to apply for funding. More information can be found at www.sidvaleassociation.org.uk.

Sailing Scotland, Hebrides and Orkney

Sailing Scotland - Hebrides, The Minch & Orkney

MS sailing challenge comes to UK

A yacht crewed by entirely people with multiple sclerosis (MS) made a stop off in Portsmouth, UK, last week as part of 17-month voyage around the world. Oceans of Hope, which is supported by pharma company Biogen Idec, is the first global circumnavigation by a yacht crewed by people with MS and is intended to inspire people with MS to follow their goals. The project is the idea of the Sailing Sclerosis Foundation which was set up by Danish doctor and psychotherapist, Mikkel Anthonisen. The yacht set sail from Copenhagen on June 15, spent four days in Portsmouth last week, developing networks between the MS and sailing communities by organising sailing taster sessions. Last Friday more than 20 people with MS sailed on the Thames barge Alice and on a wheelchair-accessible motor boat, Wet Wheels, before the yacht headed off to France as part of a journey that will also take in North America, South America and Australia. One crewmember with MS commented that it was the first time since he had been diagnosed that he had been able to talk with others about their experiences of the disease, while a former professional sailor found he still had what it takes. Oceans of Hope crew Speaking at the campaign's launch in May, Biogen Idec senior vice president, Europe and Canada David Allsop said: “Treatment of MS needs to be holistic, incorporating the right therapies with community programmes and resources. “Through its message of empowerment, we believe that Oceans of Hope can benefit thousands of patients around the world.”

Sail the Hebrides

New boat for Sailability

Local disabled sailing charity Poole Sailability have added another new boat to their fleet and are now able to offer affordable active sailing to even more people with disabilities. The Hawk 20 keelboat which can take up to six sailors was purchased with grants from Sport England, the Valentine Trust, and RYA Sailability. The boat has been named Nadia in memory of the guide dog of the same name that belonged to recently deceased member Steve Ward. At a recent ceremony club mascot Nadia assisted Steve's widow Ann by pulling the cord to unveil the name of the boat following a dedication prayer from sailing volunteer The Rev Clifford Curry. Anyone with a disability who would like to sail should call Poole Sailability on 01202 632096 for further details. No previous sailing experience is necessary.

Try Sailing For Free At Carsington Sailability!

Whatever your ability come and try a fantastic, social outdoor sport, where everyday life really does get left on the shore as Carsington Sailability invites you and your family to try sailing for FREE at its 2014 Open Day on Saturday 19 July. Carsington Sailability is part of the RYA's national Sailability programme providing opportunities for people with disabilities to go sailing and sail regularly. So don't think you couldn't enjoy sailing as a sport, this is your chance to discover you can! The fun starts at 11am on Carsington Water near Ashbourne and is guaranteed to offer something for everyone, regardless of age, gender, experience. One of the best things about sailing is its totally inclusive - once you're on the water whatever difficulties you may experience on the shore are left there. Carsington Sailability has an excellent selection of specialised boats and other equipment designed to get anyone who wants to sail out on the water. The group also offers fantastic social opportunities as a part of Carsington Sailing Club. Refreshments will be available and a warm welcome is guaranteed as Carsington Sailability aims to give newcomers a real sense of the club and what sailing is really all about. Carsington Sailing Club is a recognised RYA Training Centre, meaning it conforms to the highest standards of quality and safety. For full details on everything going on at Carsington Sailability this year and how you can get involved visit www.carsingtonsailingclub.co.uk/sailing/sailability

Gloucestershire sailors Jeremy Warren and Phil Kirk smash UK coast record

Two weather-beaten West Country adventurers are celebrating after they set a new record for sailing around the UK. Jeremy Warren and Phil Kirk, of Gloucestershire, set sail from Weymouth in a Wayfarer dinghy, a small open boat less than 5m long, aiming to complete their journey in 60 days but returned yesterday, having taken 33, breaking the record of 76 days. Mr Warren, a 56-year-old technology entrepreneur, and Mr Kirk, 40, a naval architecht are members of the Thornbury Sailing Club on the River Severn and have decades of sailing experience between them. The voyage was raising money for lifeboat charity, the RNLI, and the Pappa Fund, which supports health and education projects in India.

Soaking the baton at Montrose Sailing Club

Hot on the heels of the Montrose Sailing Club’s 50th Anniversary, the club played its part in the celebrating Her Majesty The Queen’s Baton Relay coming to the town on Saturday. Not only do the club have a member who helped to design the Baton, and another who proudly carried it in Kirriemuir, but it held its first ever dry-land taster session, at the Sports Centre games field, on Saturday. A club spokesman said: “Judging by the number of people who came along to the sailing club open day on Sunday, a good number of people spotted our two bright yellow and blue Laser Picos (courtesy of the Angus Council Community Fund) and were not put off by Saturday’s rain. “All the same, it was with some trepidation that we opened the curtains on Sunday morning, but fortunately we were given a near-perfect day for folk to try sailing - bright, warm and with a steady breeze - and they certainly did come and try!” More than 30 new sailors attended the open day, keeping the club’s volunteers busy kitting out the visitors for a safe sail, getting them on the water and preparing them tea and cake to warm-up afterwards. The spokesperson continued: “All who came had a great time sailing on our “unusual” patch of water, and with the club’s own sail training programme and links with Monikie Country Park RYA sail training centre, we hope that we will have some budding Sir Ben Ainsleys or Shirley Robertsons joining the club, and a few more who will come to enjoy messing around in boats and 
seeing the seals. “The Club would also like to thank Montrose Community Sports Hub for the opportunity to take part on Saturday and to send our best wishes with the baton and its bearers to all of the athletes and volunteers who will be taking part in Scotland’s Games next month.” Meanwhile, if you missed the open day and are interested in trying a new sport, see www.montrosesailingclub.co.uk for details of the sailing programme and get along to Esk Road any weekend when the tide’s in.