Length of Britain Challenge

Scottish Sailing ... Champion of champions

The best Scottish dinghy sailors across 16 dinghy classes took part in the RYA Scotland Champion of Champions Trophy at Largs Sailing Club over the weekend. The different classes of boat compete together, from junior to senior class champions they race to determine which class and crews are best. The National 18 Ultra had the strongest set of results over the five races, winning three races in total under the Portsmouth Yardstick handicap system. As one of the largest boats in the fleet it required a three man crew, helmed by Stuart Urquart and crewed by his brother Richard Urquart and Martin Cruden all from Findhorn YC on the Moray Firth. Stuart Urquart, who previously won the championship in 2013 commented “It’s been a great weekend, very cold this morning but once the wind settled in we had three good races. Good for a Sunday.” He continued. “It has been fantastic to win the event and well worth coming down. We thought it was a very well run event, but challenging for Race Officer today and the three races were very enjoyable.” The local easterly breezes proved unsteady and at times brisk but rarely from the same direction. The race committee were forced to abandon the third race scheduled on Saturday after a memorable first race in almost perfect conditions of 12-15 knots. Racing started later than schedules on Sunday as a colder northerly breeze remained indecisive on a bright crisp autumnal day. Calum Bell returning to the Topper class after his first few events in the youth 420 class earlier in the year managed to climb to 2nd overall and was the first single handed dinghy at the event. All the winter training in the Largs Channel clearly proved very useful for the conditions over the series. He said. “I’m surprised and pleased with the result. I didn’t know what to expect as you don’t know what your result is until the very end. I had to remain disciplined and keep trying harder as you can’t compare yourself to the other boats in any way. Hopefully I’ll try it in the 420 next year.” Viola and Michael Scott, sailing their Osprey, managed to claim third place after a consistent set of the results, with last year’s winner David and Ian Kent sliding to 4th overall. This longstanding trophy is an invitational event based on Scottish Championships and traveller series results throughout the season. RYA Scotland support and number of class racing initiatives including class grants that aid towards training and coaching.

Fireball sailing at East Lancashire Sailing Club

Sailing Mirror Dinghy is named the seventh most influential yacht of ALL TIME

The Mirror dinghy - the craft that brought sailing to the masses - has been named in the top 10 list of boats that changed sailing forever. The humble plywood boat was launched by the Mirror in 1963 at a cost of £63 11s and was a bid to make sailing accessible to all. Now prestigious sailing magazine Yachting World has put the dinghy at Number 7 in its survey of top 50 boats that have changed the sailing world. The Daily Mirror signed up TV DIY expert Barry Bucknell and designer Jack Holt to revolutionise small boat ownership. They came up with a craft that cost £63.55 in decimal money – and could be built at home using copper wire stitching and glue. The dinghies, which had a distinctive red sail because of the newspaper’s red masthead and M logo, were just under 10ft - big enough for two adults and a couple of kids to sail yet small enough to fit on top of a family car. Today more than 70,000 have been sold and they can be found all round the world. Many have completed memorable sea voyages, and one fan even sailed his from Liverpool to the Black Sea. Double Olympic silver medallist and round-the-world yachtsman Ian Walker, 42, said he owed his career to the boat. Walker, who was a BBC sailing commentator during the Rio Olympics, borrowed one of the distinctive dinghies to teach his daughters to sail. He said on the occasion of the dinghy’s 50th birthday in 2013: “I owe all my sailing to the Mirror. Its real advantage is you sit in it rather than on it. Children like the security. “You can hardly go to sea or into an estuary without seeing a Mirror. It is part of the seaside.” Daily Mirror Mr Larry Cooper has just received a kit of parts to build a "Mirror" dinghy The boats cost £63 11s and were built at home by enthusiasts Jeremy Pudney, President of the UK Mirror Class Association, said the dinghy had changed sailing in the UK. The 78-year-old who lives in Chichester and belongs to the Itchenor Sailing Club, which has a large collection of 60 Mirror dinghies, said: “I used to work near the Mirror building on Fleet Street and I remember seeing where the Mirror dinghy was being exhibited as something that could be built at home. "People could go in one of the show rooms on Fetter Lane and at lunch time and see how it could be built. “The Mirror dinghy showed sailing could be spread to a much wider group of people because it could be bought as a kit and built quite often in people’s living rooms and even bedrooms. "It was one of these amazing boats which was small enough to be built but when you sailed it a grown up and two children could sail it. “Obviously now a lot of the boats are made of fibreglass but you can still buy a Mirror kit of wood which you can assemble yourself and do up. Daily Mirror Mr Cooper now builds his Mirror Dinghy in the garage of his Hastings home Fibre glass and lots of glue helped make the vessels watertight “Schools used to take on the kits and produce Mirror dinghies as part of their woodwork classes. One of the great thing about the Mirror dinghies were they weren’t too long and you could put it on the roof of a car, you could see Mirrors on the top of Minis so you didn’t have to buy a trailer. “It really brought sailing within reach of a much wider public and the country has gained by that ever since.” The Mirror dinghy is used as a training boat for young sailors but it is also a class recognised by the Royal Yachting Association and raced widely in the UK and abroad. Pudney, who taught his four children to sail on the Mirror, said: “I have put two lots of children through sailing where they learnt to sail in the Mirror. "I taught the children in my first marriage to sail in a wooden Mirror and that was then sold on and then eventually my son bought back the very same Mirror and has taught his children in the same boat before selling it on to another family.”

Fundraisers break Guinness World Record for distance sailed in dinghy

An intrepid pair of fundraisers have been crowned Guinness World Record breakers for the longest distance sailed in a double-handed dinghy. Royal Navy seaman Phil Slade and Ministry of Defence employee Mark Belamarich sailed 572 km from Plymouth's Sail Training Centre on Plymouth Sound to Whale Island in Portsmouth. The pair, who were tracked by a satellite device and a Guinness World Records support team, beat the current record of 555.6 km – the equivalent of crossing the Channel twice – in a basic, unmodified 14ft Bosun Class dinghy. The challenge, which took more than three days to complete, took place in June in aid of The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC). To date the pair have raised nearly £2,500 – just shy of their £3,000 target. "It is a relief to have the record finally confirmed," said Phil, who works with 30 Commando Information Group at Royal Marines Stonehouse, managing the sailing centre. "It has been agony waiting; always asking did we or didn't we break the record. We couldn't be happier with the news. It has made all the pain worthwhile." Guinness World Records verified the details officially with the following wording: "The world record for the longest distance sailed in a double-handed dinghy is 572.73 km (355.88 mi; 309.25 nautical miles) which was achieved by Phil Slade and Mark Belamarich (both UK) who sailed from Plymouth to Portsmouth via France, between 14-17 June 2016." On October 7 the pair celebrated alongside friends and colleagues at the RNRM Camber Sailing Centre, where they were presented with their Guinness World Records and congratulated by Major Steve O'Sullivan from the Royal Marines. Major O'Sullivan said: "This [the Guinness World Record] was completed in the great tradition of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. "They overcame adversity, doubts of others and all that the sea and wind could throw at them to prove nothing is impossible if you are determined and skilled enough and forge a great partnership."

Ambitious Highland marina plans sailing closer to reality

Ambitious plans to transform a tiny Highland community-owned facility into a lucrative marina could sail closer to reality this month with the submission of formal plans. The latest designs for the Corpach project, at the southern end of the Caledonian Canal opposite Fort William on Loch Linnhe, were showcased yesterday (THURS) as part of a pitch for a licence from Marine Scotland. The planning application will go to Highland Council. There was excitement at Kilmallie Community Hall about the 40-berth, £3million proposal. Douglas MacDiarmid, chairman of the working group behind the Thomas Telford Corpach Marina project, said: “There isn’t a full scale marina between Inverness and Oban so this is filling an important gap. “We’re on the Scandinavian sea route for transit vessels going round Britain or coming through the Caledonian Canal. “It’ll also deliver a public slipway to meet the needs of local boat owners.” He is optimistic that construction work could begin early next year. Caol and Mallaig councillor Ben Thompson is thrilled by the prospect of the venture coming to fruition. He said: “We need a good marina that’s welcoming for all those Scandinavian tourists and others who are plying their way down the Caledonian Canal. “The benefits would be enormous starting with Corpach itself, facilities you might see come with a successful marina – like a chandlery and grocery shopping, a positive impact for Corpach boatyard which is nearby. “The potential spinoffs are quite substantial, as you see elsewhere in Scotland and on the west coast particularly. It’s worked for Inverness and we’d like to have a slice of that pie, please.” Development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise provided financial support towards a preliminary package of works which helped the project progress.

Summer 2016

Dolphins off Elie, Fife, Scotland Sept 2016

Redesmere Sailing Club Winner of the RYA Club of the Year Award 2016

Park’s pride at “end of an era” for Paralympic sailing

British Sailing Team Manager, Stephen Park has spoken of his pride at “the end of an era” for Paralympic sailing in this country after the curtain officially came down on the Rio 2016 Games. Two bronze medals for Helena Lucas in the 2.4mR one person keelboat and Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell in the SKUD18 two-person keelboat in the final races of the regatta on Saturday meant Britain’s sailors finished on the podium twice for the second Paralympics running and achieved their pre-Rio medal target. With sailing not currently included in the Paralympic programme for Tokyo 2020, Britain’s six-strong team, including John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas in the Sonar, will now decide what comes next for each of them as World Sailing bids to get the sport restored to the slate for the 2024 Paralympics. But with all six sailors having competed together at the last three Paralympics, with Rio 2016 actually being the Sonar trio’s fourth successive Games having debuted at Athens 2004, Park believes their contributions to helping to raise the profile of disability sailing and elite racing in the UK over the past decade has been immense. He said: “This is the end of an era for British Paralympic sailing and possibly for Paralympic sailing as a whole. World Sailing is working very hard to ensure sailing is back in play for 2024. However the sailors in this Paralympic team have been on a journey for a number of years and Games together. “We've won four medals at the past two Games and a number of world titles over the past 10 years too and they really have done Paralympic sailing in Britain proud. They really should be very proud of their achievements. “Some may hang on looking for the return of the sport in 2024, others will move on to a used chapters in their lives. But they have all had some great experiences through their time with the British Sailing Team.” Following her gold medal success at London 2012, Lucas’ Rio bronze consolidated her position as Britain’s most successful Paralympic sailor since sailing became a full Paralympic sport at Sydney 2000, while Rickham and Birrell also achieved a podium finish for the second Games in a row. Much of the focus ahead of both the Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics had been on the water quality in Guanabara Bay, security and, particularly for the Paralympics, financial concerns and empty stadiums. But Park insists that across both Games the venue has witnessed some of the most memorable, close racing of his four-Games tenure as British Sailing Team manager to date. He added: “The Paralympics has been a fantastic event. We managed to complete the 11 race series for all three classes and it's been incredibly competitive right down to the final races, with medals changing places throughout each of those. It's been quite an experience and an emotional ride for all of our sailors. “Rio will be remembered for the people and vibe of the city, the place just feels alive. The backdrop, or the amphitheatre, of Rio for the sailing events has been impressive, and there has been such a high level of competition across all the nations, the most competitive Olympic and Paralympic events I've ever been to. “There were so many nations in the mix and that is fantastic for the sport moving forwards. It has becoming increasingly competitive for all of our sailors but they have been there fighting it out in every single one of the events.”

2016 J80 UK Nationals

Paralympics 2016 - SKUD - Niki Birrell & Alexandra Rickham - British Sailing Team - ParalympicsGB

Paralympics 2016 - SONAR - John Robertson, Hannah Stodel & Stephen Thomas - ParalympicsGB