Your guide to Bridlington's Sailing Coble Festival

Expectations are high for the Sailing Coble Festival in Bridlington this year, as it is expected to be the biggest and best yet. It is hoped visitors and coble enthusiasts from along the coast will again support the festival in Bridlington for this unique maritime attraction. All the vessels will be moored near to the Harbour Heritage Museum, which will be open with free admission, and can be seen sailing in the bay from the various vantage points along the seafront and the North Pier.

Wind in their sails as veterans make a splash at Weymouth Regatta

Veterans from across the borough caused a ripple when they displayed their sailing skills on the national stage. A trip to the famous Weymouth Regatta was the culmination of the successful Rochdale Borough Council Sail After Service programme. The aim of the scheme was to boost mental wellbeing and provide a social outlet for local members of the Armed Forces’ community. Veterans were taught key sailing and navigational skills under expert tuition over an eight-week period at Hollingworth Lake, in partnership with Link4Life, the Royal Yacht Association and Moving Forces. Such was its success, a group of veterans were invited to display their maritime prowess in the multi-class tournament during Regatta weekend on the Dorset coast and the stand out performance by the veterans was a creditable eighth-place finish in the pursuit competition, with fine efforts in other disciplines including the dramatic keel boat race. Councillor Janet Emsley, cabinet member for the Armed Forces, said: “The Sail After Service scheme has been a success story from day one, helping isolation by bringing veterans together to socialise, learn new skills and enjoy life on the water. It was great to see so many veterans making waves at the Weymouth Regatta in front of hundreds of spectators. I am proud of the veterans’ achievements and I would like to thank everyone who delivered such a pioneering project. I look forward to it returning in 2020.” Caen Matthews, a veteran who starred in the Regatta event, said: “It was a fantastic weekend and we were honoured to be representing the borough of Rochdale at such a prestigious sporting occasion. There were plenty of thrills and spills out on the water, but we performed with credit and enjoyed every minute. The aim of the Sail After Service scheme was to bring veterans together with a shared purpose and, judging by the feedback we have had, it has been a resounding success.”

Dart 18 South West Championships 2019 - Windsport

Major Sailing Event Brings Welcome Tourism Revenue to Greystones

Greystones Sailing Club will host the Wayfarer International Championships this week (Monday 22nd to Friday 26th July) with boats coming from 13 countries around the world including the USA, Canada and across Europe and Scandinavia. The three largest team entries are from the UK, Ireland and Denmark, with a total of 65 boats planning on racing all next week. The Wayfarers’ (a 16-foot-long, open sailing dinghy) and their sailors arrived on Saturday and Sunday (20th / 21st July) to register and have their boats weighed and examined, in this exacting of one design classes. Daphne Hoolahan, Commodore of Greystones Sailing Club said that “the Wayfarer Worlds / International Championships has been running for over 60 years and this year we in Greystones Sailing Club are delighted to welcome so may international sailors and their families for the Championships. We are hosting over 200 people daily, between competitors, their families and the many volunteers from Greystones and surrounding sailing clubs, who will be helping to run this event. We are honoured to welcome so many people, from so many countries to the town and are delighted to be able to put Greystones firmly on the international sailing map.” Daphne added that “Greystones Sailing Club is punching well above its weight and size in recent national and international events with many notable wins for Greystones sailors and next week’s world class event will showcase the club and town again, as a landmark sailing centre on the East Coast of Ireland. The club already hosted the RS Eastern Championships in April this year and we will also host the annual Taste of Greystones Regatta in August, which brings in over 500 sailors in over 100 boats bringing more welcome tourism revenue to the town.” “Greystones Sailing Club has an active training and sailing program, providing sailing instruction to both children and adults and is open for membership. Everyone is encouraged to try sailing on our many adult or child courses, and we welcome new members to contact us, to be part of this growing, vibrant club,” she added. The Club has over 300 members sailing a variety of dinghy classes and offers exciting and enjoyable dinghy racing for all ages and abilities. It has a well-earned reputation as one of the top sailing clubs in Ireland with its sailors competing successfully in many open events, both nationally and internationally. The Club also boasts an active and growing keelboat fleet with over 30 keelboats giving competitive racing on a twice weekly basis.

Watersports fun for young sailors at Chichester Harbour OnBoard Festival in August

Dozens of young boating enthusiasts from sailing clubs around the Chichester and West Sussex areas are expected to come and take part in next month’s RYA OnBoard Festival 2019 at CYE & Cobnor Activity Centre. The event takes place on Saturday 31 August. The fun-filled on-the-water festival is open to all children aged 8 upwards who are already being taught sailing through the RYA supported OnBoard schools programme. The day will be filled with games and sessions on the water, where the youngsters can sail all types of boats. There will be a BBQ and a programme of shoreside activities to support the marine-based learning too. All in all it will be a great day and it is completely free of charge. Run by the RYA, OnBoard is a grass roots programme which introduces sailing and windsurfing to young people aged 8 to 18, through schools, youth groups and training centres. Being on the water creates multiple situations where young people are challenged as they learn this new and exciting sport. From problem solving, and decision making, to leadership and teamwork, young OnBoarders will learn valuable life skills, all whilst having fun and making friends on the water. OnBoard provides a safe structure for this to happen and a great environment to help develop, stimulate and strengthen both mind and body. The low cost sessions are designed to promote equal access to sailing for young people from all social and economic backgrounds, whilst encouraging their character development. Since 2005, OnBoard has introduced more than 900,000 children to sailing and windsurfing in the UK, converting some 70,000 of them into regular participants. For more information about how to get involved in sailing visit the OnBoard web page. www.rya.org.uk/go/onboard.

Solo sail from UK around Iceland in mini transat '241 Blue One'

Norfolk Broads: Sailing in July 2019

Cowes sailor Jeremy Waitt wins Solo Round the Island Race in style

LEADING Isle of Wight sailor Jeremy Waitt has won the famous Solo Offshore Sailing Club's Round the Island Race — retaining class honours for a third successive year. Always a keenly contested marathon, with the vagaries of the wind and tides adding to the already significant challenge of racing solo, Jeremy won the race in 7hrs 24mins 7secs on corrected time — beating his nearest rival, Nigel Colley's Sapristi, by a margin of more than seven minutes. His victory came in the JPK 10.10 Jangada, which is owned by Islander Richard Palmer, who loaned him use of the boat for the race, as he has done many times before, with huge success. The race itself got underway from Cowes at 6.30am yesterday (Saturday) and Jeremy, of Cowes, was over the finish line at precisely 2.04pm. Jeremy Waitt, who won the Solo Round the Island Race — which included a hat-trick of Class 1 category titles in the competition. With being the overall winner, Jeremy won the coveted Anticipation Cup, as well as the Watermark Trophy for being the first IRC boat home on elapsed time. He also won the highly competitive Class 1 fleet category, his third in successive year. Afterwards, Jeremy told the County Press: "Yacht racing depends on wind, tide and an element of luck, which is why regattas have a lot of races. "I really wanted to prove Jangada and I could win again. "And while it’s a single-handed event, it takes a full team to have consistent success. "Personally, it feels great to win for a third time in challenging conditions, with some very exciting sailing under spinnaker down the back of the Island, with gusts of up to 28 knots."

ROUND THE ISLAND VLOG - with the British Keelboat Academy - 11 hour boat...

Making activity happen - Elizabeth

McIntyre Reigns Supreme at RS Elite Nationals 2019 off Dun Laoghaire

The 2019 RS Elite National Championship, held as part of the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, produced a nail-biting finish with the final result not decided until the tenth and last race. Mike McIntyre and crew, sailing RS Elite 76 Foudafafa, retained their title as National Champions despite being tied after nine races with Ossie Stewart and crew, sailing RS Elite 67 More T Vicar. In third place were Paul Fisk and crew in RS Elite 110 Legs Eleven. Dun Laoghaire proved to be a popular venue for the RS Elites with 14 out of a total of 31 boats taking part making the journey from England. The remainder of the fleet came from the strong RS Elite contingent in Northern Ireland. The competitors were not disappointed. PRO Peter Crowley and his on-the- water team did a generally excellent job in sometimes difficult conditions and the Protest Committee’s handling of a tricky redress hearing was eminently reasonable and fair. On the social side the fleet enjoyed the hospitality of the Royal St George Yacht who hosted an enjoyable class Dinner on the Saturday Night and provided a base for some very entertaining craic and refreshment throughout the event. Boats were launched by the Royal St George team on Wednesday, July 10th and racing took place from 11th to 14th July. Wind conditions were generally light to moderate with day two (July 12) producing the best breeze of 15-20 knots from the northwest. Winds were lighter on the other days. The wind was particularly tricky on day one with the first race starting in a light and shifty north-westerly breeze which swung by 180 degrees as the sea breeze set in, converting the leeward gate into a windward gate. Wind conditions continued to be challenging throughout the event, particularly on days three and four, with the wind blowing off the land and producing some sizeable shifts. Racing was highly competitive with sailors from Hayling Island Sailing Club, the original home of the RS Elite, taking the first six places overall. Among the first three, the highest number of first places (four) went to Ossie Stewart’s More T Vicar but, with better discards, Mike McIntyre’s Foudafafa (two firsts) took the championship with an overall 22 points to More T Vicar’s 27, demonstrating the value of consistency throughout the event. Paul Fisk’s Legs Eleven took third place with 38 points having taken first place in races five and six. Other highlights from the results table included seventh place which went to RS Elite 63 E’tu sailed by Steve Powell from the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. Steve is the former RS Elite Class Association chairman whose tireless work did so much to ensure the success of the class. He was making a welcome return to the fleet after several years. The highest-placed boat from Northern Ireland was RS Elite 37 Storm sailed by Stephen Polly and crew from the Royal Ulster Yacht Club who finished eighth overall. RS Elite 19 Tuppence sailed by Brian Corry from Strangford Lough Yacht Club, finishing 11th, was the only boat from outside the top three to score a race win, finishing first in race two. The 2019 Nationals was a milestone event for the RS Elite fleet being the first time the event had been held outside the UK and the first time as part of a larger event. The popularity of the venue ensured a healthy entry with all the fleets in mainland UK and Northern Ireland represented. Outside of the leading group the first boat from Cowes was RS Elite 101 Centurion sailed by Robert Holbrook in 10th place, RS Elite 111 Kin sailed by Tiffany Brien and crew from the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club was 13th and RS Elite 68 Serious Moonlight sailed by Richard Bavin and crew from Royal Burnham YC was 14th. Class Chairman Paul Fisk commented that the efforts of the regatta organisers, in cooperation with the four yacht clubs, made for a seriously impressive operation that delivered a fabulous event. He also thanked the Royal St George Yacht Club for their wonderful hospitality and for the impeccable handling of boat logistics by their shore team. The international theme will continue in 2020 where the UK National Championship will be held as part of the RS Elite International Grand Prix, hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes.

New Isle of Wight sailability boat will help more disabled people learn to sail

COWES Sailability Club has launched its new boat — which will help more people with disabilities learn to sail. The new Drascombe Longboat was named Lily at an official ceremony at the Cowes Corinthian Yacht Club last Saturday, by Isle of Wight Hight Sheriff Geoff Underwood. It was bought with funding from the National Lottery Community Fund and Little Britain Challenge Cup, among others, and will enable the club to offer more sailing opportunities for people with disabilities. The club’s fundraising officer, Trish Rooke, said: “We are so excited to receive our new boat, as it really will have a positive impact on the lives of many Island residents who have physical disabilities, learning difficulties or debilitating medical conditions. “This summer, we will have capacity to take more people out onto the water so they can enjoy exciting experiences, learn new skills and have fun.” The new boat is the club’s second Drascombe Longboat, which is ideal for people with limited mobility or poor sight because of its large cockpit and no boom to bump heads on. Director of the Little Britain Challenge Cup, Tony Poole said: “We are delighted to play our small part in this very worthwhile charity.”

Learn How To Sail: Sailing Basics Video Series - Anchoring