Discover a new sport this Autumn at Norwich Frostbite Sailing Club's Open Day

Discover a new sport this Autumn by trying sailing at Norwich Frostbite Sailing Club, on the outskirts of Norwich. The Club is holding an Open Day on Sunday 27 October from 11am to 3.30pm. In the morning, club racing will be taking place and visitors are very welcome to come and watch, with refreshments and a bar available in the clubhouse. Club members will be on hand to answer any questions. From 12.00pm there will be the opportunity to go out for a sail with a club member. Everyone is welcome, those new to the sport and those more experienced, as well as those interested in helping with safety boats, the galley, timekeeping or race management. The Club asks that all prospective sailors wear soft shoes. Buoyancy aids will be available to borrow. The Club can be found on Girlings Lane (off Yarmouth Road in Thorpe St Andrew) – over the level crossing and at the end of the lane. For more information visit http://norwichfrostbitesailing.club/ If you’d like to find out more about how to get out on the water and start your sailing adventure, visit http://www.rya.org.uk/go/startboating

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Sailing Club fish supper catches £660 for RNLI

A FISH supper hosted by Lyme Regis Sailing Club served up a £660 donation for the volunteers of the town’s lifeboat crew. The supper was held on Friday, October 11 and 60 meals were served at the club’s headquarters, thanks to the help of Vic Pelaou from Lyme’s Fish Bar. The event was organised by Trish Williams and Di Mattock of Lyme Regis Sailing Club. They are pictured above with Mr Pelaou presenting a cheque to lifeboat crew members at their training session on Sunday. Once again this year, the RNLI is encouraging people to come together with friends, family or their local community to have fun and enjoy a fish-themed dish to help save lives at sea. Every penny raised during the RNLI Fish Suppers around the UK and Ireland will help prevent drowning and will go towards vital lifeboat crew kit, fuel for lifeboats, and essential training, including the charity’s many drowning prevention programmes such as Swim Safe sessions for children. Further fundraising events in Lyme Regis will include a fish and chip supper at the Nag’s Head on Wednesday, October 16 from 5pm to 7pm. Fish and chips will be provided by Herbies and will cost £10, including a pint. Former chef and RNLI supporter Petrina Muscroft will host her third annual fish supper at the lifeboat station on Saturday, November 16. Two sittings will be held from 6pm to 8pm and 8.30pm to 10.30pm with a choice of fish and vegetarian dishes. All are welcome for a minimum donation of £7 and guests should bring their own drinks.

Hundreds of boats compete in the historic Barcolana Regatta

Blowers takes first Match Racing Victory

Eight teams gathered last weekend, 12-13 October, at Queen Mary Sailing Club for the final chance to secure a place at this year’s National Match Racing Championship Grand Final. Day one was a very light wind day with significant shifts keeping the sailors on their toes as it was all too easy to see a comfortable lead fade away very quickly. The teams fought their way through a single round robin and while Blowers was the clear leader having lost only one race all day to George Haynes, the rest of the fleet was tightly compressed with Miles Jones and Sophie Otter tied on four wins a piece. Four teams, Ali Morrish, George Haynes, Sophie Taylor and Josh Adams followed just behind all tied on three wins. With the lack of wind making completing a second round robin impossible, the race team concluded racing early to work out the best plan for day two racing. As the battle for the final semi-final spot was so tight, it was decided to amend the schedule so that the top two teams of Blowers and Jones would carry on to the Semi-finals but that that remaining six teams would compete again in a repechage with the top two taking the remaining spots in the semis. After a poor showing in the first day’s light winds it was Niall Myant who was the star of the show in the big breeze winning all five of his races. George Haynes regained his usual form in the stronger winds and completed the line-up in the semis. The first attempt to get the semi-finals underway was thwarted when a gust of over thirty knots streaked across the race course forcing Alexis Dogilewski, Principle Race Officer, to abandon racing to avoid any damage to the boats or sailors. It wasn’t long before the breeze had settled and racing was underway. With time pressure becoming a factor the semis were shortened down to the first to win just one point so Blowers would race Haynes and Jones would face Myant in a sudden death shoot out. Blowers lead Haynes around the race track to secure his place in the final. In the other match Myant and Jones had an even start but Myant had a slight advantage by the first mark. Jones thought he could sneak through inside at the top of the course but the umpires disagreed leaving Jones having to take a penalty straight away to reset the order. Undeterred Jones hunted Myant down again on the run and before long was pushing him away from the leeward mark. An attempt to keep Myant from gybing left Jones with a penalty for overlapping too close. The race was nip and tuck all the way around the race track and on the final run Jones was again pushing Myant away from the finish line and indeed they sailed beyond the line. Jones tacked around to take his penalty and try and lead Myant back to the finish but did not sail low enough and so the penalty remained and Myant crossed the line ahead to take his place in the final. While the knock out stages were underway a “king of the Hill” was being run for the lower place finishes. A “winner stays on” format where eighth races seventh with the winner racing sixth, and so on, saw Sophie Taylor climb from seventh to fifth but it was match racing newcomer, Josh Adams, who held off her charge to take fifth overall and with it a place in the Grand Final for highest placed, not already qualified, skipper. The petit final saw George Haynes taking third place ahead of Miles Jones in a one race playoff and the finals saw Blowers secure the win with a fairly convincing 2-0 victory over Myant. After racing Blowers said “National Match Racing Championship Qualifier 2 was great for us to get our first event win on the circuit, the event was full of tricky conditions and matches throughout the weekend in varying breeze. Automatic qualification to the semi-finals after a great round robin meant we were confident heading into the next round. Where we then were able to be consistent to take straight wins in both the semi-final and the final. We will be back at Queen Mary Sailing Club for the Grand Final in four weeks, where will hope to have a similar performance at the season finale against the country’s highest performers. Thanks as always go to our sponsors, Moody Decking & Services, Marlow Ropes and Harken. Next up is the National Match Racing Championship Grand Final on the 15-17 November where the winners of each event this year will fight it out to be crowned UK National Match Racing Champion. More details at www.ryamatchracing.co.uk

End of the line for disability sailing charity

A charity which allowed hundreds of disabled children and adults as well as the elderly to experience the joy of sailing has folded. Founder Ged Doran said there is no longer the same demand for the yacht, Solway Adventurer, and it and its assets will now be given to the Isle of Man disability vessel, Pride of Man. Mr Doran said that as well as a lack of demand, he had been unable to focus on the charity – Solway Adventure Sailing, formerly Sailability – for some months due to personal reasons. His father Ged, 91, went missing earlier this year, sparking a huge search by police and more than 200 members of the public. His body was eventually found between High Harrington and Workington. Mr Doran said: “I found it difficult to concentrate on the charity and handed it over to someone else to run. But it has run its course.” The charity was inspired by the Isle of Man group, Pride of Man. “I didn’t really appreciate at the time the amount of hard work involved in raising £100,000 to buy the yacht and that was really just for starters. There would be insurances, mooring fees and more.” The first donation received was from occupants of a house he was working on in Whitehaven. Events were held, a Lottery grant awarded and the boat was bought. The vessel was moored at the Maryport Marina and he thanked marina boss Pauline Gorley and all those who helped over the years. Mr Doran, said the charity holds a special place in his heart. “It has been over 17 years since the charity was formed and it will always leave me with some special memories,” said Mr Doran. “There were a couple of disabled people who wanted to sail but couldn’t because they were in wheelchairs. We made it possible by training to lift them aboard with the boom.” "Kids affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster visited the yacht in 2005. One young lad had fell asleep on the coach and was left behind. As I was walking past the coach I heard footsteps coming down the coach steps, this little boy had tears in his eyes. I couldn’t speak Russia, he couldn’t speak English but he just took hold of my hand, then I had a tear in my eye too. “We were told some of those children would not live until adulthood. I still get a tear thinking about it.” He also played tribute to the young carers from Netherhall School in Maryport who helped on one trip and discovered they were coming back from Kirkcudbright in 45 to 50 knot winds with a woman who suffered from motion sickness. “There are so many memories. It is sad to see the charity go but there is just no demand now.”

Clipper Race: Rest and recover

All eleven yachts of the Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race have now completed the 5,195 nautical mile race from Portimão, Portugal to Punta del Este, Uruguay, which will be home to the yachts and the crew for the next eight days. After the start on September 15,the race has been a tough one, with vastly contrasting conditions making for an experience for the crews will remember. With around 40 percent of Race Crew having never sailed before completing the Clipper Race training programme, their newly acquired skills were put to the test in strong winds left in the wake of fierce tropical storms. In contrast, the teams have enjoyed idyllic sailing conditions, spotted the wildlife they will have dreamt of and crossed the Equator in their own unique way. The final couple of days at sea have rounded off a remarkably varied race, with squalls and resulting wind holes as they tried to push forward to the finish line.

Endeavour Trophy 2019 Day 2 Highlights

Chipstead SC Graduate racing 6 October 2019

#ThisIsBOSS

Catching a huge gust in the Moth - 30.9mph

Spirit 111 superyacht launch

Britannia 18 months in the making