"I’ve sailed round-the-world, around the harbour and I’m still enjoying ...

Entries Open For Sailing’s Windeler Cup

Entries have opened for the first Windeler Cup, the new race for small keelboats that will run on the same day as the world-famous Round the Island Race. The race has been introduced to allow boats which are too small to safely participate in the annual circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight to join in the excitement of the Round the Island Race weekend. Instead of sailing the full 50 mile course of the main race, boats from he Daring, Dragon, Etchells, Flying Fifteen, Mermaid, Redwing, Sunbeam, Swallow, Sonar, Squib, RS Elite, Victory and XOD classes will compete in a ‘Round the Solent’ race for the new Windeler Cup, starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron line off Cowes after the main Round the Island fleet is underway. The race – on Saturday, May 30 – will follow a course around the Western Solent, taking advantage of favourable tides to finish back on the RYS line in Cowes. The Windeler Cup has been named after Major Cyril Windeler, who created the Round the Island Race in 1931 as an opportunity for owners of smaller yachts to enjoy a ‘bigger than usual’ competition. It is in this spirit that the Island Sailing Club has introduced the new race and addressed the desires of smaller keelboats who would like to take part in the main race. Rob Peace, the Island Sailing Club’s Rear Commodore of Sailing said: “We are often asked whether some smaller keelboat classes could once again participate in the Round the Island Race, as they did in the past. Unfortunately, with today’s stringent safety restrictions, we’re not able to accommodate these classes. “However, we have come up with the idea of a new race, starting at 8.30am after the last Round the Island start, that will allow the smaller keelboat classes to sail for their own prestigious trophy on a shorter course around the Western Solent. “We’ve spoken to many owners in the respective classes about the concept and had a huge level of interest. We’re therefore very excited at the prospect of running the WIndeler Cup in 2020 and welcoming the whole fleet back to the Island Sailing Club Race Village in Cowes after they finish, to join in the race-day celebrations!” Visit roundtheisland.org.uk to register for both Round the Island Race and The Windeler Cup.

Christchurch Sailing Club crowned RYA and Yachts and Yachting Club of the Year 2020

Christchurch Sailing Club has been named as the winner of the 2020 RYA and Yachts & Yachting Club of the Year Award – a second consecutive win for a south-west sailing club, after Royal Torbay Yacht Club’s win in 2019. The Dorset based club was one of 10 finalists selected by the RYA Awards Panel and ultimately crowned by the public vote. The coveted trophy was presented by The British Sailing Team’s Arran Holman at the RYA Dinghy Show on 29 February. Christchurch Sailing Club was awarded for its strong family ethos and the wide variety of sailing and social activities it offers. Its achievements include the investment in a new training room enabling members to develop their qualifications. The refurbishment of its female changing rooms will support the growth of the ladies’ fleet, a new lift and disabled toilet with baby changing facilities helps the club to get people of all ages and abilities out on the water and a Junior Sponsorship Scheme helps young members participate in events around the world. Jim Atkins, Commodore at Christchurch SC said: “We absolutely didn’t expect to win. It’s just fantastic as it’s the culmination of a lot of effort. It’s a tremendous honour for us and our members and we look forward to getting back and celebrating with them.” RYA Director of Sport Development Alistair Dickson commented: “Huge congratulations to Christchurch Sailing Club. Their hard work on major facility developments has been really impressive and the panel were really struck with their strong community spirit. “Thank you to RS Sailing and all of the RYA Reward Partners who have contributed to the prize packages, which have been very much appreciated by all of the finalists. Thank you to all those who voted, it’s always really difficult to choose one club from these inspirational finalists.”

Rutland's Sailing Club Ann Gets National Honour For Services To Disabled Sailing

A Rutland Sailability volunteer, who has dedicated her retirement to supporting disabled people to get on the water, has been honoured with the national RYA Sailability Volunteer of the Year Award. Ex-teacher, Ann Molyneux, has been involved with disability sailing since the '80s, after meeting fellow teacher and Rutland Sailability’s top international sailor and former Paralympic hopeful, Val Millward, through their profession. But after retiring, Ann moved from Essex to Grantham to be nearer the sailors she was supporting as part of Rutland Sailability and the UK Challenger class, one of the most popular disability sailing boats. The RYA Sailability Volunteer of the Year Award is presented each year to a volunteer who has given significant time and energy over the course of the year or towards a specific project, who goes above and beyond and is a real ambassador for all that Sailability represents. Ann, who lives in Grantham, was presented with her award at the 2020 RYA Sailability National Conference and Awards dinner at Wyboston Lakes, Bedfordshire. Despite not being an active sailor herself, Ann is regularly found at Rutland Sailability from 9am to 9pm on Thursdays. Meanwhile on Sundays she supports the Sailability sailors as they race alongside able-bodied sailors as part of Rutland Sailing Club’s full club racing day. This promotes true inclusivity and competition on a level playing field. Ann also travels extensively in the UK and internationally to support the Challenger class sailors. Ann, who was previously a high level hockey player and coach, said: “I was really surprised, delighted and honoured to receive my award. There are so many volunteers who are ‘unsung heroes’ I would like to think I could receive it on behalf of all the volunteers. This has been almost like a second vocation, replacing my hockey hat and putting on a Sailability one. I’m not the sort of person who’s going to sit and retire in front of the TV! “I get as much enjoyment working with people at the top end of the sport as I do seeing new people come in. I’ve been fortunate to travel to places like Japan and Portugal supporting Val and the other sailors at international events, and I’ve met a lot of new people and made a lot of friends through sailing. Attitudes have definitely changed towards disability sport during the time I’ve been involved. It’s stopped being ‘you can't’ and is now ‘how can we’.” Ann is looking forward to a busy summer, with the Great British Sailing Challenge - a nine-event series offering handicap racing for all dinghies and small craft - and the Challenger Traveller Trophy (TT) series taking her all over the UK. The Challenger class’ 40th anniversary celebrations are then in Oxford in August. Ann will also be on hand when the RYA Sailability Multiclass Regatta returns to Rutland in August. Richard Johnson, the Challenger Class Chair who is also based at Rutland, added: “Annie uses her coaching and organisational knowledge from her hockey days and recently implemented a fundamental reorganisation of the Rutland Sailability helper system to ensure newcomers are integrated into the club in the best possible way for them. She thoroughly deserves to have her magnificent efforts, which are highly appreciated by the sailors, recognised." Sailability is the RYA’s national programme enabling people with disabilities to try sailing and take part regularly. Rutland Sailability is one of the country’s leading sites for disability sailing and last year, its volunteers won the RYA Sailability Team of the Year Award. To discover how RYA Sailability is about #morethansailing visit www.rya.org.uk/sailability or to find out more about Rutland Sailability check out their public Facebook Group.

The New Outremer 55 Explained

Dufour Yachts

MARLOW TECH TALK: Why Splice?

The World Sailing Show - March 2020

My Classic Boat. Camper & Nicholson 35ft sloop 1966

SailGP GBR Team Ineos

RYA Musto Youth Awards recognise inspirational young sailors

A new generation of inspirational sailors were recognised in the RYA Musto Regional Youth Awards, presented this afternoon (01 March) at the RYA Dinghy Show. The awards celebrate the achievements of young people in the sport whether it’s on the racecourse, volunteering, instructing, coaching or overcoming adversity. They were presented to seven of the 11 regional winners by RYA Chair, Chris Preston, alongside Olympic champion Hannah Mills and her world championship-winning crew Eilidh McIntyre. Tom Brindley, 18, winner of the North West Award regularly volunteers as an instructor at Redesmere Sailing Club despite his heavy racing and training schedule and works with both adults and young people including children who have been excluded from school. “It was a surprise really as I didn’t know I had been nominated for it. It’s exciting to know that people like to recognise the achievement, not just from the performance side but also from the coaching and volunteer side too.” Also picking up an award was RYA North East winner Rebecca Finlay (17). Rebecca is well on her way to becoming a Senior Instructor and is always willing to give up her own time at short notice so other people at the Derwenthaugh Sea Cadet Boat Station can get out on the water. “It was a huge honour. I teach most weekends and a few courses during the week and sail every Tuesday. I also got my Powerboat Instructor qualification last year. Sailing has definitely given me confidence to try new things. I’d love a career which involves being out on the water. I’d love to be a professional racer but I wouldn’t mind being a coach or something- anything dinghy sailing!” Eilidh McIntyre commented: “Congratulations to all the winners. It was a real honour to meet them all today. These young people are doing so much for their communities and the people in their club and they are a true inspiration to us all.” Emma Jackson, Musto Brand Marketing Manager, said: “Musto have come on board as a partner of the RYA Musto Regional Youth Awards and it’s been fantastic meeting all the inspirational winners today and celebrating their incredible work. "We are pleased to champion sailing from grassroots all the way through to upper echelons of the sport through our partnerships with the British Youth Sailing and the British Sailing Team; these awards provide the perfect opportunity to do just that." 2020 RYA Musto Regional Youth Award Winners RYA London and South East winner: Hugo Valentine RYA North West winner: Tom Brindley RYA South winner: Monique Vennis-Ozanne RYA South West winner: Grace Cowd RYA Scotland winner: Mary Kennedy RYA Wales winner: Hew Farmer RYA Midlands winner: Nieve Ball RYA East winner: Harry Sutton RYA Northern Ireland winner: Amy Armstrong and James Corbett

RYA unveils mixed match race crew rules to boost female participation

The RYA has announced the latest in a series of changes to its match racing programme to provide more opportunities for Britain’s female racers. As part of an ongoing reform of RYA Match Racing to promote diversity and equal opportunities, crews entering the Summer Match Race events as well as the new Under 19 Championships must have at least one female sailor among the team. This follows the 2016 relaunch of the Marlow Ropes Women’s Match Racing Championships and the introduction in 2019 of the Women’s Winter Match Racing training event, both of which have led to high levels of engagement from female sailors. The move supports recent international keelboat events such as the Ocean Race and the Midsummer Match Cup which have successfully implemented mixed crew rules. It also follows the success of the RYA’s mixed crew rule introduction for the 2019 Student Match Racing Championships that saw female participation increase from 15 per cent to 35 per cent. It is in the intention of RYA Match Racing to expand this plan to encompass the Harken Youth Match Racing Championships and the National Match Racing Championships Grand Final in 2021. “In the run-up to London 2012, Britain produced some of the best female match racers in the world,” said Jack Fenwick, RYA Keelboat Development Manager. “After the inevitable post-Games decline, interest in match racing has been steadily growing. “We feel that it is vital that we provide female sailors with greater opportunities to compete on the match racing circuit, and by introducing a mixed crew rule to our events we hope we can empower female match racers and attract a whole new generation to our sport.” The move has already received the backing of key figures in elite sailing. Elaine Penhaul, chair of the Magenta Project, said: “We are delighted to see such a positive step to support and encourage gender equity in our sport. We have an imbalance to redress and this will give more women more opportunity to take part and really enhance their competitive sailing skills.” Six-time match racing world champion Ian Williams added: “I think it is a great initiative by the RYA to introduce mixed match race regattas into its programme. We sailed the Midsummer Match Cup last year, the first Grade 1 mixed regatta, and found it a very effective way of encouraging diversity in the sport.” The first of the Summer Match Racing events takes place at Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Burnham, on June 6 and 7. To enter any of the upcoming match racing events, or for more information about RYA Match Racing go to www.ryamatchracing.co.uk.

British team dominates at SailGP

In his first day of competing in the world’s fastest sail racing, Ben Ainslie’s much-anticipated debut was masterful as the Great Britain SailGP Team presented by INEOS swept all three races on Sydney Harbour in the kick off to SailGP Season 2. The British team wasted no time establishing itself as the championship front-runner – holding a comfortable lead heading into Saturday’s finale. Sydney Harbour lived up to its reputation as one of the world’s finest sailing venues, delivering near perfect conditions that saw the record-breaking F50s regularly fly at speeds near 40 knots. Ainslie said: “It was an amazing day of racing. You can’t really ask for better conditions than that, 15-20 knots southerly on Sydney Harbour. I think our team did a great job and the guys on the boat were fantastic. Great opening for us but now it’s time to refocus for tomorrow.” Pegged as the favorites entering the season, the Australians struggled to get off to good starts throughout the day, scoring mixed results, with a second, third and fifth-place finish. Despite this, the home team finds itself in position to secure a berth in the final match race, sitting tied for second with Japan. Slingsby said: “It was a tough day at the office. We just made too many mistakes. I think we’re as quick as anyone but the Great Britain team isn’t making mistakes like we’re making. It looks more like we’re the rookies. We just have to come back stronger tomorrow.” While much of the attention going into the event was around the brewing rivalry between Ainslie and Slingsby, the most tense moment of the day involved debutant Spain and France. Phil Robertson and the Spanish team were heading toward a race boundary and lost rights to France and eventually clipped the French F50. After a strong start in the race, Billy Besson’s team was forced to retire from the final two races. The SailGP race jury determined the Spain team inflicted serious damage to the French boat, docking the newcomers nine total points – five points from the first race and an additional two points for each of the final two races that France was forced to miss. While its place in the standings was hurt by the collision and subsequent point deduction, Robertson and the Spanish team had an otherwise strong debut performance, finishing second in the final two races and showing the new crew will be competitive this season. Fellow newcomer Denmark SailGP Team presented by ROCKWOOL was also assessed a two-point penalty for making contact with the Japanese boat in the first race. After day one of racing, Ainslie and the British team find themselves at the top of the leaderboard with 30 points, followed by Japan and Australia tied with 23, the United States with 19, Spain with 15, followed by Denmark at 13 and France with five. The teams will regroup to review footage and the data powered by the Oracle to see if they can find a way to match the impressive Great Britain team heading into tomorrow. Racing resumes at 4:30 p.m. local time (AEDT) tomorrow and runs through March 1. Standings after Day 1 1 Great Britain, 30 pts 2 Japan, 23 pts 2 Australia, 23 pts 4 United States, 19 pts 5 Spain, 15 pts *9 points deducted from total score 6 Denmark, 13 pts *2 points deducted from total score 7 France, 5 pts