‘For the first time in my life I felt free of my disability'

DISCOVERING sailing has transformed Hannah Shelmerdine's (34) outlook in life, from one of loneliness and isolation to a world of possibilities, freedom and friendship. With acute Cerebral Palsy Hannah needs 24 hour care and after leaving education she found herself becoming increasingly depressed, recalling those days as a seemingly endless loop of daytime television or shopping with careers. Today, Hannah describes herself as a ‘disabled extreme sportswoman' but this was not always the case. "Eventually I was so unwell I became desperate. Then my sister suggested sailing, I'd never seen a sailing boat before so I had no idea but I just thought I'd go and see if I like it" Hannah explained. Hannah and her sister went along to Bolton Sailability (at Bolton Sailing Club) in the summer of 2016 where she was taken out on a boat that day. "For the first time in my life I felt free of my disability and all its restrictions. I left my wheelchair behind" she explained. Hannah helms a double-handed boat with a crew and in light winds can sail single-handed with the aid of a powerboat driver alongside to give directions. As she has limited use of her left hand she is able to adjust the sails and steering using specially adapted controls. During her first season at the club, Hannah began to learn how to race competing at the RYA Sailability Multiclass Regatta two years running. Today she is a Rooster-sponsored ambassador for the sport and hopes to take part in a tall ship adventure with the Jubilee Sailing Trust. "Sailing really has opened up a world of opportunity" said Hannah. "It made me realise there is a life out there to be had. Sailing has given me the confidence to try other things and make new friends. One of my carers recently said to me: "We couldn't get you out at one point and now we can't keep you in!" If you'd like more information about sailing for people with disabilities please visit www.rya.org.uk/sailability

New walk-ashore berths and visitor moorings at Lymington Quay

Lymington Harbour has just announced that its scheme to upgrade and regenerate the Quay is completed and that the new facilities are officially open. Lymington now offers visitor berth facilities that rival other leading destinations across the south coast and which modern boaters expect. This is good news for Lymington businesses and estimated to boost the local tourist economy by over £1.1m over the next ten years. There are now 46 dedicated walk ashore pontoon berths (including 26 finger berths) for visiting craft, all with power and water, as well as 32 fore and aft visitor moorings. Conveniently for visitors the finger berths will be available for advance booking, initially through the harbour office, and in the coming weeks, online. Seen as the ‘gateway’ to the Solent, Lymington is as we know steeped in yachting history. With its proximity to the New Forest, it is also an attractive destination to visiting boats from other parts of Britain, and from Europe too. As well as improving the visitor facilities, the new development also enlarges the commercial landing. This will allow larger boats and more frequent visits from the pleasure cruise craft which bring day trip tourists from destinations such as Yarmouth and Cowes. Upgrades for local fishing and private boat owners too The project has also relocated the commercial fishing boat berths which provides better segregation between commercial and leisure boat activities, and upgraded 24 moorings reserved for local residents to pontoon berths. Lymington Harbour is a not for profit trust port. It sees the £620k investment as a crucial part of its wider sustainability and development programme Walk ashore berths at Lymington Quaythat is further supported by research from the British Marine Association - who highlight how the marine sector has created close to £6bn in sales from boating related tourism expenditure in 2018, a 65% growth since 2013. Travelling to and fro mainly by land as we do, most of us don't routinely consider these aspects of our economy! Tourism without traffic plus a boost for local jobs and local spending Crucially, at a time when various New Forest stakeholders are working to reduce vehicle related tourism, the new visitor facilities will deliver ‘tourism without traffic’ as well as boosting jobs and expenditure into the local community. With WIFI, power and access to newly renovated facilities, Lymington will continue to be seen as a leading destination for boaters, something that excites Harbour Commissioner Ryan Willegers: “We are delighted that this project which has been in the making for a number of years following wide spread support to an earlier public consultation is now complete. We now look forward to welcoming many new visitors to Lymington so that they can enjoy the wonderful facilities the town and harbour has to offer, while at the same time benefiting the local economy and employment”. Lymington harbour logoWe'll be hearing more from Lymington Harbour! With its vibrant weekly Saturday market, bustling high street home to award winning restaurants and independent shops along with a calendar of summer events including the annual Lymington Seafood Festival of which Lymington Harbour is also a main sponsor, the Harbour’s investment in the Quay is likely to open up even more opportunities for events and community based projects. And this is an area the Town Council is keen to develop too. Councillor Anne Corbridge Mayor of Lymington said: “We are really delighted with this investment in our sailing facilities. Which, along with the shore side improvements will certainly push Lymington to the forefront of sailing in the UK. Along with the redevelopment of the Quay later this year, this will really make our beautiful town the perfect destination for both sailors, visitors and locals, which will certainly boost the local economy." For more information visit www.lymingtonharbour.co.uk.

Historic Norfolk fishing vessel set to sail again

The King's Lynn Worfolk Boat Trust spent a decade restoring the Baden Powell, a unique double-ended fishing smack. She was built in Lynn in 1900 by legendary boat builder Walter Worfolk. During summer, the wooden vessel will be moored off Lynn's South Quay, from where she will carry passengers on tours of the tidal River Ouse and The Wash. Y Up to eight people at a time can travel on the 34ft vessel, sitting in her hold. Volunteers expect the boat to sail up the river from Lynn docks, where she has spent the winter, at around 1.30pm on Wednesday, March 18. Their website says: 'All winter Wednesday workdays have been held in the Travis Perkins yard at the docks, when our volunteers have been carrying out all those jobs which need doing to keep a wooden boat in good trim. Especially when the wooden boat concerned is the historic Baden Powell, that worked from King's Lynn for 80 years before a long programme of work under project leader Tim Clayton brought her back to life to play a major role on the town's waterfront.' One of the first to see her this season will be Trevor Dodd, descendant of Baden Powell designer and builder Walter Worfolk. 'I never had the honour of meeting my great-grandfather Walter Worfolk or his wife Lily, but heard many stories of the strict upbringing of their two sons,' he remembers. 'Walter, of course, built the Baden Powell, now faithfully restored to her original condition by a dedicated team of local volunteers. Walter had his sons sign a contract at the age of 12 as apprentices, while they learned the family trade. I'm told the apprenticeships were arduous and lengthy, and they received little in terms of compensation. 'But they endured until they were 21 and then carried on the family tradition. As soon as I was able I started to visit their Bentinck Dock workshop. I walked there every Saturday morning while at school and watched progress on their various projects. 'I witnessed one of the boats built from beginning to end. She was the Agnes C, built for a local fisherman, Frank Castleton, and named after his wife.'

Totland man and PTSD sufferer sails around Britain for Veteran's Outreach Support

A FORMER member of the British Army Counter-Intelligence Corps, who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is sailing around Britain to raise money for Veteran's Outreach Support (VOS). David Bridges, of Totland, served several tours in Northern Ireland and Bosnia among others, and will be accompanied on the trip by his friend, Simon Layton ­— a former instructor at UKSA, picking up, and dropping off, crew along the way. David was a former finance director of a bank in Jersey but took early retirement after the onset of PTSD, and moving to the Island. He said: "PTSD is a mental condition which affects the brain. It makes me hyper-observant and I'm always looking around to see if I am going to be affected by any trouble around me. "It's caused through combat, or what I have seen doing my duty. It gradually hit me ten years after leaving the army and I slipped into depression. "I see a psychiatrist who thinks this challenge will give me an objective and will be a calming influence on me." The pair have set off from Yarmouth and picked up a crew member in Portsmouth. They are sailing anti-clockwise about Britain, because the winds are more favourable, and are in a steel ketch named Ariel. David said: "We estimate it will take about three weeks to do and we will be doing 36 to 48-hour stints. "When we decide to stop, we will radio ahead and see if there is anyone about from VOS who will join us on the next leg, and I will also be doing some speaking at clubs along the way. "I've been with VOS for 18 months and they have really helped me." David's sponsors include Paul Collier, chief executive of Jacksons Esplanade and RDS Global. VOS is a drop-in service for ex-members of the British Armed Forces, the Merchant Navy and their partners, and meet on the first Wednesday of the month in the Royal Maritime Club, Portsmouth, between 2pm and 6pm.

SailGP high-speed international sailing race could be coming to Edinburgh Marina next year

The aquatic answer for Formula 1 could cast off from Edinburgh's new marina in 20 The new marina coming to the north of Edinburgh has launched an ambitious bid to bring a sailing race series to the Scottish capital. The managers of Edinburgh Marina near Granton hope to host the SailGP event next year. It's a high-speed racing challenge which takes place close to the shore, featuring national teams from around the world. Competitors use advanced foiling catamarans which "fly" out of the water, reaching speeds of up to 60mph. SailGP has drawn big crowds when hosted in other cities such as New York and Sydney, offering "epic battles between nations and top athletes." There were more than 133,000 spectators during its first season in 2018. The bid is due to be discussed at an Edinburgh city council meeting this week. A motion by councillor Jim Campbell says: "SailGP is an exciting international sailing series established by Larry Ellison and Sir Russell Coutts in 2018. "The racing is fast, and close to shore, attracting considerable interest when held in other cities such as Sydney, San Francisco, New York, Marseille, Cowes and Copenhagen. "An opportunity exists to bring this to Edinburgh and the Granton Waterfront in 2021." Competitive sailor Ben Ainslie is part of the British team and the current champions are Australia. Edinburgh Marina is expected to be complete around April 2021, as part of a major project to redevelop the waterfront in the north of the city. A spokesman for the marina said: "Edinburgh Marina have just submitted their bid to bring this event to Edinburgh to be hosted at the new 427 berth marina with 24/7 access at all states of tides."

Rose's OnBoard Story

Rose Edmonds began sailing at Snettisham Beach Sailing Club on the North Norfolk Coast back in 2010 when her family joined the Club. Her Mum Sarah explains how they got involved in the Club, and what difference it has made to their family: “We heard that the club was planning to start running the RYA OnBoard course and a local Mum was keen to make up the numbers so that the course ran, so Rose began sailing. She loved her time sailing in the club Oppies and we joined the Club and she did her first Junior Sailing week or Cadet Week that year, and every year since either as a participant, and in the last couple of years as an instructor.” Since then, Rose’s sailing has continued to progress, and she quickly moved from sailing Optimists to Toppers, becoming involved in both Club racing, and, in 2016, the RYA East Zone Championships at Grafham Water, where she won a bronze medal for two years consecutively. Shortly after she was selected to join the RYA East Topper Zone Squad, taking part in both Zone and National events. After two years in this Squad she joined the Topper RYA Junior (National) Squad, and in 2018 was able to compete in the Topper World Championships in China – a fantastic adventure. She then progressed into the 420 Youth fleet with her Helm, Ellie Driver. Rose had wanted to crew and teaming up with Ellie, she soon learned the basics and the girls worked hard and well together, only 5 months later qualifying for the British Squad to go to the World Championships in Vilamoura Portugal. The team for the Junior Euros was smaller than the Worlds and the girls missed out on selection by just 2 points. Now aged 16, she has sailed this winter in the Sailing Juice Series and also gained her Race Coach Qualification. This means she is able to volunteer to coach the East Zone Topper Squad and she is looking forward to taking her Dinghy Instructor Course and continuing to sail the 420, hopefully this year making it to the Worlds and Junior Europeans. Jane Ellison, from Snettisham Beach Sailing Club spoke of how OnBoard can get the whole family involved in Club life: “We have quite few sailors at the club that started via OnBoard. Most of our young instructors originally came into the club via OnBoard (or their older siblings did). Rose is a current example, who came to the club through OnBoard, and then her family joined - she has now trained as an Assistant Instructor, holds her Powerboat Level 2 and Level 2 Race Coach qualification and supports our OnBoard and junior sessions. Her younger brother also attended OnBoard sessions and sails at the club. Her mum did 6 weeks of ladies sailing and has also done her PB2 course to support club activity.” 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. 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 www.rya.org.uk/go/onboard.

Awards commendation for Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club

THE Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club has been officially commended for its achievements in a national awards scheme.the Royal Yachting Association and Yachts and Yachting Club of the Year Awards. The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) and Yachts and Yachting Club of the Year Awards were presented at Alexandra Palace in London by British Sailing Team member Arran Holman. RYA Chief Executive Sarah Treseder praised the "drive and innovation" of the Dales club and its members. Yorkshire Dales SC training principal Erica Caswell, who received the award on behalf of club members, said: “We are very proud of this award and it’s fantastic that the club has been recognised for its achievements.” The award commends the club for getting people out on the water, providing quality and safe activities for all, attracting new club members and volunteers. It was also praised for its good governance and management, and for engaging the local community, particularly young people.

Sailing race with South Bank Sailing Club

Sailing holidays in the UK for 2020 with Sunsail

"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.