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‘Please help us to keep her sailing’: Excelsior launches crowdfunding campaign

Excelsior Trust, who look after the historic Lowestoft-based sailing smack Excelsior, is aiming to raise funds to keep the 99-year-old iconic smack sailing. With the crew currently in lockdown on board the sailing smack, they have been using the time to put together a campaign that will hopefully ensure the future of this important part of our local heritage. Lockdown has meant that Excelsior has not been able to head out to sea with the groups of young people that were due to sail on her and this means a significant loss of annual income. The crowdfunding campaign has been unveiled to fill the financial hole left by coronavirus cancellations of its voyages. The charity has had to find its own way to maintain its traditional skills and ensure that young people will still be able to experience life on board. Excelsior has taken nearly 10,000 young people to sea over 30 years as a charitable trust and many of them return as adults bringing their own groups on board. At 77ft long, LT 472 Excelsior is the last working fishing smack to be sailing out of Lowestoft. Excelsior was built in 1921 and launched in Lowestoft as a fishing trawler – part of the town’s 300-strong fishing fleet. The smack was rescued from Norway in the early 1980s, where she’d been discovered working as a motor barge, and she was brought back to Oulton Broad to be fully and authentically restored as a working smack. In 1988 Excelsior was re-commissioned as a sail-training vessel by HRH The Princess Royal. The Excelsior Trust chairman, Jamie Campbell, said: “A trip on Excelsior is often a life-changing experience giving young people the opportunity to become part of the crew and learning new skills. “Many East Anglians will be familiar with the distinctive sight of our lovely old lady off our coast and further afield. “We are determined not to lose her as a result of Covid-19. “Please help us to keep her sailing”. For further details visit www.theexcelsiortrust.co.uk call 0845 308 2323 or to pledge support to the crowdfunding campaign visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/excelsior-trust

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SAIL SMARTS 5 - WIND - KIDS LOCKDOWN ACTIVITY - SAIL FROM HOME

Rigging and Sail Tuning - Enterprise Dinghy

Team updates for 36th America’s Cup

• Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL): The lockdown in NZ cost the team about six calendar weeks of sailing time. Their first AC75 was already en route to Italy when the Cagliari AC World Series was cancelled, and the yacht is still in Italy. Construction of their second AC75 was held up for five weeks and restarted on Tuesday 28 April. They resumed on-the-water development with their 12 meter test boat Te Kahu (The Hawk) on 29 April. • Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA): Luna Rossa made repairs to their AC75 after losing the bowsprit the last time they trained. They have now installed electric motors in their AC75 to replace six grinders so they could resume on the water testing while respecting distancing requirements. • New York YC American Magic (USA): American Magic has not sailed either their test “mule” or their AC75 Defiant since mid March. The AC75 was packed for shipping to Cagliari and then re-commissioned for sailing when the ACWS was cancelled. They will begin sailing again when they deem it safe. In the meantime construction of Boat 2 continues in Rhode Island. They plan to air freight Boat 2 to Auckland in late August. Defiant will likely go by ship to Auckland – a 35 day journey. • INEOS Team UK (GBR): The team has not sailed since moving back to Portsmouth from Sardinia. We can be sure that the sailors are spending a lot of time on their AC75 simulator and in the gym. It’s likely that their Boat 2 is well advanced in construction.

Boys rescued from sailing boat out at sea near Hengistbury Head

A LIFEBOAT crew resuced two boys from a sailing boat that had no rudder or sail and was drifting out to sea. Emergency services rushed to assist the dinghy hull that was around a quarter of a mile from Hengistbury Head on Friday night when the RNLI Mudeford Lifeboat reached the stricken vessel. The crew found two youths, aged 15 and 16, in the boat. They had paddled out to sea, however, they had lost the paddle overboard. Neither of the teenagers was wearing a life jacket. It was reported that they were being swept out in the direction of Swanage. The lifeboat successfully located the pair following reports of the incident at 8.18pm yesterday. The boys were brought aboard the RNLI Mudeford Servant and they were wrapped in a thermal protective layer to keep them warm. The crew returned the vessel and its passengers to Mudeford Quay. Once on dry land, Southbourne Coastguard provided first aid and casualty care as well as safety advice. Dorset Police and South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust were also in attendance on the shore. A member of the RNLI Mudeford team said: "The RNLI crew follow strict procedures during COVID19. "Not only do the crew put themselves in danger to assist others, once the shout is completed they spend hours thoroughly disinfecting the lifeboat, lifeboat station and all casualty equipment. This ensures the equipment and environment are safe and ready for the next crew and any possible casualties." Windsurfers, kitesurfers and swimmers have all been seen in the harbour and off Mudeford and Highcliffe beaches recently, according to the lifeboat crew. RNLI Mudeford Lifeboat requests that the public follow the government’s advice and stay out of the water at this time.

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Marine tourism body welcomes Scottish Government £100m fund

The Scottish Government’s £100 million fund to support small and medium-sized businesses and the self-employed has been welcomed by Sail Scotland, the national marine tourism body. It had been lobbying the Scottish Government for additional assistance for its members, joining voices with Wild Scotland to support the wider marine and adventure tourism sector. Both organisations say they have received high numbers of distress calls from businesses that were facing a catastrophic loss of seasonal visitors but were falling between the cracks of Scottish and UK government support. Sail Scotland estimates a 95 per cent loss of business across the marine tourism sector this year, due to the industry’s reliance on seasonal visitors. For these businesses, there is no opportunity for recovery until spring 2021 – which could be too late for many. In a plea for additional support, the body highlighted Scotland’s reputation as a world-class sailing destination. The marine tourism sector will also play an important role in ensuring the success of the themed year, Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters, which will now move from 2020 to 2021. Sail Scotland also warned of the potential impact on rural and island communities, many of which rely on the expenditure of sailing and outdoor activity visitors. Sail Scotland chairman Gavin McDonagh said: “I am pleased that all the hours of direct lobbying to government ministers over the past few weeks on behalf of our industry have resulted in positive support for our sector. On behalf of myself and the board of Sail Scotland we would like to thank our chief executive Alan Rankin for his efforts in representing our sector and achieving this vital financial support.” Mr Rankin said. “It was clear to see that many of our members and wider industry seemed to be falling between the gaps of the UK funding support mechanisms. There has been open and ongoing dialogue with Scottish Government ministers and officials, and we appreciate the recognition that has been afforded to this vital sector. "We will continue to press for additional support as the sector is so seasonal, with many operators not likely to see any business until the spring of 2021. “Our sector extends right across Scotland and really does play a vital economic role in many rural areas. Our outstanding sailing grounds attract thousands of visiting boats each year, including bringing visitors to remote islands and coastal places."

Beating the lockdown blues at Ripon Sailing Club

North Yorkshire club maintains thriving community spirit during Coronavirus pandemic with packed schedule. Ripon Sailing Club in North Yorkshire is maintaining its thriving community spirit during the Coronavirus pandemic after moving a whole variety of its regular activities online. From e-Sailing and fitness to quizzes and coaching, the club is offering members a range of opportunities to stay in touch and have fun despite lockdown preventing them from meeting at the club or being able to get on the water. As Commodore Jamie Kerslake explains: “We took the decision fairly early on that we needed to be quite pro-active engaging with members and felt that while they couldn’t come to the club, the club had to come to them. It’s about offering that sense of community and continuity. “From the committee’s point of view, we were thinking about retention and keeping members engaged, and about keeping the club at the forefront of what people were thinking about. “We were also taking into account the demographic of our membership. A lot of them were self-isolating and so maintaining social interaction was really important for them.” Packed schedule When it became clear that clubs would be unable to stay open, Ripon SC took up the offer of a free VIP licence for Virtual Regatta through the RYA and decided to pay a £11.99/month (£14.38 inc VAT) for Zoom, enabling online get-togethers lasting longer than the 40-minute limit available for free. Zoom adds a social element to the club’s Virtual Racing sessions and has been used for committee meetings and updates, coaching and training, fitness circuits and rules discussions - with members aged one through to 80 taking part in the various sessions. The club has also launched a new weekly e-news - The Answering Pennant – to supplement its usual monthly newsletter and provide a timetable of activities and any Zoom/VR access codes so members can plan the club’s activities into their schedule. WhatsApp groups have been set up for different activity groups to send quick messages while social media is seeing members sharing light-hearted reports and comments. Ripon’s virtual schedule has so far included: Virtual Racing e-Sailing races on Saturdays and Sundays are well attended while Wednesday and Friday morning racing is aimed at less experienced Virtual Racers with coaching and explanation available on how to get the best out of the programme. VR activities include groups for club racing, RC, youth and junior sailors. Training & coaching The coaching team is providing regular training via Zoom to cover a whole range of topics, including: shore theory for RYA Stage/Level 1 -3; rules discussions; understanding rig controls; and ‘boat tours’ which have so far included an Optimist, Topper and a Cadet, with members sharing knowledge about their boats and how to crew them. Kickstarter The club’s race training programme Kickstarter for less experienced sailors of all ages has moved online. The weekly theory sessions usually covered before club racing are now on Zoom for sailors who want to learn to race or would like a refresher. Fitness & Fun: Twice-weekly Zoom Circuits invite members to stay fit and active on Tuesdays and Thursdays and are proving a hit with all ages from children through to older members, while quiz nights are also proving popular. Ian Smith, club trustee and RC fleet rep, who is among those helping to deliver activities, says: “The club has really come together very well with committee and other members doing a great job to keep the club together whilst in isolation. “The clubhouse and grounds remain out of bounds to members but we have brought the club together online with our activities so that we will be in a strong position to bring everyone back together at the club as soon as we can.” Fiona Spence delivers some rules coaching to the club's Kickstarter group Benefits Commodore Jamie Kerslake says the club has seen a number of additional and unexpected benefits from moving its activities online during the Coronavirus pandemic. As well as enabling the club to develop its communications know-how, the training and coaching elements, driven by Youth & Junior Secretary Fiona Spence, have provided an opportunity to deliver sessions in a relaxed, non-sailing environment: “It has actually been quite refreshing because we’re not rushing to get on the water and we’ve been able to take a little more time to look around some different boats and to discuss the different aspects of sailing and racing.” The club has also made good use of its more experienced youth helms to run some Zoom sessions - including Ellie Clark on Rule 18 and mark roundings and Ollie Kent on startlines - which has seen them step up to the challenge, give back to the club and share the benefits of their squad training. The training and coaching sessions are not only useful live but will also be valuable for the future; the club’s paid-for Zoom package allows them to be recorded and some of the lockdown learning sessions will be edited into training resources for when activities resume at the club. The strength of the club’s committee and community spirit has come to the fore to meet the challenges of Covid-19, with virtual gatherings seeing around 6-12 members doing circuits, groups into the teens for coaching and up to around 30 participants for VR racing. Jamie says Ripon’s new online offer is bringing together all ages and even enabling members to make new friends – older RC members have been having great fun racing the kids on VR! “We’re seeing a good portion of our members and it’s brought sections of the club together that wouldn’t necessarily engage with each other normally,” says Jamie. “It’s a social sport at the end of the day and I think we’ve replicated a good amount of that which is really positive.” Anyone wanting to find out more about how the club is delivering its online activities is welcome to contact Ripon SC for further details.

Rickmansworth Sailing Club becomes RYA OnBoard Club

Rickmansworth Sailing Club, based in Hertfordshire, is on course to inspire the next generation of sailors after joining RYA OnBoard - the national grassroots scheme which makes it easier to get more young people on the water. OnBoard gives anyone aged 8-18 the chance to learn to sail by providing low cost opportunities for schools, youth groups and families to have fun afloat. Martyn Hawkins , RSC's Vice Commodore and RYA Training Principal said: "For a while now RSC's Trojans has been a great way for younger members to have fun at the club and to join their friends on the water. Of course, that's going to continue when we can get back to sailing but now we'll be a part of the RYA's great OnBoard programme too! We'll also continue to offer training from the RYA's Youth Sailing Scheme so that even more young people in the area can benefit from these fantastic qualifications. We look forward to working closely with the RYA's OnBoard team to promote, encourage and develop young people's use of the club and its water." Hannah Cockle, OnBoard Operations Officer, commented: “It’s great to welcome Rickmansworth Sailing Club to the OnBoard programme. Getting out on the water has a huge amount of benefits, no matter what your age, background or ability. We look forward to working with them and the local community in the future to get as many people as possible enjoying our great sport.” As a recognised RYA Training Centre Rickmansworth Sailing Club conforms to the highest standards of safety and quality. Rickmansworth Sailing Club sails on Troy Lake in Hertfordshire. You can find out more about the Club here. 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 out on the water in the East Region, once the current Coronavirus prevention restrictions are lifted, visit www.rya.org.uk/go/startboating. Please note: At the time of going to print and based on the Government’s advice and guidance on the developing Coronavirus situation, the RYA has suspended all RYA organised events until at least 31 May 2020 – this date will be regularly reviewed. This includes OnBoard events and activities.

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