SailGP: Plymouth to host Season 2 event in July 2021

Plymouth will host SailGP's Season 2 European debut when the global league's events restart in 2021. The remainder of the 2020 season was impacted by Covid-19, however Season 2 is due to commence in San Francisco in April 2021 before moving on to New York. The championship will then return to UK shores on July 17-18, 2021 for the third event of Season 2. The event will take place on Plymouth Sound and be shown live on Sky Sports. Plymouth SailGP is in partnership with Plymouth City Council, with support from Associated British Ports, English Cities Fund and Sutton Harbour Group. It will also form part of the city's Mayflower 400 commemorations, marking the anniversary of the signature voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to America. Plymouth was selected following a six-month bid process which involved five other UK cities. New for SailGP fans for Season Two will be the addition of the New Zealand SailGP Team to the impressive line-up of world-class sailors and sailing nations. Olympic gold medallists and defending America's Cup champions Peter Burling and Blair Tuke are part of the newly-formed New Zealand SailGP Team. The pair will serve as co-CEOs of the team and continue to add to the competition's line-up, which includes Sir Ben Ainslie, the most successful Olympic sailor of all time. "For us as a British team there is nothing better than racing in front of a home crowd and we are incredibly excited about the prospect," Ainslie said. "There is an element of nostalgia for me personally, having grown up and learned to sail in the West Country and now all these years later coming back to race on the international stage. "Plymouth is a fantastic sailing venue with a natural amphitheatre for the fans to watch these amazing F50s." "We are really excited to add Plymouth as the third event in Season 2 of SailGP," SailGP CEO, Sir Russell Coutts added. "The British have a very talented team led by Ben Ainslie and I'm sure they will receive a lot of local support in their bid for the global championship." Following the UK leg, SailGP plans to remain in Europe for grand prix events in the other team markets: Denmark, France and Spain. Dates and venues will be announced in the coming months.

Sailing Youth Nationals to be held in Dorset

The 2020 Youth National Championships is to be held at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) due to current COVID-19 restrictions in Wales. The event was due to take place at Plas Heli, the Welsh National Sailing Academy in April, but it will now be held at WPNSA from 24-27 October. Racing will take place in the ILCA 6 and 7 singlehanded dinghies (formerly Laser Radial and Laser Standard), and 420 and 29er doublehanded classes. The Kite Foil, Nacra 15 and windfoiling classes will contest their national youth titles alongside an extended Olympic Classes National Ranker at WPNSA from 30 October to 1 November. WPNSA will put in place its own measures to ensure the safety of competitors, parents, staff and volunteers. The regatta will follow the RYA’s guidance on running major events. Entry for the events at WPNSA will go live at 10am on 1 September, on a first-come first served basis. To ensure the regattas remain safe, there will be a limit on the number of boats across all four classes for the first weekend and for the youth classes at the Olympic Ranker event. To enter the Youth Nationals and the Ranker log onto https://www.rya.org.uk/racing-events/2020-rya-youth-national-championships. The closing date for standard entries is 30 September. Due to the manual approval process of entries, the RYA website may accept entries after the quotas have been filled. In this circumstance you will be contacted to arrange a refund. In the event of a rise in COVID-19 cases, the RYA may have to cancel or reduce the size of the event. If this is the case, affected entries will be refunded.

Hastings & St Leonards Sailing Club musters largest fleet of the season

Nineteen boats sailed in a four race handicap, and other sailors and families, not racing but wanting to enjoy the occasion, also took to the water. In light winds that had almost died by the final race, it was Roy Sandford, the eldest sailor on the water, who won the day. Experience, technique and calm nerves saw out the younger bloods who would have liked stronger winds. Allowing for a one race discard, Sandford, sealed victory with a fourth and two firsts, three points clear of second placed Richard and Sue Morley in a Buzz, and Hugh Ashford in another Laser who was third. The day though was not just about racing. Rear Commodore Andrew Francis was the mastermind behind the club’s first social event since the lockdown in March. An impressive beach BBQ followed the racing along with a naming ceremony for a new power boat. The boat was named ‘Gordon’ after the the club’s longstanding coxswain, Dave Gordon, who maintains the boats. Dave joined the club in the early 1980s to learn to sail and has been a member ever since. in 2018, Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, presented Dave with an RYA Volunteer Award for his unwavering contribution to the life of the club. When it came to choosing a name for the new boat, it could only be, “Gordon”. The club is also indebted to local firm Kileys Karpets who made a significant contribution to the cost of the new boat. With clear skies, warm airs, sailing, and celebrating, it was a day to remember at the Hastings & St Leonards Sailing Club. (www.hastingssc.org)

Oban Sailing Club has ‘shore’ way of getting back on the water

All hands on deck has tided Oban Sailing Club over during the Covid pandemic. Members and volunteers at the club’s Dungallan Park base have stayed busy and safe – on and off land As soon as coronavirus restrictions started to ease, the club was able to start encouraging people of all ages to come back and have fun on the water again, taking advise from RYA (Royal Yachting Association) Scotland and sticking to government guidelines. ‘It’s always been important for us as a club to get this right so we have been taking it quite gently and softly, being cautious rather than bullish with the guidelines because the Oban community has worked so hard to keep people safe,’ said Club Commodore Finlo Cottier. When lockdown hit, the club had just refitted its new kitchen and although it had to shut its clubhouse doors, members – many who had boats stranded in various yards, were still kept engaged with emails and some even took part in an online regatta. But as tight restrictions eventually began to lighten, dinghies were safest first out on the water, three days were left between sessions to keep the boats virus-free and anyone needing to borrow wetsuits or other equipment from the club were asked to take them home with them. Mr Cottier said: ‘We’d figured out our dinghies could operate safely. We are so thankful for the hugely supportive volunteers in family groups who came out in the safety boats to make that possible. ‘The fact we couldn’t do much sailing during Covid has allowed us as a club to get on with other jobs, too, so in a way lockdown has had quite a silver lining in that respect and it has also given people the opportunity to sail just for pleasure instead of racing each other for trophies!’ Mindful of the wider community’s plight, the club gave a donation to Hope Kitchen. ‘While we could not sail we could still at least do something for the community,’ said Mr Cottier. The sailing club also offered its own members a refund scheme if they were struggling against hard times. One member pledged to cover the shortfall to the club if it was needed. Members and volunteers have used time out of the water to help clear up the dingy park that is council-owned. ‘Oban Sailing Club doesn’t own it but we’ve taken it on ourselves to try and keep it tidy. Anyone has been able to leave their equipment there but some of it has been left for more than 10 years. Some owners of the abandoned bits have left the area so we’ve been sifting through it, trying to identify what’s still in use and can still be used, and what is whose. We don’t want it to look an eyesore. We’re in talks now with the council about how the park could be better organised and managed,’ said Mr Cottier. There is also talk with Oban Community Sports Hub about taking on one of the boats from the now closed down Kilbowie Outdoor Centre for the community to use. And partnership work is ongoing with the likes of Oban Bay Community Berthing, which runs the visitor moorings at the pontoons in town, the Wind and Wave Club at the University of the Highland and Islands, and Oban High School, which has dinghies at the sailing club. ‘We are always open to new members,’ said Mr Cottier. The club also has a temporary membership option for visitors.

The Royal St. George 29er's - August 2020

Tamesis Club back in action after lockdown

We locked down slightly earlier than mandated, curtailing our winter series by two weeks. We were delighted with the RYA offer of the virtual racing and took full advantage of it, having races on Thursday evenings, Sundays and latterly Tuesday evenings for juniors and masters as well. We took up the challenge from nearby Minima Yacht Club to do some team racing. Our club champion distinguished himself in the regional final. The junior races gave a lot of our youngsters more confidence, which they have transferred to actually going out on the water now that we are racing on Sundays, being very keen to crew a parent or enter the dedicated race for Toppers. It’s great to see. We have also restarted our junior sailing sessions on Saturday afternoons. We have run two Summer Camps with a total of 25 children taking part under the excellent auspices of RYA Sailing Development Officer Ben Kimbell, who worked out a Covid safe way to run them. They all had a fantastic time, even with the very challenging weather in the second week. The picture shows two brothers sailing a Feva in the first week (one of the RYA regional Feva fleet no less). We have been getting a lot of new members joining via the 'Contact Us' section on our website. Many sail already, or have SUPs or canoes. We are not fussy, as we are keen to encourage other watersports in a fun, non competitive fashion. We have a growing SUP section, and now offer SUP storage. We also see SUP membership as being a route to introducing them to sailing. We took the club opening gently, allowing social sailing as soon as it was possible, then had a couple of trial Sundays in June with the interval between starts set to half an hour instead of the usual five minutes. This allowed for one fleet being rigged in the boat park at a time. The competitors in the first race of three are not allowed to come ashore until the last boat in the last race has been launched. We have a patrol boat out, but competitors are asked not to sail unless they can manage the conditions. We have mandated masthead flotation (4 pint milk containers) and will lift the masts if necessary, not people. These races do not form a series, as not everyone is prepared to sail. The races are as usual run by a volunteer race crew that now includes a Beachmaster. We have abandoned the use of Dutyman for the moment, but plan to go back to using it in September. Once ashore, all are welcome to buy their drinks from the Veranda Bar. The clubhouse is closed, but the veranda doors are opened and drinks served from a table just inside. Payment is by card only. This has proved very popular. Currently the bar is being run by volunteers. The toilets in the changing rooms are open but the changing area is not. Members are asked to text a number when they arrive to allow for track and trace. A book register is also available. Sailors are asked to arrive down in their sailing clothes. Tamesis is an RYA Recognised Training Centre, but we are currently unsure of when we will get back to instructing. We have cancelled our regatta, but are planning to run class open meetings towards the end of September and early October. All in all, we seem to be emerging very well from a strange period. The club spirit is very strong, and the need to arrange things differently has led to a lot of improvements. Find out more about Tamesis Club

Episode 8: The World or Nothing

Axe Yacht Club members enjoy excellent weekend conditions

Vibes, tazes, topazes, and other boats zoomed about the Seaton bay over the three-day holiday. For many this was the first time on the water since last year due to the Covid-19 lockdown which coincided with the beginning of the sailing season. On Sunday afternoon the northerly wind made for flat seas and ideal conditions for launching and retrieving the dinghies. Axe Yacht Club has been committed to getting cadets and families out sailing dinghies within the safe parameters of the pandemic restrictions and RYA guidance. However, this has not been straightforward and has required restrictions on the use of the club house and changing facilities, as well as distancing on the water. This means that those sailing together in a dinghy or boat must be within the same ‘bubble’ and must be able to launch and retrieve the boats themselves. Two support boats also with crews in respective social ‘bubbles’ were out due to the number of sailors including cadets to assist where necessary. Amanda Parker, commodore of Axe Yacht Club said: “I was so thrilled to see so many of our younger sailors out enjoying the very favourable sailing conditions. “It has been quite a task getting ourselves ready to sail again with risk assessments, and new measures but it has been absolutely worth it to see the huge smiles on everyone’s faces after a day of sailing.” Axe Yacht Club always welcomes new members. For all details about the club and how to join please visit www.axeyachtclub.co.uk

Young sailor arrives in Largs during record round-UK sailing bid

A TEENAGE sailor arrived in Largs this week as he bids to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the 1,390-nautical mile journey around the British Isles Timothy Long set off from Hamble Point Marina in Southampton on July 16 at the start of the daring voyage which is expected to take about two months. And one of the highlights of his mission arrived on Monday as the schoolboy arrived at Largs Yacht Haven. The local marina is the base for sail charity the Dame Ellen MacArthur Trust, the focus of Timothy's amazing fundraising endeavour around the UK. The Trust provides sailing opportunities for young people recovering from cancer. The schoolboy, who is a member of Hythe Sailing Club, is circumnavigating the country in a 28ft-yacht and is aiming to beat the record set in 2011 when 17-year-old Tom Webb successfully completed a similar voyage. The 15-year-old had his first taste of sailing at the age of nine, when he had to contend with thunder and lightning as he was tipped him into the freezing waters of a reservoir from a dinghy. Undeterred, his passion for sailing grew and in 2017 he acquired a vessel of his own to become the youngest skipper in the Round Island Race, navigating the busiest shipping lane in the world - the Dover Straits - as well as facing up to the huge tidal ranges in the Severn Estuary all on his own. There was a special welcome at Largs Yacht Haven on Monday afternoon as family, friends and representatives of Trust through a party to welcome him from Tarbert. Proud mum Sue said "Dame Ellen MacArthur inspired him to become a professional sailor, "It is brilliant to come to Largs with its connection to her and the weather couldn't have been better for his arrival with the sun splitting the sky." The teen said: "I am really pleased to be stopping in Largs. Dame Ellen has always been my inspiration and I wanted to do something which combined my passion for sailing and helped her charity at the same time. It is a great cause." A signed copy of Dame Ellen's book and a commemorative baseball cap were waiting for Timothy to spur him on. Timothy had been plotting his epic challenge since last year, but like many his plans got scuppered when the UK was forced into lockdown the day before his boat was supposed to be launched. Ellen shared some words of encouragement for the ambitious young sailor. She told the News: "To sail around Britain is a wonderful challenge. I was only a few years older than Tim when I did the same and I was awestruck by the incredible beauty of the British Isles. "There's something magical about looking back on your home country from the sea. I wish him fair winds on his journey and want to say thank you for supporting the Trust in this challenge. "The money Tim raises will make a huge difference in young people being able to rebuild their lives after cancer."

ILCA ( LASER ) NATIONALS 2020 - On the water action returns to Weymouth!

Day One - RS Aero Uk Open & National Championships 2020 at Eastbourne So...

South Windermere Sailing Club hold their first Old Gaffers event

WINDERMERE saw a fleet of traditional boats set sail in the first event of its kind held by local sailing society. South Windermere Sailing Club organised their first ever ‘Old Gaffers Regatta’ event on Saturday, August 15 which saw a collection of vessels cross the iconic waters. Six traditional sailing boats in the club’s new fleet crossed the lake from Fell Foot and enjoyed a picnic before making the return journey. The fleet was accompanied by club members in cruisers and dinghies, as well as appropriate safety measures. The club is looking to put on similar exhibitions and events in the future. The term “Old Gaffers” refers to the distinctive sailing rig of traditional boats, including gaff, lug and spritsail rig. The club’s fleet included Drascombe and Deben Luggers, Cornish Crabber and Cornish Coble, Artic Tern, Sea Otter and several others. Jeremy Lambert, South Windermere Sailing Club's old gaffer fleet captain is hoping more events can be arranged despite the current Covid arrangements. He said: “The Old Gaffers Regatta had been in our diaries for some months, and I know all the fleet members were looking forward to getting together and sailing as a fleet. “On the day, the turnout was super and we were all able to enjoy a day out on the lake. The lack of wind enabled us to sail, row and motor together and also enjoy each other’s company. “As a group we could all see the potential for developing the Old Gaffer fleet’s activities. “The 2021 event is already in our thoughts and hopefully the Covid situation will allow for a more publicised event that would enable other old gaffers from the north of England to come and join us.” For more information on the South Windermere Sailing Club, go to www.swsailing.co.uk.

Team Ineos AC Flyby 1