World on Water Sailing News Oct 23.20 "Rita 2", Foils, AC 75 Flying/Deck...

Salcombe Yacht Club ladies keep on sailing

The Ladies that Launch (LTL) group at Salcombe Yacht Club (SYC) has just celebrated its tenth anniversary – not quite in the way originally intended, but simply by getting back on the water successfully after the spring lockdown. Jayne Morris, who works as Sailing Co-ordinator at SYC, has volunteered with LTL since the beginning. As soon as she had been unfurloughed and started getting boats back on the water for the cadets, she attended one of the RYA #returntoboating webinars to help with the club planning. “It was very helpful,” she explains. “It gave us confidence that we could make a plan that was possible and safe. I worked with the Sailing Committee and one of our cadet volunteers to make it happen.” Helped by Sailing Development Officer Stuart Jones, Jayne ran a trial session with the LTL in order to produce operating procedures for small group sailing and conduct a new risk assessment, which was further trialled and amended over the next few weeks. “The first ladies’ sessions helped us to understand how to make other sessions safe,” she says. “Everything takes more time, but slow is smooth, and smooth is fast!” Whilst six members of the original LTL group remain, each year there’s a different core of ladies who benefit from the boost in confidence that makes them feel comfortable in the club and in racing. “It serves as a lovely introduction to the club,” says Jayne. “I’m really grateful to Ursula who runs the WhatsApp group, boosting excitement every week about everyone getting together to sail in safety and freedom. “One of our ladies, who has been coming for the last ten years, had a complete knee replacement last year and thought she’d never dinghy sail again. But being able to do a short 20-minute session to start, she could build up her confidence and flexibility.” Other women have benefited from this close-knit group when dealing with rehabilitation or bereavement. And ironically enough, while LTL has a very specific energy about it, there isn’t anything similar for men who are just returning to the sport: “A couple of our ladies asked if their husbands could come to sail and help in the safety boat. They were nervous about returning to boating, so it became a bit of a joke to give the men ladies’ names, so they could come along too! Now they’ve gained confidence in a quieter estuary, and though we’ll continue Ladies that Launch midweek sessions, next year, covid allowing, we’ll add a Friday social sailing session to have everyone together (hopefully with social distancing up on the terrace for a drink afterwards).” SYC itself was due to celebrate its 125th anniversary this year – something it’s planning to do next year instead. In the meantime, however, it has a very spacious clubhouse, which has helped enormously with the implementation of safety measures and the resulting ability to keep activity going well into October. Jayne says: “I’m grateful for the continued RYA updates which help the club work within the most recent government guidelines. All safety measures are in place and everyone has been following the rules very carefully.” As the sailing winds down for the winter, the club is organising rambles with soup back at the clubhouse afterwards. These are popular especially with retired members for whom the friendship is a crucial part of their participation, and will, with luck, get everyone through to a much better boating season next year. It may have been a low-key celebration, limited season, and a very cautious return to boating for the Ladies that Launch, but Jayne reports that it’s been a very visible success: “It has been a great spectacle for everyone onshore to have the boats back on the water – it’s uplifting for everyone, including the non-sailors, and you see people pause on the shore to look. We had planned to have a Ladies Day, all wearing hats, to celebrate our tenth anniversary, but actually the fact that we’re still going through all this is enough for us.”

Sailing across the Channel from England to Wales - Out of site of land! ...

Up the River

Community Asset bid for Yeadon’s Sailing Centre, Leeds

YEADON’S sailing centre could be taken over as a Community Asset to ensure its survival. The Leeds Sailing and Activity Centre at Yeadon Tarn is one of a number of local facilities that are at risk of closure under plans being considered by Leeds City Council. The local authority is proposing a range of cuts, to be considered by its Executive Board on Wednesday, October 21, to help it overcome a multi-million shortfall in its budget for 2021-22. The closure of the sailing centre, should it proceed - all of the proposed cuts are subject to consultations - would lead to savings of about £88,000 in the year ahead. The report going to the Executive Board says that the facility’s building ‘could be converted to a café and/or transferred to a local organisation to operate’, though not as a sailing centre. MP Alex Sobel has now written to the city council to ask if the centre can be taken over by the community. He said: “We are actively seeking a Community Asset Transfer to bring the sailing centre into community ownership if the council are unable to continue to run it as a council facility. “The sailing centre is far too great an asset to lose. Not only is it an important facility for the people of Yeadon but also the whole of Leeds and West Yorkshire, offering such facilities as sailing, kayaking and paddle boarding, along with courses for schools, youth and community groups. “Whilst I understand that, sadly, cuts must be made due to a £120 million hole in the budget due to lack of funding from central government - on top of over ten years of brutal Tory cuts and lack of government support during the pandemic - we must explore all options to keep such valuable community places open. “The sailing centre has a great vision and mission of making Leeds the city to be active in and passionate about enabling active and thriving communities, these are values we need to keep going. I hope the ward councillors join me exploring every opportunity to save the centre.” The Otley and Yeadon ward’s three Lib Dem Councillors Sandy Lay, Ryk Downes and Colin Campbell all condemned the proposal when it was revealed last week. Cllr Downes said: “I have recently been working with Yeadon sailing centre about moving forward with a public cafe at Yeadon Tarn, within the centre. At no point was the potential of closure discussed. “The facility is a great way for young people to learn sailing and my own daughters have benefitted in the past from the excellent staff and facilities there. “To remove such a great and well used facility is reducing options for young people - we need to find more outdoor physical activities for people, not reduce them.”

Wormit Boating Club sail off with prestigious award

Community-based Wormit Boating Club has been named Club of the Year at the East Fife Annual Sporting Awards 2020. The award, sponsored by Howe of Fife Rotary Club, is presented to the club that has made a significant impact on the development of its sport, which for Wormit includes sailing and rowing. The group uses wooden St Ayles Skiffs, built by members and based on a traditional East Neuk design. The club welcomes people of all ages, encouraging non-rowers to try ‘taster sessions’ when current restrictions allow. The sailing season runs from April to October, and rowing continues throughout the year. As well as being strongly tied to its community roots, the club takes part in competitions and regattas across Scotland and beyond, including the SkiffieWorlds World Championships at Stranraer in 2019. Their first significant trophy was the Fife Cup at the 2019 Gathering at Lochore Meadows. Other activities include an annual Perth to Wormit row, which brings together clubs from across Fife and beyond, and starts the rowing season. The club also has a long-standing friendship with 333 Squadron of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Every year, squadron members visit Woodhaven, the base for their Catalina flying boats during the Second World War. The Norwegian flag is still flown regularly at the club, and the Skiffs, Catalina and The Flying Boat, are named to acknowledge the Squadron’s ties with the town.

World on Water VENDEE GLOBE Report #3 Village Open, Apivia, Arkea Paprec...

J/99 in big breeze and seas V2

Boat Building Academy - Ed's 10′ Flying Ten being launched

HUGO BOSS: Onboard Cameras

Sailing World on Water News October 16.20. Jules Verne, INEOS Juan Vila,...

Up to Speed: October 2020

All-female doublehanded Round Ireland record attempt underway

Cat Hunt and Pamela Lee have started their attempt to set the first doublehanded Round Ireland record for an all-female crew. The pair left Wicklow Sailing Club in the early hours of 13 October for the start line at Kish lighthouse before heading south for a clockwise circumnavigation. They will be following the classic 700 nm route of the bi-annual Round Ireland Race, keeping Ireland and all its islands and rocks to starboard. After rounding the Fastnet Rock, the sailors will be exposed to the Atlantic Ocean and its harsh weather conditions, all along the west coast. Once around the northern tip of the island, they will have to contest with the strong tides around Ratlan, where the speed of the water can often exceed the speed of the boat in the opposite direction. The final stretch involves navigating the fickle winds and tidal currents of the Irish Sea to the finish. Cat and Pamela are sailing a Figaro Bénéteau III, Iarracht Maigeanta (Éire) during the attempt, which is being backed by The Magenta Project, a collective set up to support women at the highest level of sailing. They wanted to set this record as an all-female crew, to demonstrate that women are not part of the shorthanded and fully crewed offshore sailing scene just because of a mixed crew requirement, with the likes of the Olympic and Ocean Race rules, but because they are strong, motivated sailors in their own right. ‘Shorthanded racing is a great discipline because it demands that each skipper is skilled in all aspects of offshore sailing – from navigation to helming and sail trimming,’ explained Pamela, who is skipper of the Irish RL Sailing Team. ‘It is fantastic for females to be involved in particular, because it offers opportunities to learn and take the lead onboard that are often harder for women to fulfil on a fully crewed boat, where roles are more compartmentalised,’ she added. The two sailors are taking on the Round Ireland challenge with the hope of inspiring girls in Ireland and the UK to move into offshore sailing after graduating from dinghies, and to aspire to skippering large boats. ‘There is talent, enthusiasm and potential among young, female sailors in Ireland and the UK, but often a lack of awareness about the avenues for participation for women,’ said Cat, who placed 2nd in the 2019 RORC Transatlantic Race with an under 30 team, and hopes to be the next female British sailor to compete in the offshore Solitaire du Figaro. ‘We hope our record attempt will help to break down some of the stereotypes, related to accessibility and male dominance, and will generate excitement – encouraging other girls to get out and try to break the record we set!’ The Round Ireland record attempt is expected to take them five days and nights. Cat and Pamela will run a two-hour on watch rotation, and will also work together as a team on deck whenever manoeuvres such as sail changes are required. You can follow their progress on the Magenta Project’s Facebook page.