Maxi Edmond de Rothschild establishes new Rolex Fastnet Race record

 The extraordinary 32m long Ultime Maxi Edmond de Rothschild showed a clean pair of heels to the rest of the fleet in the 49th Rolex Fastnet Race arriving this evening (Monday 9 August) at 20:24:54 BST, setting a new record for the race's new longer 695 mile course to Cherbourg of 1 days 9 hours 15 minutes and 54 seconds.

As the huge blue and white trimaran arrived in Cherbourg's Port Chantereyne, the marina was packed with cheering fans of the team and of its famous crew of six led by co-skippers Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier. Also on board were David Boileau, Erwan Israel, Morgan Lagraviere and Yann Riou.

"The boat is amazing - we have improved since last year, so we are very happy," said Caudrelier. "The team has done a fantastic job over the last year to develop the boat and we can't stop that because new boats are coming. We are very happy about this race and the result of it, and the way it has happened."

Local council saves grassroots sailing club

 Dorset sailors returned to the water this month after their club was threatened with closure. The club, which was affiliated to Hengistbury Head Outdoor Education Centre (HHOEC), was saved by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP) after the college that ran the centre closed it down.

The centre provided sailing and outdoor education to thousands of school children across Dorset and Hampshire. During lockdown the centre staff were made redundant, the clubhouse condemned and several community groups, including Sea Scouts, a dragonboat charity and two canoe clubs, asked to move out.

The HHOEC Users Group – a collective of seven clubs, charities and youth groups – appealed to the local council for help.

Just as members were preparing to move their boats and equipment, BCP Council granted them a licence to continue until February 2022.

Burnham-based sailing club celebrates start hut opening

 A SAILING club formally opened their start hut at the weekend.

On Saturday, August 7, Burnham-on-Crouch town mayor Vanessa Bell and leader of Maldon District Council Wendy Stamp formally opened the new start hut at Creeksea Sailing Club.

The old start hut stood on the bank of the River Crouch for more than 50 years and is a well known landmark for sailors.

The new hut which was self-funded by the club was replaced at the start of the year in difficult working conditions with tough weather and Covid-19.

The One Bassenthwaite Lake Sailing Week

 160 fleet starts, 2 pursuit races, a Commodores reception, a bouncy castle assault course, lots of kids entertainment, millions of ice creams, 3 live bands and 1 final Olympic themed disco. Bass Week 2021 made up for a miserable 18 months and a cancelled Bass Week 2020.

Britain's Sam Goodchild skippers Leyton to success

 The first season of the Pro Sailing Tour ended yesterday evening after a five-and-a-half day sail in the closing offshore leg of the race, the 'Final Rush'.

Having skippered their yacht from Brest to La Rochelle followed by Las Palmas de Grand Canaria, Sam Goodchild and his crew are crowned winners of this series of the Tour, adding yet another accolade to their already impressive tally. They came out on top after finishing the final leg of the race — a 1650-mile-long stretch of water from Toulon to Brest, in which they underwent several re-groupings and a final exhilarating sprint across the Bay of Biscay. In the end, it was Leyton, skippered by Goodchild, which prevailed over Arkema 4. These two crews, who have been consistent front runners in the offshore racing world, rightfully stand side-by-side on the podium at the end of this first season of the Pro Sailing Tour.

Provisional overall standings Pro Sailing Tour after two stages:

Final Rush - Provisional Rankings 8/08/21 - 17:30

1 / Leyton (Sam Goodchild), 5d 10h 19' 38"

2 / Arkema 4 (Quentin Vlamynck), +49' 22"

3 / Solidaires en Peloton - ARSEP (Thibaut Vauchel-Camus), +49' 39"

4 / Primonial (Sébastien Rogues), +49' 39"

5 / Ciela Village (Erwan Le Roux), a 354 millas de Brest

6 / The Arch (Armel Tripon/Benoît Marie), retirado

Overall Provisional Pro Sailing Tour 2021 rankings

1 / Leyton (Sam Goodchild), 43 points

2 / Arkema 4 (Quentin Vlamynck), 36 points

3 / Solidaires en Peloton - ARSEP (Thibaut Vauchel-Camus), 26 points

Wirral sailor takes you onboard his career in new book

 David said: "I wrote it really to inspire people to sail further than where they might have been. People might keep their boat around Liverpool Bay but never explore any further than that.

"You know, there is so much out there further away and so many new places. That’s what I wanted people to do, sail further away from home."

The book shares his memories of racing from Liverpool to the Isle of Mann, yacht delivery and sails with his son.

David added: "I could have written a lot more. We’ve sailed in Scotland and we’ve seen whales, dolphins and all sorts of fish.

"There is so much around our Island. I would encourage anybody to take up a challenge and it’s a challenge you really get to see. It’s a challenge worth taking."

To find out more about the book and author visit https://www.shieldcrest.co.uk/about/featured-authors/david-collinson/.

Rolex Fastnet Race - big or a small boat race?

The start of the Rolex Fastnet Race will take place from the Royal Yacht Squadron line off Cowes on Sunday, with a first warning signal for the multihull classes at 1100, followed at 15 minute intervals by the IMOCAs/Class40s, and then the five IRC classes starting with IRC Four and finishing with IRC Zero at 1230.

The largest offshore race in the world, the Rolex Fastnet Race fleet represents a complete pantheon of almost 350 yachts, ranging from giant Ultime trimarans and brand new 125ft monohulls, down to 30 footers. Usually, 48 hours out from the start of this race the weather forecast provides some indication of whether it will favour a particular part of the fleet, such as the fastest or slowest boats. Sadly, due to a complex, volatile weather scenario over the southwest United Kingdom, the forecast remains uncertain, and predicting if any part of the fleet could be favoured is far from easy.

 

18ft Skiff racing at the Calshot Activities Centre, Solent

 The final standings of the weekend could have gone to either Rutland or Babycham depending who came out on top in Race 6, with Union Rose close by to shake things up. It was Babycham that eventually ended up on top winning the event. However, with only a few weeks to go until the Nationals, its fair to say that form is coming for all teams! And if a forecast comes like it did for this weekend's exciting racing, it is sure to be an excellent showdown for the 2021 National title!

The fleet also did a test 'round the cans' race after the usual 6 races to check if they enjoyed the format. After 50 minutes of upwind, kite runs and two sail reaches, and trying to dodge the rest of the Cowes Week fleets, Rutland just about kept Union Rose away to claim victory in the first trip around the Solent. There will certainly be many more of those races to come in the future!

Overall Results:

Pos Boat Name R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 Pts

1 Babycham 1 [6] 6 1 1 2 11

2 Rutland 3 1 [6] 3 2 3 12

3 The Time Genie 2 2 1 [6] 6 6 17

4 Union Rose [6] 6 6 2 3 1 18

5 The Green Skiff 4 3 [6] 4 6 6 23

Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Nationals 2021: Get your entry in now!

 2021 UK Moth Nationals taking place at Stokes Bay Sailing Club between 12th - 15th August.

Depending on the weather, twelve races are planned across the four days of racing in Stokes Bay (fingers crossed for 15 knots and sunshine).

The class encourages Moth sailors to support our sponsors wherever possible, since they are so good at supporting us.

More Information:

Stokes Bay SC page

Moth Class UK Facebook page

We'll see you all at Stokes Bay in August, and for those who aren't (yet) Moth sailors, you'll be able to follow the action daily through the comprehensive coverage.

For entries visit: www.blueteq-sys.co.uk/imca-uk/emailverification.

Typhoon 29er UK National Championship 2021 at Largs Sailing Club

 54 29er pairings made the trip up to Largs for the biggest event of the UK 29er calendar, the National Championships. Scotland greeted everyone with stunning, sunny weather for measurement and for the competitors' final opportunity to make sure their boats were race ready.

Gold Fleet

Sailed: 7, Discards: 1, To count: 6, Entries: 28, Scoring system: Appendix A

1 Gold GBR

GBR 2743 FEMALE YOUTH EMILY MUELLER FLORENCE BRELLISFORD RLYMYC/ HISC

CORINTHIAN OTTERS/ EYC 9.0 3.0 1.0 6.0 (17.0) 4.0 4.0 1.0 45.0 28.0

2 Gold GBR

GBR 3066 MALE YOUTH ALED LLEWELLYN-JONES BEN BRADLEY SAUNDERSFOOT SC

HILL HEAD SC/HISC 12.0 6.0 13.0 (21.0) 6.0 7.0 5.0 2.0 72.0 51.0

3 Gold GBR

GBR 2811 MALE YOUTH OLLIE EVANS BEN HUTTON-PENMAN GUNARD SC

BURNHAM SC/CORINTHIAN OTTERS 24.0 8.0 (12.0) 4.0 3.0 10.0 1.0 5.0 67.0 55.0

4 Gold GBR

GBR 2982 MALE YOUTH TOM STOREY BEN WILLETT YORKSHIRE DALES SC

LLANDEGFFEDD SC 11.0 1.0 11.0 5.0 18.0 5.0 6.0 (27.0) 84.0 57.0

5 Gold GBR

GBR 2966 MALE YOUTH LEO WILKINSON SAM JONES MAIDENHEAD SC/HISC

HILL HEAD SC/HISC/H 16.0 (17.0) 5.0 3.0 1.0 12.0 11.0 10.0 75.0 58.0

Silver Fleet

Sailed: 7, Discards: 1, To count: 6, Entries: 27, Scoring system: Appendix A

1 Silver GBR

GBR 2222 FEMALE JUNIOR GWEN SARGENT GABS BURLTON EMSWORTH SC

THORNEY ISLAND SC / ROYAL SO 60.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 1.0 (11.0) 4.0 87.0 76.0

2 Silver GBR

GBR 401 MALE JUNIOR ROO PURVES OLLIE BULL CHANONRY SC 63.0 (12.0) 2.0 2.0 10.0 9.0 1.0 2.0 101.0 89.0

3 Silver GBR

GBR 2828 MIXED YOUTH EILISH GRAHAM THEO STEWART ROA ISLAND BOATING CLUB 56.0 9.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 4.0 5.0 (11.0) 103.0 92.0

4 Silver GBR

GBR 2230 MIXED YOUTH MAGGIE RICKMAN ROBIN STEIN HAYLING ISLAND SC

PAPERCOURT SC / HISC 53.0 (UFD[28.0]) 1.0 4.0 4.0 19.0 9.0 3.0 121.0 93.0

5 Silver GBR

GBR 2219 MALE YOUTH DANNY SCOTT TOM IRVINE LOCH TUMMEL SC

ROYAL TAY YC 59.0 5.0 8.0 5.0 2.0 (22.0) 7.0 10.0 118.0 

Blackwater Sailing Club host fun-filled annual cruise day

The annual Commodore’s Cruise is a fun day out for Blackwater Sailing Club members.

Activities such as a three-legged race, and an egg and spoon race, were enjoyed by many.

A fleet of 24 boats, including three Wayfarer dinghies, a Bosun, several dayboats and a range of cruisers from the sailing club, set out in the morning.

A group of 66 people and four dogs were on board the vessels.

To visit the club with joining in mind, email membership-secretary@blackwatersailingclub.org.uk. 

Rolex Fastnet Race: The challenge intensifies

 A substantial fleet of more than 300 yachts is set to compete in the 49th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race. The entry list is evidence once again of the illustrious status and widespread appeal of the event, which starts from Cowes on the Isle of Wight in England on Sunday 8 August.

The fleet for the 2021 Rolex Fastnet is truly global in its composition, with yachts representing 31 countries. The largest registered entrant is Skorpios, a ClubSwan 125 measuring 42.62 metres (139.83 feet); the smallest yachts are a mere 9.33m (31ft). The fastest monohull and multihull yachts from 2019 return. Two years ago, the French trimaran Maxi Edmond de Rothschild clinched the multihull victory just metres from the finish, while George David's United States maxi Rambler 88 secured the monohull title. Both crews will encounter stiff competition in their quest to repeat their success.

Inaugural Streaker Coastal Championship at Snettisham Beach Sailing Club

 In past years, the Streaker class has held an Inland Championship whether or not the Nationals was held at sea. This meant that sometimes there were two important inland events but no equivalent event at sea. This changed this year with the inaugural Coastal Championship, held over the weekend of July 31st - August 1st at Snettisham Beach SC in north Norfolk.

Overall Results:

Pos Sail No Helm Club R1 R2 R3 R4 Pts

1st 2127 Jasper Barnham Snettisham Beach SC 1 1 ‑2 1 3

2nd 1972 Veronica Falat Waveney and Oulton Broad Y.C 2 2 ‑3 3 7

3rd 1977 Neil Firth Banbury S.C 3 3 ‑5 4 10

4th 2109 Phil Halldron Downs SC ‑6 4 4 6 14

5th 1654 Pete Matthews Waveney and Oulton Broad Y.C 4 5 ‑8 7 16

6th 2126 Graham Sexton Fishers Green SC (DNC) DNC 1 2 17

7th 2121 Ian Bradley Ouse Amateur SC ‑7 7 6 5 18

8th 1844 Chris Smith Island Barn RSC 5 6 7 ‑8 18

9th 1817 Ian Haynes Ouse Amateur SC 8 8 9 ‑10 25

10th 1890 Andy Ritchie Waveney and Oulton Broad Y.C 9 9 ‑10 9 27

11th 1549 Chris Kelly Snettisham Beach SC ‑11 10 11 11 32

12th 1360 Tim Brown Snettisham Beach SC 10 11 (DNC) DNC 35

13th 1514 Jackie French Snettisham Beach SC (DNF) 12 12 12 36