Flying Fifteen Inlands at Chew Valley - online entry now open

 The Flying Fifteen Inland Championship returns to Chew Valley Lake on 9-10 October, for the final championship event in the UKFFA calendar for 2021.

Postponed from the original date in May, a big turnout is expected to round off the season, following successful area championships and the Nationals back in June. It may still be a few weeks away, but now is the time to get entries and accommodation sorted so you don't miss out on two days of top-level competition. The scenery is always fantastic at Chew and we've been promised perfect autumn sailing conditions!

For those you who are a little rusty, or simply require a tune up, on Friday 8th October (the day before the inlands), Chew and Bristol Water have kindly offered the lake for a training day. Chris Turner, Ovington Boats supremo and the only man to beat Graham Vials across the finishing line in every F15 race, has kindly offered to run the event. Places are limited so if you're interested please contact president@flying15.org.uk before Friday 1st October.

Online entry for the Inlands is now open, via the UKFFA fixtures calendar, or the Chew Valley Lake SC website.

Contender UK National Championships at Plymouth

 With the enforced two year wait for a UK nationals and the promise of a venue featuring within the Sail GP, the clamour for this year's Contender nationals was only tempered by the number of other big events occurring simultaneously. Still, 40 god-like specimens arrived ready to joust both inside and outside of Plymouth's famous Sound.

A mixture of the Plymouth youth sailing association and the Mount Batten centre had us ably covered for all possible needs, both on and off the water. With that stuff taken care of, the focus shifted toward the conditions, and therefore the rapidly changing odds. With a forecast of 2 days in medium breeze and then 2 days in light breeze, the expectation centred on those with less winter coat in reserve or those who can handle multiple conditions.

The top boats were a mix, as has become standard, with Hartley picking up another win and having 5 boats inside the top ten, joined by 3 wooden Bonezzis and 2 15+ year old Bob Hoare boats showing just how competitive these long lasting yots still are.

Massive thanks also go to our headline sponsors North sails who not only provided fantastic prizes but are now becoming a strong presence in the fleet. Other sponsors also provided support that allowed us to have great socials and hand out lots of gizits, Thanks to Kingfisher ropes, Hartley boats, BDS-UK, Essex Rigging, Noble Consultancy and Bluewood interiors.

The enthusiasm within the class is as high as ever so please make sure to put next year's nationals in your diary, it will be held 2nd-5th June at Brightlingsea SC.

Overall Results:

Sail No Helm R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 Pts

1st 2713 Sam Barker 1 5 7 3 1 2 ‑17 2 21

2nd 695 Graeme Willcox 2 1 2 6 2 1 8 ‑12 22

3rd 2706 Stuart Jones 6 2 ‑18 1 9 12 1 3 34

4th 716 Richard Franks 8 3 1 ‑18 6 6 5 9 38

5th 2449 Rob Smith 5 4 ‑10 10 10 9 2 4 44

6th 678 Thomas Hooton 4 7 15 11 8 ‑29 3 16 64

7th 2383 David Davies ‑23 23 6 2 5 7 14 10 67

8th 2730 Adrian Smith 19 6 12 ‑20 18 8 7 1 71

9th 2704 Eden Hyland 9 9 8 8 21 17 ‑23 11 83

10th 2708 Ed Presley 10 (BFD) 17 7 3 28 11 8 84

Members of the British Olympic Sailing Team Open the Southampton International Boat Show

 Southampton International Boat Show, Britain's biggest festival of boating, returns with athletes from the British Sailing Team fresh from Tokyo 2020 opening the show in style!

Situated against the stunning backdrop of Europe’s largest, purpose-built marina, the much-loved show returned to the shores of the Solent after a hiatus, making the biggest splash ever.

Crowds descended in the September sunshine with former Made in Chelsea star Georgia Toffolo spotted taking to the water on a jet ski and being served Champagne from the waterside by professional fly boarder James Prestwood.

 52nd edition of the show sees the addition of five brand new zones tailored to life in, on and around the water including Watersports, Dinghy, Classic & Day Boat along with On The Water and Festival Green - perfect for relaxing and soaking up the atmosphere.

Opening day visitors were able to explore five brand new zones encouraging everyone to enjoy life in, on and around the water. Newbies and seasoned enthusiasts alike took to the water on kayaks, paddle boards and RIBS and explored exciting interactive features giving them a chance to sample life on the water!

SailGP's high-speed action graces the glamorous shores of Saint-Tropez

 As the fifth event on the global sailing championship calendar, SailGP will make its debut in the world-famous French seaside resort of Saint-Tropez this weekend, September 11-12, for the France Sail Grand Prix.

As SailGP nears the midpoint of Season 2, there has been plenty of drama as the world's best athletes go head-to-head in identical, high-speed F50s. So far this season there have been capsizes, a notorious black flag, near misses, crashes, controversy, broken bones and continuous heated rivalries. Currently placed seventh, all eyes will be turning to the France SailGP Team and its eight time world champion driver, Billy Besson - featured in the newest episode of SailGP Racing on the Edge - to follow the Danish team's lead from Aarhus and win for the first time in front of a home crowd in Season 2.

SailGP Season Championship leaderboard: (after 4 events)

1 // Australia // 32 pts

2 // Great Britain // 30 pts

3 // Japan // 27 pts (-1 penalty point)

4 // United States // 26 pts

5 // New Zealand // 23 pts

6 // Spain // 23 pts

7 // France // 23 pts (-1 penalty point)

8 // Denmark // 22 pts

Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller Series at Lymington Town Sailing Club

 24 Merlin Rockets from all over the country gathered at Lymington Town SC for the 4th 'Sea' event of this season's Craftinsure Silver Tiller series over the weekend of 4 and 5 September.

Thank you to Lymington Town Sailing Club for a great weekend. Next up the fleet head to Upper Thames Sailing Club for the Vintage Series on 11th September, followed by the Craftinsure Silver Tiller and Thames Series on Sunday 12th.

Results:

Pos Fleet Sail No Helm Crew Club R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 Pts

1st Gold 3778 David Lenz Victoria Lenz Lymington Town SC 4 2 1 1 1 ‑8 9

2nd Gold 3691 Mike Calvert Jane Calvert Axe SC 1 1 4 ‑6 2 4 12

3rd Gold 3802 Simon Potts Richard Parslow Burghfield SC 3 4 2 2 ‑5 3 14

4th Gold 3803 Caroline Croft Chris Gould Lymington Town SC ‑9 6 7 3 3 1 20

5th Gold 3796 William Warren Megan Pascoe Shoreham SC 2 3 3 ‑13 7 7 22

6th Gold 3791 Jon Gorringe Mimi Gorringe Parkstone YC 6 ‑12 10 4 8 2 30

7th Silver 3746 James Wells Miss Anna Aylward Starcross SC 12 5 6 9 ‑14 5 37

8th Gold 3726 Will Henderson Rob Henderson Salcombe YC ‑13 10 13 5 4 11 43

9th Gold 3781 David Winder Anna Blake Hollingworth Lake SC ‑16 9 5 8 11 15 48

10th Gold 3756 Sophie Mackley Beka Jones Shoreham SC 7 11 8 11 ‑13

Merlin Rocket River Championship at the Bourne End Week Regatta

 The 2021 Merlin Rocket River Championships were hosted at Upper Thames Sailing Club over the August bank holiday weekend.

Incorporated into the club's annual Bourne End week regatta it had as so many events this year been shifted. Normally held over the late May bank holiday. Considering this, a good turnout of eighteen Merlin Rockets attended.

The silverware was pretty much all to play for in the final race.

All in all, a great event with Upper Thames providing some great socials and a well-organised race box team.

Overall Results:

Pos Boat Name Sail No Helm Crew Club R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 Pts

1st Queen Philippa 1996 Chris Kilsby Pippa Kilsby Thames 1 3 4 1 (OCS) 2 11

2nd Katy Lou 1493 Mark Barwell Louise Johnson Lymington Town SC ‑7 1 5 2 3 1 12

3rd Quiver 774 Martin Hunter Tim Williams UTSC 3 4 1 ‑6 2 3 13

4th Flinkidink 1097 Stuart Jenkins Nicola Scaddan UTSC 2 2 2 5 ‑6 4 15

5th Hullabaloo 1692 Rob Cage Sel Shah Thames 4 5 3 4 1 ‑13 17

6th Andromeda 3259 Charlie Morgan Amanda Batten Tamesis 8 7 ‑9 3 5 6 29

7th Masquerade 995 Matthew Jones Arthur Jones Tamesis 6 ‑9 7 9 4 7 33

8th Seven Eye 3520 Tim Metcalf Flora Laidlow Tamesis ‑12 8 8 8 7 5 36

9th Luka 3560 Oliver Houseman Egle Tumosa Tamesis 5 11 6 7 11 ‑12 40

10th Exequisite 2266 Chris Rathbone Sonia Rathbone UTSC 9 6 10 10 

RS Aero UK Eastern Championships at Brightlingsea Sailing Club

 The RS Aero Eastern Championships took place on the weekend of the 4/5th of September at a sunny and warm Brightlingsea Sailing Club. Eight RS Aeros entered for the event with three in the RS Aero 7 fleet and five in the RS Aero 5 fleet. Consequently boat speed was very important throughout the weekend.

The RS Aero 7 fleet was won commandingly by the newly crowned UK National Champion, Tim Hire, counting five 1st places. Blake Tudor from Brightlingsea came home in second place with a win on the second day and getting very close to beating Tim again on the last race of the event.

The racing in the RS Aero 5 fleet promised to be very competitive as all 5 sailors competing finished within the top 20 at the recent national championships in Hayling Island. Harrison Pye took the lead on Day 1 with two victories in the opening two races with Sam Blaker a point behind in second after a win in the last race of the day. Fergus Pye sat in third a few points behind. On Day 2 Abby Hire stormed out of the blocks winning the first race of the day with Harrison close behind in second with Sam in third.

The final two races went the way of Harrison meaning he was crowned RS Aero UK Eastern Champion. In second place remained Sam Blaker after a close battle in the final two races with Harrison. Abby Hire jumped up to third after her race victory and Fergus Pye and Joe Blaker finished in fourth and fifth place on the exact same points.

Thank you to Brightlingsea Sailing Club for providing the good weather and excellent racing. We hope to be back again soon.

Keep in touch with the RS Aero Class' events and activity via both the Class Website www.rsaerosailing.org and Facebook Group www.facebook.com/groups/rsaeroclass

Hobie 16 Nationals 2021 at Poole

 Twenty-three Hobie 16s with their bright, multi-coloured sails gathered on the beach looking great in the sunny spells as they prepared to set out for the start line which was laid towards the South side of Poole harbour in an area known as the "top triangle".

Lloyd and Claire finished the day with a 1st place, and this is how they stood overall after a consistent performance throughout with Mark and Freya close behind for 2nd.

The 3rd place went to Simon and Aaron but by a very fine margin with 4th placed Jacobo and Johnny on the same points only losing out on countback.

All the sailors taking part and the crew from PYC made this a great event with a welcoming family atmosphere. There was an amazing Hobie party with local band Quinns's Quinney and singing from PYC club members Clara and Olivia on Saturday evening in Poole Yacht Club's excellent clubhouse, bar, and restaurant to complete a very successful Hobie 16 Nationals.

Noble Marine RS100 Nationals at Brixham Yacht Club

 Brixham YC are hosting the Noble Marine RS100 nationals from Thursday 9 to Sunday 12 September. 

Scottish Junior Optimist Travellers at Bardowie Loch

 Clyde Cruising Club (Dinghy Section) were the generous hosts for the first Traveller event of the 2021/22 series, providing not only the wonderful setting of Bardowie Loch but also brilliant sunshine and more wind than expected.

Finalising of the overall result was delayed until protests were resolved, however the final result stood with Scott taking the weekend's accolades, Andrew a worthy second, Finlay D third and Cara leading the ladies and fourth overall. Logan was close in 5th, Dougal 6th, Clementine 7th. Finlay R narrowly took 8th and Blythe 9th.

Meanwhile, the Regatta Fleet's improved racing skills, thanks to coach Jennifer Wesley, were on display with Scarlett taking first in 3 of the races and Hector winning the other. Cameron stayed focussed in frustrating conditions taking third. The overall results were again very close with Hector winning, Scarlett second and Cameron third.

Thank you to Sailingfast for supplying the prizes, Clyde Cruising Club (Dinghy Section) for hosting and the parents for organising this event. See everyone at Round 2 at Loch Tummel 24/25th Sept and before that at Helensburgh for the Optimist Collective on 18/19th Sept.

Overall Results:

Pos Sail No Name Club R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 Pts

Main Fleet

1st 6141 Scott Xu RTYC 1 ‑4 ‑2 1 2 2 2 2 10

2nd 5894 Andrew Perratt HSC 3 2 1 ‑7 ‑4 1 3 1 11

3rd 6005 Finlay Davidson DBSC ‑4 1 3 2 1 ‑4 1 3 11

4th 6156 Cara Russell LSC 2 3 4 5 3 ‑6 5 ‑7 22

5th 5222 Logan Brown HSC ‑6 5 ‑6 3 5 5 4 4 26

6th 5916 Dougal Jackson St MLSC 5 ‑6 5 4 6 ‑7 6 5 31

7th 6269 Clementine Perratt HSC ‑8 (DNS) 7 6 8 3 8 6 38

8th 4335 Finlay Ritchie ASYC 7 (OCS) 8 ‑9 9 9 7 8 48

9th 5519 BIythe Brown HSC 9 7 (DNS) 8 7 8 9 (DNC) 48

Regatta Fleet

1st 5464 Hector Jackson St MLSC 1 1 1 ‑3 ‑2 2 1 2 8

2nd 4948 Scarlett O’Donnell St MLSC ‑2 ‑2 2 2 1 1 2 1 9

3rd 5807 Cameron Ritchie ASYC ‑3 ‑3 3 1 3 3 3 3 16

27th Broadland Youth Regatta at Norfolk Broads Yacht Club

 100 youth and junior sailors in 93 boats from seven Broadland Clubs took part in the 27th Broadland Youth Regatta on 4th September at Wroxham Broad, hosted by Norfolk Broads Yacht Club (NBYC) on behalf of the Norfolk and Suffolk Boating Association (NSBA).

For the first time in the history of the event, the largest fleet was of Optimist dinghies, with 30 entries, almost matched by the Topper fleet, with 27 competitors. The slow handicap fleet included five RS Feva XLs, one Splash, two Laser 4.7s, one Topper 4.2, one RS Tera Pro and a Norfolk One Design, the latter having the distinction of being the only wooden boat in the event. The fast handicap fleet reflected the recent resurgence on the area of Laser sailing and comprised almost equal numbers of full rig Lasers (11) and Laser Radials (12), along with one 420.

Craftinsure Silver Scorpion Open at Pennine Sailing Club

 The latest Craftinsure Silver Scorpion event took place at Pennine Sailing Club over the weekend of 4th/5th September. After the full-on experience of the Penzance Championship, it was an opportunity to enjoy a competitive but relaxing event in the sunshine of the Pennines.

The weekend was dominated by Pete and Rachel Gray from Staunton Harold but were also made to work hard to pull through the fleet to ensure they won the prize of "Yorkshire Teabags" traditionally, the must have prize.

An evening curry in "Last of the summer wine" town of Holmfirth, gave an opportunity to catch up.

Thank you to all who supported the event and the club members who provided Race Office and Rescue teams.

Overall Results:

1st 2045 Pete Gray and Rachel Gray

2nd 2031 Pete Crowther and Dave Thompson

3rd 2044 Steve Walker and Jerry Hannabuss

4th Colin Bradley and Luke Bradley

5th Chris Muxworthy and Tom Daniel

6th Kev Nichols and Alex Green

7th Cheryl Wood and Chole Mills/Emma Warren

HD Sails Scottish Solo Travellers at Bardowie

 Saturday 4th September saw the latest round of the HD Sails Scottish Solo Travellers at Bardowie.

Patrick Burns, class president, presented the prizes with Ross Watson the winner followed closely by Kevan Gibb and David Whyte. As well as prizes for the first three there were some more HD Sails caps to hand out with Ali Gordon, Malcolm Worsley and David Whyte being the recipients this time.

The next event in the HD Sails Scottish Travellers is the Scottish Championship at Loch Tummel on September 18/19. With camping available at the club there is no excuse for missing it.

Overall Results:

Pos Helm R1 R2 R3 Pts

1 Ross Watson 6 1 1 2

2 Kevan Gibb 4 2 2 4

3 David Whyte 1 10 4 5

4 Gary McFarlane 3 3 9 6

5 Tony King 5 4 5 9

6 Paul McCombie 2 5 7 7

7 Malcolm Worsley 7 6 3 9

8 Patrick Burns 11 9 6 15

9 Robert Signer 10 7 11 17

10 Colin Crichton 9 8 14 17

11 Ali Gordon 8 11 10 19

12 Charles Brecknell 13 14 8 21

13 Stewart Carrie 12 12 13 24

14 Richard Davies 14 Dnf 12 26

15 Douglas Hay 15 13 Dnf 28