Tasar GBR Class on-line Survey

 All of those who complete the survey will receive free class membership for 2022.

The Tasar GBR Class Association is running an on-line survey to re-connect with the many Tasar helms and crews throughout Great Britain.

The Tasar was introduced to the UK in 1975 and it is estimated there are some 500 boats in dinghy parks and garages up and down the country. This survey seeks to re-connect with the sailors of those boats to understand their plans, to canvas their opinions on how the committee should run the class going forwards and to gain feedback on what events the sailors would like to see in the programme.

The Tasar was a designed by Frank Bethwaite and was widely considered to be well ahead of its time. With its lightweight, fine lined hull and sophisticated rig it is easily driven to high-performance without the need for trapeze or spinnaker.

The survey is just 13 questions and should only take a few minutes to complete.

www.questionpro.com/t/AUIP1Zpgba

All responses will remain confidential and secure. Thank you in advance for your valuable insights. Your input will be used to ensure that we continue to meet your needs. We appreciate your trust and look forward to serving you in the future.

Please forward this link on to any other Tasar GBR sailors.

Anyone with any further questions is welcome to contact Class Chairperson Rick Perkins at rick@force5marketing.co.uk

BoatLife Live announces Katie McCabe as the first speaker

 Yachtswoman Katie McCabe is announced as the first guest speaker at BoatLife Live, which takes place 17 - 20 February 2022, at the NEC, in the heart of the Midlands.

The 14-year-old record-breaker will be at BoatLife Live, along with her 26ft wooden yacht named Falanda. This year, Katie embarked on a 14,000-mile odyssey to become the youngest person to sail solo around Britain and managed just that.

The teenager, who grew up on boats, found her project boat Falanda in 2019 and restored her, along with the help of dad David, who is a wooden boat builder. The YJA award winning, solo sailor will be joining the Live Stage, enthralling visitors with a vivid account of her seven-week voyage. To break the record, she sailed anti-clockwise around Britain all the way back to where she started in Topsham, Devon.

The Live Stage will be hosted by Olympic Silver Medallist, offshore sailor and commentator, Mark Covell. Mark will be joined by a host of guests in an 'on the sofa with' relaxed style, giving visitors the chance to get up close and personal with guests.

2022 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race - A race like no other

 First organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in 1976, the 1,805nm Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race is a true marathon of epic proportions. Held every four years, the next edition will start on Sunday 7th August 2022.

Roughly three times longer than the Rolex Fastnet Race, the course sends the competing teams around a myriad of headlands with tidal strategies. Coupled with the notorious British and Irish weather, the Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race is arguably the toughest pro-am race in the world. Every team that completes the challenge rightly deserves the admiration of any offshore sailor.

The Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race is a World Sailing Offshore Special Regulations Category 1 race with RORC Prescriptions. At least half of the crew must have completed a minimum of 500 miles offshore racing within 18 months of the race start, including the skipper. Every crew member must also have experience of sailing a boat offshore and be prepared to encounter heavy weather.

After a momentous start at the Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes, Isle of Wight, the fleet race through the Solent then past the famous headlands of southwest of England. The epic adventure continues into the Celtic Sea, past the Fastnet Rock and Mizen Head onto the wild West Coast of Ireland. The Atlantic racing continues past St Kilda, up to the most northerly point of the course, Muckle Flugga on the 61st parallel. Then, turning south through the infamous North Sea, the fleet will have turned their bows for home. The English Channel and Solent form the final stages of the race where, after the finish, a warm welcome awaits at the RORC Cowes Clubhouse.

The Notice of Race and online entry for the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race, can be found at: roundbritainandireland.rorc.org

Brits look to build on Euros success at ILCA 7 Worlds

 The 2021 ILCA Standard Men's World Championship (ILCA 7) will be held in Barcelona, Spain at the Barcelona International Sailing Center. The event will run from the 3-10 November 2021.

The British Sailing Team have a strong ILCA 7 squad and have the last three European champions competing. Micky Beckett is racing fresh from his Euros win in Bulgaria in October and is joined by teammate and 2019 Euros winner Lorenzo Chiavarini. Team GB's Tokyo 2020 sailor and 2020 European champion, Elliot Hanson, is also making his return to action following the Games. BST members Sam Whaley and Dan Whiteley are among five other Brits joining the start line.

Seldén SailJuice Winter Series 2021-22: Get your entry in early

 The 13th edition of the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series kicks off in under three weeks' time with the Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash on 20 & 21 November 2021.

Entries have been filling up quickly in recent years, so secure your spot here now: www.sailjuiceseries.com

One of the most popular and longstanding events in the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series, the Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash consists of up to four back-to-back handicap races on Saturday, starting at 11am. Sunday is the Pursuit Race.

The following events are in the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series 2021/22:

Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash, Draycote Water SC

20 & 21 November 2021

Datchet Flyer, Datchet Water Sailing Club

11 & 12 December 2021

Yorkshire Dales Brass Monkey, Yorkshire Dales SC

27 December 2021

Burghfield Breezer, Burghfield Sailing Club

27 December 2021

Grafham Grand Prix, Grafham Water Sailing Club

2 January 2022

Bloody Mary (TBC), Queen Mary Sailing Club

8 January 2022

King George Gallop, King George Sailing Club

22 January 2022

John Merricks Tiger Trophy, Rutland Sailing Club

5 & 6 February 2022

Oxford Blue, Oxford Sailing Club

19 February 2022

You can find out more about the Series at www.SailJuiceSeries.com

Streaker Open at Ripon Sailing Club

 Ripon SC's Streaker open meeting wasn't just any old open meeting, it was also the Streaker Class Association's End of Season Championship, the final event in the P&B sponsored Northern Paddle series, the final event in the Rooster sponsored Rooster Super series and the final event in the Yorkshire Series too.

Nineteen boats competed in sometimes testing conditions. Ripon SC's water is on a former gravel pit that is vaguely egg timer shaped - two areas of water linked by "the narrows" alongside the clubhouse. Covid and lockdowns have done nothing to help a planned tree management programme so the wind strength and direction can provide some "interesting" variations.

 Overall Results:

Pos Helm Sail No Club R1 R2 R3 Pts

1st Nigel Pepperdine 2136 Staunton Harold SC 1 ‑2 2 3

2nd Giles Therkelston‑Smith 1616 Welton SC ‑4 4 1 5

3rd Mike Eggleston 2117 Ripon SC 2 ‑6 4 6

4th Veronica Falat 1972 Waveney and Oulton Broad YC ‑6 5 3 8

5th Ian Priest 2106 Ripon SC ‑5 3 5 8

6th Neil Dyer 1822 Hykeham SC ‑10 1 8 9

7th Phil Priestley 1922 Yorkshire Dales SC 3 8 ‑9 11

8th Tim Coleman 1821 Ripon SC 8 ‑11 6 14

9th Richard Brook 1846 Ripon SC 7 ‑9 7 14

10th James Ricketts 1863 Ripon SC ‑11 7 10 17

Gul Fireball Inlands at Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club this weekend

 This weekend's Inland National Championship at Chew Valley Lake SC is the penultimate event in the 2021 Fireball calendar. The lake, which is the biggest inland waterway in the south-west of England, is situated on the northern edge of the beautiful Mendip hills, eight miles south of Bristol. The club is looking forward to welcoming the Fireball fleet, and its new caterers, Antonia's Deli, are laying on food that'll make your mouth water!

We're delighted that Gul is sponsoring this event, providing prizes for the Gold, Silver and Bronze Fleets. We also have a voucher for money-off boat insurance from UKGlobal.

Six races are scheduled (intention to run 3 each day), and there's a 2-course meal (meat & veggie options) on Saturday night.

Please note, both helm and crew are required to be members of the UKFA. Details on how to join the Association are at www.fireballsailing.org.uk/index.asp?selection=membershipinfo.

Entries should be made in advance through the Chew Valley Lake SC website. Camper Vans may stay on the club site overnight on Saturday evening subject to prior arrangement with CVLSC - please complete the form on the entry page.

Covid hasn't gone away so we ask everyone coming to the event to do a Lateral Flow Test before leaving home as we really want to make sure everyone stays safe.

The final event of the season is at Draycote Water SC on 13 & 14 November.

Salcombe Yacht Club Winter Series - Race 1

 The SYC Sailors were greeted with glorious conditions this Saturday to kick off the first race of the winter series.

The wind was blowing in from the west but with large shifts thrown in for good measure. 

 It was classic 'Salcombe sailing' through The Bag where there were plenty of losses, gains and place changing but the Sailors were treated to a nice blast up to Gerston and back.

The McLaren's emerged around Snapes Point in first position with a reasonable lead over the chasing pack. Olly Alexander in the Phantom had navigated this stretch of the course particularly well and hauled himself up into second place upon exiting The Bag, closely followed by Fells and Meek with Dan Bridger in the Aero 7.

Ross Borne and John Burn in the Merlin Rocket had a torrid time on the leg back from Gerston. Once back in the harbour it was the Merlin that favoured the conditions and quickly dispatched the fleet and caught team McLaren rounding Blackstone for the second time, neck and neck.

Borne and Burn were somehow the faster out of the pair downwind, building a lead and rounding Crossways in first place which they retained to take line honours.

On corrected time, it was Fells and Meek in the Lark who took first place with Andrew Groves in the Laser Radial taking second.

Groves sailed a solid race showing that handicap racing is all about the clock! Bridger took third despite going for a quick dip on the final downwind leg.

There was also a lot of 'Monkey Business' going on from James Greenhill and Charlie Evans who borrowed John Burn's National Twelve. A capsize before the start meant that their race was effectively over before it had even started

Inaugural K6 Club Championship at Oxford Sailing Club

 All 10 Oxford based K6s entered the inaugural K6 Club Championship on 23 October, four races, three to count, one morning race and three back to back in the afternoon.

Helm of the day? Definitely 15 year old Macholy Brown with a win and two 4th counting. Credit goes to Richard Payne and crew recording four seventh places with 13 year old sails, we all know what Richard wants for Christmas! Good event, kept in order by Chris Pinner and team. We now look forward to the K6 open meeting at Oxford next year to be held over weekend of 2 and 3 April.

Overall Results:

Pos Helm Crew Sail No R1 R2 R3 R4 Pts

1 Tim Williams Bob Clements 189 4 6 1 1 6

2 John Hall Martin Gibson 159 2 2 2 4 6

3 Mike Trueman James Bennett 214 3 3 RTD 2 8

4 John Tabor Grant Blake 122 5 1 3 5 9

5 Malachy Brown George Barker 105 1 4 4 6 9

6 Derek Buchanan Elaine Buchanan 172 6 5 5 3 13

7 Richard Payne 197 7 7 7 7 21

8 Paul Owen Amy Owen Oliver Owen 124 9 8 6 8 24

9 Gareth Griffiths Emma Griffiths 166 DNS 9 8 DNS 28

10 Chris Pugh Troels Henrickson 115 8 DNS DNS DNS 30

Lowrider International Moths Nationals at Burton this weekend

 This weekend, Burton Sailing Club sees yet another significant event in 2021 for the club with the famous mushrooms. The Hallowe'en gathering for the Lowrider International Moth National Championships is, without doubt, the most diverse group of Moths ever assembled to race, with designs spanning over 50 years of development.

The Andrew Simpson Performance Academy: high quality training for success at every level

 New Winter dates for 2021-2022 now released!

The Performance Academy is a continuation of the brilliant work that the Andrew Simpson Foundation and their not-for-profit Centres achieve, creating a pathway of support and opportunities from entry level sailor through to elite athlete. This year, they have joined forces with Henri Lloyd, their new official partner who will be providing expert kit for top level training.

The dates for 2021-2022 are now live and can be found here ascperformanceacademy.org

International 14 Autumn Pint and Autumn Trophy at Itchenor Sailing Club

 Eleven boats arrived on Saturday morning for the Autumn pint, with teams having travelled up from Falmouth and a crew from the German fleet (Dennis Gehrlein and Lasse Neilandt) coming over for a first sail of their new boat, with previous owner Dan Holman showing them how the boat is set up and how to sail it fast round a race course.

The wind came in later than forecast, so the sailors launched in next to nothing and headed out into a building breeze, gambling their setups on where they thought the wind strength would build to.

The International 14 class had some great racing at Itchenor SC for the Autumn Trophy this Sunday with 3 races.

In the first race Andy Fitzgerald crewed by Rich Dobson led from the start, getting out of the tide first and slowly extending their lead, chased by Julian Pearson with Andy Tarboton and Olly Stopper with Nick Blevins.

For the second race the tide had stopped running so fast. Peter Crockford with Harry Kennedy spotted this first and rounded the top mark in the lead closely followed by the rest of the fleet. He held this until the leeward mark where he span out dropping the kite letting Liam Stackpole and Wayne Barnicoat through as well as creating an interesting hazard for the pursuing fleet. Liam was followed by Andy Fitz, Julian Pearson, and Katie Nurton, all of whom managed to get through him on the next beat. Positions remained the same for the last round with Andy first, Julian Pearson second and Katie Nurton third after a photo finish for 2nd and 3rd.

In Race 3 Julian Pearson port tacked the fleet and rounded the windward mark level with Andy Fitz, Andy then managed to open up downwind slightly. Positions stayed like this up the 2nd beat but Peter Bromley and Hugh Maclean gybed off on the 2nd run into more pressure and got through into 2nd holding that to the finish with Julian Pearson 3rd.

Autumn Trophy Results:

1st Andy Fitzgerald and Rich Dobson

2nd Julian Pearson and Andy Tarboton

3rd Peter Bromley and Hugh Maclean

Thanks must go to Itchenor Sailing Club for running some great racing.

Falmouth sailing charity helps NHS staff impacted by Covid

 A sailing charity is helping NHS workers deal with the trauma of working through the pandemic.

Turn to Starboard, based in Falmouth in Cornwall, was set up to help veterans by taking them on sailing trips which had a therapeutic benefit.

They opened trips to NHS workers in May to help them cope with the mental and physical toll of the pandemic.

The service has now helped more than 100 NHS workers.

The charity, which runs Project Argo, which offers the trips, said the excursions on traditional tall ships have therapeutic benefits due to the nature of sailing on the sea.

Nurse Simon Lynn said: "It has been a very challenging 20 months.

"From the fear of the unknown at the beginning, to where we were going to go with lockdowns and now it is particularly challenging because of the sheer volume of patients we are seeing and their illnesses."

Kaylie from Project Argo, said: "I've had a lot of people come back and just let it all out, sharing hugs, sharing stories.

"We've had some people say they want to give up but after going out there and sharing that time with their colleagues, they came back and have a new sense of hope."