British Sailing Team back to Oman for the ILCA 6 Worlds

 The 2021 ILCA 6 World Championship will take place from November 29 to December 6, with racing starting on December 1. Fresh from hosting the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 World Championship, Al Mussanah in Oman is the location for this year's regatta. It can be a tricky venue, characterised by light, offshore winds as well as high temperatures.

The British Sailing Team is fielding three entries - Hannah Snellgrove, Daisy Collingridge and Matilda Nicholls - supported by British Sailing Team lead pathway coach James Gray. The trio will be joined by young Brits Molly Sacker and Anya Haji-Michael. Notably absent from the line-up is three-time Olympian Ali Young, who has decided to retire from Olympic campaigning.

It's been almost two years since the last ILCA 6 World Championship was held in Melbourne, Australia. Ok, there's been the small matter of the Olympics, but for the majority of ILCA 6 athletes this will be the first global event for a while. In fact, Young was the only Brit in the field at the 2020 event. In 2019 Snellgrove placed seventh, and you've got to go back to 2018 to find Collingridge's last world championship result, an 83rd at the Sailing World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. That was a long time ago, and all three Brits have proven themselves forces to be reckoned with since then. Collingridge, in particular, posted a seventh at the 2021 ILCA 6 European Championship with Snellgrove and Nicholls not far behind in 17th and 20th respectively.

New from Andrew Simpson Foundation: The Performance Academy Sailing Scholarship

 For 2022, Andrew Simpson Foundation are launching their Performance Academy Sailing Scholarship, designed to provide pathway sailors subsidised additional training through the Performance Academy programmes.

What is this scholarship about?

In 2022, four sailors across the junior, youth and senior pathway will be selected to have subsidised access to The Andrew Simpson Foundation Performance Academy group training, a mentoring programme and team kit.

These sailors will be selected based on their need for additional support and their alignment to the ASF’s values (Inclusivity, Enjoyment, Community, Development, Inspiring & Partnerships). The full value of the scholarship will be up to £2,000 per person depending on the training and opportunities chosen.

As part of the scholarship, sailors will be asked to engage with Performance Academy social media posts and write two blog posts about their experience through the scholarship and the impact of the support offered.

How do I apply?

Interested sailors are to apply using the application form by December 20th, 2021.

Applicants will then be shortlisted by a panel of Performance Academy and Andrew Simpson Foundation senior staff members.

The successful sailors will then be selected from the short list by the ASF Trustees and announced in early January.

For more information on the scholarship by email: enquiries@ascperformanceacademy.org

Girton Sailing Club's winter league lives up to its name

 The winter series at Girton Sailing Club lived up to its name with bitterly cold but bright and breezy conditions in round three.

In the moderate strong north wind, seven boats ventured out.

Alan Bishop had paired up with Paul King to helm a Laser2000 instead of his usual single-handed Solo.

The switch paid dividends and the duo came home first in both races.

Ed Johnson (Supernova) came second in the first race but bailed out of the second one leaving another pairing of James Maclachlan and Joanne Daubney to take second place on the day sailing a 420 class.

Nick Whiles in his Supernova was third followed by Amy King (Supernova).

Joanne and James both added points to their individual results by finishing fourth and fifth respectively in the first race.

The pairing of Alan and Paul lead the series after three sessions.

Lark Open at South Staffordshire Sailing Club

 Following thick and fast after the Inland and Winter Championships, the last Lark event of the season took place at South Staffordshire Sailing Club on 20th November. Thirteen Larks descended on the heart of the Cannock countryside, after the original Lark open was pushed back to 20th November 2021, due to Covid issues earlier in the year.

The fight for 1st, 2nd and 3rd was fierce but once again Chris & Nic took the win with Matt & Marion in second, Keith & Ollie in 3rd and Dave & Laura in 4th.

Post racing, the usual South Staffs Beer and Cake greeted the sailors as the light faded into darkness.

Alongside presenting overall prizes to:

1st Chris & Nic White (South Staffs SC)

2nd Matt White & Marion Enkel (Waldringfield SC)

3rd Samuel Bailey & Finlay Morgan (South Staffs SC)

Chris White also took to opportunity to close the Lark season by presenting the Belle Isle Trophy for best results over the travelling season to Samuel & Finn.

The club thanked all the visitors for making the trip up to South Staffs from clubs such as Waldringfield, Brightlingsea, Swarkestone and Barnet Green!

 Overall Results:

Pos Sail No Helm Crew Club R1 R2 R3 Pts

1st 2533 White Chris White Nic SSSC ‑3 1 1 2

2nd 2471 White Matt Enkel Marion Waldringfield SC 1 ‑2 2 3

3rd 2468 Bailey Samuel Morgan Finlay SSSC 2 3 ‑5 5

4th 2489 Macaulay Keith Goodhead Ollie SSSC ‑6 4 3 7

5th 2525 Billington John Dawson Chloe SSSC 4 6 ‑7 10

6th 2518 Young Dave Burch Laura SSSC 7 ‑8 4 11

7th 2509 Allen Stuart Allen Julia Banbury SC 5 ‑7 6 11

8th 2537 Firth Neil Firth Sue Banbury SC ‑8 5 8 13

9th 2532 Hotchkiss Tony Nankervis Lee SSSC/Shropshire SC 9 ‑13 9 18

10th 2541 Cox Simon Cox‑Olliff George Brightlingsea SC ‑10 9 10 19

11th 2487 Robinson Kevin Robinson Gill Swarkestone SC 11 10 ‑13 21

12th 15) Newton‑Sherlock Mat Morris Simon Barnt Green SC (OCS) 11 11 22

13th 2524 Owen Mike Hartness Lawrence SSSC ‑12 12 12 24

Helensburgh Sailing Club hosts RYA Scotland training academy weekend

 The Scotland-wide academies get together roughly every month for a ‘collective’, and the November Topper class collective was run at HSC on November 20 and 21.

Twenty-two young sailors from clubs across the country enjoyed a great weekend of coaching and training and, for once, the weather gods obliged – particularly on Sunday, with blue skies and a decent north westerly breeze, when the fleet had a whale of a time off Kidston Park.

The visitors departed well pleased with the welcome enjoyed at HSC and the young sailors almost certainly slept all the way home!

There’s an Optimist Academy this Saturday, November 27, which is sure to be popular with HSC’s youngest members, and then a break in December ahead of more sessions in January.

Thames sailing barge Centaur worker wins volunteer of the year

A LONG serving Thames Sailing Barge Trust volunteer has won a prestigious national award for his work.

Maldon resident Tim Jepson has been a member and volunteer of the Thames Sailing Barge Trust since 1975.

For many years he has managed the maintenance and repairs to the historic sailing barge Centaur - which was built in 1895 and is on the National Historic Ships and Fleet Registers.

Tim spends hours looking after Centaur - based in Hythe Quay in Maldon - throughout the year and has continued to look after the ship even during the pandemic.

The hard work of the dedicated volunteer has now been announced as the winner of the National Historic Ships UK Marsh Volunteer of the Year.

An award ceremony was held virtually for the second year running on Tuesday, November 23, and was presented from Boathouse 4 in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

The Marsh Volunteer Awards - which have run since 2011 - celebrate an individual volunteer and group of volunteers who have contributed towards looking after the country's maritime heritage.
 

Start date confirmed for The Ocean Race 2022-23

 Two race fleets will assemble in Alicante, the Spanish home of the Race, for the winter holiday period in 2022 before a mid-January 2023 start for leg one of the around the world race.

The start date for leg one of The Ocean Race 2022-23 has been confirmed with both IMOCA and VO65 fleets scheduled to burst from the starting blocks on Sunday, 15 January 2023 from Alicante on Spain's Mediterranean coast.

The opening leg of the Race will see both fleets racing for nearly one week to a finish in Cabo Verde. It will be the very first time The Ocean Race has stopped in the African island chain.

From there the race proceeds to Cape Town, South Africa, before starting the longest and most challenging leg in the history of the Race - nearly 13,000 nautical miles direct through the Southern Ocean and past the three great southern Capes (Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn) before a finish in Itajaí, Brazil.

The Race then goes to Newport, Rhode Island in the USA; Aarhus, Denmark; The Hague in The Netherlands; and on to a Grand Finale finish in the Mediterranean in Genova, Italy in the summer of 2023.

Stopover dates for the above stages of the Race will be confirmed before the end of the year.

Lymington Town Sailing Club Solent Circuit - Race 6

 The sixth, and final weekend of the Lymington Town Sailing Club 2021 Solent Circuit was sailed in unseasonal conditions on Sunday 21st November. Blue skies and sunshine accompanied by a brisk and chilly northerly wind greeted the competitors for a final challenging morning's racing on the Western Solent. Thanks to Race Sponsor Harken UK for their support.

The Lymington Adjusted Handicap class saw some close racing with the top four boats all in contention for a podium place. Richard Truscott's Konsort Unity took a final first place to secure overall victory ahead of Denis Bate's Beneteau 32s5 Roller Coaster and Stuart Duffin's Elan 32 Flying Boat.

The Folkboats enjoyed some of the closest racing with the leading four boats separated by just seconds after two hours of racing. Sadly, for the leading two boats confusion over the correct yellow mark off Yarmouth led to retirement, leaving Julian and Clare Sowry's Mistral to take the honours in Race six, followed by Simon Flacks Stralande and James Hoare and Graham Coulter's Samphire. Despite the navigational oversight, overall victory went to Ray Mitchell and Charles Darley's Freedom, with John Cooper and Becki Wigley second in Jen and Stralende in third overall.

The J80 fleet were given two short windward leeward races in order to make up for the one lost race on week three and complete a full series of nine races for the first time in several years. The brisk conditions meant some tactical and exciting downwind action and very tight racing amongst the leading four boats, with numerous place changes. Chris and Hannah Neve's No Regrets revelled in the conditions to take victory in both races and the overall win by five points. Andrew Hurst's Fiducial / Seahorse Magazine was second in both races ahead of Keith and Liam Willis's Dark and Stormy 2. Toby Colliers Traffic Jam did enough with two fourth places to secure second overall ahead of Dark and Stormy in third.

Blithfield Barrel 2021/22 Round 1

 Sunday 21st November saw the first round of the infamous Blithfield Barrel. 23 boats lined up for the day's racing in the late autumn sunshine with a chilly force 3-4 breeze from the N-NE.

Race officer Alan Skitt and his team got the fleet away on time at the first attempt. With the wind coming slightly off the club bank, hitting the shifts right was the order of the day. First to the windward mark was the VX-One of Peter Slater & Neil David, closely followed by the Ospreys, RS400 & Merlin Rockets. Racing was tight at the front of the fleet with regular place changes on the snakes and ladders beats. Never far behind the fast fleet action was the GP14 of Mike & Liz Senior who took race 1 convincingly on handicap. Second was Jonathan Woodhead in a Solo & 3rd Pete & Rachel Gray in their Merlin Rocket.

After a very welcome warm lunch the fleet launched for race 2. The race team shifted the line & altered the beat as the wind had moved round slightly. The fleet again got away at the first time of asking & with the right-hand side of the course paying the Osprey of John Batt & John Gibbons were first round followed by the VX1, RS400 & Merlin Rockets, another closely fought race ensued. John & John were on a mission after an unusual swim in race 1 & almost did a horizon job. Only the VX 1 could keep up with them & did eventually pass towards the end of the race. Again, never far from the action was the GP14 of Mike & Liz Senior who also took the win in race 2 followed by Pete & Rachel Gray in the Merlin Rocket with John Batt & John Gibbons in the Osprey 3rd.

So overall Mike & Liz Senior lead with 2 wins, Pete & Rachel 2nd & Jonathan Woodhead in 3rd.

The top 3 boats were awarded prizes from our sponsors Hartley Boats, prizes were also awarded to Jenny Cheun in the Comet being the first Lady Helm & Toby McCarthy first junior sailing his first ever open crewing a National 12!

The next round of the Barrel is on 12th December with the series continuing in January & February.

We also offer a very competitive winter membership package from November through to March & includes all the Barrel events for free.

For more details and results visit www.blithfield.org.uk

Become a #boatgen ambassador!

 This September, boatfolk and the Andrew Simpson Foundation launched #boatgen, a ground-breaking new programme designed to get young boaters out on the water and bring them together, giving them all the tools they might need to start having fun afloat.

From training beginners to the opportunity to meet and inspire other young sailors, their aim is to provide all the skills and confidence young people will need to be a boater, both on and off the water.

Could you be the next #boatgen ambassador?

As part of the campaign, #boatgen are looking for ambassadors who share their belief that young people can benefit from getting out on the water. They want role models who understand the value of sailing and waterports and are passionate about sharing their love of these sports, as well as looking after the environment that makes these sports possible.

The role As an ambassador, your role will be to inspire a community of young people to experience the freedom, challenges and amazing opportunities that come with getting out on the water. As part of their network of ambassadors, you'll be the face and voice of #boatgen, becoming an important part of a grassroots movement united in making sailing and Watersports accessible to all.

Would you make the perfect ambassador? Are you...

Keen to inspire other young people to get out on the water?

Someone who thinks everyone should have an equal chance to try sailing and Watersports?

A team player who likes working with others?

Aged between 16-24? (with some flexibility for the right person!)

If you think this sounds like you, why not apply? Click here for more information, and here to apply. Deadline for applications is December 3rd 2021.

Teesdale boating club need your help to become national champions

 Teesdale Sailing and Watersports Club, which arrange a volunteer-run club at Grassholme Reservoir, is celebrating after becoming one of ten finalists from across the whole of the UK for the Yachting Club of the Year Awards 2022.

The awards celebrate the outstanding achievement, and hard work of sailing clubs across the UK and the timing for the community boating club coincides with it heading into its 50th anniversary year.

Teesdale Sailing and Watersports Club have battled back from hardship over the last few years.

Remedial work on the dam by Northumbrian Water resulted in three years of low water levels affecting the club, and the Covid pandemic also took its toll on membership.

Anna Burnet and John Gimson defend their World Title

 SHANDON sailor Anna Burnet has become a double world champion after successfully defending her Nacra 17 title with partner John Gimson in Oman over the weekend.

The British pair reclaimed the crown they won in Australia back in early 2020 to round off a stellar couple of years of competitive action.

Asked if they were now going to take a holiday, Burnet replied: “We’re taking an extra two days in Oman, but we’re going to have December off back at home and get back into sailing in the new year.”

Gimson, who has been Olympic campaigning for almost 20 years, added: “There isn’t that much time before Paris 2024.

"There’s been so little racing over the past 18 months, we’re taking every opportunity we’ve got. We love what we do.”

Girton Sailing Club's Bob Warriner cracks the Mirrors with series win

 Bob Warriner cracked the winning formula as he sealed Girton Sailing Club’s annual Mirror Dinghy Championship Series.

After nearly six months of weekly races (conditions allowing) the Mirror Series came to a close at the weekend, leaving Bob Warriner high and dry at the top of the leaderboard.

The competition began on June 1 and the fleet sailed 22 races over the weeks in which Warriner recorded 16 wins.

The 71-year-old, from Winthorpe, said: “I always try to give a fair start sometimes jeopardising my own position on the start line.

“It’s been a great summer for the Mirror sailors at the club and we’ve done well to re-establish the ‘small but perfectly formed’ fleet at the club.”

Warriner, who is heavily involved with all things sailing at Girton, reflected on how he got into the sport following his triumph.

“It’s the best win I’ve had since my school days at Newark’s Mount Parish C of E Secondary,” he said.

“I finally began to hoist the sails again following my retirement in December 2014 about 50 years later.

“I would urge anyone who hasn’t sailed for a while, or never sailed, to do the same.

“It’s a great friendly hobby or sport and not expensive at all to get into.

“We’re now looking forward to a bit more fair weather for sailing before the year ends and of course next years, club championships.”

The final championship results saw Tony Baldock take second, while Paul Leafe was third.

Robin Wright (fourth), Martin Appleby (fifth), Kit Chow (sixth) and newcomer Phil Curtis also competed.

In round two of the club’s Winter Pursuit Series, Alan Bishop (Solo) dominated top spot with three wins.