Vendée Arctique: Two months to go

 At 5:00 pm on Sunday 12th June 2022 will be given the start of the Vendée Arctique, the first chapter of the Vendée Globe 2024 adventure.

The skippers will leave Les Sables d'Olonne and head north towards the icy waters of the Arctic Circle.

A demanding course

The Vendée Arctique, a single-handed, non-stop, without assistane ocean race, will cover 3,500 nautical miles. The IMOCA boats will sail up the Atlantic to Iceland, which they will round to cross the Arctic Circle. The finish line should be crossed after 10 to 12 days at sea in Port Olona, Les Sables d'Olonne.

The sporting line-up revealed on 19th May

The Vendée Arctique is the first qualifying race for the many candidates for the Vendée Globe 2024, who are looking for miles to validate their selection. While entries for the Vendée Arctique have been open since 30th March, the final line-up will be revealed on Thursday 19th May.

Official Website: www.vendeearctique.org/en

SailGP launches ticket sales for the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix

 Tickets are now on sale for the most exciting racing on-water as SailGP returns to Plymouth - Britain's Ocean City - for the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix on July 30-31.

On the southwest coast of England, in an area famed for its rich maritime history and the natural amphitheater of Plymouth Sound, ten competing nations will race it out in identical fast foiling F50 catamarans reaching speeds exceeding 60mph.

This is the third event in the global championship's calendar, following opening events in Bermuda and Chicago. After an extremely successful Season 2 event, the Grand Prix will once again be held in partnership with Plymouth City Council. Last year the event drew an estimated 27,500 spectators and brought in a $9.5 million boost to the local economy. The event also won the gold award in the Devon Tourism Awards, for Tourism Event/Festival of the Year.

In addition to having two action-filled race days, SailGP's Inspire program aims to give area residents and its youth an exciting agenda to use the power of sport for good while developing sailing as a sustainable sport.

Fans in Plymouth will be able to witness some of the most incredible on-water racing scenes and get up close to an impressive line-up of world-class athletes and top sailing nations. The lineup for SailGP has expanded for this season, with Canada and Switzerland joining defending Season 2 Champions, Tom Slingsby's Australia, home favorites Sir Ben Ainslie's Great Britain, Denmark, France, Japan, Spain, New Zealand and the United States.

A variety of early bird ticket options - offering a discount of 15% - are now on sale and can be purchased online from today, April 11, at SailGP.com/GreatBritain.

ROYAL OCEAN RACING CLUB’S EASTER CHALLENGE THIS BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND

 Several sailing regattas organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) are planned to take place over the coming weeks.

Based in Cowes but with racing in the Solent, the Easter Challenge will take place over the Easter Weekend (Friday-Sunday). This weekend regatta has been organised by the RORC for over 30 years with the Easter Challenge offering crews the chance for some vital pre-season training.

With on the water coaching, teams will be guided by world class coaches from North U. Leading the coaching team will be Andrew ‘Dog’ Palfrey who lives in Cowes and is respected as one of the top coaches in the World.

The fleet will be divided into three IRC Classes, with windward leeward and round the cans courses; there will also be practice starts.

“Trophies will be presented to the class winners, and there will be plenty of Easter Eggs as daily prizes. However, the main aim of the RORC Easter Regatta is to get tuned up for the season ahead. The coaches will be giving their help right through the fleet, with top advice on rig set-up, trimming, driving and manoeuvres.”

RORCs Cowes Clubhouse will be regatta-central for video debriefs after racing and daily prize giving.

Later in the season Cowes will host the start and finish of The Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race which is scheduled to start off Cowes on 7th August.

Starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line, it is planned that the fleet will race East through the Solent, past the headlands of the South West of England and into the Celtic Sea followed by the West Coast of Ireland. Atlantic racing continues past St Kilda, up to the most northerly point of the course, Muckle Flugga. Turning South through the North Sea, then along the English Channel and the Solent, the race finally finishes back in Cowes.

This 1,805 nautical mile race around Britain and Ireland is organised by RORC every four years and is considered to be one of the toughest challenges in the sport of yacht racing.

So far, 29 teams are among the early entries and expressions of interest for the race including at least four IMOCA teams. These are: Sam Davies with Initiatives-Coeur, Pip Hare with Medallia, Ollie Heer with Oliver Heer Ocean Racing and James Harayda with Gentoo 2.

Polish tall ship STS Pogoria sails into Plymouth Sound to celebrate twinning links with Gdynia

 A beautiful Polish tall ship has sailed into Plymouth Sound. The STS Pogoria has visited Plymouth to celebrate the twinning links between Gdynia and Britain’s Ocean City.

STS Pogoria is a Polish barquentine launched in 1980. She was designed by the naval architect Zygmunt Choreń as the first in a series of (18 total) middle and large-size contemporary sailing vessels.

Pogoria was designed for the explicit purpose of training and education of young students in the high seas environment. It has classroom facilities and its rigging can be manually worked by male or female crew of the junior high school age.

The vessel has also proved to be highly seaworthy, sailing throughout its history all (including Antarctic) seas in often heavy conditions. In addition, it is highly competitive in races, routinely ranking at top places during the tall ship race events.

Thames Valley ILCA Open at Great Moor Sailing Club

 After a lengthy absence from hosting events, Great Moor Sailing Club were back, hosting the first Thames Valley ILCA Open of 2022! 10 boats braved the cold, but sunny weather, with an 8-15 knot breeze blowing from the west.

Lots of good racing was had throughout the fleet, with special shout-outs to Elliot, Emily, George and Jonquil who had some very close racing in the ILCA 6 and 4 fleets separated by only a handful of boat lengths, and last, but by no means least, Ian who provided lots of entertainment to both rescue crews and spectators but showcasing the bottom of his hull on multiple occasions!

Overall Results:

Pos Sail No Helm Club R1 R2 R3 R4 Pts

ILCA 4 Fleet

1st 186842 Emily Shears Reading Sailing Club 5 3 ‑6 5 13

2nd 197752 Jonquil Oldham Great Moor ‑7 6 7 6 19

ILCA 6 Fleet

1st 202352 Elliot Oldham Great Moor ‑9.5 8 8 8 24

2nd 122415 George Vincent Great Moor 8 ‑9 9 9 26

ILCA 7 Fleet

1st 216239 James Blake Great Moor 1 ‑2 1 1 3

2nd 184211 Simon Gearge Great Moor 2 1 ‑3 2 5

3rd 213547 Andrew Hill‑Smith Papercourt Sailing Club 4 4 2 ‑7 10

4th 204719 Andrew Mcleish Fairlop Waters Sailing Club 3 ‑7 4 3 10

5th 199009 Iain Blake Great Moor ‑6 5 5 4 14

6th 122254 Ian Richards Great Moor 9.5 10 10 (RET) 29.5

420 class set at the 2022 RYA Youth Nationals

 38 420s have assembled at Pwllheli for the 2022 RYA Youth Nationals. Racing starts today and concludes on Friday.

This is the concluding selection event for the UK 420 class summer teams for the Junior European Championships in Portugal and the World Championships in Hungary. The RYA will also select a male/mixed team and a female team aged under 19 to represent GBR at the World Sailing Youth Sailing Championships in The Hague in July.

If you want a form guide the best advice comes from the latest UK rolling rankings, published today, which count the last five UK 420 class meetings including the first two selection events.

It is very tight at the top, it is going to tricky week for everyone. Good luck and fair winds to all the sailors.

Some of the sailors are competing in their first Youth Nationals having recently joined the class whilst the oldest and most experienced are doing their 3rd.

For more info go to www.gbr420.uk

J/70 UK Grand Slam Series begins

 The J/70 UK Grand Slam Series is off and running with seven windward-leeward races over two days of tight racing right through the 16-boat J/70 fleet. The Warsash Spring Championship was the venue, expertly hosted by the Warsash Sailing Club. There was close racing right through the J/70s with highly competitive starts, mark rounding and plenty of duels from front to back.

The J/70 UK Fleet is packed with passionate sailors and the spirit and atmosphere is just as important as the electric racing. On the Saturday of the Championships, all teams, friends and family, were invited to a curry and beers night at the Royal Southern Yacht Club. Dedicated amateur sailors rubbed shoulders with Olympic medallist in a fun and friendly environment.

SIX-MEDAL HAUL KICKSTARTS BRITISH SAILING TEAM’S 2022 SEASON

 Britain’s elite sailors laid down a marker as the 2022 season got underway at Palma’s iconic Trofeo Princesa Sofia, bringing home medals in six of the ten classes.

The British Sailing Team haul included two golds, a silver and three bronze as the six-day regatta came to a climax in Palma Bay.

The British Sailing Team will now turn its attention to the Semaine Olympique Francais in Hyeres later this month.

For the full results from Trofeo Princesa Sofia head to https://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org/en/default/races/race-resultsall.

New Brunswick to be only Canadian stop for legendary UK yacht with all-female crew

 The Maiden, a U.K. racing yacht helmed by an all-female crew, is on a three-year world tour that will see it cover 90,000 nautical miles, visit more than 60 destinations in 20 countries and encourage countless girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering or math.

It set sail from Dubai in January and is now crossing the Atlantic Ocean toward southern U.S., where it will then work its way up the Eastern Seaboard.

In early August, it will make its first and only Canadian stop this year — in the port of Saint John.

As a waterborne ambassador for the Maiden Factor Foundation, Maiden's mission is a lofty one: work with, raise funds for and support communities to help girls access education, and empower them to see their education and career goals through to the finish line.

In the meantime, many are following the voyage on Maiden Factor's Twitter account or on The Maiden Factor blog, where skippers and crew post updates such as this one, posted earlier this week:

"We are currently off Gibraltar gybing downwind ... There are ships just everywhere and I am very happy to be here in daylight as it's a special part of the world. This 14nm channel feeds all of the Mediterranean. 

We have been joined by dolphins dancing by our side for hours, beautiful! 14 [nautical miles] before we say goodbye to land for a few weeks."

And though it will be almost four months before Maiden sails into the port, the buzz is already being felt, Copeland said.

"The local sail community is quite excited because the Maiden and the original story of the female crew that raced her ... is quite well known" to them, Copeland said.

"Many local female sailors have already offered to help with hosting the crew while they're in Saint John," taking them on tours of the local yacht clubs and working with local youth charity groups, "which we're very happy about."  

10 Nacra 15s set to compete at Pwllheli

 Ten Nacra 15s will descend on the Welsh National Sailing Academy in Pwllheli this weekend to compete in the 2022 RYA Youth National Championships, with five days of racing set to take place from the 11th-15th April.

The 2022 event will see the biggest fleet the UK class has seen since its introduction in the UK in 2017, as the class continues to grow. The fleet will be made up of new sailors and new pairings, as well as several sailors returning having been away from the class for several years, with ages ranging from 13-20 years old!

The UK Nacra 15 Class Association is looking forward to a great week of racing at Pwllheli, with a promising forecast, and with more boats adding to the high-paced, action-packed racing throughout the week. Make sure to follow @nacra15gbr on Instagram and Facebook to stay up to date with all the action, and visit www.nacra15.co.uk to find out more about the World Sailing and British Youth Sailing youth multihull class!

Top fives target for Tom Dolan

 Ireland's leading solo offshore racer Tom Dolan has almost finished his training phase prior to the start of the five events which comprise the 2022 French Elite Offshore Racing Championship, the season long solo and short-handed circuit which has La Solitaire du Figaro (Aug 15th to September 11th) as its pinnacle.

Dolan's career-best finish in the championship was sixth in 2020, the year he finished fifth on La Solitaire. After six intense weeks of training he now feels his overall game is in excellent shape as he seeks to break into the top five overall on the prestigious circuit which runs from April to September.

His season with his Figaro Beneteau 3 Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan starts with the Solo Maître CoQ (from April 15 to 25) followed by the Le Havre Allmer Cup (from May 21 to 29), the Sardinha Cup (from June 3 to 19), the Solo Guy Cotten (from August 2 to 8) and then the famous La Solitaire du Figaro (from August 15 to September 11). A final placing inside the top five on the end-of-season rankings is the target as are top fives in each of the constituent regattas.

The season looks good, all in all. I have set myself the goal of finishing in the Top 5 at all the races on the circuit this year but really without putting too much pressure on myself", explains Tom Dolan, "The training has gone very well and I have had time to really look at each area closely and now even can make sure I get a little rest to ensure I start the season fresh and full of energy. I have worked a lot on my speed and to that end looking at and picking the best sails. I am especially happy with my mainsail and its setup. I think maybe before I worked well but ended up being too complacent in my speed but now I am vey happy. Lately we have worked on boat handling and boat on boat stuff and so I feel I have strengthened some of my weaknesses."

Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club GP14 Spring Series 2022 update

 The eleven boat fleet of GP14's have enjoyed some remarkable weather on Belfast Lough. Although, like the rest of the country, racing was interrupted by some storms mid March, sailors got racing on 6th March, 27th March and 3rd April so far and with one Sunday left, there is some room for change on the scoreboard.

Leading with an almost insurmountable score is repatriated local Ross Kearney and crew Andrew Vaughan, Royal North, who currently sit on 19 points. Almost is the key here as the would need to rack up a string of real stinkers next Sunday not to keep their lead, but that said, the are discarding a 7 which shows at least a glimmer that they could falter.

The fleet very much appreciate the continued efforts of Race Officer Gerry Reid with his comedy boat helpers and mark-layers. The fast turnarounds between races ensures sailor are ashore and home in good time to maintain a healthy scorecard in the brownie point department in advance of a season which includes the World Championships in Skerries in August.

Forecast for Sunday's final 4 races is south easterly 3 to 4 with breeze blowing off the County Down shore. Once again its likely to be 'up and down, left and right' keeping everyone of their toes. Can Curly and Adam bag another bundle of bullets to topple Ross and Andrew? 

 Results as at 3rd April 2022:

Pos Sail No Helm Crew Club R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 Pts

1st 14248 Ross Kearney Andrew Vaughan RNIYC 1 2 2 1 3 3 1 1 2 (7) 3 19

2nd 14219 Curly Morris Adam Torrens EABC/NSC (8) 4 7 3 4 1 4 7 1 1 1 33

3rd 13901 Steven Nelson Daniel Nelson DSC/NSC (6) 5 1 2 1 4 5 3 4 5 6 36

4th 14214 Keith Louden Mateo Louden LFYC 2 1 4 5 6 2 2 4 (8) 4 7 37

5th 14242 Jane Kearney Martin Weatherstone RNIYC 3 3 6 (OCS) 2 5 3 2 3 8 4 39

6th 14212 Michael Cox Claire Cromie NSC 4 6 5 7 (BFD) 8 7 8 6 2 8 61

7th 14090 Chris Clayton Rory Higgins RNIYC 5 8 9 6 7 (BFD) 8 5 5 6 2 61

8th 14215 Ruan O'Tiarnaigh Rebekah O'Tiarnaigh BYC/SDC (DNC) 7 3 4 BFD 6 DNC 6 7 3 5 65

9th 14257 Bill Johnson Alex Louden LFYC 7 9 8 (OCS) 8 BFD 10 9 9 9 9 90

10th 14192 Brian Andrews John McArthur NSC 9 11 10 (OCS) 5 7 6 DNC DNC DNC DNC 96

11th 13865 Jennifer Bryce Lara Sunday NSC (DNC) 10 11 8 9 BFD 

Yachts and sailing clubs from across the Solent invited to 'once-in-a-lifetime' celebration for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee at an event in Cowes

 Yachts and sailing clubs across the region can attend the day in Cowes, which is set to include racing, a Spitfire display and live music, on Saturday, August 6.

The event will begin with the option of breakfast, followed by a review of all participating vessels by VIPs from across the region, with racing off Bramble Bank. All boats, from RIBs to sailing and motor vessels, can register to be part of the official programme.

A silver Spitfire air display and prize-giving will be followed by an afternoon of live music and entertainment at a free concert at the Cowes Yacht Haven with a soon to be announced headline act.

Chairman of the organising committee, Jonathan Nainby-Luxmoore, said: ‘The day will bring the boating community together like never before, with potential for 600 vessels or more to attend from clubs around the Solent region. It’s the biggest event the Solent has seen in a long time.’

A committee of sailing organisations, class associations and clubs from across the Solent region is organising the sailing and entertainment planned on the Solent and at Cowes Yacht Haven, following this year’s Cowes Week. All yacht and sailing clubs in the Solent region are being asked to send up to 20 representative vessels to participate in the event.

Yacht and sailing clubs in the Solent region can register their interest in attending by emailing mail@rys.org.uk.