Plymouth braced for influx of thousands of visitors for SailGP event

 Plymouth is expected to receive a multi-million pound boost from staging the SailGP boating event in the Sound this summer. A report into the 2021 contest revealed it drew about 27,000 spectators and injected about £7.71m into the city’s economy - with this year’s event expected to be even bigger and more lucrative.

Britain’s Ocean City is hoping for another big pay-day when the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix takes place on July 30 and 31. The numbers for this year’s Grand Prix are expected to exceed those in 2021 when Covid-19 restrictions were still in place, putting limits on the number of people that could travel to the racing from outside the Plymouth area.

The event, held on what is the UK’s first National Marine Park, is being delivered in partnership with Plymouth City Council. Last year the SailGP race contributed to the city receiving a gold award for Tourism Event/Festival of the Year in the Devon Tourism Awards.

The 2022 Grand Prix will also build on the community impact activities delivered through SailGP’s Inspire program which are designed to connect with young people in the area and showcase the importance of sustainability in sailing and how it can be a force for good. The Inspire program has engaged more than 8,000 young people around the globe, well on its way to reaching its target of 10,000 young people by 2025.

Season three of SailGP officially started on May 14 and 15 in Bermuda and features an expanded calendar that spans 2022-23 and combines previous SailGP venues such as Plymouth, Saint-Tropez, Cádiz and San Francisco with new destinations including Chicago, Copenhagen, Dubai, Singapore and New Zealand. One final venue is expected to be announced in the coming weeks to make up an 11-event season.

Not only is the season busier this year but so is the race course, with two new teams added to the starting line in Canada and Switzerland. They join defending champions Australia, alongside Denmark, France, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand, Spain and the United States in the season three fleet.

Early bird tickets for the event, offering a 10% discount on a variety of options, are on sale for a limited period and can be purchased at SailGP.com/GreatBritain .

ROUND ISLAND YACHT RACE WELCOMES NEW ENTRANTS INCLUDING ‘GOOD DOG’ AND ‘PEGASUS’

 Mark Ashley-Miller’s Good Dog and Pegasus of Northumberland have entered the Round the Island Race, which takes place on Saturday 25th June.

Ashley-Miller bought his Nauticat 331 Good Dog with the aim of circumnavigating the UK and Ireland as slowly as possible in aid of the Seafarers’ Charity and has so far raised nearly £20,000.

Mark intends to visit every harbour with a Harbour Master in the country to write a book. There are a total of 300 Harbour Masters, and the skipper has met nearly 200 of them so far. Starting from Dartmouth in 2019, the boat has sailed clockwise around GB, including St Kilda, Muckle Flugga, Perth, Goole, and Wisbech.

Pegasus is competing to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease and to highlight the positive impact sailing can have on Parkinson’s sufferers. Pegasus is an exceptional Open Class racing yacht with an enviable track record, being the fastest boat of her type in the world. The Pegasus Racing team have a collective aim of challenging and breaking world records.

The Round Island Race has launched competition for all 2022 race competitors (crew and skippers) a with a prize pot worth over £4500.

Prizes include:

The new B&G Zeus 3S chartplotter to aid navigation, plot routes, add waypoints, and view key sailing or racing data at the touch of a button or screen (RRP £2830)

A GPM Marathon Watch, suitable for tough sailing challenges (RRP £370)

A Skagen Offshore Sailing Jacket from Helly Hansen (RRP £325)

Subscriptions to Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting and Classic Boat magazine

Weekend mooring at Cowes Yacht Haven

inner for four at the Island Sailing Club

For more information and to enter visit www.roundtheisland.org.uk. The competition is only open to 2022 race competitors and entry closes on Saturday 28th June.

Dyfi to host river pageant to mark Jubilee

 ABERDYFI plans to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this weekend by hosting a river pageant.

Boat owners are being invited by Dovey Yacht Club to join in the fun to celebrate the Queen’s 70 years on the throne by taking part in a Platinum Jubilee River Pageant at 12pm on Sunday, 5 June on the Dyfi Estuary.

The event is free of charge and is open to all types of boats; sailing dinghies, rowing boats, motor boats, speed boats, PWCs, including canoes, kayaks and SUPs etc. Maybe deck out and decorate your boat with colorful bunting and flags and dress retro / 1950s to fit the occasion.

A spokes person for Dovey Yacht Club said: “Our aim is to have at least 70 vessels in the parade, one boat for every year of Queen Elizabeth’s long reign.”

Boats are to assemble west of the 4-knot yellow speed limit from 11.45 and be ready to proceed at 12pm past the jetty and into Church Bay.

The start signal will be given from the Dovey Yacht Club balcony, the club hooter being sounded by Commdore Desmond George.

All boats shall proceed in single file behind the lead boat which will be the Aberdyfi RNLI Life Boat. Canoes and Kayaks and SUPs are invited to join the Pageant from the beach, after the motor boats have passed by.

This River Pageant was held in Aberdyfi in June 1897, for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, so we will be maintaining a most historic tradition.

The Abergynolwyn Silver Band will provide music as the boats parade past the jetty.

Royal Cork Yacht Club and Royal Cornwall Yacht Club Announce Revival of Falmouth to Cork Race

 The Royal Cork Yacht Club in Cork Harbour and the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club in Falmouth, England are delighted to announce that the historic race between the two ports, most recently run in the late ’90s, is to be revived this summer, starting at 2100hrs on 7th July 2022 off Pendennis Point.

THE PRINCE OF WALES’S 300TH ANNIVERSARY TROPHY

In 2022, the overall race winner will be the inaugural recipient of a specially commissioned perpetual trophy donated by His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, to the Royal Cork Yacht Club to mark its 2020 tricentenary and recognise the very close relationship between the sailing communities of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

THE COURSE

The 180nm course will provide competitors with a mix of strategic coastal navigation and challenging open water sailing on the passage between Falmouth and Cork.

The race is set to start at Falmouth at 2100hrs on Thursday 7th July and competitors are expected to reach Cork late on Friday night, where they will be welcomed by the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven.

VOLVO CORK WEEK 2022

It is anticipated that boats and sailors interested in the Falmouth to Cork race may also compete at Volvo Cork Week 2022, the latest edition of the biennial regatta run by the Royal Cork since 1978, which will be held in Cork Harbour from 11th to 15th July. Co-chairman of Volvo Cork Week 2022 and Regatta Race Director Ross Deasy commented that there has been strong interest from Volvo Cork Week entries in this exciting race from Falmouth and, given the attractions of a wonderful new trophy for the winner, he is sure that the standard of the fleet will be high.

Open Day 2022 at Blackwater Sailing Club

 The Blackwater Sailing Club at Heybridge Basin held their annual Open Day on Saturday 7 May. The weather was generally kind with only two brief showers in the morning and finished in glorious sunshine. The day saw a steady stream of visitors with a total of over 300 people keen to see what our sailing club has to offer. Everyone was offered a guided tour of the club house and grounds by our team of volunteers.

The team on the lake were offering sailing sessions in a range of dinghies, helmed by experienced dinghy instructors - over 200 people had a trip on the water, wearing buoyancy aids provided by the club. The cadet section staged a demonstration of Optimist racing for the younger visitors to enjoy.

The membership teams in the main clubroom were working hard to answer all the various questions about the terms and cost of membership and signed up 50 new members at the end of the day with a number of other visitors thinking about joining in the near future.

The success of this special day could only happen with the amazing dedicated support of more than 80 volunteer members - my thanks to everyone who helped to ensure our visitors had a memorable day.

Blackwater Sailing Club is one of the leading sailing clubs on the East Coast; an active family-focused club offering dinghy and cruiser racing for experienced sailors on the river; a well organised cadet section for children aged between 8 to 18 years offering initial training on the seven acre freshwater lake and then coached training and racing on the river for the older cadets. The sailing school is now able to offer RYA Level 1 & 2 courses for adults, which has been in much demand from new members.

If you missed out on our Open Day but are interested in membership please visit our website www.blackwatersailingclub.org.uk or email our Hon. Membership Secretary membership-secretary@blackwatersailingclub.org.uk

Dee Caffari and Shirley Robertson complete their first offshore race

 Team Rockit - Shirley Robertson and Dee Caffari talk about their Double handed plans for the season, notably competing in the 1800nm Round Britain and Ireland race in August.

In this update we join Dee and Shirley competing in their first offshore race together, the 115nm De Guingand Bowl.

"SO SO good to be back racing at the weekend, first time with Dee Caffari in our brand new Jeanneau Sunfast 3300," Shirley writes. "SO many 3300's now, what a fun season we have in store - A bit of a shake down for the boat and for us......some strong parts during the 17 hour sprint and some parts were we sailed like lemons. Fully back on the job list and could do better list."

Next race 2nd June the Myth of Malhem.

Thanks as always to Sea Ventures (UK) Ltd for making it all possible, and all our partners - B&G, Kingfisher Rope, Fuel Cell Systems, and Zhik

Europe UK Nationals at Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy

The Europe fleet are returning to WPNSA for the 2022 National Championship over the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend. As a fleet, it's all about inclusion and enjoyment sailing these fab little boats, but there are also some rather lovely trophies up for grabs.

 There are 6 family pairs racing, Fathers & Sons, Brothers, Husband and Wives, creating some inter-family rivalry thought out the fleet.

It's great to be welcoming some overseas visitors, with 4 boats making the trip over, it will be great to welcome them to the UK fleet.

Its not all about brand new boats, with a prize up for grabs for the more classic rigs, the eldest boat so far entered is No60, sailed by Timothy Simmons.

Trophies are also presented at both ends of the age ranges, class veteran Richard Eagleton, boat restorer extraordinaire Steve Whitby and Richard Major will be in the mix to claim top master. At the other end of the age scale, Adam Catlow, taking a break from A levels revision and Jonny Sargent will be leading the charge for the youth trophy.

Its still not too late to enter, it doesn't matter if you are at the front of the fleet or just starting out sailing the boat, whilst the class cant guarantee what wind we'll get, what is guaranteed is a friendly welcome, a lot of support and help to set boats up, some great racing, the now famous bring your own BBQ at the Tweedle's, a social every evening, snacks after racing, the chance of a brand new sail in the raffle courtesy of UK Sails Denmark and a prize for everyone thanks to Rooster Sailing and Kingfisher Ropes, with all three companies supporting the event. The Europe fleet are returning to WPNSA for the National Championship over the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend.

Musto Skiffs at the Noble Marine One Design Regatta Weekend at Largs Sailing Club

 Largs' annual One Design Regatta Weekend included the Musto Skiffs for the fourth event of the hugely competitive Scottish & Northern Skiff Tour. The eight boat Musto fleet had a smaller than expected turnout, with many regulars being tied up elsewhere. 

The RO did, kindly, shorten the races from megamarathons to marathons, with races up to 50min. Seldom can the athletes of the Musto fleet race for longer than 40 minutes without needing to stop for a chocolate bar (or beer), but fear not, we mostly survived, and went on to help keep Largs' coffers in fine health, as the club provided a stellar evening that was awesomely attended by all the fleets at the event.

By the final race, it really was survival of the fittest, with many breakages happening: Hurter's tackline, Turnbull's motivation, Trotter's body...

The remaining boats carried on flinging themselves around the course duelling it out for the 'King of Largs' title. Even with the pressure from a rapid Shelley, Hilton remained the cool, collected, fox that never seemed to make too big a mistake, taking another two bullets and the overall win.

A massive thank you to Largs Sailing Club and their teams for running another fantastic event, and congratulations to Jamie Hilton for putting together a championship performance to take the win.

The next Scottish and Northern Event is at East Lothian Yacht Club (North Berwick) on 4/5th June. Hope to see you there!

Overall Results:

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

1st GBR593 Jamie HILTON Dalgety Bay / Wormit SC ‑5 2 1 1 1 3 3 1 12

2nd GBR566 Jono SHELLEY Largs SC 2 1 3 2 (RET) 1 4 2 15

3rd GBR464 Euan HURTER Point YC / Dalgety Bay SC 1 3 4 3 2 4 1 (DNC) 18

4th GBR26 Ian TURNBULL Ullswater Y C 3.5 4 2 5 3 2 2 (DNC) 21.5

5th GBR546 Ian TROTTER Derwent Res SC 6 6 5 6 4 5 5 (DNC) 37

6th GBR481 Josh MORAN Ullswater Y C ‑8 5 6 4 6 6 7 4 38

7th GBR332 Robert YEAMANS Aberdeen and Stonehaven YC 3.5 7 7 ‑8 5 7 6 3 38.5

8th GBR526 Paul ANDERSON Largs SC 7 8 8 7 (RET) DNC DNC DNC 57

Thames Sailing Barge Trust launch sailing barge Pudge Centenary crowdfunding appeal

 The Thames Sailing Barge Trust based in Maldon, Essex has launched a crowdfunding appeal to help sailing barge Pudge complete her accommodation refit in time for her centenary.

The Trust received a grant of £328,800 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), enabling much of the work to be completed on the restoration of their Thames sailing barge, Pudge. However, due to the rising costs and the challenges experienced during the pandemic, more funds are needed to return Pudge to sailing condition.

John Whittingdale, the MP for Maldon, said, "For many people, the Thames barge is a symbol of Maldon and the Trust does great work in maintaining the two it owns and at the same time helping to keep alive traditional shipbuilding skills"

If you can spare a few pounds to help the Thames Sailing Barge Trust continue in their work to help keep these icon vessels sailing for the public, and preserve traditional sailing and maintenance skills, please visit our crowdfunding page here: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/thames-sailing-barge-trust-1102840

Cowes Week 2022 plans taking shape

 As the sailing season kicks into gear, plans for Cowes Week are rapidly coming together. Nearly 300 boats have already entered, and we are on track for the biggest entry for some years. As usual the XOD class has had the biggest early entry but all 21 One Design classes, as well as Performance Cruiser and Club Cruiser classes and the seven IRC classes entries are also starting to stack up.

Over the winter the regatta team have been working with all of the club volunteers to get the Manning List agreed and the early training days for course setting plans have already taken place. We have more committee vessels planned for this year giving us maximum flexibility should we need to shorten courses at any stage.

We will be sticking with the same format as last year, starting more races from the Royal yacht Squadron line on a rolling five-minute sequence. Once competitors got used to the change, we didn't have any problems with cross fleet interference last year and it's great to be able to get more fleets away from the RYS start line every day.

Cowes Week is all about world-class regatta racing, but it should also be a wonderful social week, meeting friends old and new. We will shortly be announcing a fantastic sponsor for the opening party which will take place on Saturday 30 July in the Event Centre at Cowes Yacht Haven. With free drinks on arrival and live music and DJ until 1am, the party will be the perfect opener to a fantastic week of racing and socialising.

To get in touch with the regatta team email entries@cowesweek.co.uk or use the "Ask Laurence" forum on the Cowes Week website.

Sign up today for Bart's Bash 2022

 

Fleet entries for Falmouth Classics

 The Atkins Ferrie Wealth Management Falmouth Classics, which takes place from the 17th - 19th June has been delighted to receive entries from the Cornish Maritime Trust who are entering all four of their boats for the first time, whilst local builder of wooden boats, Ben Harris, will see three of the boats he has built participating.

All seven boats will be alongside the Falmouth Haven during the event and can be viewed by the public on the 18th June between 09.00 and 10. 30 and again from 16.00 - 18.00. Access to the Haven is free, but donations to the RNLI or Coast Medic will be welcome.

Find out more at www.falmouthclassics.org.uk

Fireball 60th Anniversary Open Meeting to be held at Hayling Island SC 1-3 July

 To mark the diamond anniversary, the UK Fireball Association has planned a three-day celebration which will be hosted by Hayling Island Sailing Club over 1-3 July. The club does, of course, have an extremely strong bond with the class having established one of the earliest fleets and hosted the first national championship in 1963 as well as the inaugural worlds in 1966. Indeed, the first-ever recorded Fireball race was held at HISC's annual regatta in 1962.

Entries are being taken on line at www.hisc.co.uk/sailing/open-events/fireball-60-anniversary-om (£135 for early birds) while tickets for the dinner - £20 each - may be purchased separately via the club office (023 9246 3768).

Diamond anniversary clothing is available at www.ukfa.stitchprint.co.uk

Programme Details:

Friday 1 July

Registration 09.00 - 11.00

Multiple short sprint races sailed in Chichester Harbour. First warning signal 13:00.

Commodore's reception in the evening

Saturday 2 July

Harbour Tour - A series of races sailed touring Chichester Harbour (bring a lifting rudder!)

Anniversary dinner in the evening

Sunday 3 July

Three race series sailed in Hayling Bay