Intrepid sailors prepare for £50,000 fundraising challenge, sponsored by Ramada Plaza Southport

A pair of sailors whose plans for an extreme nautical challenge were scuppered last year due to bad weather are preparing to try again, with backing from the Ramada Plaza Southport. The hotel is sponsoring former Southport man David Summerville and fellow sailor Steve Cockerill as they attempt to cross the Irish Sea in two single handed Laser class dinghies – which are only 4m in length each. The duo had planned to make the crossing last September, but 50 knot gale force winds and a 12 foot tidal swell sadly forced them to cancel their plans. Now, they will be attempting the challenge from mid-April, waiting for a window of good weather before they begin the voyage. Ramada Plaza General Manager Enda Rylands said: “David and Steve will be covering 115 nautical miles during the challenge. They will set off from my own home town of Dublin and finish in Southport, aiming to raise £50,000 for mental health charity Mind and the John Merricks Sailing Trust. “It was a real shame that they had to postpone the challenge last year, but they have had several months to ensure they are at the peak of physical fitness for the challenge, which is a really epic endeavour. “David actually learned to sail on the Marine Lake which the hotel overlooks - so it is very fitting that the Ramada Plaza should sponsor him in this challenge.” David, who grew up in Rawlinson Road and attended Christ the King Catholic High School in Stamford Road, is a championship sailor, winning regional and national titles in the UK and the Middle East. The 53-year-old grandfather of two explained that he was keen to raise money for Mind having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder 16 years ago. “Mind has really helped me control my condition,” he said. “A fellow sailor friend from Dublin has also lost two friends to mental illness, so together we formulated the idea to sail from Ireland to England in aid of Mind. “I have also been a supporter of the John Merricks Sailing Trust for a long time. It helps many young sailors and youth sailing organisations to achieve their goals and fulfil their dreams.” David, who now runs a boat repair business in Hertfordshire, said the date of the challenge would again depend on the weather and tidal conditions. “We will be fully prepared and ready to go from mid-April through to mid-September, which will give us a possible 65 days for the crossing over this five month period.” Enda added: “We wish David and Steve all the very best in their challenge and hope that the weather proves to be kind to them. We’d also urge as many people as possible to donate to the cause and raise thousands for Mind and the John Merricks Sailing Trust.”

Yacht Club Spotlight Erith Yacht Club

Sailing clubs awarded

SOMERSET Youth & Community Sailing Association (SYCSA) and Durleigh Sailing Club have gained full status as a clubs that delivers safe, efficient racing and race training. The clubs were awarded the Volvo Champion Club award at the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Dinghy Show at Alexandra Palace. The award was presented by Saskia Clarke and Hannah Mills from the women's Team GB Olympic 470 sailing team. SYCSA chairman Peter Branson said it had taken three years to achieve the award. He said: “We are so proud of all of our young sailors and volunteers who have helped us achieve full VCC status. “It has taken a while to get there, but now we are there we can savour the moment. We are sure that the publicity will attract more youngsters into sailing.”

Sailors To Attend World Record Regatta In Italy

The 30th Lake Garda Optimist Meeting in Italy runs from 5th – 8th April, and with the largest number of single-class boats in the world taking part, the event will be officially classified as a “Guinness World Record”. Over 1,100 Optimist sailors are already entered to race and e26 nations will be represented including Bermuda. Sailors are entered in the Juniors Fleet for kids aged 12-15 and the Cadetti for under 12 age group. 15 of the sailors have competed in Bermuda recently at the Ren Re Junior Gold Cup and the Bermuda National Championships. While the Bermuda Team of 5 older and more experienced Optimist sailors compete at the IODA South American Optimist Championships in Argentina, The Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association has encouraged the up and comming Development Squad sailors to attend the Lake Garda Regatta. Youngsters Campbell Patton (11) and Matilda Nicholls (10) are both Junior Squad Sailors from from the Royal Bermuda YC Sailing Academy and Junior Members of Sandys Boat Club. They will be travelling to Lake Garda in Italy to compete in this Guiness World Record Regatta over the Easter weekend. Campbell and Matilda have both won their classes at International Regattas in the past 12 months and have been training hard in the build-up to Lake Garda. Patton won his age group at the Canadian National Championships in August 2011, while Nicholls won the Regatta Racing Fleet at the UK National Championships in July 2012. Their Coach in Bermuda, the Director of Sailing at RBYC, Tom Herbert-Evans said “This is an huge undertaking by these youngsters, they will have an experience of a life-time to be sailing in a fleet rapidly approaching 1,000 boats. Here in Bermuda we think a Fleet of 20 boats is a good turnout, the Under 12 Fleet is ten times that amount…. just image the spectacle of racing against 1,000 boats!” Former Olympian and now Olympic Coach Zizi Staniul will assist the Bermuda sailors on the water in Italy, they will be joining his elite squad of Internatrional sailors from Germany, Poland and Switzerland. After 4 days of practice on Lake Garda just prior to the event, they will compete for 4 solid days against some of the world’s best Optimist sailors. Coach Zizi said “It is important that Bermuda’s talented sailors travel to larger overseas regattas to gain the all important big fleet experience. Development is all about focused practice and gaining experience, many of the World’s top Olympians regard Lake Garda as one of the best sailing venues in the World and the Fleets do not get any bigger than the Lake Garda world record breaking Optimist Regatta! Not only will it be good experience, it will also be very good practice for the 2013 Optimist World Championships at the same venue.”

Job Vacancy At ISAF - Connect to Sailing Administrator

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) is pleased to announce that the Training and Development Department is expanding and searching for a new staff member to work at the ISAF UK office in Southampton. This exciting opportunity to join the World Governing Body for the sport of Sailing has come about through the success of the ISAF Connect to Sailing Initiative and the successful applicant will be required to assist the Training and Development Manager with all areas of administrating the various innovative projects that are helping to grow participation in sailing within the 137 countries that make up the membership of the federation. For information on all Connect to Sailing related activity please visit the dedicated ISAF website pages here. Applicants are asked to provide a covering letter stating the reasons that they would be suitable for the job and what makes them suitable a role within International Sport. A Curriculum Vitae (CV) showing a full employment and formal education history as well as sports related qualifications that can add value to the role as outlined in the description provided on the ISAF website here should be attached to the covering letter. Deadlines for application are 31 April with candidates successfully chosen to come for a formal interview being informed at the beginning of May. If you think you have what it takes or know of someone that may fit the profile then please pass on this information and ask them to contact ISAF via the address provided on the Job Description.

Disabled sports group sails towards fund-raising target

A £500,000 boathouse for disabled sailors is nearing completion. Rudyard Lake-based Sailability needs to raise £90,000 to finish work on the long-awaited store. It will be a dream come true for the charity, which fought a long-running fight for planning permission for the boathouse. The building work has been done by volunteers, who overcame disabilities to help out. They formed a human chain to tile the roof with 14,000 Welsh slates. The scaffolding will come down after the finishing touches have been put to the exterior and a footpath will then be re-instated. Work started in October and the charity hopes it will open by May. Secretary Jackie Griffiths said: "It has been a triumph over adversity. "When we started, we needed just shy of £500,000, and now we are looking for the last £90,000. "We are so tantalisingly close. It is fantastic. We are so indebted to so many organisations and our hard working volunteers. "It has been very moving. In spite of some volunteers being disabled, they have braved the weather to keep the show moving. It has been amazing. "We are now looking forward to the day when it will be finished and we can once again offer gold standard sailing." Members missed out on sailing last year and several of them also saw their hopes of taking part in this year's Paralympics dashed. It came after the charity was refused permission for a temporary base on the lake, which is managed by Rudyard Lake Ltd.

learning to sail in Cornwall

With the Olympic Games appearing on the horizon, one of Britain's strongest medal hopes is triple gold-medal-winner Ben Ainslie, hailed as "Britain's greatest sailor since Nelson". I think of him as I make my way along the jetty in the bright Cornish sunshine, clad in thick waterproofs and a lifejacket, ready to embark on my RYA Start Sailing Level 1. Ainslie learned to sail here in Falmouth, while yards away is the dock where Dame Ellen MacArthur was greeted by thousands of people after breaking the solo round-the-world record in 2005. Years before her, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston also returned here to a hero's welcome. My friend Fiona and I may not incite such heady levels of excitement among Falmouth's locals as we take to the water, but we can dream. Majestic ships The sun is blinding and the air is crisp, while the wind is a steady force 4/5. We start with a classroom session on safety and the principles of sailing before being transported, along with our instructor Chris, to Goldie, moored on a nearby pontoon. Goldie is a keelboat – a 20ft keeled sailing boat, ideal for beginners because of its stability. We spend the first 30 minutes getting the feel of Goldie under motor, taking turns to manoeuvre it under the gaze of the majestic ships being repaired at Falmouth docks. Fiona and I master steering – or pushing the tiller the opposite way to the direction we want to go. Finally, we hoist the sails. With the mainsail and the jib (the foresail of the boat) raised, we switch the throaty motor off to be greeted by a welcome stillness. The sails catch the wind, snapping and cracking before filling and propelling us along, silently. Falmouth unfolds in front of us, sprawled along the coastline. High on the hill is the prepossessing Observatory Tower – our home for our stay and the town's highest point. Behind us, the Carrick Roads waterway reaches the open sea. The first lesson is tacking: turning the bow of the boat through the wind to alter its course. I am at the helm and I call: "Ready about," as instructed, which prompts Chris and Fiona to take up position on the jib sheets (the ropes attached to either side of the jib). I shout: "Lee ho," push the tiller away and Goldie's nose turns through the wind. We duck, in readiness for the boom swinging overhead. Fiona releases the jib sheet and Chris hauls his sheet in on the other side. There is something very therapeutic about this. We happily tack all morning, swapping roles and barely noticing the sky growing ominously black. Before lunch we are pelted by a short, sharp hailstorm, but it fails to dampen our enthusiasm. After warming up with a welcome Cornish pasty, we tackle the art of gybing – turning the stern through the wind to change course. Chris teaches us to bring in the main sheet and, heads down, we complete a gybe. We continue to tack and gybe our way around a series of buoys under a brooding sky, but, as we head towards Trefusis Point, a squally wind hits us, heeling the boat over sharply and propelling Chris and Fiona across the deck. Fiona's look of horror subsides as Chris adjusts the main sheet and Goldie returns to a more pleasing angle. Buzzing, we return to the pontoon and learn how to secure Goldie for the night. Panoramic views As for us weary sailors, we seek respite in Falmouth's five-storey Observatory Tower, an incredible former meteorological tower built in 1868. It has been recently refurbished as a self-catering property, with wooden floors, nautical lights, reclaimed fittings, funky weather instruments and a lavish wet room and bathroom. But the icing on the cake is the fifth-floor lounge, with its panoramic views over Falmouth, taking in the seas we have sailed – and miles beyond. We feed our raging appetites with a tasty fish-and-chip supper from nearby Harbour Lights. We eat, drink and watch, mesmerised, as the port is transformed into a mass of twinkling lights. Stunning morning Rejuvenated, and buoyed by another stunning morning (not to mention homemade porridge cooked on the sleek Neff hob), day two has us practising our tacking and gybing. After a couple of hours, we head to nearby St Mawes, rounding its handsome castle 45 minutes later to carefully manoeuvre Goldie alongside a buoy. On land, we sit outside the Rising Sun pub supping hot soup, our cheeks glowing. We sail back to Falmouth, the impressive form of Pendennis Castle welcoming us home as we glide past. Right on cue, a rainbow appears. It is not quite what Ellen MacArthur must have felt on her return, but it must be close.