Young carers get on board sailing barge

A PROJECT designed to give young carers a bit of their childhood back, has allowed eight youngsters to embark on a trip onboard an historic Thames sailing barge. The Rotary-sponsored trip left from Faversham's Harty Ferry on Friday as part of a two-day voyage to Gravesend, stopping off in Southend. The young carers, aged 12-16 from Faversham, Sittingbourne and Sheppey, were able to take the wheel of The Cambria, which was re-launched after undergoing a £1.5million makeover last year. Rotary Club District Governor Lynn Mitchell said: "We had an idea to do a project for young children and we felt there were a lot of forgotten young carers out there. "It means that they can just switch off, they can just forget and get their childhood back. Last year one of the trips was forced to leave at night and everyone came back and said it was just magical. "Now we are looking to have static weekends in the creek for the little ones who might not have the strength to steer it." But it's not all been plain sailing. Rotarians from 56 clubs across Kent, South East London and East Sussex, raised £20,000 to sponsor 10 trips this year. Some of the total came from Rotary clubs across Whitstable, Herne Bay, Canterbury and Faversham. Chairman of the Cambria Trust Bruce Richardson said he hoped the excursions would become part of the "bread and butter" of the barge's activities for the next three years, and explained that the Rotary's symbol would now decorate its sail. He said: "We want to help communities. We piloted the trip last year and the young carers had a ball. "For us it's so satisfying to see how much they're enjoying it. It's a brilliant project that really chimes with needs of our time as we rely on the work done by these people." The youngest sailor onboard was 12-year-old Jack Pike from Sheppey. He cares for his mother, who is limited by a back injury, and his brother who suffers from ADHD and autism. As the ship set sail he said: "I'm absolutely excited about this. I have sailed dinghies and boats but nothing like this before! "At home I spend a lot of time cleaning to help my mum and have to look after my brother because he can be a bit of a handful!" The trip was supervised by David Lloyd from Rotary and David Scoones from FACES, an organisation supporting carers in East Kent and Canterbury. He said: "These kids have to grow up quickly and for the older ones who have left school it can be a full time job, so it's nice to give them this opportunity."

Blind Sailor to sail the Irish Sea

This summer sees blind adventure-athlete Mark Pollock and local sailor Tiffany Brien aim to sail across the Irish Sea to raise money for the Mark Pollock Trust and Belfast Lough Sailability. Sailing across the Irish Sea would be a big enough challenge for any regular sailor, but for 36-year-old Mark, who has been blind since the age of 22 and paralysed in a freak accident in 2010, this challenge is quite significant. Luckily enough, Mark is not shy of a challenge. He has survived sub-zero Antarctic temperatures to become the first blind person to reach the South Pole, suffered scorching heat running six marathons in the Gobi Desert in one week, and has even competed at high-altitude in the Everest Marathon. Mark has competed against many able-bodied athletes, including Olympic gold medalists, Special Forces personnell and professional explorers, such as Sir Ranulph Fiennes, all in a world of total darkness. After a threatening fall two years ago, Mark is fighting against his spinal cord injury, with the aim to defy the odds to walk again. The Mark Pollock Fund hopes to raise enough funds to assist with the capital and on-going costs associated with his spinal injury, including new wheelchairs, a team of care specialists and physiotherapy equipment. Mark says: “This will be my first big physical challenge since I was paralysed so I am really looking forward to giving it my best shot. I used to sail before my accident so I can’t wait to get back out on the water.” The challenge is scheduled to take place at the beginning of June, where Mark and Tiffany will be sailing in a specially designed SKUD Yacht that Tiffany purchased for the Belfast Lough Sailability following her individual challenge in 2007. She said: “Mark is a real inspiration so I am honoured to have the chance to participate in this challenge alongside him. His determination is infectious and I have no doubt we will achieve our goal of crossing the Irish Sea to raise valuable funds for the Mark Pollock Trust and Belfast Lough Sailability.” Belfast Lough Sailability helps those people with disabilities to learn new skills, while being able to enjoy the art of sailing, with the potential to reach their goal of taking part in the Paralympic Games. To support the Mark Pollock Irish Sea Challenge you can donate online at www.irishseachallenge.co.uk.

Sailability

'Untrained' sailors who bought £3,000 yacht on eBay hit the rocks on their 'first' voyage

Two 'untrained' sailors who bought their yacht on eBay smashed their boat onto rocks after getting lost just 400 yards into what was believed to be one of their first voyages. The hapless pair went out in their £3,000 24ft vessel but were soon left teetering on a reef near the entrance to St Peter Port harbour in Guernsey. These unnamed sailors had 'little or no knowledge' of the area or sailing and were attempting to move the yacht from one marina to another - only 700 metres away - when they ran it aground in the dark. Unaware of the rocks until their pale blue boat Ardel crashed into them, they were forced into a Mayday emergency call to the coastguard and a lifeboat was sent to rescue them.

Weymouth 2012 Sailing

Thrills,Spills and Close Racing to Open America's Cup World Series in Naples

Naples opened in spectacular fashion on Wednesday as strong winds and big waves created menacing racing conditions. The AC45 catamarans, powered by their powerful wing sails, were leaping out of the water, launched into the air by the heavy sea state. It's cool, the sailing is pretty awesome, you can't complain when you're sailing in conditions like that," said Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker, who sits at the top of the leaderboard after two fleet races. "But it's very challenging for the boats and very taxing for the crew. The goal was to get back to the dock in one piece, which we did - it's nice to be back in good shape." Barker and his team clawed back from deep in the fleet in race one to finish in third place. In the second race, they were able to secure a win, putting them on equal points with ORACLE Racing Spithill who also have a 1-3 on their scorecard. Barker's team gets the nod on the tiebreak by winning the last race. Close behind are two teams who put in an outstanding performance on a challenging day. Team Korea, with young skipper Nathan Outteridge sailing his very first AC World Series regatta posted a 4-2 to sit equal on points with Energy Team, who mirrored their score. "We couldn't expect much more than that," Outteridge said. "The big guns are ahead of us. But we're overachieving compared with expectations, so we're very, very happy." Not surprisingly in the difficult conditions, there were teams who finished the day less content. Terry Hutchinson was leading his Artemis Racing team to a solid second place in the first race when both bows buried in impressive fashion as he rounded the top mark. The front of the boat kept going down, the wind pushing the wing over, until they capsized. "It was a balance between racing the boat hard and not putting ourselves in a position of risk," Hutchinson explained. "I don't really feel like we put ourselves at risk but still we ended up on our side. It's just very frustrating… Luckily no one's injured, but the wing is absolutely broken… It's a real bummer, the boat was so well prepared and sorted for the regatta, and we've been going well in training, so all in all a pretty big disappointment." China Team too suffered minor damage to its wing and didn't finish the first race, or start the second. ORACLE Racing Bundock suffered some damage to one of its hulls after flying off a wave and landing hard in race one, which ended their day. But skipper Darren Bundock said he was confident his shore team would have them ready to race for Thursday. Both Luna Rossa crews, making their AC World Series debut turned in solid, if not spectacular performances to sit mid-fleet after the first day. The program for Thursday starts with Match Racing, the pairings determined by today's results, followed by two Fleet Races and the Fleet Racing Championship continues. The first Match Race start is 1330 local time (CEST). Provisional Standings after Day One: 1. Emirates Team New Zealand (Skipper: Dean Barker) 2. ORACLE Racing - Spithill (Skipper: James Spithill) 3. Team Korea (Skipper: Nathan Outteridge) 4. Energy Team (Skipper: Yann Guichard) 5. Luna Rossa - Swordfish (Helmsman: Paul Campbell-James) 6. Luna Rossa - Piranha (Helmsman: Chris Draper) 7. ORACLE Racing - Bundock (Skipper: Darren Bundock) 8. Artemis Racing (Skipper: Terry Hutchinson) 9. China Team (Skipper: Fred Le Peutrec)

Berry Creek couple talk about seafaring life

To some, living at sea and sailing the world might seem exotic. To Robert Lipkin and his wife Jody it can be humdrum, but they're living a dream. For him, it's one more chapter in a life filled with adventure. "When you're out in a storm in the middle of the ocean, a lot of people would think it's an ordeal," said Lipkin, who returned home to Berry Creek from a sailing trip Monday. "For me, that's when the juices start flowing — when you're alive." Bob Lipkin, 68, is widely known as longtime sailor and author Bob Bitchin, whose 68-foot ketch, Lost Soul, will be open for guided tours Saturday and Sunday at the Strictly Sail Pacific Boat Show at Jack London Square in Oakland. When they aren't sailing, the Lipkins live on 40 acres atop a ridge near Berry Creek that boasts a splendid view of Lake Oroville. On Tuesday, the two talked about life at sea, and his exploits before that. "For 20 years, I rode on motorcycles and wrote about the outlaw life," he said. "I sold my bike in '86, and haven't looked back." It was Tommy Chong* of Cheech and Chong fame, who nicknamed Lipkin "Bob Bitchin" when the two worked out together at a gym in Santa Monica in the 1960s. The name stuck for good when Cheech referred to it in the movie, "Up in Smoke." Using the name professionally and as his biking moniker in the '70s, Lipkin wrote and published two magazines, "Biker Magazine" and "Tattoo." He later sold those to the publisher of Easy Rider. Change began in 1979, when he went to Tahiti with a friend. The friend ended up staying. Lipkin flew home to work on the magazines. The friend wanted Lipkin to join him and some others who wanted to set out sailing, but at the time he couldn't. "I owned a head shop," Lipkin said. "I was working evenings at the store and days on the magazine." One day, he was having lunch at the harbor where he lived and saw a "for sale" sign on a 51-foot boat. He bought the boat, and hasn't been the same since. "I loved it," he said, his blue eyes twinkling. "It probably saved my life. Back in the '70s I did drugs. You can't do drugs and sail." "I was there when the motorcycle lifestyle was starting ... but it got to the point when (I thought), 'Nah'," he said. "I didn't like it when it changed. But I love adventure." Jody, 53, met Bob in the late '80s when she was bartending at the Portofino Yacht Club. "I said, 'Wow, I wouldn't want to run into him in a back alley'," she said. "He was rough looking." They've been together for 20 years, married 15. In 1993, the couple set sail for Samoa, the South Pacific, the North Pacific and the Caribbean. He said they sailed 75,000 miles in 10 years, "the equivalent of sailing three times around the world." Lipkin said that when you're out at sea, only 18 to 20 days are spent sailing. After that, they'd anchor and sail through various islands. Since he has always been a writer, Lipkin began another magazine while sailing, called "Latitudes & Attitudes." He recently sold it, but still has an interest in it and writes. They also produce a television show of the same name, but they're looking for a network to run it. He has also published seven books. Through the magazine, the Lipkins started an endeavor called Share the Sail, where readers can sail with to such places as Greece, Thailand, Tahiti, New Zealand, the Virgin Islands and the Pacific Northwest. Lipkin found their property near Berry Creek 10 years ago through a friend, bought it, and built their house six years ago. "We love it in the mountains," Jody Lipkin said. "For sailors, they need open spaces. Sailors love the mountains." The seafaring lifestyle isn't idyllic, the two said. "The picture of it is probably better than the reality," Bob Lipkin said. "It's not the escape people think it is. It's 90 percent boredom, and 10 percent sheer terror." "It's a quiet, calm, free way of living," Jody Lipkin added. Most of the time at sea, their thoughts are on who will keep watch, their schedule, maintaining the boat, whether they've checked in with officials at their next stop, and "what's for lunch." They have met some rough seas, including a 10-day storm. The boat was once hit by a water spout in the Atlantic Ocean. Another time it was knocked down by an 80-foot wave in Hawaii. "When it happens, it may be scary, but that's what you remember," Bob Lipkin noted. "That's the adventure. The adventure begins when something goes wrong." Bob Lipkin has an adult son (his daughter died), six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. When he's home, he spends five or six hours every day working. He doesn't plan to retire, but he does plan to take a motorcycle trip with friends at his 70th birthday. He admitted he's "immersed in sailing." Still, the two enjoy their time at home and on land. "When you're out there and a storm comes in, you prepare for it," he said. "When a storm comes here, we put a log on the fire." "It's nice to have both," she concluded. "I'm thankful to have land and a beautiful piece of the ocean. I love both."