sailingpanic - we love reaching

Sailing Club Spotlight Carrickfergus Sailing Club

MEMBERS of Carrickfergus Sailing Club have vowed to continue normal activities “as far as possible” after a fire destroyed the clubhouse at the weekend. Fire and Rescue crews were called to the scene at 11.40pm on Friday after being alerted by staff departing for the night. The blaze was attended by crews from Carrickfergus, Whitehead, Glengormley, Belfast and Lisburn fire stations, as well as an aerial ladder platform from Knock fire station. A spokesperson from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that while the cause of the blaze is still under investigation, it is thought an electrical fault was to blame. “We will be using offices that a few local organisations have offered us for a few days, and then hope to arrange a temporary premises,” said Roger Woodward, Commodore at Carrickfergus Sailing Club. “However, we are keen to emphasize that all the club’s sailing, racing and cruising activities will continue in the meantime. We have a sailing course for children that will continue as planned next week as we have very kindly been offered the use of the facilities at the Sea Cadets building. “As I understand it, when the building was being locked up on Friday night, staff heard the smoke alarm going off and returned to see that a fire had started. The barman Karl Brannigan was absolutely excellent in following the proper procedures to get staff evacuated and the fire crews contacted,” Roger added. “I arrived at the club myself at about five past midnight, and at that stage the flames had already spread considerably, so the main focus of the crew had to be preventing them from spreading further and igniting other buildings such as the boat shed. However it was clear to see that the club was lost at that stage. “We’re very grateful for the support we’ve received from the local community; the Mayor and Mayoress came to club at about 1:30am on Saturday morning which was much appreciated. We hope to continue with our activities as far as possible and focus on supporting the efforts our member Ryan Seaton in the Olympics this summer.”

Sailing: Foxall in need of trouble-free finish with his Ocean dream on the horizon

The six boats competing in the Volvo Ocean Race are sailing their final day at sea today as the 39,000-mile contest reaches its final destination on Galway Bay, eight months after departing Alicante. The overall lead is held by French entry Groupama 4, skippered by Franck Cammas, with a 10-man crew that includes Ireland's Damian Foxall, but success hinges on avoiding incidents. "We've seen it all during this race -- masts coming down, rudders breaking, we don't want any of that in the last 36 hours of the offshore section of the race," Foxall said. "It's going to be harder for the other guys to take it away from us." The fleet is expected to reach Galway sometime between midnight and 6.0 tomorrow, depending on wind conditions on the 540-mile leg from Lorient in Brittany. Groupama's overall win is widely expected, though it relies heavily on a strong performance in this final leg in which they must place fourth or better. American entry Puma, skippered by Ken Read, is the principal challenger and needs to win this leg plus have the French boat finish worse than fourth. Thousands In that scenario, the outright victory of the 39,000-mile race would depend on next Saturday's short In-Port race to be held off Salthill where tens of thousands of spectators gathered in 2009 when the previous race stopped off after crossing the Atlantic from Boston. However, if Cammas and his crew do win tomorrow, next Saturday will still decide the In-Port series that has been sailed in each of the other nine ports around the world since last October. A win for Groupama would be the first Volvo Ocean Race victory for Foxall, who comes from Derrynane and had a childhood dream of competing in the then Whitbread Round the World Race. He will join Cork sailor Justin Slattery, bowman on Ian Walker's Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team, as a winner of this race from 2006. Slattery and Walker haven't fared as well this time after their boat had to miss two stages of the race due to damage. "It's going to be quick trip to Galway, we're really looking forward to it," said Slattery shortly before departing Lorient yesterday. "It can't come soon enough." Live position reports on www.volvooceanrace.com will update the estimated time of arrival into Galway in the course of today.

Sailing is really boring ??

Prince Charles drops in to sailing academy

PRINCE Charles cracked open a bottle of Dorset beer on a visit to the Olympic Sailing venue – and poured it all over a boat. He raised cheers with his impromptu royal seal of approval of the new Team GB 49er Skiff, while enjoying a ‘whistle-stop tour’ of the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy yesterday. The sun shone as the prince toured at the invitation of triple Olympic gold-medallist Ben Ainslie, who is an ambassador for The Prince’s Trust. He was also met by the Lord Lieutenant for Dorset Valerie Pitt-Rivers, the High Sheriff Jeremy Pope, Portland mayor Sylvia Bradley, Councillor Jenny Collinge, sailing academy chairman Edward Leask and chief executive John Tweed, and RYA Olympic manager Stephen Park. Ainslie said: “It’s great for Prince Charles to see what’s taking place down here and the activities, not just for the Olympic sailors but for the youngsters coming down to use these facilities more and more. “It’s really getting exciting, there are so many international teams training and preparing, as there have been for a long time. “You can feel the excitement and tension building up.” Britain’s 49er sailor Stevie Morrison said it was a ‘real honour’ that Prince Charles had toasted their new vessel, which will be sailed in the Games. Ads by Google Custom flags made in UK Custom flags printed to your design Fast delivery. Free art assistance. www.MrFlag.com Yacht Charter London 2012 Support Team GB In August From Your Own Chartered Yacht In Weymouth Bay www.leopard3.com/Olympics2012 Stevie’s crewmate Ben Rhodes, of Exmouth, said: “He used a bottle of Palmer’s Dorset Gold ale. “We’ve called her Lovely Rita after the Beatles song, we thought it was about as British a name as it could be. Also, Ben calls his boats Rita so we thought we’d get in with that action too.” He added: “Prince Charles was really nice, he told us about when he was here in the Navy.” Portland Paralympian John Robertson said: “This was the first time I’d met Prince Charles, he’s a nice chap.” Weymouth’s Olympic windsurfer Bryony Shaw said: “He told me about all the times he used to do windsurfing back in the ’80s. “He seemed really interesting.” Charles also met a line-up of athletes from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and America. Australia’s 470 sailor Amanda Clark described the Royal visit as ‘pretty incredible’, which highlighted how the Olympics brought about ‘good will’ and the chance to meet very influential people. She added: “I’m so happy he came down to support sailing and to christen the boat for the British, that’s just so cool.” PRINCE Charles helped students leave a lasting flavour of 2012 under the new Dorchester Sports Centre. After attending a Prince’s Foundation reception in Poundbury, Charles was met by cheering children at the sports facility. The prince helped pupils from the Thomas Hardye School to bury a time capsule under the new £8million centre. The school’s history department ran a competition of ideas and chose six Year 9 pupils to put together the final product. Hannah Roberts-Baker said: “It was really exciting getting to meet Prince Charles, I thought he would be really prim and proper but he was really funny and friendly.” History teacher Gemma Cambell said: “They all got into it and some of the ideas they came up with were really interesting. The capsule includes a student film depicting a day in the life of a young person in 2012, photos of animals that could become extinct or landmarks that might be eroded, music lyrics, favourite recipes, a TV guide and a plaque from West Dorset Warriors swimming club. The new centre on Coburg Road is being developed by West Dorset District Council in partnership with the county council and Thomas Hardye School. District leader Robert Gould said: “The time capsule will not only provide future generations with a snapshot of life in 2012, but is a fantastic way to show the excitement surrounding this development.” The Prince then hitched a ride back to Poundbury on an electric bus. His final engagement of the day was a visit to the anaerobic digester at Rainbarrow Farm near Martinstown, which is supplying 750 Poundbury homes with electricity and will soon be providing gas for around 4,000 homes. PRIME Minister David Cameron hopes to get to Weymouth and Portland to catch some of the action during the Olympic Sailing events, the Dorset Echo can exclusively reveal.

Young adults off on sailing adventures

Sixteen young adults from throughout Shetland are all set to experience life at sea for an exciting adventure as they join the tall ships Swan, Europa and Alexander von Humboldt II as sail trainees. Ten trainees left Lerwick onboard the Swan on Sunday to sail across the North Sea to join other traditional sailing vessels from Scandinavia taking part in “Nordic Sail”, with the Swan being the only visiting boat. Forming in Hals, Denmark, the 29-strong fleet will race to Uddevalla, Sweden, with the event ending with a second race to Risør, Norway, before the Swan heads back to Shetland, returning on 9th July. The trainees on the Swan are Vaila Henderson, 15, Robbie Jamieson, 15, Lauren Johnson, 16, Ryan Leask, 16, Thomas Meadows, 18, Callum Mustard, 18, Ailish Parham, 16, Michaela Peterson, 15, Ellie Simpson, 15, and Erin Simpson, 17. Nordic Sail is renowned for its friendly atmosphere and is organised by the Sail Training associations of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Over 400 crew will be taking part in the event between 28th June and 7th July 2012, with activities organised in each port for the visiting crews, similar to a Tall Ships event. The other six trainees are due to take part in the the Tall Ships Races, presented by Szczecin and organised by Sail Training International. Jack Jamieson, 20, Daniel Lawson, 19, and Scott Sandison, 18, will be setting sail on the Europa from the Netherlands as part of a European Youth-in-Action programme on the race between St Malo and Lisbon from 7th to 21st July. Kristen Jeromson, 21, Michelle Robertson, 23, and Emma Rochester, 18, will be joining the newly built Class A German tall ship Alexander von Humboldt II on the leg between Lisbon and Cadiz before returning to Lisbon as part of the Cruise-in-Company from 21st July to 2nd August. All of the Shetland trainees will work closely with the crew of their allocated ships, undertaking tasks such as watch-keeping, setting sails and other domestic duties which they will share with other trainees. Sail Training Shetland chairman Peter Campbell said: “This year will see the total number of young people participating in our annual sail training schemes reaching eighty since the charity’s formation in 2009. “We are delighted that we have again been able to recruit a spirited group of young people from around Shetland. I am confident that all of our trainees will take away something positive from their experiences and will be great ambassadors for our community. “We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our grant funders, sponsors and supporters for their generous and valued support.”

Wild Camping by Sail Boat.