Flotilla Holidays
Flotilla Holidays - Another day. Another destination.
Explore hidden treasures every day; share your adventures in the evening with fellow sailors.
Life on flotilla is a holiday that just gets better every day.
Flotilla sailing holidays allow you to enjoy the independence of sailing your very own yacht from port to port during the day, but you also get to choose between pleasant evenings in the warm company of your fellow sailors, or spending them peacefully on your own deck.
On arrival
The Neilson Team will be there to greet you on arrival and show you to your yacht. Your lead crew will then join you on board to answer any questions you may have, show you where everything is and just check that everything is ship shape.
The remainder of the afternoon and evening is then yours to spend as you wish - enjoy a refreshing drink on deck, get to know some of your fellow sailors, explore the local area or stock up on any additional provisioning you require. You are then fully prepared for the start of your adventure the following day.
A day in the life…
As the morning sun peeps over your bow, your lead crew will join you for a chat about the day ahead, confirming the evening’s destination together with some great places to explore and idyllic lunch stops. Then as soon as everything’s ready, you’re free to slip your lines and set sail.
It’s entirely up to you and your crew how you reach your destination. You may want to race there before everybody else or meander there, anchoring for a lunch break and swim in a secluded bay. With the yacht to yourself, the day is yours to enjoy as you please. And if you wish to hook up with other parties on your flotilla they’re just a VHF radio call away - as is your lead crew, in case you need any help or advice.
As the afternoon drifts into evening and you glide into port, your lead crew will be waiting ashore to help you into your mooring, catch your lines and point out the location of shower facilities, bars and tavernas at your latest destination.
As the sun sets, you can settle in at one of the local tavernas, swapping stories with your fellow sailors over a bottle of wine and a hearty local meal. Of course, if all that sailing and sightseeing has taken it out of you, you can simply stay on your yacht and cook a meal in your own galley. That’s the beauty of flotilla holidays.
Your Yachting Experience
Our flotilla holidays in Greece and Croatia flotilla holidays require varying levels of confidence and experience due to the different routes and wind conditions in each area. It is important you select the right area for your party to ensure your safety and enjoyment.
The minimum experience we require on a flotilla holiday is that at least two people aboard each yacht are aged 18 years or over and must have had several day's active experience in charge of a yacht.
If this level of experience cannot be satisfied a Stay and Sail holiday, coupled with an Introduction to Yachting or Brush Up training course should be completed
Skippered Charter
If you want to regain your confidence afloat or just share the beginning of your flotilla with a like-minded sailor then you can pre book a member of the Neilson yacht team to join you on a skippered charter. They will spend the day with you, sailing from one place to another before retiring to the lead boat in the evening, allowing your party the privacy to enjoy some time alone. This option is available for one to three days for a supplement of £100 per yacht per day.
Please note, this option is not suitable for beginners who should complete an Introduction to Yachting course.
Bareboat Charter
Our Bareboat sailing holidays gives more experienced sailors the freedom to sail where, when and however they please. No itinerary, no set routes and no one to bother you. Bareboat holidays are the ultimate getaway.
Plot your own route around the many picturesque bays, lively little harbour towns and fishing villages scattered about the coastlines of our huge sailing areas. Spend as long as you like at any stop, return to your favourite places over and over, or keep on the move to discover something new around every point.
Of course, since you’re with Neilson you’ll still have the benefit of our expertise. Before you depart, our bareboat co-ordinator will go through the route you’ve planned, pointing out the highlights of your journey. And it’s always worth picking their brains, because they often have a nugget of advice that could really make your holiday. And naturally, they’ll also call or text you each morning to pass on weather conditions and check that everything on the yacht is as it should be.
All of our Bareboat holidays are provided with the following:
• Full tanks of diesel, water and gas
• Marine insurance
• Flights and transfers
• Comprehensive tools and spares
• A quick fix manual for everyday repair and maintenance
• Handheld GPS
• Additional charts and pilot book
• Mobile phone and charger
• Extra warps
• Starter pack
• No damage waiver or deposit to pay
Bareboat Holidays support Includes:
• A dedicated bareboat co-ordinator
• A full skipper and engineer’s briefing
• Details of all flotilla routes, staff and contact numbers
Experience Levels
When booking bareboat holidaywe ask that at least two people aboard are aged 18 years or over and have plenty of sailing knowledge and experience, having been in charge of a sailing vessel for several cruises, possibly on previous flotilla holidays. Both must be comfortable sailing in a range of conditions. If this level of experience cannot be satisfied, a flotilla holiday may be more appropriate.
Family Sailing Holiday Report
| Children and grown-ups get to play all day on this Sail, Surf and Cycle holiday. Last August the family Parker headed for the sun as David Parker reports. | |
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Finnikounda, in Greece's south-west Peloponnese, is an ideal location for a family activity holiday. If you want to encourage anyone to go sailing, this is the place to do it. The hotel is next to the beach, the boats are on the beach, and the village is a short walk away along the beach. And just above the beach is the swimming pool. It's a very nice beach by the way.
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The activities on offer are dingy sailing, windsurfing and mountain biking. There are children clubs which cater for babies and youngsters up to 13, and there' s tuition for all the activities on offer. RYA qualified instructors supervise the sailing and windsurfing and you will, if you want to, finish this holiday with an RYA qualification.
This is also a very safe place for a family holiday. As one guest put it, "the reason we came back this year is that this is the safest place I know to bring my children and where they can have the freedom to do their own thing."
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| Club land | |
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This type of activity holiday has a great deal to offer singles, couples and families. We looked at it mainly from the latter perspective and the children's' clubs were a major factor for many families when deciding on this particular holiday.
The Starfish Club is for little ones four months to two years, costs £150 per week and the club aims for a service of one qualified nanny (NNEB or equivalent) per two children. It's an optional extra and the basic cost of taking a child under two on one of these holidays is an administration fee of £25.
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The Sea Urchins Club, which caters for two to five-year-olds, and the Surfbusters Club (5-13 years) run 9.30-5.30, six days a week, and are free. For a supplement of £90 (£135 for two weeks) there's also an optional Hot Shots Club for those 8-13 year olds who want to learn to sail or windsurf. Qualified instructors who can take the youngsters through to RYA Junior awards run this.
Babysitting services are available and children's' trips are organised in the evenings once a week if parents want a night out alone.
Our own children Elena 5, Jack 4 and Amy 2 were in the Sea Urchins, the youngest group. We thought this was an exceptionally good club capably run by Sue Maidment who took time to get to know the children and gain their confidence from the start.
The crèche is well equipped, cool and spacious. Our children couldn't wait to get to the club every morning where they had alot of fun and were extremely well looked after. |
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Part of the daily routine includes swimming in the pool and in the sea, going to the park and having ice creams and treats in the village. The crèche has off-road pushchairs including a single and double buggy. For 'quieter' times in Sea Urchins - and to get out of the sun - there are videos to watch or creative indoor activities such as making fancy dress costumes.
There's one development we'd like to see and that's a play park on site at the hotel- i.e. a climbing frame/slide/swings. This would be a real advantage because in the heat of the day it can be quite a long walk to the park in the village.
Some parents felt that, initially, youngsters who could swim and who weren't in Hot Shots weren't getting out on the water enough. Marion and Guy Jones from Winchester have two children, Hannah 10 and Liam 8. Guy commented: "The first week here our children went out onto the water once. We complained about this which took the edge of the first week. It's only since the beginning of the second week that they've actually been doing what we thought they'd be doing all along. The staff now seem to be putting an awful lot of effort in with the children and they seem to be enjoying themselves a lot more."
But all the parents we spoke to agreed on one vital aspect of this beautiful location with its non-tidal waters. The hotel, beach and village felt very safe for children day and night. In southern Greece you can also rely on the weather and shorts and tea-shirts are all you'll need.
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| Busy relaxing | |
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While the children are being looked after, the adults can take full advantage of the RYA tuition at this RYA approved centre. Nigel and Suzanne Brown have two sons Nicolas 10 and Andrew 4.
Suzanne particularly liked the informal hands on approach of the holiday. "With other charter companies we've been with they rig everything up for you and send you
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off, then de-rig it. The benefit of the RYA courses is that they make you do things for yourselves which means you learn more."
Nigel also pointed out that at this centre everything is extremely convenient. "I like it all being together - at other places we've seen that the hotel is away from the beach or the sailing centre." Also because everything is close-by it's easy to keep an eye on the children if you wanted to pop in and out of the clubs between sailing sessions On this holiday you can qualify for your level one and level two dinghy sailing or level one and level two windsurfing. The youngsters in the Hotshots club can get RYA Junior levels stages 1-3.
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| Boats for all | |
| The centre is well equipped with over thirty boats, fifty windsurf boards (plus seventy rigs) and twenty mountain bikes. I counted twelve Picos, six Laser 1s, two Laser 3000s, one Laser 2000, two Topper Buzzes, one Hobie 16, two Dart 16s, two 505s, one Laser Stratos and three Wayfarers, plus a 2000 and a Hobie under repair. Although quite old, the Wayfarers are all serviceable, and most of the other boats are new and reasonably well maintained. | |
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Groups on courses take priority for boats, but in practice we found that there were plenty to go round, and all the guests were usually able to sail what they wanted to. I managed to sail all the boats during our fortnight, and most enjoyed the Hobie and the Wayfarer - my wife, Jenny, preferred the Picos. |
| The variety of the activities on offer also means older children can go off and do their own thing giving them independence while still being on a family holiday. Nathan and Ingrid Blau with son Stephen aged 14 came to Finnikounda last year. This is the first | |
| place they've ever been to twice. They're particularly impressed with the standard of tuition here and the fact that there's something for everybody. "But if you don't like the activities you can still have a standard beach holiday," said Nathan. As parents they felt happy for their son to go into the town at night with other youngsters. "You can let young teenagers loose and not worry," said Ingrid, "it's the ideal thing about Finnikounda." |
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| For Terry and Collette Francis with sons Martin 19 and Peter 16 it was also a return trip to Finnikounda from the previous year. The main reason they also came back was because of the safety of the resort. The centre's moved up the beach since they were last here which they say has reduced the sailing area and launching area - which can get a bit congested. They recommend putting a lookout tower on stilts - the 'Beach Boss' is at sea level and a raised observation point would expand their field of view. There are, though, enough support and rescue boats on site and sufficient staff to man them. | |
| Dedicated staff | |
| One thing all the holidaymakers we spoke to enthused about was the terrific staff Neilson had running the activities. "I'm amazed at the outstanding quality of the people who run this," said Mark Blatchly on holiday with his wife Julia. "The staff are genuinely | |
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enthusiastic and really do love being here and being helpful."
Julia thought the holiday would be a good way to introduce her husband to watersports. He became a proficient windsurfer during his time here and both enjoyed the mountain biking. They told us as soon as they got back they wanted to book the same holiday for next year.
However, as a GP Julia highlighted one |
| problem brought up several times during our interviews. "For people who need | |
| antibiotics or any form of medical attention it's virtually a whole day out to one of the larger towns," she said. "There have been two or three people who needed changes in their medication. It might be useful to have medical expertise visit the site." With the vigorous activities on offer a physiotherapist or masseur would have certainly have been a very popular visitor to this hotel. |  |
| I hurt my ribs one day and most people could proudly show you a few cuts and bruises from the day's activities, some had cuts which got infected. Pico-knees were a favourite - not a Chinese dog but something to do with sand in the bottom of a little yellow boat. Julia had badly blistered hands from trying to hoist jamming spinnakers. Neilson point out in their brochures that it's a good idea to bring sailing gloves. Also we'd recommend that before going out in any of the boats you check them thoroughly. Equipment gets used heavily and is not always left by previous users in prime condition. | |
| The daily routine | |
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The day usually begins with a mountain bike organised for eight o'clock in the morning. Then there's a briefing at ten o'clock after breakfast. Following this people meet up with their instructors for theory talks and to organise the morning's activities which usually go on until 12.30.
To get the full flavour of the holiday, Jenny did an RYA level one dinghy course, while I took level two. Some of the theory talks
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were brilliant, the staff using inventive ways to liven up subjects. Once you've seen a bucket of water poured over someone's head to demonstrate sail theory you won't forget it.
After lunch at two o'clock there's another briefing, followed by an afternoon's sailing and tuition with another bike ride at 5.30. There's never any pressure forcing anyone to be anywhere at any time. It's all extremely relaxed and you can drop in and out of groups as you wish. Most people found it beneficial to join a group and stick with it. Built into the schedule are free days, Wednesday and Sundays, when you can put into practice new skills or try and refine rusty ones ... or just read and laze by the pool.
There's also taster sessions where you can try an activity with an instructor to see if you like it. Fridays offered a daysail to a beach, and a picnic, which I joined on the second week with a Wayfarer, taking along a couple who hadn't sailed before - we had an excellent sail.
On Saturdays there's normally a regatta, but ours was cancelled because of strong winds - apparently a rare occurrence. Steady 'cross shore' winds rule here, which is good for most dinghy sailing and windsurfing - if anything the breezes area little light for the more experienced windsurfers.
Not only are the staff dedicated instructors during tuition periods, they also work hard organising evening trips, après sail activities and entertainment such as lighthearted "booze and betting regattas" on the beach.
In general there was a bit of a feeling that while the energetic Neilson staff couldn't do enough for you, the hotel didn't exhibit the same level of motivation, and niggling problems took a long time to get fixed.
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Most people were happy with their rooms but felt an extra £20 per week for a fridge was a bit over the top. Guests felt some rooms lacked storage. We also found the hotel expensive for food and drinks. For special occasions, such as welcoming
new people in or saying goodbye to the leavers, special meals were organised. However, for a family these tended to be a much more expensive night than going into the town. For example a Fanta and portion of chips for the children at one of these set meals cost £3.00 each! We found you could rely on getting better substantially better value taking the short walk along the beach. Finikounda itself was described to us as being "just the right size and just the right distance away." This sums it up perfectly
as it's small enough to retain its charm of being a Greek village by the sea but large enough to offer a reasonable selection of shops, restaurants, tavernas and bars. Take time to explore the restaurants - We'd recommended Pyscho's, Joannhe's |
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or Mama Tunas - at the latter they'll invite you into the kitchen so you can see what's on the menu. They make children very welcome. The village also has two very good bakeries (great for snacks), a supermarket and smaller shops along the main street.
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| Take to the hills | |
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The mountain biking is run by Clive Andrews and Simon Evamy and you've got to have a go at this. And watch out for the Clive and Simon show at a mountain near you. These guys should take their bike talks on tour. They are an extremely entertaining double act. If you've been beaten up by a Pico all day, setting off into the Greek hills is the perfect antidote. My own regret on this holiday is that my rib injury prevented me doing more mountain biking than I actually did.
We saw all shapes and sizes, all ages and persuasions going on the mountain bike rides. If they can get you on a bike they'll find you somewhere to ride it. The equipment is first rate, and the bikes were much better than most of the holiday makers had been used to back home.
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There are beginner rides, intermediate rides or day rides to towns like Methoni and Koroni. The average ride is between 5/10 miles, the longer ones work out at 25-30 miles. Rides could be tailored to any particular group.
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The rides are a great way to explore the countryside and villages by the sea. "We get people who come along for the sailing and end up going home and buying a mountain bike'" said Clive. (He's right - on our return to the UK I bought a mountain bike.) The schedule is arranged so you don't have to choose between biking and sailing, you can do both. If you don't want to go on an organised ride then you can borrow the bikes and do your own thing.
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You don't need to be super fit for these rides either but as Clive points out "If you've got a little bit of fitness there are more rides which you might enjoy. Just bike to work a few times before you come here and get a few miles in. " The pace is dictated by the slowest in the group and there are café stops along the way.
And it's often not who you'd expect who like to venture off-road into the hills. "You get quite a lot of teenagers coming along who might be up for the mountain biking," said Clive, "then their mums have a look. And they say 'No mum - you won't enjoy this,' but the mums have a go and absolutely falling in love with it."
So take your pick. You can Surf, Sail or Cycle. But whichever activity you go for there's one thing you can rely on in southern Greece - gorgeous weather. The trouble is those warm, clear waters are going to completely spoil you for sailing back home …
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2008 RYA Zone Championships
Patience was the key for the 1,000 youngsters competing in the 2008 RYA Zone Championships©Peter Newton
Patience was the key as 1,000 youngsters across England, Scotland and Wales took part in the 2008 RYA Zone and Home Country Championships this weekend (27-28 September).
Sailors in the Home Countries enjoyed some sensational racing with those events taking place at Largs (Scotland) and Pwllheli (Wales) completing their full scheduled complement of six races.
But across England, it was a different story as this weekend’s Indian Summer spell made patience a virtue at the other Zone events.
Having endured long delays on Saturday, the West Zone (Blithfield) enjoyed a better day two to see them end the weekend as the only English zone to succeed in completing their six race series.
The North (Scaling Dam) and South (WPNSA) zones had enjoyed a champagne opening day, getting in four and three races in respectively for every class, but they struggled on day two and only three of the seven classes at WPNSA were able to get another race in today while just one further race was completed at Scaling Dam.
After drawing a day one blank, and despite best efforts all round, the South West Zone (Chew Valley) was also unable to get any racing in the can today while after succeeding in nailing one race yesterday, the South East (Bewl Valley) were also thwarted in their attempts to add to that tally.
All dinghies (except the Optimists) managed to get a further race in today at the East Zone event (Dabchicks & West Mersea) however the windsurfers successfully completed a seven-race series.
The annual RYA Zone and Home Country Championships are considered a key event for young sailors wishing to be selected for the RYA Zone and Home Country squads.
But Duncan Truswell, RYA Junior Racing Manager, was quick to stress that those who have seen limited racing in their Zones this weekend will not be disadvantaged in terms of their possible squad selections.
He said: “There has been some great racing around the country this weekend but it was obviously unfortunate that quite a few sailors did not get as much racing under their belts as they would have liked or hoped. The race officials at all the venues did their utmost to get as much racing in as possible but it was just not to be for some of them as the breeze refused to play ball.
“However, whilst the Zone Championships are seen as an important event in terms of squad selection they are not the be-all-and-end-all for those selections and the High Performance Managers (HPMs) and coaches in each of the Zones will take into account open training, key competition and performances over the summer, as well as other impending end-of-season class association events, in their selection decisions. The fact that you were at your Zone Event will be viewed favourably.”
RYA South Zone Championships (WPNSA)
The South Zone enjoyed the sunshine but not the lack of wind
© Paul Wyeth
However, with Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour acquiring an increasingly glasslike appearance just one further race was completed for the Topper, Dragoon and Laser 4.7s with the windsurfers, Optimists, Mirrors and Fevas all returning to shore on the same scores they finished with yesterday.
Despite scoring a discarded 19th in the sole race today, Spinnaker’s Matthew Hall (Warsash) held on to his overnight lead to clinch the Topper title by the narrowest of margins from Weymouth’s Sam Barker. Both boys finished on eight points overall, including one race win apiece, but Hall got the nod on account of scoring one more second place that Barker.
Sebastien Samways (Hailsham) and Daniel Channing followed up their three straight opening day Dragoon wins with a discarded second today to secure top spot in the catamaran class. Adam Butler (Christchurch), 2008 RYA Youth National SL16 champion, and Niki Boniface ended with a race win to finish second overall.
Laser 4.7 RYA National Junior Squad Selection Event
© Paul Wyeth
Itchenor SC duo Hugo Sloper and Emma Spruce took the Mirror title having finished first and second respectively with different partners at the 2007 South Zone event. They claimed two wins and a discarded second to finish a point ahead of Tom Lovesey (Sarisbury Green) and Millie Pugh (Parkstone). Hayling Island SC pair Tim Gratton (Guildford) and Chris Taylor (Stokes Poges) also picked up two victories and a discarded second to win the Feva class.
Scott Wallis (Wellow) claimed Optimist victory courtesy of his opening day (8), 1, 1, with Robert Baddeley (Cookham) a point behind in second.
In the windsurfers Nick Sylvester (Truro) won the 3.5 fleet with three bullets, Guy Dixon (Horton Cum Studley) came first in the 4.5 fleet with a day one (2), 1, 1, Adam Grayston (Truro) claimed the 5.5 title having also sealed three race wins, Ross Bromhead (Buckland Brewer) won the 6.5 class and Louis Morris (Saltash) topped the 7.8 pile.
Volvo RYA South West Zone Championships (Chew Valley SC)
With flat calm waters and absolutely no racing possible on either day, Chris Atherton, HPM for the South West, thanked the sailors and parents for their patience and praised the efforts of the race officials and volunteers in frustrating circumstances.
He said: “Everyone was very patient and understanding and really mucked in. We had lots of other things going on of interest to educate sailors and parents alike and other fun things and everyone really got into whatever was going on. All the volunteers and the Principal Race Officer worked tirelessly to get some racing on but it just wasn’t to be. No-one’s attitude could be faulted at all.”
On Saturday, Olympic silver medallist Joe Glanfield entertained the 130 youngsters at Chew Valley, going around the dinghy park talking to the children and helping the Cadet sailors learn more about rigging up their boats before then conducting an hour-long talk and answering a host of questions from sailors and parents.
Volvo RYA South East Zone Championships (Bewl Valley SC)
Only one race at Bewl
©Mark Lloyd
Whitstable YC sisters Meia and Elin Harnett secured the sole race win in the Mirror class with Cambridge’s Tim Lachlan-Cope and Theo Clarke taking second and Mali Harnett (Whitstable) and Isabelle Bruton (Lysted) third.
Hayling Island SC’s Syd Mclean claimed Optimist class victory ahead of Jamie Webb (Beaconsfield) in second and Helena Coombs (Cobham) third. Meanwhile in the Toppers Jack Spence finished at the head of the fleet followed by Oliver Machell (Billingshurst) and Louis Knevett (Seaford).
Olympic silver medallist Nick Rogers joined sailors on the water at Bewl on Saturday before treating the 100 sailors and their parents to a unique insight into life as a World Class sailor.
East of England Co-op Volvo RYA East Zone Championships (Dabchicks & West Mersea YC)
Toppers revelling in superb conditions on the first day
© Paul Wyeth
Thomas Addison (Folkestone) romped to 7.8 success with his clean sweep while Dani Conroy (Hythe, Kent) and Zara Petts (Folkstone) achieved the same on the 5.5 and the 3.5 respectively. Two races wins and a fourth from her three races today saw Hattie White (Sudbury) take the 6.8 title while Henry Bloodworth (Tadworth) tied up 4.5 victory with two firsts and a second.
With all dinghies bar the Optimists adding one more race to their overnight scores, George Meredith (Peterborough) wrapped up the Topper title with a race victory with James Rushton (Salhouse). Felixstowe brothers John and Alexander Page won the Cadets from Corinthian Otters duo Katie Barr and Arthur Brown.
With no further racing in the fleet today, Dabchicks’ Harry Gozzett won the Optimists with Jake Braybrook (Burnham on Crouch) second and Joe Girling (Norwich) third. Josh Girling (Colchester) won the Fast Handicap fleet and Matthew French (Colchester) the Slow Handicap.
Olympic Laser gold medallist Paul Goodison was the guest of honour on Saturday.
RYA West Zone Championships (Blithfield SC)
West Zone sailors saw a full series of six races completed
©Don Stokes
Matt Venables (Sutton Coldfield) made light work of sealing Topper class victory scoring 1, 2, 1, 1 today to finish on eight points with Lucy Yeates (Warrington) second on 15.
However it was much tighter at the top of the Oppies as James Hazelwood (Warrington) edged the class win from Martin Wrigley (Hereford) after finishing tied at the top on 10 points.
In the double-handers, Barnt Green duo Joe Taylor and Rebecca Rowe took the Cadets by storm winning five of their six races and finishing second in the other. Alex Lloyd (West Berholt) and Jack Moore (Stone) matched Taylor and Rowe’s feat to ease to Mirror success.
RYA North Zone Championships (Scaling Dam SC)
Close racing for the Optimists at the North Zone Championships
© RYA
Having enjoyed a belter of an opening day, the North Zone endured the same frustrating fate as many of the other Zones today as they waited on a postponement for some breeze at Scaling Dam.
However, one race was enough for Notts County SC’s Andrew Kilburn (Arnold), who had been tied at the top of the leaderboard with Callum Lambourn overnight, to seal overall Optimist victory on countback from Arran Holman (Burton Overy, Leics). Kilburn finished second in today’s sole outing to end on eight points as Lambourn (Alveston) came in third.
Ripon SC’s Tom Britton’s (York) second place today was enough to see him move from second spot into pole overall and claim the Topper class crown by a point from race five winner, and Scaling Dam sailor, Kieran Hill (Whitby). Britton’s clubmate Samantha Towers (Harrogate) finished third on countback, tied on the same points as Hill.
With five windsurfer fleets, Ruben Lansley (Barton Upon Humber) and Josh Leadbetter (Earlshilton) both romped to sensational fleet clean sheets on the 4.5 and 7.8 respectively to end the Championships on the minimum four points while the other three windsurfers heading their respective fleets all finished on five points in total; Sarah Jackson (Over Peover) won the 3.5, Joe Bennett (Rotherham) the Bic Techno 6.8 and Emma Lambourne (Barrow Upon Humber) the 5.5.
RYA/WYA Zone Championships (Pwllheli SC)
Perfect conditions at Pwllheli
© RYA
Cardiff Bay YC’s David Pain (Penarth) was untroubled on his way to Optimist class glory picking up three straight wins on Saturday before adding a 3, 2, (4) today to seal overall victory by 10 points from nearest challenger Llandegfedd SC’s Myles Jackson (Bettws Newydd). A 1, 4, 3 today for Mumbles YC’s Joshua Burgess (Caswell) saw him leap up to third place in the final standings having sat in eighth spot overnight.
In the Toppers, overnight leader, Sara Jackson (Bettws Newydd), Myles’ big sister, made no mistakes in hanging on to her lead to wrap up the Topper title, scoring 2, (4), 1 to finish on eight points overall with second-placed Jack Preece (Newport) on 14 and Robyn Cox (Holyhead) third on 17.
RYAS Zone Championships (Largs SC)
The RYA Scottish Zones at Largs had a great entry of 94 boats and boards, including a 20 strong Regatta fleet plus 19 windsurfers.
Breezes were mostly light and shifty on the Saturday, and there were also mixed conditions on Sunday, from sunshine to squalls, so the competitors’ skills were fully tested over six races.
There were healthy Regatta fleets for beginners to racing, as well as main fleets. The Topper Regatta fleet mustered a healthy 14 boats, and the lead was hard fought between eventual winner Joanna Barrie and second placed Iain McLaughlin. The Topper Regatta fleet welcomed the first ever OnBoard team to enter a Zone Championship, bringing a four person team from the Low Port Centre, Linlithgow.
Concentration at Largs ©Alan Henderson/Fotoboat
Biggest fleet was the Topper main fleet, with 35 boats. Andrew McGowan showed good form on both days to win, while Jamie Noyes showed more consistency on the Sunday to take second, from Jack Evans. Newcomers Emily Robertson and Alastair Kent both showed great promise in fifth and sixth.
In Optimists, Callum Airlie took the most emphatic win in any class, counting the perfect score of five wins. In the Handicap fleet, Radial sailor Lauren Wilkie found the stronger breezes to her liking on Sunday, improving from third up to first overall, overhauling overnight leader Nathan Forrester, who took second just a point behind. Christopher Dowson took the Windsurfing class from Amy Kenmuir, both sailing Techno 7.8s.
Report - Karenza Morton, RYA
2008 Twiname/RYA Youth and Junior Team Racing Championships
West Kirby win the Youth Prize © Karenza Morton RYA
West Kirby Youth and a Union team from Wales reigned triumphant as some 300 young sailors battled it out at the 2008 Twiname/RYA Youth and Junior Team Racing Championships at Farmoor, Oxford last weekend (8 – 9 November).
With the RYA clearing the Youth and Junior racing calendars for the weekend to attract as many young sailors to take part in a very different type of sailing event, the youngsters enjoyed a sensational weekend of racing in the Under 19 (Youth) and Under 16 (Junior) competitions.
Unlike in normal fleet racing where the aim of the game is to finish first past the post, team racing involves teams of six sailors in three boats going head-to-head against another team of three boats to try to get the best overall points score for the team.
As a result team racing is a true test of a crews’ boat handling skills, decision-making abilities and tactical nous and the discipline is a brilliant way for young sailors to hone these crucial skills is a really fun yet competitive arena.
With the Under 19s doing battle in Fireflies, it was West Kirby who dropped just one race from their 11 contests to go one better than their runners-up finish last year and win the Youth title.
Mathew Shepherd/Sophie Shepherd, Owain Matthews/Jemima Riley and Cameron Douglas/Emma Lombard lifted the trophy ahead of the Sevenoaks School outfit, who won nine of their 11 races.
The Welsh Union team of Toby Morsley/Connor McNamara, David Pain/Oliver Harrison and Matthew Whitfield/Nathan Thorne, Optimist sailors ordinarily, took the Junior title with a 100 per cent success record.
With the Junior races being contested in RS Fevas, the six Welsh youngsters finished with a sailed five, won five record to claim to 2008 Under 16 crown with Hayling Island SC’s representative team, taking second spot with four wins out of five.
In total, the combined Twiname/RYA Youth and Junior Team Racing event attracted 22 Youth and 28 Junior teams with 191 races contested altogether over the course of the weekend. Teams were entered from clubs, class associations, schools and RYA National and Zone Squads as well as some private entries.
David Campbell-James, RYA Competitions Manager, said: “We were absolutely delighted with both the number and standard of the entries. In the end we were reluctantly having to turn teams away as we just did not have the capacity to accommodate every team that wanted to take part. This really bodes well for the future of the event.
“You could see how much everyone was enjoying the weekend, despite at times awful weather conditions, and I think that there were a few youngsters and parents alike who had their eyes opened to not just what a fantastic discipline team racing is in its own right but also how it can improve skills they can take into their fleet racing.”
It wasn’t just the sailors enjoying an on-the-water education – RYA Youth and Junior coaches were on umpire boats enhancing their own knowledge of the rules and looking at ways of incorporating team racing into their sailors’ training.
In September 2007, RYA Team GBR won the Under 21 ISAF World Team Racing Championships in Spain with another British team taking silver in the Open event. Great Britain will be looking to at least match those achievements when the 2009 ISAF World Team Racing Championships take place in Perth, Australia in February.
Overall Results:
Youth
1st West Kirby Youth - Mathew Shepherd/Sophie Shepherd, Owain Matthews/Jemima Riley and Cameron Douglas/Emma Lombard
2nd Sevenoaks School – Emma Derby/Kieran Hayward, Ben Heilbron/Jon Turnbull, Ed Fox/Camilla Barber
3rd NSSA Oxford – Imogen Stanley/Adrian Clay, Hermione Stanley/Amy Seabright, Guy Stephens/Milly Stephens
Junior
1st North/South Union - Toby Morsley/Connor McNamara, David Pain/Oliver Harrison and Matthew Whitfield/Nathan Thorne
2nd Hayling Island SC – Tim Gratton/Chris Taylor, Hugo Jones-Warnes/James Poyner, Eilidh McIntyre/Vikki Payne
3rd Warsash SC – Ed Riley/Morgan Dibb, Jamie Diamond/Tim Riley, Craig Dibb/Anna Greenwell
Full results and event website
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RYA Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) Online System
Let’s face it, we all enjoy a fair race and if you are looking to mix it with different classes, then most sailors look no further than the Portsmouth Yardstick Scheme (PYS). Over the years it has set, well... a yardstick in producing a fair handicapping system for racing between different classes; whether dinghies, multihull or cruising yachts.
In recent years though it has also come in for a fair amount of flak, people argue that it is dated, inflexible and in this age of foiling, asymmetric kites and myriad new classes, PYS no longer produces a fair and accurate handicap.
Everyone has their theory on how the PYS can be improved, but the man actually tasked with dragging the PYS into the 21st century is the RYA’s Bas Edmonds. He’s spent the last year or so looking at ways of improving the system, and his solution looks set to revolutionise the much maligned system.
A brief history of PYS
In order to understand where PYS is now, it’s important to understand where it came from, and the Scheme really does have a marvellous history behind it. The system was pioneered, unsurprisingly, in Portsmouth harbour and was the brainchild of one Zillwood ‘Sinbad’ Milledge.
Milledge was noted as a brilliant eccentric, famed for permanent pipe smoking and wearing open toed sandals and no socks year round. He first started tinkering with the yardstick in the 1930’s and the system was eventually adopted by the RYA in 1952.
Bas Explained: “The point is that back in the 1950’s, classes were fewer and more straightforward: A Firefly was a Firefly, you didn’t have to worry about whether it was in one man or two man configuration, whether it was in spinnaker or no spinnaker configuration and so on.
“As boat design has developed, so too has the PYS and there have been numerous minor adjustments to the system in order to move with the times and take into account the latest developments, however recently it has become clear that we need to make some radical changes in order to keep the system relevant to the pressures of modern racing and the demands from those sailors.”
Current Issues and solutions
In 2007 the RYA polled over 300 clubs around the UK to ask them, the users, what they thought the PYS was doing right and, more importantly, what it wasn’t! It was from this that the RYA identified two main issues with the current system; these are: accuracy of data, the flexibility of the system in dealing with developments within classes.
Speed and flexibility
In the past data has been collected via club returns, which are posted to the RYA at the end of the season, this means there is an inevitable delay in adjusting numbers which can be frustrating.
It also means that PYS is vulnerable to sudden developments in classes which dramatically increase the speed of boats. Foiling is the obvious one, and while the RYA is more than happy to issue a trial number for a new type of boat, without the returns this is difficult and inaccurate.
The classic example of this could be seen at 2008 Bloody Mary pursuit race, where Graham Vial’s foiling Moth sailed to a comprehensive victory, only to be disqualified because his boat did not have a permanent Portsmouth Number.
This was in part because data on these new boats simply could not be collected quickly enough to formulate a stable and accurate number.
Accuracy
Bas explained: “Traditionally, every March boats are issued with a Portsmouth Number for the season ahead. At the end of the year, clubs are asked to send in their returns where part of the data collated includes recommending any adjustment to the numbers used from their experiences of regattas that season.
“If clubs consistently recommend that, say, the GP14 needs a more favourable Portsmouth Number, the Portsmouth Yardstick Advisory Group will adjust it accordingly based on the data received.
“On the same note, if a club only uses the numbers as published by the RYA, and recommends the same numbers for the following year, then again this lack of adjustment is registered in the PN list published.”
For a PN to be raised or lowered there needs to be consensus across clubs over the year in order for a number to be adjusted. For example: The PN for the GP14 is 1106, if 80% of clubs returned 1106 as their recommended PN for the following year, then those clubs that have carried out a number adjustment and recommended either higher or lower than 1106 would absorbed into the mean average.
“Now, the problem is that adjusting numbers can be a very subjective matter. You need someone within the club who is completely neutral to suggest adjustments, but there is every chance club politics will get in the way. This leads to a general lack of adjustment” Bas continued.
“It’s also very complicated for the average sailor to sit down and actually work out what the adjustment should be. This means that generally clubs are not recommending any adjustment to numbers at all, so the whole system is remaining static.”
RYA Portsmouth Yardstick Online Project
The Solution
The RYA has been looking for a way of removing this subjective element from the equation and take the pressure off clubs when it comes to making adjustments.
The answer to this is to head into the digital age and let a computer do the number crunching.
Bas explained: “By working closely with Simon Lovesey of SailRacer Database Technology, what we have done is link the Portsmouth Yardstick in with a dedicated race analysis website which is simple to use and leads the clubs through the results process with a minimum of fuss.
“In order to stay on the theme of keeping it simple, we have tried to keep the whole race analysis process to between 3 and 4 minutes per race which was important to us to get clubs involved.
“In order to do this we have introduced an automatic upload from a number of popular race results packages; such as Sailwave, HAL, Sail 100, meaning that we get results back on a week to week basis.
“Under the old system of annual returns, the RYA only collected four very basic items of data, all of which could not be validated by the RYA. By actually having the raw data of a race result, this allows for much more detailed analysis of results, and far greater flexibility and speed.
“It also means that the Portsmouth Yardstick Advisory Group has much more confidence in the data being returned by the clubs using the system.”
Once clubs have entered their results, the website tabulates all the results on a day to day basis. This means that developments within a class can be picked up almost immediately and real time numbers can be recommended for a specific event if required.
This means that instead of having to wait 2-3 years for a new class to generate enough data to be included onto the PN list, it could be given an accurate number within 2-3 months depending on the popularity of the class.
Another criticism which is neatly dealt with under the new system is the performance difference of boats racing in different water conditions. Everyone knows that some boats are suited to certain water conditions and that within some clubs there is the stigma that you, ‘have to own an XX boat to win there!’ The new system is sophisticated enough to pick up on this.
This would mean that the club rating for an Optimist racing in rough seas off Brighton would be different from one sailing on a small lake in the Midlands. The programme would be able to calculate an accurate adjustment within minutes.
The programme can then give you a recommended adjustment of numbers race by race if you so desired. This means that club officials don’t have to make a subjective adjustment of Portsmouth Numbers.
The new scheme is still in its infancy, but the potential is clear to see. Factors such as weather conditions and crew skill can be brought into the calculation and handicaps can be issued on a much more site specific basis.
In addition to this, participating clubs will have a readymade results programme where they can post race reports and pictures.
Bas is excited about the developments, but sounds a note of caution: “We are taking a softly, softly approach to introducing the scheme, there is bound to be teething problems and niggles that we need to iron out.
“The programme goes live in January, but we are taking things one step at a time and for the first year the onus will be on getting a better quality and volume of results, after that we can start really maximising the potential of the programme.
“As always, the success of this is also down to the clubs themselves. Whatever new technology we introduce, we can’t do anything without regular results coming in from clubs.
“We need them all to get onboard to ensure that the Portsmouth Yardstick continues to flourish.”
Stirring words to all those critics of the venerable yardstick. To paraphrase the legendary Zilwood Sinbad Milledge: ‘Stick that in your pipe and smoke it’ seems to be the absolute mot juste on this occasion.
www.pys.org.uk
Team GBR for ISAF Youth World Championships
As the curtain came down on the 2009 RYA Volvo Youth National Championships and Trials today (Friday 17 April), selectors unveiled eight of the 10 RYA Volvo Team GBR sailors who will compete at the 2009 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships in Brazil this July.
No fewer than seven of the selected sailors will be making their ISAF Youth Worlds debuts at the event being staged in Buzios between 9-18 July while windsurfer Izzy Hamilton is a Youth Worlds ‘veteran’, having competed at last year’s Championships in Arhus, Denmark.
With the 420 replacing the 29er as the double-handed boat for 2009, Philip Sparks and Ben Gratton will do battle for Britain in the boys’ event while Rebecca Kalderon and Rosie Sibthorp take the baton for the girls.
For the 16-year-olds Sparks and Gratton, from Christchurch and Guildford respectively, selection marks a fantastic year which has seen them assert themselves firmly at the front of the British 420 fleet. The pair followed up their national class title win last August with RYA Volvo Youth National glory at Largs this week, not scoring anything lower than second in any of their six races.
Wimbledon’s Kalderon and Sibthorp from Thames Ditton, both 17, also make their Youth Worlds debut in Brazil having consolidated their position as Britain’s leading female 420 pairing with RYA Volvo Youth Nationals victory. In 2008 the pair enjoyed a triumphant clean sweep of the Youth girls’ 420 class National, End of Season and Inland championship titles.
The Radial is the single-person boat for both the boys and girls in Brazil and Britain’s representatives in each will be 18-year-old Oscar McVeigh from Southfields, and Llandenny’s Hannah Tilley, who at 15 will be the youngest member of RYA Volvo Team GBR.
Wimbledon Park SC’s McVeigh enjoyed a fruitful week in Largs going one better than the Laser Radial silver he claimed at the 2008 Youth Nationals this time last year at Pwllheli by being crowned RYA Volvo Youth National boys’ Radial champion for 2009.
ISAF Youth Worlds selection is an added bonus for Llandegfedd SC’s Tilley who will also be representing RYA Team GBR at the Laser 4.7 Worlds also being staged at Buzios the week after the ISAF Youth Worlds. Tilley is a former Topper sailor who has only recently started sailing the Radial and capped her RYA Volvo Youth Nationals debut with the top girls’ prize.
Holsworthy’s Izzy Hamilton will be looking to make the podium on her second ISAF Youth Worlds outing having successfully defended her RYA Youth Nationals title in Largs. The 16-year-old was part of Britain’s 2008 ISAF Youth Worlds Volvo Trophy-winning team – for the top performing nation - in Denmark last July, finishing sixth in the girls’ RS:X event.
For Ali Masters, selection will come as a boost after the 17-year-old picked up his second consecutive RYA Youth Nationals silver medal in Largs. Masters and new RS:X Youth National champion George Bowles finished tied on exactly the same points and with exactly the same scores from their five races with Bowles landing the top place on account of beating Masters in the fifth, and what turned out to be final, race at the severely wind-disrupted regatta.
However, RS:X European Youth silver medallist Masters, got the nod from the selectors after they referred to the results from the secondary indicator event – RYA Spring Series I – at Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy in March, where Masters won the RS:X 8.5 Open event.
The selection trials for the Hobie 16 catamaran class will take place at Eurocat in Carnac (1-3 May).
Once again RYA Volvo Team GBR will be supported by Musto while all selections are subject to the sailors meeting an agreed performance programme.
Ben Oakley, Chairman of Selectors, said: “This has been an extremely challenging week for the sailors and organisers with some variable conditions, particularly in the only Radial gold fleet race. However, in trying to be more transparent in our selection process we have largely followed the results and we have a good blend of experienced faces and newcomers to the team.
“The broader decisions about RYA Volvo National Youth Squad selections have aimed to recognise the potential of younger up-and-coming sailors in addition to recognised performers.”
RYA Volvo Team GBR squad for 2009, Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships, Buzios, Brazil: (9-18 July)
420
Boys: Philip Sparks / Ben Gratton
Girls: Rebecca Kalderon / Rosie Sibthorp
RS:X
Boys: Ali Masters
Girls: Izzy Hamilton
Laser Radial
Boys: Oscar McVeigh
Girls: Hannah Tilley
SL16
Trials to take place at Eurocat event (1-3 May)
For full results and information from the 2009 RYA Volvo Youth National Championships and Trials, CLICK HERE
2009 RYA Youth National Championships, Largs SC
Bleddyn Mon and Nick Redding win the 29er class at the RYA Volvo Youth NationalsTwo-time class 29er National champion helm Bleddyn Mon has added the RYA Youth National title to his trophy haul as he and crew Nick Redding struck gold at the 2009 RYA Volvo Youth National Championships and Trials.
Anglesey’s Mon, who won RYA Youth National and 29er World Youth silvers as well as the class National crown with former crew Tom Humphreys in 2008, and Redding, from Didcot were in dominant form despite the Championships coming to a premature end due to three days of near impossible wind conditions in Largs.
The 18-year-old duo picked up four wins from the 29ers’ six races to claim the top boys’ prize from Max Richardson and Alex Groves in second and young Reading brothers Art and Ed Romano who took bronze.
Tadcaster team Lilly Carlisle and Becky Wallbank are the new RYA Volvo Youth Nationals girls’ 29er champions as the 17-year-old pair, who won bronze at the 2008 Championships, turned the tables on 2008 silver medallists Becky Diamond and Fiona Hampshire who clinched second spot for the second successive year. Phillipa Gray and Joanna Lucas made the podium for the first time claiming bronze.
Young gun George Bowles claimed a notable scalp as he won the RS:X boys’ windsurfing title ahead of Ali Masters. With both boys finishing tied on exactly the same points and with exactly the same scores from their five races, the 16-year-old from Brigg landed the top spot on account of beating Masters, 17, in the fifth, and what turned out to be final, race. Masters took silver for the second year running while Connor Bainbridge, 15, finished third.
Holsworthy’s Izzy Hamilton, 16, is now a double RYA Youth National champion after convincingly following up her debut success at Pwllheli last year with RS:X girls’ gold again in Scotland. There was also medal joy for Sophie Bailey from Bude who took silver having missed last year’s event with a shoulder injury while Claudia Carney claimed bronze.
SailRacer Event Blog displayed on large screen at 2009 RYA Youth Championships, Largs SC
© Marc Turner
Christchurch’s Phil Sparks and Guildford’s Ben Gratton, both 16, were clinical in claiming the 420 boys’ title, picking up four wins and two seconds from their six races to finish nine points ahead of Ben Palmer and Konrad Weaver in second. Matt Rainback and Simon Foskett took third.
Meanwhile 17-year-old duo Rebecca Kalderon, from Wimbledon, and Thames Ditton’s Rosie Sibthorp took the honours in the girls’ event edging out Amy Seabright and Katrina Brewer in second by four points while the Stanley sisters, Imogen and Hermione, finished third.
Saltash’s Phillip Reynolds, 17, won the Laser Standard battle, the discard for his race four disqualification ultimately proving decisive in him taking the top prize. Although he finished tied on level points with second-placed Martin Evans, the Cornishman snatched gold on countback with Alex Mills-Barton just a point behind in third.
Although fickle Easterly winds have kept everyone on their toes this week it was an especially topsy-turvy regatta for the Laser Radials. Southfields’ Oscar McVeigh, 18, ultimately surpassed the 2008 bronze he claimed at Pwllheli by finishing on the top of the podium this time around. Max Robinson won silver and Jack Wetherall bronze.
In the girls’ it was 15-year-old Hannah Tilley from Llandenny, who will represent RYA Team GBR at the Laser 4.7 Worlds in Brazil this summer, that struck gold on her Youth Nationals debut with Charlotte Greenhalgh second and Sarah Butterfield making the podium for the second year running in third.
Duncan Truswell, RYA Youth Racing Manager, said: “The conditions this week have been fickle and unpredictable and huge credit must go to the sailors and organising team for their patience and their commitment to trying to get as much racing on as possible.
“Although this event has also acted as the selection trial for the ISAF Youth Worlds, the Championships have not been all about the Youth Worlds. There are many talented sailors on the Programme and we plan to work very closely with them in the next few months to develop their medal-winning potential for the various forthcoming class European and World championships.”
The Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships this year take place in Buzios, Brazil and the British team for the Youth Worlds can be seen here. The only exception is the Hobie 16 class which has not competed at Largs and whose primary selection event will be Eurocat in Carnac (1-3 May).
2009 RYA Volvo Youth National Championships and Trials main results:
Laser Standard
1st Laser Standard (Royal Bank Trophy) – Phillip Reynolds
Laser Radial
1st Laser Radial Overall (Crewsaver Trophy) and 1st Laser Radial boy (Eric Twiname Coconut Cup) – Oscar McVeigh
1st Laser Radial girl (Eric Twiname Trophy) – Hannah Tilley
420
1st 420 girls (Eric Twiname Trophy) – Rebecca Kalderon / Rosie Sibthorp
1st 420 boys (Royal Bank Trophy/Armarda Plate) – Phillip Sparks / Ben Gratton
29er
1st 29er overall (Harmony Trophy) and 1st 29er boys (Edwards Trophy) – Bleddyn Mon / Nick Redding
1st 29er girls (Ovington Trophy) – Lilly Carlisle / Becky Wallbank
RS:X
1st Windsurfing Boy Trophy – George Bowles
1st Windsurfing Girl Trophy – Izzy Hamilton
For full results and list of winners click here
Back on the Olympic trail: Interview with 49er champ Chris Draper
Chris Draper has just come out of premature retirement from Olympic campaigning. He is back at the helm of a 49er with another ‘retiree', Peter Greenhalgh who is doing the physically tough job of crewing the Olympic skiff more than five years since he last set foot in the boat. Top sailing journalist, Andy Rice of SailJuice (SJ), talks to Chris.
Draper made a quick and dramatic impact on the 49er class when he first started sailing them in late 2000. The big breakthrough came when he teamed up with Simon Hiscocks in early 2002 and just a few months later they finished second at the World Championships in Hawaii. A year later they dominated the 2003 Worlds in Cadiz, winning the event with a day to spare and earning Team GBR selection for the Athens Games.
Chris Draper & Peter Greenhalgh at Hyeres 2009
After such a dominant performance leading up to Athens, gold was a very realistic prospect. In fact it was almost expected, so when Draper and Hiscocks took bronze there was an element of disappointment. Still, they pressed on with their next campaign, aiming to erase any feelings of missed opportunity with a drive for gold at the next Games in Qingdao 2008.
Things were going well, not least in 2006 when Draper/Hiscocks won another World Championship. But there was a fast-rising force in British 49er sailing, with Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes throwing down the gauntlet by winning the 2006 Europeans in Weymouth. The ‘new kids' continued to perform, culminating in victory at the 2007 World Championships and swiftly followed by gold in Qingdao at the Olympic Test Event. Morrison/Rhodes were selected for the Games ahead of Draper/Hiscocks, and so Draper hung up his trapeze harness while Hiscocks found a new sailing partner in the former 29er World Champion Dave Evans.
Over the past couple of years Draper has got married and forged a career in professional sailing by stringing together a number of projects including steering an Extreme 40 catamaran for Oman Sail and most recently doing the windspotting job for Team Origin at the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series in Auckland.
So, why the return to Olympic sailing? SailJuice spoke to Chris to find out his plans....
SailJuice (SJ): Chris, you've done a lot of different things in the sport over the last couple of years. Why are you going back into Olympic sailing?
Chris Draper (CD): I had become pretty miffed with the sport towards the of the last Olympic cycle. I'd lost motivation, and so I decided to explore different avenues, and the stuff I've done has done that massively. Doing the Extreme 40 and America's Cup stuff has made me realise how much there is in the sport, and how exciting it is. Now I'm going back into the 49er, prepared to give it my all.
SJ: Before we go into that, what was it like going up the rig of an America's Cup boat for Team Origin?
CD: It was a heck of a lot of fun, going 100 foot up in the air. I was standing in for Rob Greenhalgh [his 49er crew's brother] who was already committed to doing the Volvo Ocean Race with Puma. I'd talked to Ben [Ainslie] about opportunities to sail with the team, and because this opportunity came up Ben gave me a call and I dropped everything to give it a bash. It was very good fun, very interesting to work with Ben and Bart [Andrew Simpson] and [Iain] Percy. There were some pretty amazing sailors on that boat.
SJ: Yes, well, you're not too bad a sailor yourself though, are you?
CD: I got on there not knowing anything about anything, and it became apparent to me very quickly that my 49er experience was irrelevant.
SJ: Then again, a lot of 49er sailors seem to end up going up the rigs of Cup boats - sailors like Adam Beashel on Emirates Team New Zealand for example...
CD: I think maybe it's because you're trapezing up there, even if it's a hundred feet up! One of the things is getting your head around the heights, it took a long time to stop my leg from shaking, but really it is just like trapezing. Adam was very helpful about how to manage it up there. I'm used to sailing boats that are pressure oriented. Like the 49er, with the Cup boats the angle changes so much on the pressure. But it's pretty difficult to interpret the wind from up there. It takes a while getting used to gauging distance and working out how long the wind will take to reach you.
SJ: What else did you learn from the Auckland experience?
CD: Working with Bart, Percy and Ben how they manage their sailing - that was the most interesting thing. They're very close knit, they know what one another want, they sail with an incredible maturity. I learned a lot from just being a part of that group and the way they communicate.
Chris Draper's old crew Simon Hiscocks is now a rival for Olympic selection...
CD: I think we went too hard back into it after Athens. We'd put in so much effort between 2000 and 2004 that we were shot to bits. This time I'm having to start from afresh, with a new rig, a new partner, and we're going to have to work our cut out. It's going to be a steep learning curve, and we won't have time to get stale.
SJ: There's that old cliché of it being harder to stay at the top than actually getting to the top. You'd know whether that's true or not...
CD: Well, staying there is definitely one of the hardest things, but I'm under no illusions that getting back up to the top is going to be very hard too.
SJ: You and Pete Greenhalgh have both been off the RYA programme for some time, so what sort of support can you expect now?
CD: The RYA are being very supportive, but we've got to qualify funding quickly, we're going to have to turn it on for the Worlds in Lake Garda this July. If we didn't do the business in Garda we'd have to do the business at the Europeans in Croatia instead.
Andy Rice is a professional sailing journalist who writes for a number of magazines and websites in the racing world. A former Olympic campaigner in 470s and 49ers, he currently crews an International 14 and finished 5th in the 2008 World Championships.
CD: It certainly is a talented squad, but if we didn't think we could do it, we wouldn't set about doing it. At the end of the day, with any of the Olympic classes it's about focusing on the rest of the world. You've got to get to being No.1 in the world. If you do that, then the funding and everything else takes care of itself. At the moment we're on the back foot with the lack of sailing we've done, but with the new rig everyone is starting afresh to some extent. It will be interesting for Pete and me both having previously been in long-term sailing partnerships. Putting all that together will be exciting.
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Dinghy Sailing in the Midlands
I am sure there will be others who can make specific suggestions for Sailing Clubs in the Midlands, but a good starting point would be the SailRacer Sailing Clubs Directory here you can enter your post code to find those near to you
BBC Sport Personality of Year
Very disappointing not to see any sailors or any sailing action covered on last night's awards. Plenty of successes this year
Sail 100 to SailRacer
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When I was in high school, I was appointed as the leader of sports in our class. In fact, I did not know why I would be a leader of sports since I did not have sports strength. ,At the first year our school held an annual sports meeting, I joined it, actually I did not want to, but no choice, because I was a leader,World Of Warcraft power leveling and I chose the 3000m racing. Unfortunately, I won the last one, oh, my god, my face lost up,so sorry I felt. After that I made a resolution to practice it, every morning at 5 o’clock, I got up to run, just like this did it every day, no matter raining or snowing, I never gave it up.
age of conan power leveling,
No pain no gain! This saying was totally right. I won the three successive championships of 3000m racing at our school sports meeting. I was so proud of myself. And more importantly, WoW Gold,seeing it now is that my character had been changed, but that time I did not realize it, just did I knew when I chose something I would struggle to perform it till it was accomplished.
Now I chose to improve English, I never worry about the result, I just knew learning a language need a long time, so I do it everyday, and even I would have left GLV.
WoW Gold
No pain no gain
Image:Falls of Clyde bowsprit.jpg
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300px
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Bowsprit of the ''Falls of Clyde (ship)
Falls of Clyde'', showing the dolphin striker, the use of chain for the bobstays, and three furled jibs The '''bowsprit''' of a sailing vessel is a pole (or spar (sailing)
spar) extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay(s), allowing the mast (sailing)
fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull.<ref>{{cite web
title=Bitts & Bobs(tays)
url=http://www.classicmarine.co.uk/articles/Bowsprit%20Article.htm
publisher=CLASSIC MARINE
accessdate=15 November 2012}}</ref> ==Origin== Image:Dar Pomorza bukszpryt.jpg
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Bowsprit of the ''Dar Pomorza'' as seen from the deck, showing safety netting. The word ''bowsprit'' is thought to originate from the Middle Low German word ''bochspret'' - ''boch'' meaning ''bow'' and ''spret'' meaning ''pole''.<ref>{{cite web
title=Bowsprit
url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bowsprit
publisher=Dictionary.com
accessdate=15 November 2012}}</ref> Early ocean-going vessels tended to tilt the bowsprit, known in centuries past also as a ''boltsprit'', at a high angle, and hung one or two square spritsail (square-rigged)
spritsails from yards. In the 17th century and early 18th century a vertical sprit topmast was added near the end of the bowsprit and another square sail added to it; this was not a particularly successful design however, the mast tending to carry away in heavy weather. Fore-and-aft sails known as jibs hung from the stays proved more useful for speed and maneuvering, and the basic bowsprit was lengthened with a jibboom and then even further with a flying jibboom, resulting in bowsprits of tremendous length, up to 30 metres total.{{Citation needed
date=November 2009}} ==Small ships== File:Sd11-boom.JPG
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150px
Bowsprit in a small Boom (ship)
dhow On smaller vessels, where the bowsprit is not used for stowing sails, it is often horizontal. Bowsprits are rare on modern yachts, the forestay merely running down to the tip of the bow, though they were typical of traditional Bermudian design; the Bermuda rig having become the most common yacht rig during the 20th Century. On some modern racing yachts and dinghy
dinghies, the bowsprit is retractable and primarily used to fly an Spinnaker#Asymmetric spinnakers
asymmetrical spinnaker. The very end of the bowsprit is traditionally painted white on tall ships, unless the ship in question has ventured into either the Arctic or Antarctic circles, in which case it is painted blue (i.e. bluenose). {{Citation needed
date=June 2007}} ==Tall ships== File:Portsmouth Victory 0100731wa.JPG
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Bowsprit of ''HMS Victory'' as seen from the deck. On large tall ships the bowsprit may be a considerable length and have several forestays attached. When not in use the headsails are stowed by being tied onto the bowsprit. The crew must then work out on the bowsprit to stow or prepare the sails. To minimise the risk of the bowsprit (and any crew working on it) being buried in large waves, the bowsprit is normally angled upwards from the horizontal. The bowsprit has an ominous nickname ''widowmaker''; maintaining the headsails upon the bowsprit was very dangerous business, especially on rough or stormy seas. ==In hang gliding== Some hang gliders use a bowsprit, rather than a spar to spread their wings. The bowsprit is formed by extending the keel tube about a metre beyond the leading edge of the wing. In 1879 a patent in England by F. W. Brearey<ref>{{cite web
url=http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/brearey.html
title=Frederick William Brearey
work=The Pioneers : An Anthology
publisher=CTIE
date=2002-01-30
accessdate=2012-11-15}}</ref> was filed (followed by U.S. patenting in numbers 234947<ref>{{cite web
url=http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=qkVyAAAAEBAJ&dq=234947
title=Patent US234947
publisher=Google.com
date=
accessdate=2012-11-15}}</ref> and 320042 <ref>{{cite web
url=http://www.google.com/patents?id=vgxdAAAAEBAJ&pg=PA1&dq=320042
title=Patent US320042
publisher=Google.com
date=
accessdate=2012-11-15}}</ref>) that taught bowsprit structure for flying machines. In the modern mid-1900s renaissance in hang gliding a Dial Soap TV commercial featured in 1973 a bowsprit cross-sparless hang glider.<ref>{{cite web
url=http://www.energykitesystems.net/hgh/t8.html
title=Hang Glider Timeline EnterData
publisher=Energykitesystems.net
date=
accessdate=2012-11-15}}</ref> Other examples of bowsprit hang gliders were exampled in the gliders manufactured by Bautek in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web
url=http://www.delta-club-82.com/bible/f7en-bautek.htm
title=BAUTEK (Hang glider manufacturer)
publisher=Delta Club 82
date=
accessdate=2012-11-15}}</ref> ==References== {{Commons category
Bowsprits}} {{Wiktionary
bowsprit}} {{reflist}} {{Sail Types}} Category:Sailboat components