Welcome to the NorthWest newsletter. Here, you will read about RYA activities in the NW, and find out more about latest initiatives from RYA HQ. The newsletter is being sent by e mail to clubs and centres in the NW. You can forward the e mail news to your fellow committee members at your club, or even to all your membership thus giving them all the chance to get the latest news fast. Print a copy to put on your notice board to let others see the news, or cut and paste stories onto your club website. You can also be added to the circulation group to receive your own personal copy.
If you would like to be added to the distribution list, just contact the Regional Secretary at
jgraham.knox “at” virgin.net
This month’s highlights include;
Olympic Class Racing- Patience/ Bithell take RYA National Ranking Series
Team Racing- West Kirby retain Youth title
T15 Windsurfing- West Kirby Warriors at Champions Cup
Start Sailing- Splashtastic OnBoard Regatta at Windermere
Regional Development- Dinghy and Powerboat Instructor courses
RYA Appoints new Chief Executive
Dinghy Racing- New Era dawns at Crosby
Dinghy Racing- preview to Britain’s biggest Winter Series
RYA West Zone Racing Report- squad training dates, Club & Coach Conferences
NW Region AGM to be at Orrell on 10 November
RYA Volvo Dinghy Show dates announced
Yacht Racing- Liverpool YC Early Autumn Series
RYA Publications- new books this month
OLYMPIC CLASS RACING
Patience/ Bithell take 470 RYA National Ranking Series
The weekend 17-18 October featured the climax of the domestic Olympic Classes racing season, with the final events of the RYA Olympic Classes National Ranking Series held at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.
The annual RYA Olympic Classes National Ranking Series provides quality national racing opportunities for aspiring 2012 hopefuls, while continuing to offer top class racing and venues for all Olympic Classes sailors throughout the UK.
This weekend’s final regatta of the three-event Series – which kicked off at September’s Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta – saw both seasoned campaigners and new faces up on the podium following some tricky light wind conditions at the 2012 Olympic sailing venue.
World 470 silver medallists Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell continued their podium streak by claiming the overall National Ranking Series, despite incurring a disqualification in one race at Weymouth. As well as Stuart Bithell, other NW sailors did well as Matt Mee-Ian Dobson took second and Jonny McGovern-Christian Birrell third. In the overall Series standings, Nic Asher and Elliot Willis finished second, with third place going to Nick Rogers and Pom Green.
RYA Olympic Classes National Ranking Series final standings:
470 Men
1. Luke Patience-Stuart Bithell
2. Nic Asher-Elliot Willis
3. Nick Rogers-Pom Green
TEAM RACING
West Kirby Sailing Club retain their team racing crown
West Kirby Sailing Club shot their way to victory for the second year running this weekend (October 17-18) when they successfully defended their Youth Champion title at the RYA Eric Twiname Youth and Junior Team Racing Championships held at Farmoor Reservoir Oxford.
Competing in Fireflies, West Kirby sailed a great first day landing them in the top Gold A fleet for the second day. Pulling off a faultless performance of five wins out of five races on day two the team, Cameron Douglas (16), Sam Robinson (17), Ben Robinson (15), Sarah Lombard (15), Sophie Shepherd (15) and Charlie Fitzgerald (15), beat every contender to claim their second title in fine style.
An ecstatic Shepherd who was part of last year’s winning team commented “It feels really good to win twice in a row we’re all really happy. We considered that we might win a second time but with a different team from last year we weren’t sure at all.
“We were focusing on the starts trying to get as good a start we could every time which seemed to work well. We hadn’t lost a race on the first day so that made us feel quite confident going into Sunday but we had a tough first race on Sunday however managed to win that in the end and go on to win the event!” she concluded.
Robinson added: “As our club West Kirby is quite team racing based we knew some of the manoeuvres quite well from racing there and we had sailed in Fireflies quite a bit more than the other teams. We had great communication from Cameron who was our team captain who led a lot of decisions on what tactics to use so I think communication and teamwork really helped us.”
In total 48 teams competed at the event with 24 teams in each of the youth and junior competitions. A total of 360 races were sailed over the weekend.
RYA Event Director David Campbell-James commented: “We had a fantastic weekend of sailing this year and that’s down to the volunteers who helped run the racing both onshore and out on the water, the clubs and schools who helped provide the boats and the sailors and their families.”
Next year’s RYA Eric Twiname Youth and Junior Team Racing Championship will take place at Oxford SC for the third year running with the Championship scheduled for 16-17 October 2010.
T15 WINDSURFING
West Kirby Warriors at Champions Cup
West Kirby Warriors travelled to Rutland Water in Leicestershire at the weekend 11/ 12 October to represent the West zone at the RYA’s Team15 (T15) Champions Cup. At Rutland last year, the Warriors landed the Champions Cup for 2008, so went into the event as reigning champions. The Champions Cup is the National Final, open only to the best clubs from each part of the country.
The Warriors won their place at this National Final in style after winning all four heats throughout the West zone this summer. Beating teams from as far afield as Windermere in the North and Astbury in the East, the Warriors were crowned West Zone T15 Regional Champions and went forward to represent their region at the final.
However the Warriors were unable to hold on to their title this year, as the North Zone’s North Lincs Invaders clinched victory and raised the 2009 Team15 (T15) Champions Cup trophy.
The sunshine and 10-12 knot wind on Saturday provided perfect conditions for the young racers, with slightly more challenging conditions on Sunday with winds gusting up to 16 knots. Racing was split between five classes, 3.5m, 4.5m, 5.5m and 6.8m Techno, with nine races and one fun race taking place throughout the weekend.
This year the West Kirby Warriors took fifth place, while team member Alexander McPhee was awarded a Special Merit award.
Supported by industry leaders Neilson, Tushingham/Starboard, Windsurf magazine, Boards magazine and Neil Pryde, Team 15 (T15) was set up by the RYA to help make windsurfing more accessible and appealing to youngsters at a grass roots level. Fun and informal training sessions take place at T15 clubs all over the country for kids up to the age of 15, which are run weekly by specialist RYA coaches. The T15 inter-club championship takes place regionally over the summer adding a competitive edge and race training for those keen to hone their skills. Kit can be borrowed from the clubs and the cost of sessions is kept low – to find your local club visit www.team15.org.uk or contact the RYA 0845 345 0400.
START SAILING
“SPLASHTASTIC” ONBOARD Regatta AT WINDERMERE
Getting youngsters onto the water was the theme when the Lakes Leisure Centre, Windermere hosted the Cumbria OnBoard Regatta on Saturday 4 October. OnBoard is an RYA led initiative to give more kids the chance to learn to sail.
Organiser David Woodhead welcomed a total of 30 children to the event, coming from four OnBoard Centres in the Lakes, at Bassenthwaite, Derwentwater, Low Wood and Lakes Leisure itself.
The event was assisted by Laser Performance, one of the official suppliers to OnBoard, who kindly lent an additional six boats, to supplement the 12 strong local fleet of Laser Pico dinghies.
The young sailors, all aged 9 to 15, enjoyed a fun introduction to sailing in the morning with a team game and a cruise up the lake. Sailors and their parents and instructors then had a barbecue lunch in the sunshine, followed by races in the afternoon as the winds freshened to give excellent sailing conditions. The OnBoard kids sailed a mixture of dinghies and windsurfers.
After three races, the winner in dinghies was Sam Jones, 13, from the Low Wood Centre. The windsurfers managed five races, and Sam Morley was the winner. Both winners had learned to sail with OnBoard, and were helped by their five years of sailing experience. Many of the other competitors were novices, who enjoyed the event just as much, while others were improvers. Axel Steinert, 13, received a prize for the most improved beginner.
Sam Snyder, 13, summed up the event, “It was a splashtastic, sailtastic day!”
Run by sailing’s National Governing Body, the RYA, OnBoard is a highly successful industry supported grass roots programme which seeks to make sailing easier to get into for young people. Over a ten year period the programme aims to introduce a minimum of 500,000 children to sailing and windsurfing in the UK, converting over 10% of them into regular participants. So far it’s nicely on track.
For more information about how to get involved in sailing visit the RYA’s website www.rya.org.uk or the OnBoard website www.ruob.co.uk .
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
North West
RYA Regional Development Officer’s Report
2009 Instructor Courses
Dinghy
RYA Dinghy Instructors course @ Waterpark, Coniston
October 26 – 30th
Contact: 01229 885456
RYA Dinghy Instructors course @ Astbury Sailsports
October 26 – 30th
Contact: 01260 297172
Informal Advanced Dinghy Instructors Training weekend @ Waterpark, Coniston
November 7/8th
Contact: 01229 885456
RYA Advanced Dinghy Instructors course @ Waterpark, Coniston
November 14/15th
Contact: 01229 885456
Windsurfing
RYA Intermediate Windsurf Instructor Course @ Glossop SC
October 24/25th
Contact: sally.kilpatrick@rya.org.uk
Powerboat
RYA Powerboat Instructors course @ Hollingworth Lake Activity centre
November 15/16th & 22/23rd
Contact: 01706 370499
If anyone needs any other RYA Instructor courses / Endorsements please contact me so that I can know the demand and organize courses accordingly.
Any Club or Centre wishing to run an Instructor course in any discipline please contact me to check that it is ok and supply dates / venue and details of the Coach or Trainer running the course.
Funding update
Sport England Small Grants
Please go to the following link for application details & online application form:
http://funding.sportengland.org/funding_programmes/small_grants.aspx
Community Development Foundation Grass roots grants -
http://www.cdf.org.uk/bfora/systems/xmlviewer/default.asp?arg=DS_CDF_TECHART_23/_page.xsl/27&xsl_argx=3
Grassroots Grants is a groundbreaking £130m government funded programme managed by CDF.
The programme, which will run from 2008-2011 has two elements one of which is an £80 million small grants fund for community groups.
Community groups should apply directly to their nearest Grassroots Grants local funder. Please click on the link above to find the page where you can get the contact details of local funders in each region.
If anyone has any questions or queries, please contact me on:
E-mail: sally.kilpatrick@rya.org.uk
Phone: 07747 534527
RYA
RYA appoints new Chief Executive
The RYA is pleased to announce that it has appointed Sarah Treseder as its new Chief Executive.
Richard Langford, RYA Chairman said of her appointment: “Finding someone to fill Rod’s shoes was obviously quite a challenge for us. However, Sarah’s excellent management experience and leadership skills combined with her own personal recreational boating will be a true asset to the RYA, its members and the boating community as a whole.
“Her appointment, I believe, will bring an exciting new dimension to the RYA and to the marine leisure sector”.
Sarah will take up the post in February 2010, when she will work alongside the current CEO, Rod Carr OBE, for a month before his retirement in March.
Sarah Treseder: “To be Chief Executive of the RYA is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me, and I will devote all my passion, dedication and experience to making a success of the role.
“I have been involved in cruising and racing boats all my life, and I believe that my varied experience in business and on the water will help me to connect with the sport at all levels; from grassroots programmes to the higher echelons of the racing community.
“I am very much looking forward to joining the team at the RYA next year and to working alongside Rod for the month. He has made an enormous contribution to boating in the UK and will be a hard act to follow”.
Sarah joins the RYA from The Admirable Crichton, a private luxury events company, and has extensive management experience combined with a broad sailing experience from cruising in the south west of England, France, the Channel Islands and further afield to racing in dinghies, yachts and keelboats. Currently, Sarah joint owns a Sigma 33 which she sails on the south coast.
DINGHY RACING
New era at Crosby Sailing Club
Crosby Sailing Club held its first races from their new club building over the weekend 2-4 October. The weather forecast was light winds and sun. By the midday kick off it was blowing a F5 and raining. Undeterred two single-handed fleets started together.
The new fleet of Lasers made a fantastic sight. Ian Middleton led from start to finish, followed by son James in a Radial and new members duo of Amy and Matt Mercer in Laser 4.7s. The last time a Laser fleet was at Crosby was in the mid 1980′s. The Solo fleet was dominated by Andy Fox from Neil Wright and Danny Lock.
The second race saw James in front of Ian at the first mark in the Lasers. Experience saw Ian fly past in a gust and was never headed. Mark Blanchard in a standard rig, another new member to the Laser fleet, was third. The Solo fleet again had Andy from Neil and Danny, with a few more Solos coming out for the fun.
It’s so good to have a warm draught free clubhouse, and the luxury of ‘hot’ showers instead of cold damp containers in a car park. Crosby SC is on the up! During the three days, membership has been open, 173 members have signed up across the dinghy sailing and windsurfing clubs. Canoeing, rowing and dragon boats start soon.
Leigh & Lowton Sailing Club Winter Preview
Marking the start of the 2009/10 winter series (officially the biggest dinghy winter series in the UK!) is the Guy Fawkes Pursuit Race, which takes place on Sunday November 8th. First to start will be the Mirrors at 1pm. We are expecting a fantastic turnout and there are great prizes on offer.
Following the pursuit race is the Revett Open Series, starting on Sunday 15th November through to 13th December. Following a short break for Christmas, we will also be hosting our annual New Year’s Day Pursuit Race sponsored by 1st Mark. This race always attracts sailors from far and wide and as ever we will be expecting a good turnout (hangovers permitting!). The lucky winner of this year’s annual New Year’s Day Pursuit Race will win a £100 1st Mark voucher!
The much-anticipated Tipsy Icicle Open Series starts on Sunday 3rd January and runs through until 7th March. The Tipsy has proved to be the largest dinghy winter series in the country, with an average of 70 boats on the water last year. As always our open winter series relies on visiting sailors from local clubs. This year we are offering big discounts for those who enter for both the Revett and Tipsy Icicle series. Inclusive prices (not including pursuit races) include boat storage. As always Anne and Helen will be providing fresh food from the Galley, and the bar will be providing refreshments after sailing. For further information visit the club website .
RYA ZONE RACING NEWS
RYA ZONE SQUAD TRAINING DATES
All this winter’s zone squad training dates can be found on the RYA website
www.rya.org.uk/racing/youthjunior/junior/zones/northwest/Pages/wstsqdinfo.aspx .
There will be a land day for the squads on either the 7th or 8th November 2009
LEVEL 2 COACHING COURSES
Clubs considering holding level 2 coaching courses in the autumn are advised to select a date as soon as possible. The tutors are getting booked up already. Contact your RYA High Performance Manager or Jenny Campbell-James with your choice of dates and we will book you a tutor.
Details of course and how to apply can be found by going to www,ryaracingevents.org.uk and following the link on the left hand side to coaching courses. We currently have spaces on the course at Rutland on 22/23 Aug 2009.
CLUB & COACH FUNDING FOR VOLVO RYA CHAMPION CLUBS
Many clubs have benefitted from the club and coach funding that is available to Volvo RYA Champion Clubs. The money has been used in a variety of ways including sending in coaches to mentor club coaches to help them raise the standard of their delivery and to give coaches new ideas; and for the training up of volunteers on level 3 coaching courses, power boat courses or first aid courses.
To find out more contact your RYA High Performance Manager.
RYA CLUB & COACH CONFERENCES 2009
The RYA Club and Coach Conferences are aimed at all those with an interest or involved in delivering, planning or coordinating club training, racing and coaching for both juniors and adults.
The conference will inspire committees, active volunteers and coaches with new ideas to start planning their new season’s programme.
There will be updates from your RYA High Performance Manager and RYA Regional Development Officers on what is new including essential information for your club on any funding available.
There will be a number of workshops so you can select the one most relevant to your needs and further guest speakers will also be attending.
It is also an opportunity for coaches to revalidate the Level 2 Racing Coach Certificate.
The conferences will run from 10.00 to 16.00 on
5TH DECEMBER -NORTH – YORKSHIRE DALES SC
6TH DECEMBER – WEST – ANDERTON CENTRE, CHORLEY
Free for VCCs and for clubs working with RDOs aiming to increase adult participation; otherwise it is £10. To book your place, go to www.ryaracingevents.org.uk and follow the link for coaching courses. You then need to fill in the online form.
If anybody has any questions or queries regarding anything above, please call!
Many thanks
Chris Blackburn
07909 994637
NW REGION AGM
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
NORTH WEST REGION 2009
In accordance with the Constitution, I give notice that: -
THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE ROYAL YACHTING ASSOCIATION, NORTH WEST REGION, WILL BE HELD
(CONCURRENTLY WITH THAT OF THE GREATER MANCHESTER ASSOCIATION OF SAILING CLUBS AND THE MERSEYSIDE COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF SAILING CLUBS)
AT
THE MOUNT, ORRELL ROAD, ORRELL, NEAR WIGAN WN5 8HQ (NEAR TO JUNCTION 26, M6)
ON TUESDAY, 10th NOVEMBER 2009 AT 7.30PM.
Any resolutions for this meeting must be submitted to the Hon Secretary by
Tuesday 27th October 2009 at the above address.
If you have any other matter that you wish to raise, would you please let me know by the above date.
The Agenda will be circulated to Club Secretaries etc. 7 days prior to the meeting. After the AGM, there will be a presentation by John Thorn (National Sailing Coach) on e-learning, lessons learned from incidents and the latest developments in coaching.
Sandwiches and tea/coffee will be provided after the AGM and before the presentation. There is also a pay bar.
I very much hope that your Club will be represented, and I look forward to receiving, for the Agenda, any items that you feel should be discussed at such a meeting.
Yours sincerely
Graham Knox
Hon. Secretary, North West Region
RYA VOLVO DINGHY SHOW
RYA Volvo Dinghy Show 2010 Dates Announced
If you’re a dedicated dinghy sailor or taking your first tentative steps in to the dinghy sailing world then a visit to the world’s only show designed exclusively for dinghy sailing is a must.
Running over the weekend of the 6 -7 March 2010 at Alexandra Palace, London, the RYA Volvo Dinghy Show, in association with Yachts and Yachting and Suzuki, is more than just a show.
The show boasts loads of free advice, free workshops and free talks, as well as being packed to the rafters with dinghies galore, from timeless classics to the very latest in design. There are also hundreds of exhibitors filling the show so you’ll find everything you need to improve your sailing.
“This show has a really unique atmosphere; it’s a great place to get up close to your sailing heroes, look at and buy equipment, socialise, win great prizes, see loads of dinghies and chat with class associations, have fun and much more, all under one roof”, commented Paul Bayliss, RYA Volvo Dinghy Show manager.
Some of the great new features and talks already confirmed for the 2010 show include: towing and City Safety demos from Volvo, perfecting high speed sailing and mark rounding talks on the main stage, as well as coaching sessions on taking fantastic action photos and how to make the most of communication on board your boat.
Tickets for the 2010 show will go on sale at the end of November 2009.
YACHT RACING
Fair Winds for Liverpool YC Early Autumn racing
Sixteen Yachts entered the fourth race of the Early Autumn series at Liverpool Yacht Club. The large tide saw yachts struggling with the 5-knot current and 10 knots SSE breeze on the start line, with the sixteen strong fleet being subject to a general recall by race officer David Warburton. The second start saw all yachts clearly away as the brisk beat with strong tide saw SOG well into double figures, the tidal effect amplifying the conditions through apparent wind. The two classes split with Class 1 sent up river to Garston channel Marker G9. Mighty Max was again the class leader with Sleeper and F Word chasing. A welcome return for Jenevieve to the river saw them racing competitively with just three on board! Class 2 were sent to E2 first with some close tactical racing throughout the fleet.
Back to class 1 and as the yachts rounded G9 it was a tricky tactical call for the leg to E4, The symmetric boats came high on white sails at first before bearing away and launching chutes, with Mighty Max displaying their rarely seen asymmetric whomper. Sleeper launched early and had a good leg, as did Jenevieve, passing The F Word and Rebel. A gybe around E4 saw another tight reach to G7, a short beat to G9 and the leg repeated. Despite a gallant effort by Jenevieve, Max took line honours with Sleeper and yet another tidy display second. On corrected time Sleeper took the chocolates, Mighty Max second, Jenevieve, third and Rebel in fourth.
Class 2’s course saw some of the fleet choosing to carry spinnakers to G7 and others carrying whites with the tidal influence again being a huge factor in tactics and angles. The fleet was a real mix with Musketeer in the lead and Di Rich close on the heels. Jeanette and Dave Hardy’s Black Magic began to show some true form giving Skukusa a run for their money. The following pack saw many position changes with the inclusion of Clairevoyant a real worry for those surrounding her as this well sailed boat had handicap time advantage in abundance. All yachts finished within 8 minutes of one another, Musketeer took line honours with 2 Impalas and Di Rich next. On corrected time Clairevoyant was the winner, Di Rich second and Skukusa beating BlackMagic by 14 seconds on corrected time.
Many members enjoyed a Sunday Roast in the clubhouse before returning home. The winds have so far been fairer in this Autumn series than we have experienced throughout the summer. Here’s to continued quality racing on the Mersey this winter!
RYA PUBLICATIONS
New in October
RYA Race Training Exercises, Alan Olive and Harvey Hillary, £9.99
RYA Start to Race, Jeremy Evans, £13.99
RYA Electrics Handbook, Andrew Simpson, £16.99
RYA Fishing Afloat, Dick McClary, £13.99
Solent Race Strategy, Patrick Jolly, £8.99
RYA books can be ordered at most marina shops, or online from the RYA site. Remember, all RYA members gain a 15% discount on RYA books. Order at www.rya.org.uk/shop or phone the order hotline on 0845 345 0372. RYA Vouchers can also be purchased on the site.
YOUR RYA REGION
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If you would like to be added to the circulation list, please send your e mail address to jgraham.knox “at” virgin.net.
The newsletter may also be viewed on the RYA NW website, at www.rya-northwest.org.uk .
RYA NW contacts
Chairman; David Williamson dwilliamson ”at”rya-online.net
Secretary; Graham Knox 01706 642311 jgraham.knox ”at”virgin.net
High Performance Manager for North and West; Chris Blackburn 07909 994637 chris.blackburn ”at”rya.org.uk
Regional Development Officer; Sally Kilpatrick 07747 534527 sally.kilpatrick ”at”rya.org.uk
OnBoard Development Officer; Adam McGovern Adam.McGovern “at” Rochdale.gov.uk
OnBoard Development Officer – Cheshire & Merseyside: Luke Shaw – luke.shaw “at” wksc.org.uk
Chairman, Training Forum; Dave Woodhead, 01257 265208 david.woodhead3 “at” virgin.net
Regional Race Management Adviser; Adrian Stoggall 01625 871579 stoggall “at” zetnet.co.uk
Regional Rules Adviser; Peter Johnson 0151 632 1805 mq22 “at” liv.ac.uk
T15 Competition Organiser; Mike Roberts 0161 904 0212 miker.team15 “at” googlemail.com
Sailability; Ian Shirra 07749 012414 ian “at” shirra.fsnet.co.uk
Communications; Alan Henderson 01292 281383 alanhe “at” tiscali.co.uk
Web addresses for further information;
RYA NW www.rya-northwest.org.uk OnBoard; www.ruob.co.uk
RYA HQ www.rya.org.uk or tel 0845 345 0400 Team 15; www.team15.org.uk
Disclaimer; this newsletter is published by RYA North West Region. Information is believed to be accurate at time of going to press, but comes from diverse sources. Neither RYA NW nor the editor can take responsibility for any errors or omissions. Opinions of contributors or interviewees are not necessarily those of RYA NW. Please check info about events etc before going.
RYA Hamble contact
General enquiries; 0845 345 0400 www.rya.org.uk
