Competitors push the boat out at RYA Sailability Multiclass Regatta 

RYA Sailability Multiclass Regatta is a huge success

Over 50 boats and around 80 disabled and able-bodied sailors converged on Rutland Water over the weekend (20-22 July), to compete in the annual RYA Sailability Multiclass Regatta.  

Competitors came from as far afield as Holland, France, Switzerland, Malaysia as well as the UK and battled it out in the eight classes: Neo 495 / Stratos / SKUD / Access / 2.4mR / Challenger / Sonar / SQUIB / Kinsman.  

The weekend kicked off with a very successful training day on Friday, as all competitors had the opportunity to hone their skills around the lake, as well as getting a look at fellow competitors in action before the racing started.  

On Saturday, due to lack of wind racing had to be abandoned but this didn’t put a dampener on everyone’s spirits as they joined  thousands of boaters across the country to celebrate the RYA’s Push the Boat Out day and show their support for the British Sailing Team prior to the London 2012 Games.  

All the Multiclass competitors waved flags in support of the TeamGB sailors and filmed a good luck message for all the sailors before enjoying a special Push the Boat Out themed regatta dinner on Saturday evening.  

Come Sunday and luckily the wind was back and sailors were able to take advantage of the perfect sailing conditions with all of the classes competing in four back-to-back races.  

Debbie Blachford, Manager of RYA Sailability said: “It was shame that we lost a day on Saturday, but the conditions on Sunday really made up for it and it was blowing 10 knots with glorious sunshine on Sunday!  

 “The Multiclass Regatta is a fantastic showcase of the talent we have within the disabled community, and it is a great social event too with many spectators coming along to support the sailors and to meet other disabled people who share a common interest in the sport.  

“This year has been extra special with the London 2012 Games starting in just one week’s time. Many of the competitors are hugely inspired, particularly by our ParalympicGB sailors so it has been a great opportunity to send out a good luck message to the team”.  

Attending the Regatta for the second year running was the Neo 495 class with one entry coming from Switzerland. “We choose to come to the Multiclass Regatta as it is a great opportunity to sail with other boats, see other classes on the water and to meet other people” said Patrick Parker.  

The winners:  

 

2.4mR	Allan Smith	Rutland Sailability
Kinsman	Dave Richardson/Bob Glennie	Blind Sailing
Access 2.3	Lindsay Burns	Frensham Pond
Access 303 W 2 P	Chris Emmett/Graham Foster	Rutland Sailability
Access 303W S	Margaret Foreman	Frensham Pond
Access Liberty	Vera Voorbach	NA
Artemis Class	Dean Abra/Tim Bell	Isle of Sheppey
Challenger Class	Graham Hall	Rutland Sailability
Laser Stratos	Sharon Grennan/Alison Grennan	Blind Sailing
Neo 495	Helene Gardet/David Mekis	Swiss Disabled
Skud 18	Alex Hovden/David Hawkins	Whitstable Yacht Club

 

New for 2012, the Ken Ellis Trophy was contested in mixed class teams and was won by Team Draper/Smith/Hovden.  

A special thank you also goes to the 60 plus volunteers who worked tirelessly over the weekend to ensure the event ran smoothly from start to finish including the RAF which donated safety boats with their crews.    

The multiclass regatta is part of the RYA Sailability national sailing and racing programme ‘Making Disability Plain Sailing’, which is funded jointly by Sport England and the RYA Sailability Trust.    

For more information about RYA Sailability visit www.rya.org.uk and click on the Sailability link at the bottom of the page.    

Visit Sailability.TV to see footage of the event