BKA Blog 

Latest updates from the British Keelboat Academy squad sailors.

24th Feb – Lizzy Foreman

Last weekend the whole BKA squad was in Cowes for a range of shorebased training sessions. We had a real mental workout by the end of two intense days of lectures. By the evening on Saturday we had covered yacht design, sail design, instrument systems and the rules. I particularly enjoyed the sail design talk by Jeremy Elliott from North Sails; we covered small details such as what the coding means on battens right up to how to interpret all the information on sail cross-over charts and how to ensure your sails conform to IRC standards.

On the Sunday we covered topics such as the weather, offshore special regulations, IRC rules, RORC regulations and ISAF classifications…again this was a real eye-opener, I hadn’t realised that there were so many rules to conform to, having only sailed ‘one-design’ dinghies beforehand.

So two months down the line from my first trip to Cowes in December,  it has become clear that that turning up to the dock with a lifejacket is just the beginning in keelboat sailing…there is just as much (if not more) to be learnt off the water, as there is on it! With the next load of training dates planned, we are all looking forward to finalising teams and sailing well together for the season ahead.

9th February – Katherine ‘Bertie’ Whitley

With the snow all but melted the Development squad headed to Cowes for a rather bracing couple of weekends out on the water. Lunch breaks were characterised by a loss of feeling in the extremities and debates about quite whose idea it was to go sailing in late January and early February. However, either side of coronation chicken sandwiches there was plenty to keep us occupied and warm.  

Two weekends later and the squad were back down in Cowes, this time with all three J80’s in the water, many thanks to the UKSA maintenance team. Although, unbeknown to the crew that were chuffed they’d picked the boat with the full size kite, one J80 was yet to be lifted, and their sail-area advantage was counteracted by the marine flora and fauna enjoying the habitat created on the hull. The weekend was an opportunity not only to continue to get to know the rest of the squad and how each member sails, but also a chance to get a feel for how the J80’s handled; timings and angles to marks, and distances to an imaginary start line. Intense runs of hoists and drops over a relatively short area definitely kept the bow, pit and trim teams warm. The weekend’s on-water activities culminated with a couple of practice races, the last in particular being very close with the winner being decided right at the chain-ferry.  

Back into UKSA for a quick video debrief before each member of the squad disappears off in a different direction. Behind the scenes, there is a lot of action going on. Campaign planning and logistics discussions are underway. Sponsorship is being sourced and all assistance in this area in particular is welcome.  

All in all, two very successful weekends, and a Development squad that is definitely starting to gel.

Tue 26 January - Luke McCarthy

The Development squad started their on water training last weekend (23-24th Jan), which marks the beginning on their season-long campaign which will hopefully culminate in successful performances at the National and European championships. Sixteen sailors attended the weekend, held in UKSA's fleet of J80s and Colgate keelboats. (The plan had been to use all three J80s but, due to the recent snow which hit Cowes very hard, the J80 winter maintenance was running behind and we therefore had to make use of the Colgates!) The aims for the weekend were to give the sailors the opportunity to sail with as many different members of the squad as possible, work on general boat handling on the Colgates and on manoeuvres on the J80. As the sailors are all new to the squad, many did not know each other before the Selections in December, and therefore it is crucial that they get to know each other's sailing ability with a view to establishing the best combinations for the crews going forward. Many of the sailors come from dinghies and relatively new to keelboats, so it was a revelation for some of them to realise how slowly the boats stop, accelerate and turn. Finally, from the point of view of the rest of the season, we focussed the J80 training on the key manoeuvres, working on what had to happen and the communication required. In the evening, the sailors continued looking at raising sponsorship to fund their campaigns and at the logistics of the season, including getting the boats to the events and accommodation for the crew.

Thur 17 December - Luke McCarthy

The first shorebased training session for the new and exising BKA sailors was held last weekend, with over thirty in attendance. The focus of the residential weekend, held at UKSA in Cowes, was personal and team development. On Saturday, we were lucky enough to be joined by Ruari Chisholm of the company High Performance Development. Ruari has worked with a number of top level sports teams - including the England rugby team before their 2003 World Cup victory - as well as delivering training to many blue chip companies. Ruari covered personal planning, team development and goal setting, including challenging the sailors to come up with their own 'Team Charter' - a set of rules which will govern how they operate as a team. Luke McCarthy put some of this into practice covering the sailors' long term personal planning - including linking this to how this affects what their plans in the shorter. On Sunday, the sailors started planning their own campaigns for 2010 in both the J80 fleet and the TP52 ‘John Merricks II’.

Tuesday 8 December - Luke McCarthy

Last weekend was the selections for new sailors for the British Keelboat Academy. Twenty eight sailors - from over 100 applicants - were invited to UKSA and put through their paces in a range of areas. This included sailing in UKSA’s fleet of keelboats on Saturday, a night orienteering exercise on a wet and windy Saturday night and a number of team working exercises on Sunday. The last of these really allowed us to see the candidates in a completely different environment, assessing how they worked in different roles as members of a team. At the end of the weekend, twenty sailors were selected to join the BKA and all were given individual feedback on areas to work on to develop their sailing careers.

Tuesday 24 November - Phil Miller

This weekend members of the British Keelboat Academy took part in a boat building master-class on the Isle of Wight.  With gales out in the Solent, it was the ideal time to learn about making and fixing boats.  We learnt about the basic methods and materials involved in building a boat before putting these ideas into practice with our own project – crafting a boat-like shape out of fibre-glass.

Key to a successful project was ‘waxing the mould’ properly to prevent the boat getting stuck in the mould. We applied a gel-coat layer, followed by plenty of polyester resin and chopped strand matt. This cocktail was left to cure overnight, and the next morning it was a relief to see them all pop easily out of their moulds.  To make things interesting, we attacked the smooth new models with pick-axe style tool and smashed a big hole in them and, for good measure, the gel-coat was scratched in places with a chisel.

Now the challenge was to repair the damage, another important skill that we acquired over the weekend.  First, to restore its structural strength a pleasing array of power tools, solvents, resins and fibre-glass were used.  Then we had to work on its cosmetic appearance, making a good colour match between the old and the new gel-coat, wet sanding and polishing to blend in the repairs.  By the end of the day, they looked as good as new.

In addition to the practical project, other methods of repairs, osmosis treatment, and the different weaves and applications for fibre-glass, Kevlar and Carbon fibre were discussed.

Monday 9 November - Luke McCarthy

On Saturday 7th November, the RORC Annual Prizegiving Dinner was held at the superb setting of Banqueting House in Whitehall, London. Sailors from the British Keelboat Academy attended to collect prizes from the season of racing on both 'John Merricks II' and 'Chernikeeff 2', and to socialise with other sailors and yacht owners. Amy Prime, who sailed on 'Chernikeeff 2' as a trimmer for the season, won the Duncan Munro-Kerr Youth Challenge Trophy for the youngest person sailing on a boat finishing in the top three of their class. This is a great achievement for Amy, who is aged just 18 and hails from the Isle of Wight. Previous to her involvement with the Academy, her main sailing was in the two-person Squib class, so the step up to sailing on a Farr 52 was dramatic. 'Chernikeeff 2' also picked up the Youth Trophy, for the best combined performance in the IRC Nationals, St Malo and Fastnet races by a boat with half the crew under the age of 28. 'Chernikeeff 2' more than fulfilled this criteria all season, with the entire crew under 28 for all races with the exception of the skipper. 'John Merricks II' won the Europeans Trophy for winning class super zero overall, a class containing numerous fully professional boats.

Over 300 guests were present in total, from top professionals to those who were newer to the sport. The top prize for the season, the Somerset Memorial Trophy for RORC Yacht of the Year, was won by 'Puma Logic'. Whilst not winning the points series overall, this award was made by the RORC committee in recognition of 'consistent racing performance while introducing a large number of people to the sport at a highly competitive level'.

Thanks to the staff of the RORC for a great season of racing, for their continued support of the British Keelboat Academy and for organising a very special dinner. For more information on results and prizes, see the RORC website: www.rorc.org