RDO BLOG-MAY 2019
Bringing the Eric Twiname Trophy home!
Huge congratulations to our junior sailors who were part of the North Zone team at the Eric Twiname Championships at Rutland Water. They battled through a whole range of conditions across the fleets and together with their peers from the RYA North West region, they not only had a great time but also went and brought home the trophy as the winning Zone!
It’s an incredible achievement by our Zone Squad sailors who have worked so hard at training weekends throughout winter to develop their skills. It is also a reflection of the great work being done by clubs across the region to encourage kids on to the water, which has seen a significant increase in junior club membership. A big thank you to all the volunteers, instructors and coaches out there who have worked tirelessly to inspire this next generation! And of course to the parents whose support makes it possible for these young sailors to achieve their goals.
Junior racing dates for your diary
A date to save is for the British Youth Sailing North Regional Junior Championships at Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club over the last weekend of September, catering for all abilities from rookie OnBoard sailors to seasoned racers and those seeking selection for Zone Squads. We had the second largest turnout of any region at the inaugural event at Ullswater in 2018 and we're looking forward to hosting the event in the North East this year!
We clearly have much to look forward to this season and beyond. For now, our Harken-sponsored North East Youth Travellers Series continues, providing a whole range of open meetings inland and on the coast for junior and youth sailors to hone their racing skills.
The conditions have not always been kind so far but as the weather continues to improve, we hope to see more and more young sailors joining in. All the details can be found here. Thank you to all the clubs who've been encouraging their regular junior sailors and first time-travellers to take part. If you haven't already done so, it would be great if you could please share the details with young sailors and parents at your club so they can add these events to their sailing calendar.
Still time to enter the British Keelboat League!
The first qualifier for the 2019 British Keelboat League (BKL) was right here up North, hosted by Ullswater YC over the first May Bank Holiday weekend and won by a home team, who will now be heading to the national finals in London. Others taking part included Newcastle University and I had fun competing too, with a team named after the children’s sailing charity Horizons. It was a fantastic weekend which certainly lived up to expectations - so much so that our team is now looking to enter another event in the League to see if we can smash it after just missing out on a podium spot this time around!
If you missed out on entering the first event at Ullswater there are still half a dozen qualifiers to go, including the next one which isn’t a million miles away at Draycote Water SC in the Midlands, May 25-26. You just need a team of four and can enter any of the events - not just those in your region - with race-ready RS21s provided and an entry fee of £75 per person. We had 20 races over two days at Ullswater - which I worked out to be less than the price of a pint for each race!
It was short sharp races and RS21s are well-mannered and easy to sail, so you don’t need keelboat experience to take part, any dinghy sailor can jump on board and have a go. The BKL is open to teams from any club or association affiliated to the RYA. Competitors range from inland club sailors getting together to try something different to Olympic sailors trying something different and everyone in between. It’s a fabulous format. All you have to do is throw your sailing kit in the car and #RockUpAndRace!
You can find all the details for the next event at Draycote Water and subsequent dates here including booking.
Take flight with our RYA North East courses
Foiling might still seem a magical and unbelievable concept, but the reality is that this once niche idea is here to stay and spreading with great enthusiasm and excitement.
We now have some great new RYA SAILFoil Courses designed to help dinghy and windsurf instructors discover and explore this rapidly developing aspect of the sport.
First Flight taster days enable you to progress from first foiling take-off, to sustaining flights and entering the world of foiling transitions; costing £50 and running 9am- 6pm, the equipment is provided so all you need to bring is lunch and your normal on-the-water personal sailing kit.
There are four Dinghy Foiling First Flight days to choose from at Filey Sailing Club on 15 June, 16 June, 13 July and 14 July, and two Windsurf Foiling First Flight days at the club on 13 July and 14 July. These will be followed up with a weekend at the club leading to a Sustained Flight certificate, 21-22 September, with the chance for those who are interested to become a foiling instructor.
These are among a range of courses run regularly in the region to develop instructors. Also coming up is a Start Windsurf Instructor Course at Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club over five days, 25-29 May, coinciding with half term for any young people who might be interested in developing their skills.
There is also a four-day RYA Dinghy Senior Instructor Course at Tees & Hartlepool YC over the weekends of 21-22 and 28-29 September, and an RYA Advanced Powerboat Instructor Course at Royal Quays Marina, Albert Edward Dock, North Shields, 15-16 November.
Details for the foiling and all other RYA North East instructor training courses can be found here.
And finally....
A massive thank you to all the clubs holding Push the Boat Out open days across the region. We have nearly 30 clubs inviting people to #TrySailing during May and as usual it's proving a great campaign for encouraging new memberships and sign-ups for training courses.
Remember to share your news with us, and keep up to date with all the latest opportunities, by liking, tagging and following us @RYANorthEast on Facebook and Twitter.
Happy sailing!
Sam.