Susie's Scoop August 2019
Clubs around the south are in full swing with junior weeks and lots of sailing events taking place. Around the world sailors from our own southregion are winning national and world championships. International events like the grandstandspectacle of SailGP have been coming here too.
Atthe same time we need to be looking forward and planning for our developmentperiod for the 2020 season.
You’ll findplenty of pointers in our stories below.
Young sailors star inSailGP Cowes warm-up
Eighteenlucky youngsters from the south coast were part of one of the world’s mostexciting sailing events last week 08 and 09 August when they took part in exhibition racing prior to the main SailGP event at Cowes on 11 August.
Theyoung sailors, aged between 13 and 15 and from nine sailing clubs across thesouth, were chosen to take part in a series of races ahead of the main SailGPaction – six cutting-edge 50ft multihulls ‘flying’ round a course on hydrofoilsat speeds of up to 50 knots (57 mph).Despite the strong winds, theyraced identical 14ft RS Cat multihulls in front of the crowds and media as awarm-up to the main event, which took place in the Solent on the Saturday and Sunday and featured some of the world’sbest sailors.
Theyoungsters got to meet members of SailGP GBR, the British entry led by Olympicbronze medallist Chris Draper and helmed by the British Sailing Team’s DylanFletcher.
The sailors all come fromclubs in the RYA’s South region which have been awarded Recognised Club statusby British Youth Sailing in recognition of their dedication to developingjunior and youth sailors’ racing skills.
Each club put forward sailors they felt best displayed British YouthSailing’s values and behaviours: respect and integrity, ownership, courage anddetermination, curiosity and passionate ambition.Thosewho took part were Abby Hire and Tom Wharmby (Royal Lymington Yacht Club),Grace King and Kristian Shafer (Brading Haven Yacht Club), Emily Fox and OliverEdwards (Sea View Yacht Club), Georgie Cosens and Charlie South (Emsworth YachtClub), Honor and Fred Langhorne (Bosham Yacht Club), Caitlin Williams and CamMitchell (Hayling Island Sailing Club), Joy Odey and Richie Thurlby (Hill HeadSailing Club), Lizzie McCormack and Archie Wright (Warsash Sailing Club) andIlly Burns and Thomas Leather (Gurnard Sailing Club).
SailGP a great and educational day out for OnBoard Youngsters too
32 children who werenominated to come along from OnBoard clubs in the local Solent area were luckyenough to be given a tour around the SailGPtechnical area a few days before the racing started. I was lucky enough to be escorting them on theday. The tour was designed to give the youngsters an insight into the industryand skills behind putting together and maintaining these state of the art racingmachines.
They came there to be inspiredand to be able to open their eyes to the wide range of career possibilitiesthat can all contribute to a project of this kind. We talked to theshore team about their roles, how the run a boat of this kind and how the wholeprocess works.
The tour was given byTom Herbert-Evans the Youth Programme Manager for SailGP. The youngsters met some of the dive team as well as the SailGPGBR shore manager who spoke about how they prepare the boats for going out onthe water and how they prepare the foils. The wide-eyedOnBoarders were shown aspects of the engineering. They were able to watch the US boat beinglaunched and saw boats being hauled out of the water.
OnboardDevelopment Day – save the date
We’ve got our next OnBoardDevelopment Day coming up on 30th November 2019. Put the date in your diary and we’ll bringyou more information and the venue very soon.
The day will focus on supporting your clubs with planning and managingyour junior sections through the 2020 season. This will be a great opportunity for instructors and key volunteers aswell who are involved in the running of theOnBoard to deliver your programmes even more smoothly. Watch this space!
Achance for keen young club sailors to have a boat of their own
Just a reminder that entries are openfor the 2019 John Merricks Sailing Trust RYA competition. Atleast one young sailor will be selected from each of the RYA Regions andHome Countries, giving them two years of exclusive use of their own boatdonated to their club or centre, by the Trust. After that the boats will behanded over to the sailor’s original club so other young sailors can continueto benefit in the future and progress into club and regional racingactivities. Apply now!
The John Merricks Sailing Trust (JMST) seeks tohelp young sailors and youth sailing organisations to achieve their goals andwas set up in the memory of 1996 Olympic silver medalist John Merricks.As the official charity partner of OnBoard, theJMST will donate at least 80 single-handed junior pathway boats and boards(Optimist, Topper, Laser 4.7, RS Tera and Bic Techno 293OD) to promisingsailors over eight years.
The boats will be gifted to promisingyoungsters who display enthusiasm, drive, talent and commitment to the sportand who may not ordinarily have the opportunity or financial backing to achievetheir goals. More information.
Callingall junior sailors and windsurfers!
Weare now accepting entries for the OnBoard Fun Fleet at the 2019 JuniorChampionships. The event takes place atthe Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy on 28 and 29 September.
TheOnBoard Fun fleet is an ‘event within an event’ as part of the regionalend-of-season celebration of all junior sailing. Its aim is to give theyoungest or most inexperienced OnBoard sailors their first taste of travellingto an event, sailing at a different location and having fun whilst making newfriends and learning new skills.Although featuring some fun races it is not racing – instead prizes are awardedin line with the OnBoard character attributes, such as displaying teamwork,determination and communication.
The main event features three fleets, Championship Fleet, Coached Regatta Fleet and the OnBoard Fun Fleet. The event as a whole is a festival for all junior sailors who are learning to sail in club boats, through to squad sailors in Recognised Junior Classes. With the three different fleets there should be something for every level of junior of sailing.
At the same event the Regatta Fleet forcoached racing is for more experienced youngsters who can sail around atriangle course and want to start to improve their racing skills. It is abrilliant learning experience. Book now.
OnBoard Instructor Training
We will shortly be releasing our dates for the new instructortraining course aimed at volunteers who are helping out with the OnBoard kidsat their clubs.
The elements of thecourse will bring participants up to dinghy instructor level. Along the way you will get your PowerboatLevel II qualification, First Aid, ‘Safe and Fun’ module, Pre-assessment moduleand ultimately the dinghy instructor course. All these important qualifications are going to be bundled into onepackage giving you the ultimate instructor knowledge especially tailored foryoung club sailors.
The course is being developed in partnership with theAndrew Simpson Foundation. As soon as wehave the details finalised we will let you know and we can start getting youand other volunteers trained up. Give me a shout if youwant any information upfront. Watch thisspace for more information.
Win sails and get discounts as Topper and Helly Hansen get OnBoard
Topper and Helly Hansen have come OnBoard asOfficial Suppliers. There’s a chance to get some great discounts including 30% discount on spares and accessoriesand a 25% discount on boat orders, until at least the end of 2021.Applications for this year will open later thissummer. Watch this space for details on howto apply. If your OnBoard venue wishesto place an order contact RYA OnBoard Operations Officer, Hannah Cockle byemail.
In addition, all OnBoard clubs and centres now enjoy a 30%discount off Helly Hansen approved clothing for your volunteers, branded OnBoardfree of charge. The same offer is available to recognised Sailability venues soif you run both programmes, that's some big savings. All OnBoard andSailability contacts will be contacted directly with details of the offer. More information
OnBoard Festivals: threedown one to go!
ThreeOnBoard Festivals in the South have already taken place at Portsmouth,Southampton and Seaview in the Isle of Wight. Each Festival has attracted dozens of youngsters from clubs and organisationsaround the areas, to a day of fun and games, with competitions on and off thewater. The Festivals have been a greatsuccess.
Thefinal Festival will be held at Cobnor Activities Centre on 31stAugust in Chichester Harbour, so if you are an OnBoard Club near there it’stime to get your kids signed up.
The fun-filled on-the-water festivals are opento all children aged 8 upwards who are already being taught sailing through theRYA supported OnBoard programme. Sign up now.
InstructorTraining Day: save the date
28 March 2020 might seem a longway off but it’s not too soon to get it into your diary. Yes, it’s our annual Instructor Training Day andonce again it’s going to be abrilliant opportunity for personal and professional development with updatesfrom RYA Training and the Regional Development Officers, as well as expertcoaching sessions and various on-the-water and shore-side workshops.
Hundredsof instructors attended their local training day at the event earlier this year, engaging with topcoaches and networking with other instructors in their area. The day will help current small boat instructorsincluding dinghy, powerboat, windsurfing and keelboat.
Applications for Club of the Yearrecognition now open
Nominations for the RYA andYachts & Yachting Club of the Year 2020, supported by Gallagher, are nowopen. Recognising the outstandingachievement of sailing clubs across the UK, the RYA Awards Panel will onceagain select a finalist in the southern region, following in the footsteps ofthe success of Dell Quay Sailing Club in 2019, as well as two ‘wild card’entries.
Make sure your club is in with a chance of a nomination. For more information and to applyvisit our web page. During this shortlisting stage,the panel will provide selected clubs with recognitions for the categoriesInnovative and forward thinking, Inclusive and open to all, Fantasticfacilities, Boosting membership and Embracing modern communications. Allnational finalist clubs will then go through to a public vote with the overallwinner selected by RYA members, Yachts & Yachting readers and the Panel.The winner will be announced atthe RYA Dinghy Show in March. More information.
A big thank you for responding tothe RYA Membership Census
Thanks to the majority of thesouthern clubs, we have reached the 85% response rate that we needed by ourdeadline to make the census results count. We really needed to get tothis figure and beyond, so we have now achieved this.
However, if you are one of the clubs whichhasn’t replied please still complete the census now and get it back tous. The results of the ClubCensus will support you in your club as you move forward. Data also includes membership information plus useful factsand figures, the number of members, the number of people that have joined, thenumber of females, juniors, ethnic minorities, disabilities etc, and whetheryou are looking to increase, decrease or stay the same. We canalso see how much capacity you have or whether you have anylimitations.
If you still haven’t seen the Census or you're notsure if your club has completed it contact me and we’ll get it out to you again, making sure it’s going to the correct person.
Couldyou be the next Chair of South Regional Committee?
TheRYA South Region has the exciting opportunity for an inspirational andexperienced leader to undertake the role of Chair for its Regional Committee,when Richard Brown steps down at the South Region Committee AGM inOctober. This successful candidate willlead the region alongside the Regional Development Officer (RDO) to support anddeliver an agreed action plan which aligns to the RYA’s strategic objectiveswithin a local context, this being outlined currently in the RYA South RegionalPlan 2017 – 2021. The region is also entering a time of forward planning, whichthe chair will play a central role in the creation and facilitation of astakeholder engagement process leading to the production of the 2021 – 2025 RYASouth Regional Plan.
Read the full job description. If you would like to know a bit more beforeyou apply have a chat with me orthe current Chair Richard Brown.
Bart's Bash - the largest sailing race in theworld
Bart's Bash is the flagship annual event of theAndrew Simpson Foundation (ASF), inspired by Olympic Gold and Silver medallistAndrew ‘Bart’ Simpson.
Bart’s Bash is now the world’s largest massparticipation sailing event and is run by hundreds of local sailing clubs,centres and thousands of sailors in different classes of boat from all over theglobe. The Foundation has created the platform for sailing clubs, centres andgroups to enter the world’s largest sailing race and every sailor fromgrassroots to the greatest, takes part in a race at their local venue on thesame date.
This is a fantastic opportunity to encourage participation at your venue,introduce new people to our sport and give people the excitement of entering aglobal event.
Comeand see us for a chat at the Southampton Boat Show
I’llbe at the Southampton Boat Show this year along with Katie Tomsett, our SailingDevelopment Officer & OnBoard Officer here in the south. If you would like to have a catch up, pleasedon’t hesitate to contact me rdo.south@rya.org.ukand we can arrange a time and meet up. Don’tforget as an RYA member you can get in with your free Boat Show tickets!
Wewill also be arranging a club meet-up for commodores and managers to catch up –probably on the last Sunday of the Show in the Holiday Inn. It will be a great networking opportunity betweenclubs, and for chatting about the future of sailing and boating in the southand where the region is going. I’ll sendyou out a message to confirm this before the Show.
Keep in touch!
Don’t forget tofollow us on Twitter and Facebook, and keep sending us your stories ofachievements, new membership initiatives, and events through which you haveencouraged newcomers into sailing. Please don'thesitate to contact me, Susie Moore, I’m the Regional DevelopmentOfficer for the South. All other contactsin the region can be found here on the RYA south webpages.