Sail GP in Plymouth inspires 16 young sailors

The Great Britain Sail Grand Prix (Sail GP) took place in front of thousands of spectators in sun-drenched Plymouth on 17/18 July. The Australia SailGP Team may have been the winners of this adrenaline-fuelled event, but 16 young sailors from the south-west will never forget the part they played.

Running alongside the head-to-head spectacle of the super high-tech F50 boat racing, the SailGP Inspire programme supports sail racing, learning and careers for youngsters. Six Plymouth clubs each used the RYA OnBoard character attributes (independence, communication, creativity, teamwork, determination and confidence) to select two young people, a boy and girl, to participate in exhibition racing in RS Fevas on the main racecourse in Plymouth Sound, in-between the Grand Prix races. In preparation for this, the young sailors had a weekend of RS Feva training hosted by Saltash Sailing Club, in conjunction with Tamar River Sailing Club, on 10/11 July. The boats were supplied by local clubs and received an overhaul by RS including new ropes and toe straps for the occasion.

The six clubs involved were all paired with national SailGP teams. In addition, Horizons Children’s Sailing Charity and the Mount Batten Centre were represented by members of the British Youth Sailing Regional Training Group (RTG) for the south-west. They, along with the other young sailors, had the chance of a lifetime to link up with their paired teams, doing a ‘fly-by’ off the Hoe, waving the flags of the countries that their clubs had been paired with.

The lucky 16 also had an on-water view of the SailGP racing, a Q&A session with Nathan Outrage of the Japan team, a medal presentation on the event village stage, the opportunity to come alongside some of the F50s after racing to chat with the teams and a bag of SailGP clothing and accessories to take home.

Rob Howlett, RYA Regional Development Officer for the South West, was delighted with the event: “The young sailors were fantastic ambassadors for their clubs and the sport,” he said. “Although on the water they were racing, there are no published results as the aim was to inspire, learn and experience rather than rank. Some would never have dreamed of being able to speak to world-class sailors or get close to the most technically advanced boats in the world. Even more important is that these club sailors have seen how close in standard they are to the four young RTG representatives.”

Duncan West, RYA Regional Performance Manager for the South and South West, added: “This weekend has inspired the young sailors and given them confidence to take part in other events, and we hope that they’ll come to the Regional Junior Championships at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy in September. We will be following their progress with interest.”

The SailGP event took place in fantastic weather, with full foiling conditions on both days. Plymouth was a stunning venue, offering great views of proceedings – including sightings of a whale that turned up on the racecourse during the preparations, on both Thursday and Friday!