Jonathan spent three days on the Isle of Man, continuing the coaching programme he had begun on his last visit to the Island in November.   He was impressed that the team had continued to train through the winter and that they had been practising the techniques which he introduced on his last visit.  Boatspeed was the focus of this coaching session and the sailors worked hard to improve their upwind and downwind performance and boat handling.

Squad members Hannah Howitt, Izzy Sharpe and James Kelly have recently progressed into the RS Tera ‘Pro’ class.  The ‘Pro’ class uses the same RS Tera hull but has a taller rig and larger sail area which is more suited to the bodyweight of older squad members.  All three have demonstrated their skill and enjoyed some excellent sailing since moving into the ‘Pro’ class.

Younger squad members Amie Shute, Ffinlo Wright and Greg Kelly will compete this season using the RS Tera ‘Sport’ rig.  Amie has been with the Squad for two years and is a consistent sailor who puts a lot of thought into her racing.  The youngest member Ffinlo was new to the Squad in 2009, his sailing has improved enormously during the training sessions with Jonathan.  Greg Kelly has an excellent track record finishing 3rd in the 2008 RS Tera Inland Championship, 3rd the under 12s at the RS Tera European Championship and 10th at the RS Tera National Championship in 2009, he is the quickest Tera Sport sailor in the MYSS and there are high hopes for a good result at the World Championships.

All six members of the MYSS will attend a GBR Squad training weekend at Draycote Water next month to prepare for the World Championships.  The MYSS were the grateful recipients of a grant from Manx Telecom’s ‘It’s Our Community Awards’ to help meet their costs of attending this vital training weekend.

2010 will see more MYSS places become available for sailors aged 13 and under who are keen to develop their racing skills.  The Isle of Man Yacht Club will host an RS Tera Open Meeting on 24th & 25th April, this event will also be used to identify any potential new squad members.  Anyone who wishes to be considered for the 2010 MYSS should contact Jenni at 7th Wave RYA Training Centre.

This looks too be an excellent event and a great way to work off that Xmas turkey, so why not give it a go. There will two races scheduled but Temperature dependent this may be turned into one!

After the event there will be mince pies, mulled wine, soup, and maybe some other hot treats, so why not dig the boat out of the shed!!

Information thanks to Phil Hardisty

Frostbite Regatta Sailing Instructions

Name - Andrew ‘Smiler’ Williams
Age - 47
Club - Isle of Man Yacht Club
Current Boat - RS400, Laser 2000, Mirror

What was your earliest sailing memory and how did you get started in sailing?
Early memories of sailing every day of the summer holidays either borrowing school boats of in friends boats. In fact it was through Castle Rushen High School that I got into sailing –in the old days we weren’t allowed in the school during lunch times unless a member of a lunchtime club, so I joined the sailing club to keep dry!

Most memorable sailing moment?
I beat Ben Ainslie to the first mark a couple of times although I doubt he remembers it! There have been a couple of times when I have had a really good first beat and that is pretty memorable. I also recall sailing overnight to Ireland with the sea glassy calm but with enough wind to make 6 knots, that was a memorable trip.

Most disappointing racing moment?
Probably not finishing the Fastnet race in 1989 although I also remember being at a Fireball championship and sailing so badly on a misty day that when the winning boats were emerging from the mist I felt compelled to sail further away from them and into the mist to hide, not wanting to be recognised. Capsizing during a gybe whilst in 5th place at a very windy RS 400 nationals race at Mounts Bay was also a gutting moment

Favorite on board race day snack?
Soreen malt loaf (but it must be kept dry) Jaffa cakes make a decent alternative.

What’s your number one essential item you need with you on the water?
A crew (Tom) who is so fit and healthy he compensates for having a chubby, semi senile driver at the back of the boat! I also need a black mainsheet!

Oldest piece of sailing kit?
In my garage there is a Henri Lloyd jacket I got 2nd hand in 1982, although most of my kit is at least 10 years old.

Newest piece of sailing kit?
My #1 son Owen who made his competitive debut crewing in the Laser 2000 at the Laxey Regatta this year. I did get a thermal rash vest which is very effective at keeping me warm.

What boats have you sailed over the time and which would you say is your favorite?
There have been all sorts of dinghies I have been involved with –Firefly, National 18’s, Laser (there have been about 10) Fireball, 505 (5), Enterprise (for the pond), Contender, B14, RS400, and these days a child friendly Laser 2000 and a mirror! The RS 400 is hard to beat but a good 505 is also a pleasure to sail.

What would you say is your best or hardest fought for result?
I think all results are hard fought, I remember years ago trying hard in a laser and getting a 3rd place which was my first taste of local achievement, and served as inspiration to improve.

Do you prefer sailing Dinghies or Cruisers?
With the time constraints of today definitely dinghies but there is a lot of satisfaction from getting a big crew to work together on a cruiser.

What would be your dream boat to have a sail of?
Skiff 18 or similar

What are your future sailing plans, any new boats or challenges on the horizon?
It would be nice to do another National Championship at some time.

Manx sailors impressed RS coaches at the RS Tera National Championship in September when the Manx Youth Sailing Squad brought home the National Team Champions Trophy.  Based on their performances at the Nationals the 2010 GBR RS Tera Squad will include Manx sailors Amie Shute (age 12), Izzy Sharpe (13), Hannah Howitt (14), James Kelly (13) and Greg Kelly (11).

The squad were due to attend training in the UK throughout the winter although owing to the logistical difficulties of travelling from the Island it was suggested that coach Jonathan Lewis came to Island to provide two intensive training sessions this winter.  Squad members will travel to Draycote in March to attend a UK training session for the full GBR RS Tera Squad.

The Isle of Man Yacht Club was the venue for this training session and the Manx weather provided plenty of wind throughout the weekend.  Despite the conditions the team were out on the water on both days.  Every member of the Squad sailed superbly all weekend and demonstrated their ability in the strong winds and big waves.  Jonathan spent most of the weekend working with the sailors to improve their technique, particularly downwind work, sailing in waves, boat setup and race tuning.

Jonathan Lewis made an excellent impression on the young sailors and each member of the team responded to him well.  He even suggested in his final debrief of the weekend that “we could have a potential world champion here”.

The Manx Youth Sailing Squad was formed in 2008.  The team has consistently produced good results at a national level. Training is given by local coaches Phil Hardisty, Don Edwards, Rob Cowell and Jenni Quillin.  Boats and training facilities are provided by 7th Wave RYA Training Centre in Port Erin.  The Manx Youth Sailing Squad is now actively seeking funding to support the team with their GBR Squad Training and RS Tera World Championship campaigns.

Report thanks to Jenni Quillin

The Topper Challenge was held in very windy conditions on the Mooragh Park last Sunday.  Five teams competed with entries from the Venture Centre, 7th Wave, Manx Sailing & Cruising Club, Isle of Man Yacht Club and King William’s College.  Each team consisted of three members all aged 16 and under, boats and safety boats were provided by the Venture Centre.

For the last three years this event has been sailed in light winds, but this year, as Jon Quillin (7th Wave) commented “we seem to have had four years worth of wind in one competition!”  It certainly made for an interesting day particularly for the spectators as competitors bravely battled around the course trying to avoid capsizing in the big gusts.  Given the conditions the race organisers insisted that each boat  set off with at least two reefs in the sail, although four reefs seemed to be the favourite option.

A total of ten races were sailed which allowed each team to race every other team once.  The finishing position of each competitor was recorded and each team’s points were combined.  The team with the lowest cumlative  points in a race was the winner of that race.  The overall winners were the team winning the most races.

There was some excellent sailing during the day, with notable individual performances from Harriet Quayle age 14 (IOMYC), Izzy Sharpe age 13 (KWC), plus Sarah Mercer age 14 (IOMYC) and Ffinlo Wright age 10 (KWC) both of whom struggled in the windy conditions but continued racing with determination.

The team performances showed a big change from previous years.  It was the Venture Centre and the MS&CC who were looking favourites for the competition in the early stages.  Race 3 between the Venture Centre and MS&CC was the first race in which all the competitors managed to finish, clearly the northerners were more practised in the huge gusts hitting Mooragh Lake.  There was some superbly close racing and a couple of finishes where there were only millimetres seperating the boats.

The final race of the day between 7th Wave and the Venture Centre was to be the deciding race.  MS&CC had completed all their races with three wins and one loss which meant that if the Venture Centre beat 7th Wave the MS&CC would be the winners of the Topper Challenge Trophy for the first time since the competition began in 1994.  7th Wave were also counting three wins at the start of the final race.  James Kelly age 13 (7th Wave) and Alex Sharpe age 16 (7th Wave) sailed a good race with both of them rounding the windward mark in 1st and 2nd and keeping those places to the finish and giving 7th Wave the win for the race and for the overall competition.

Nigel Hendy presented the trophy to 7th Wave’s team Alex Sharpe, James Kelly and Greg Kelly for the third year running.

Results:
1st: 7th Wave (Alex Sharpe, James Kelly, Greg Kelly)
2nd: MS&CC (Juan Hendy, Theo Leech, Conor Christian)
3rd: Venture Centre (Amie Shute, Matt Reed, Jack Shields)
4th: IOMYC (Harriet Quayle, Sarah Mercer, Jacques Lakeman)
5th: King William’s College (Izzy Sharpe, Kunal Patel, Ffinlo Wright)

Report thanks to Jenni Quillin

Check out the notice of race thanks to Jenni Quillin below and take a look at previous coverage of the event in the MSR Archives from 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Topper Challenge 2009 NOR

For a start the wind was on the “nose” (a head wind) all the way down the Irish Sea and then Celtic Sea to Land’s End. This meant that we were tacking from Ireland to Wales and back to enable us to sail to windward. The southerly winds blowing a constant Force 6 (known by some as a sailor’s gale) and occasionly gusting to Force 7 which made it a lumpy trip which resulted in a considerable amount of mal de mer and a painfully slow pace which was beginning put us behind schedule for the Race start.

During this period of heavy upwind work we were carrying out our boat checks and making log entries on an hourly basis which is good practice. I found some water had found its way into the berths in the aft section of the boat. Upon closer inspection I found there was  “considerable” amount of water in the water tight bulkhead containing the rudder stock. From the training days we had done during the summer we had practiced this scenario at length but never thought we would have to do this for real! If we didn’t deal with this satisfactorily we were quite literally sunk!!
Everyone on watch worked valiantly in a calm and quiet way to instal the flood pump inside this bulkhead so that the water could be pumped out and we could investigate the situation. Once the water was out we could see the problem, the rudder seal had failed and now the water was coming in like a constant running tap.

We were confident that as long as the leak didn’t get any worse the flood pump would deal with the flow and as long as the water level inside the boat is lower than the water level outside then we were going to carry on floating!

Our thoughts now turned to the future. We could not start the Fastnet Race with a leak this big. We were going to be at least 80 miles from land and if things turned for the worse we would be in real trouble.
The nearest port with lift out facilities was Plymouth, the wind had now decreased quite significantly as we rounded Land’s End and we were using the engine to maintain a good speed. We had enough fuel to get us to Plymouth but the lift out costs were horrendous as we would be lifting out at around midnight. We decided that the best solution would be to get the boat to Cowes to carry out the repairs there. There was one problem in our way though, we only had enough fuel to get us to Dartmouth if we were lucky. Again we had a problem that we could not get fuel on our arrival as it would be 1am. After rigourous phoning around I found that all of the fuel barges in Dartmouth would all be closed. What could we do? If the wind didn’t materialise we would not be able to sail to Cowes in time and would miss the race.
Our only lady crew member and joint partner in Yacht Action, Sally Caley was still at work that week as she was due to join us in Cowes at the end of the week. Sally was born and grew up in Devon so I almost jokingly asked her by phone if she knew anyone living in Devon that could get 120 litres of diesel in jerry cans to Dartmouth before midnight that night (it was already 16-30hrs!). Well, never under estimate the power of a lady who’s mind is set on doing the Fastnet. Sally and her colleague Mark Bentley who work for Bibby Ship Management thought that they might know a man who can! We carried on motoring as fast as we dare to get to Dartmouth not knowing whether we would have any fuel when we got there.
We arrived in Dartmouth around 1am and came in to moor on the Town Quay to find one Adan Santander who had earlier that evening, bought five jerry cans and filled them with 120 litres of diesel and bought them to us. We were delighted, we may just get to the start line yet! It must have looked very strange to any passers by that night to see a yacht sail into Dartmouth, tie up, see 5 total strangers step off the boat and be greeted by some one they had never met before who gave them five large cans of a clear liquid in exchange for bundle of cash and then both parties dissappear into the dead of night! Our sincere thanks go out to Adan, Sally and Mark for their unselfish acts that saved our day.

As we left the Town Quay we thought - we now have enough fuel to get to Cowes as long as we don’t sink!

When we came out of the Dartmouth estuary and into the open sea a fresh northerly breeze kicked in that took us all the way to the Solent and we didn’t need the engine at all. You just couldn’t plan that!!

We had an interesting time going up the Needles channel heading for the Solent, an Air Sea Rescue helicopter appeared and hovered close behind us showing a large board with the numbers 67 on. We knew that was a signal to us to turn our radio onto channel 67 as they wanted to contact us. The pilot spoke to me and asked if we would mind him using our boat as a practice casualty for a high line lift. I readily agreed knowing it would be a great learning experience for us all. We followed his instructions and the bag of sand on the end of a line (the high line) was lowered down to us. I pulled it in and we were mindful not to tangle it or fasten it to anything as instructed and then the wire man left the chopper and was gradually lowered down to us as we pulled in the high line to guide the man into the cockpit of Cheetah. We shook hands as if Stanley had just met Livingstone and had a general chat about the weather, what we were both up to and then he thanked us all and off he went back up into his helicopter and flew away.
With the build up to the Fastnet apparently the rescue crews train as much as possible in landing on yachts just in case they are needed for real. We thought about our training for flooding and wandered if we tempted providence once again!

We sailed into Cowes and arranged a boat lift. It was Friday afternoon and the Race started for us at 12-40pm Sunday. What would we find wrong with rudder? Could we fix it in time?

At the famous Medina yard we pulled Cheetah into the boat lift by hand and the slings were positioned in the right place and the boat lifted out. Two of us (Nigel Revill and myself) set about disconnecting the steering gear so that the rudder could be lowered from the boat whilst the rest of the crew set about emptying all of the additional water we had collected on the way down and then cleaned the boat from top to bottom.
After around an hour’s work for two people in an area the size of a small holdall we lowered the rudder out to find that the components that make up the seal had come apart. We checked and greased the bearings and reassembled everything. This took a further hour’s work and then we were all done. As the tide had, by now gone out we would not be lifted back in till the morning so it meant that the now crew of 10 would be spending the night on a boat swinging from a crane!

That evening we all had a well earned libation or two in a very busy Cowes as it was the final night of Cowes week.
Some of us went to watch the famous firework display whilst the rest of us just soaked up the atmosphere and build up to the Fastnet start.

The following morning we were craned back in and found to our delight that all was well on the rudder seal front so we motored up the river and into Cowes Yachthaven for our final night of relative luxury - a steady boat, a shower in the morning and a pub close by!

In the afternoon, James Walker and myself went to the Skipper’s briefing to learn about any changes to the regulations, the route and marks we would round and of course the all important weather briefing. When we walked in it was like a who’s who of sailing, we were sitting behind Marc Guillemot and Sam Davies of Vendee Globe fame, we also saw Olympian Shirley Robertson and on the way out we nearly walked into Torben Grael (winner of the last Volvo Ocean Race) as he was giving a press interview.

We awoke on race day to see the marina bustling with activity. Some boats were being rigged with new sails. We sent Chris Hill up the rig to check that all the stays and anchor points were all in good condition. After Chris came down he said he was going for a last shower only to return minutes later saying that there was a massive queue. Unperturbed by this I asked him to strip down to his shorts and we blasted him with a cold hose pipe and gave him some shampoo. Hard nuts these Fastnet crew!!

We left the berth early with all of our storm sails rigged and our identification dodger installed on the port quarter. These were requirements of the regulations and then  we sailed through the “identification gate” in the Solent with everyone on deck in lifejackets so that the boat checking us knew how many crew we were. He gave us the OK. This was the final requirement of qualification, after 8 months of planning and training we were finally there.

We sailed away from the gate and onto the start area whilst the crew quickly stowed all of the storm sails and rigged the boat for racing. It was going to be a specacular start as the wind would be behind us and therefore spinnakers would be the order of the day. With the outgoing tide pushing us over the line and the wind behind us we had to be very careful to not be over the line before the gun as the penalty for being over was very severe. The IMOCA 60 fleet went of first with there huge rigs carrying a massive sail area, they gybed there way down the Solent with a gaggle of press boats chasing them trying to get the best shots.
IRC 3 went off next, all setting there spinnakers after the start gun, a very wise move in the conditions. We were up next in IRC 2 it must have looked like organised chaos as everyone was ducking and weaving through the fleet trying to get the best position on the line with clear air behind them. There were few choice words from some boats as the tensions rose before the big gun. Bang and we were off,  we saw the smoke before the noise as we were out in the middle of the Solent and the cannon was in the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes nearly a mile away. Thanks to some nifty crew work we were about third over the line after the gun and up went our kite. We were finally racing after all of the hard work. We made our way down the Solent in a slowly dropping breeze constantly watching both sides of the Solent for any making breeze as we stayed in the middle to gain from maximum tidal push. We came up to Hurst Castle (the narrowest section of the Solent) going well but fighting for any wind we could find. At one point we were leaving the Solent sideways at 2 knots!!
As a result of the dying breeze which was accurately forecast we decided to cross Shingles Bank and take the coastal route up the channel to gain from any land breeze that should kick in as evening approached. We crossed Poole Bay and onto St Alban’s Head when the wind died completely and the tide turned leaving us drifting back to Cowes! Out came the anchor and over the bow it went, it was going to be a long night. We took the opportunity to celebrate Chris Hill’s 18th birthday with a nice bottle of bubbly and dropped into our 4 hour watch system. After around 7 hours there was enough wind to get us going and we began to haul in the anchor as we started to sail in the right direction all be it with a head wind. We got the anchor out of the ground with ease but it would not come in. We hauled and hauled but to no avail. We turned to winching in the anchor warp until we could see the end of the chain. At this point I lifted the sole boards down below and listened with a steel tube (much like a stethoscope) to one of the keel bolts while the anchor was winched in. You could here the chain knocking each link over the keel. It was not good news, the anchor had wound itself around the keel in the turning tide. Not only we were hardly moving in very little wind but we were actually dragging the anchor through the water like a huge handbrake!

It seemed like an age before we were moving fast enough to dislodge the anchor and chain from the keel and haul it back on board. Dawn was breaking as we passed Portland Bill, the gentle wind unfortunately on the nose again. The breeze picked up a little later bringing with it rain. This was fast becoming a long race. As we crossed Lyme Bay and on towards Start Point (South Devon) we slowly began to see more yachts as they converged first on Start Point and then The Lizard (South Cornwall).
Each time we saw a yacht on the horizon in front of us it was the incentive we needed to catch and pass it and then on to the next one.

It was midday on day 3 when we left Land’s End behind us and headed off into deep water and the start of the Atlantic swell with its large rolling waves. We were still in light airs and as usual blowing in the wrong direction. Daytime rolled on into night and we had our first experiences of sailing at night with absolutely no ambient light from the shore to help us. There was no moon due to mist and therefore the jet black horizon met the jet black sea with no change whatsoever, we were sailing into complete blackness which was very disorientating. With nothing to look at it soon became clear that this type of sailing wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. It required massive concentration on the boat’s instruments to keep the boat going in the right direction and at maximum speed. On the other watch they changed the helmsman every 40 minutes during their 4hour watch. I relished the sight of the  faint light of another yacht ahead of us so that I could focus on it and slowly catch it up. On one occasion just before a watch change I must have passed out with exhaustion because I came around with all of the crew shouting at me and the boat going in the wrong direction. I slept well on my next off watch!

The following day saw us sailing again in a thick wet sea mist. We were still sailing upwind. It was starting to become a little dreary on board, everyone was slowly suffering from exhaustion and lack of sleep. It was with some relief that during that day we got visited by a pod of Common Dolphins, they always seem to appear when you are at a low and they leave you in high spirits. We estimated the pod to be around 20 strong with mothers and their young together diving and playing  in the bow wave. Apparently, from talking to local whale and dolphin watch expert John Galpin Common Dolphins are becoming a rarity in these waters with no confirmed sitings by John this year. So we considered ourselves honoured to be in their presence.

Day rolled into night as we neared the famous Fastnet Rock, the mist still making it difficult to helm and as we got nearer we were coming across more and more yachts as they all converged on the main turning point of the race. It was becoming a little interesting as big boats would appear out of the mist only 50 yards away doing around 8 knots coming straight for us. Luckily everyone is alert to this and we have eyes looking out in all directions.

We can actually hear the fog signal off the Rock now but we still can’t see it as night begins to fall. We are now fighting the tide and the wind to get to the Rock, it doesn’t want us to get there fast as we’re constantly tacking to both miss other boats and achieve our goal. At last, with yet another tack the mist lifts enough to give us a glimpse of what we had just sailed upwind for 460 nautical miles to see.
The lighthouse stands invincible shining its bi polar light out across the sea lighting up all the yachts that are around. It appears as though it is built into the Rock and has been there forever. As we are drawn closer the mist is now very patchy and is reflected in the powerful swirling light. In a surreal thought it appears as though everyone has come in yachts to pay homage to this superior being. It is 10-30pm on Day 3 as we pass the Rock to port, the light almost hypnotising us with its power and intensity. The swirling mist disorientating us into thinking that we cannot get away. In reality it is the tide swirling around the Rock that is carrying us sideways and back in towards it. We change helms and try again, this time with some difficulty we finally break free of her grip and set off towards the next mark before turning south and towards the finish at last. The mist has now cleared and there is a long procession of lights both to the Rock and running away from it. We set a spinnaker as we leave the turning mark, the sky is now clear and with the wind behind us at last we hoist a spinnaker. It became a lovely night with a clear sky and shooting stars keeping our spirits up in the middle of the night.

Our gentle downwind sailing was soon to come to an end as the wind went from northwest to east and then clocked round to south and all in just one hour. It was spinnaker down and back on the wind again! It now appeared as though everyone was going “downhill” towards the Scilly Isles, it is very strange how your perception changes with lack of sleep!

The procession continues towards Bishop Rock, off the south western tip of the Scillies. With the fall of darkenss the wind is slowly coming around behind us and we decide to hoist the spinnaker. It is a little close to the wind but Cheetah takes off leaving everyone in her wake as the other boats close by watch as we pull away. It is an interesting ride for the helmsman as the boat constantly wants to go her own way and unfortunately its not the way we want to go! We can’t trim the sails because we can’t see them, its very difficult to steer as we can’t see the horizon. The only way to helm as we’ve come to learn is to use all of the senses and helm by the feel of the boat. Soon Bishop Rock light comes into view and makes life a little easier. At least we can focus on something far away to help with the navigation. The other thing it did show us was that we were being carried towards it in the tide. We changed course to accommodate this with thoughts of how difficult it must have been to get to England from this direction in the days of square riggers, no wonder there are so many wrecks marked on the charts in this area.

Dawn on Day 6 sees us leave Bishop Rock on our port side. Spirits are high because we realise we may actually finish this race today. The spinnaker went up at 3am this morning and its still up! Maybe things are looking up for us, we gradually clock up the miles heading towards the Lizard, the wind strengthening behind us, carrying us along with the constant burble of water leaving the stern like a babbling brook.

We pass the Lizard and are now in the home straight, the sun is out and the wind warm. The crew slowly change from hardended seamen in their foul weather gear, to cleaner, sweeter smelling people in shorts and polo shirts with thoughts of good food, a steady table and a libation or two!

As the finish line approached we still had a very serious matter to discuss.
At the race day breakfast before we left the start line we all had to arrive there resplendent in our Cheetah crew shirts. Unfortunately one crew member - Chris Hill, having had a busy night the night before had forgotten to dress accordingly for the occasion. This was considered by the crew to be a very serious matter worthy of a “fine”. During the whole of the race it came up in discussion from time to time and finally we had come to a satisfactory conclusion.

The crew member in question was due to “trip” the kite at the finishing line. This involved donning a climbing harness and climbing out along the spinnaker pole to “trip” the kite. This would mean he would be around 20 feet up the air with nothing below him but Plymouth Sound. All of this would be in front of a photographer so we thought it reasonable for him to settle his fine at this point. The “fine” would be for him to do this task in nothing but a Cheetah print thong and a Pink helmet!!

Well, it was now quite cool so he didn’t “hang” around for long and we did get a few good photos aswell! We crossed the finish line to rapturous applauds, both on our boat and from elsewhere.

We had completed the race in 5 days, 5 hours and 31 minutes. It should have been a 608 mile race but we sailed 728 miles due to the weather. We finished 20th in class.

So you may well ask what did we eat or drink during the race?

50 Boil in the bag expedition meals, 74 litres of bottled water, 100 Snickers bars, 75 Mars bars, 50 Twix bars, 125 bags crisps, 12 packets of ginger nuts, 3 malt loaves, 30 pot noodles, 50 High energy cereal bars, 3 jars of coffee and 8 bags of sweets.

It was really good to eat out in Plymouth!

The squad consists of the Island’s top six sailors aged 14 and under, selected during trials at the beginning of this sailing season.  The team trained throughout the summer at 7th Wave in Port Erin with coaches Phil Hardisty, Don Edwards, Rob Cowell and Jenni Quillin.

34 boats from around the British Isles entered the Championship which consisted of six very close races over two days.  Saturday’s racing was held in light winds and very strong tides in the estuary.  Tides would prove to be a decisive factor in the Championship and the Squad were assisted in their strategies by the coaches who travelled with them.

James Kelly (age 12) and Izzy Sharpe (age 13) really showed what the Manx could do, finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively in Race 1.  The Manx Youth Sailing Squad scored four top ten results in Race 2, with Greg Kelly (age 11) finishing 6th, James Kelly 7th, Hannah Howitt (age 14) 8th and Izzy Sharpe 10th.  The best Manx result in Race 3 came from Hannah Howitt in 14th place, but unfortunately James, Greg and Ffinlo Wright were caught out by the tide and were pushed over the start line, causing their disqualification from the race.  Competitors would be able to discard their worst score once four races had been completed, which for James, Greg and Ffinlo would be this result, however they could make no mistakes in Sunday’s races.

Racing started at 10am on Sunday morning with the wind now up to a steady force 3, which was forecast to increase throughout the day.  Greg finished Race 4 in 7th, Hannah 12th and James 14th.

The Manx Youth Sailing Squad members had a impressive start to Race 5 with four of them being in the first five across the line.  Coach Phil Hardisty descibed it as “a brilliant start by Izzy, James, Greg and Hannah”.  Greg took full advantage of this good start and defended his position around the course to finish in 3rd place.  Amie Shute (age 12) who had struggled with the light airs and strong tide on Saturday found her form in this race, getting into the top ten and finishing in a credible 9th place.

The Kelly brothers again made their mark in the final race of the series with James finishing in 3rd place and Greg 5th.  The breeze seemed to suit Amie who put in another consistent race and again finished 9th.  Ffinlo Wright (age 9), the squad’s youngest and newest member, was competing in a large fleet for the first time.  He showed that the experience had been of real benefit to him.  He had scored consistent results toward to lower end of the fleet during the series but in this last race all he had learned over the weekend came together and he scored an admirable 17th place, taking him from the bottom to the middle of the fleet.

The cumulation of James, Greg and Izzy’s overall scores ensured that the Manx Youth Sailing Squad took home the trophy for the RS Tera National Team Championships.  In the individual competition James Kelly finished 7th overall, Greg 8th, Izzy 12th, Hannah 16th, Amie 19th and Ffinlo 30th.

Manx Youth Sailing Squad Coach Donald Edwards was delighted with the Squad’s performance:  “This is only the second time the squad has competed off-island, and to bring home a trophy is a fantastic result for the whole team.  They have all done themselves proud and we hope this will be the start of further success for each of these young sailors.”

Throughout the weekend the RS Tera GBR coaches had been on the water assessing all the competitors in order to select the 2010 GBR RS Tera Squad.  The coaches were very impressed with the overall performance and high sailing standard of the Manx Youth Squad Members and at the end of the weekend Izzy Sharpe, James Kelly and Greg Kelly were invited to join the GBR RS Tera Squad.  Izzy, James and Greg will attend four training weekends in the UK during the winter and will hopefully progress to represent Great Britain at the RS Tera World Championships in the future.

Conditions were tough and tested competitors’ stamina and boat preparation.

Two races were completed on Saturday afternoon with only 7 finishers in each.

Race Officers Pete Hinds and Chris Williams-Jones had to delay the start while the first wave of broken entries was towed ashore by the very busy and well-handled safety-boats.

The WSW strong breeze made it very hard work for even the most experienced sailors over the windward/leeward courses. The racing was close despite the difficulties, the top four places occupied by reigning champions, Russell and June Collister and three previous winning helms, Mick Kneale, Smiler Williams and Andrew Dean.

Sunday morning and the wind had eased a little but gone round to the SSW raising a fair old chop - the Race Officers had a very roly-poly session anchored in the Yellow Peril. Four races were completed in rapid succession, the safety-boats again dealing with many incidents early on in the testing conditions.

The racing was exciting stuff with all boats absolutely flying down the waves (as long they remained upright and didn’t break anything). A special mention here for Izzy Sharpe (under-13) who, sailing a tiny RS Tera, stuck out the whole Sunday session - the seas must have been frightening in this little boat. Well done Izzy.

By the narrowest of margins, the championship title was won by Smiler Williams and Tom Cringle (RS400). Last time Smiler won this was in 1992, then sailing a 505. Runners-up were Russell and June Collister (RS200) who have held the title for the last seven years. Third place went to the National 18 sailed by Mick Kneale, Phil Hardisty and Donald Edwards. Fourth was Andrew Dean and John Cowell (RS200). Last time Deano won this was in 1989 sailing a Fireball.

Best placed Laser (Radial) was Ben Swindlehurst and best under-18 was Ali Hinds also sailing a Radial. Ben and Ali were in the 2009 Island Games sailing team, of course. Best under-13 Izzy Sharpe.

The club ladies provided very welcome hot soup and rolls on Saturday and an excellent buffet at the presentation Sunday afternoon. Many thanks to IOMYC for efficiently hosting yet another successful event.

Overall results (top eight):

1^st Smiler and Tom (RS400) 7pts, 2^nd Russell and June (RS200) 9 pts, 3^rd Mick, Phil and Donald (Nat.18) 11 pts, 4^th Andrew and John (RS200) 20 pts, 5^th Ben (Radial) 24 pts, 6^th Ali (Radial) 32 pts, 7^th Pete Barlow and crew (Nat.18) 47 pts, 8^th Joe and Kate Stockman (Laser 3000) 47 pts.

Report thanks to Mick Kneale

Photos by Dave Kneale are available in the MSR Gallery

The weekend weather made it too rough for the usual laid courses and committee boat starts, so a single coastal race around the club “fixed” marks was held each day. The SW breeze was fresh to strong, especially Sunday morning and reefed rigs were the norm.

The fleet was separated in to two classes - 5 faster boats and 3 slower (white-sail) boats were given slightly different courses allowing for less windward/leeward work in Class 2. This also meant that race times were about the two-hour mark for all boats, making sure competitors could get to the BBQ on time Saturday and congregate in the club bar Sunday lunchtime for the presentation. Many thanks to Commodore David Hill and all the other club members who put together the catering - much appreciated.

The sailing was a bit of procession though fast and occasionally in rough water, especially around the Scarlett Point and Kallow Point marks, where the tide always has something to say about matters. Nobody has yet figured out the best way to beat around the Carrick against the tide either.

Jason Corlett’s First 31.7 “Eauvation” dominated Class 1, winning both races by a handsome margin on handicap - didn’t even use the kite on the Sunday reaches - says he wouldn’t have gone any quicker anyway. The finishing order was the same both races and therefore overall. The Bolero “Tango”, sailed by Andy Dunn and crew were second, Pete Ashurst put his Ruffian 23 “Rapscallion” into third, the Dehler 36 “Shellan” helmed by Richard Baker came fourth and fifth place went to Mike Stanton’s Sigma 33 “Sorcery”.

In Class 2, only John Dowling sailed in both races, so won the trophy in his boat “Popard” - a Westerly Cirrus. Mike Sidebotham sailed the Jouet 760 “Foillan” on Saturday and sail-maker Mike Pollard, turned out in his “new” Westerly Fulmar on Sunday and surprised many of the fin-keelers on the short beat to Kallow Point from the start-line.

The IOMYC sincerely appreciates the attendance of the Douglas yachts, without which, the event would probably have been abandoned. This would have been a pity, because the sailing was good and the club is always happy to entertain visitors.

Report by Mick Kneale

Photo’s by Dave Kneale are available in the MSR Gallery