RYA Cymru Wales Squad Newsletter

Transcription

1 RYA Cymru Wales Squad Newsletter Spring/Summer2015 Winter has long gone, the evening are light and the sun is finally shinning. See the results from the different classes during the spring. Send in your reports and photos from the events you attend this summer for the Autumn edition, lets have your stories! OPTIMIST RESULTS THIS SPRING Flanders st Will Hall, 26th Tom Dawson, 39th Callum Davidson-Guild, 43rd Kai Woolgram Silver Fleet - 3rd Emily Hall 420 s Flanders 7th Hatty Morsley & Pippa Cropley Youth Nationals 2nd Sarah Norbury & Mari Davies, 5th Dan Atherton & Matt Viney, 10th Jemma Viney & Tilly Matthews Inlands 8th Sarah Norbury & Mari Davies, 13th Dan Atherton & Matt Viney, 22nd Jemma Viney & Tilly Matthews Summer RYA Youth Squad Welsh Sailors Sarah Norbury & Mari Davies, Dan Atherton & Matt Viney and Jemma Viney & Tilly Matthews 29ER Winters 7th Rowan Edwards & Dan Blight, 21stHuw Edwards & Josh Dawson, 26th Alex & Tom Joesbury Spring Championships 5th Will Hall, 14th Sam Kneale and 15th Jamie Cook Selections 4th Wall Hall, 7th Rhys Lewis and 11th Jamie Cook Inlands 3rd Jamie Cook, 5th Rhys Lewis, 12th Will Hall Wales Optimist sailors turned out in force for the Inlands, 27 of you! LASER Laser Radial Q1 6th Daniel Whiteley, 8th Rhiannon Massey, 14th Matt Whitfield Laser Radial Q2 6th Daniel Whiteley, 11th Matt Whitfield, 12th Rhiannon Massey Laser Radial Q3 4th Rhiannon Massey, 23rd Jack Shepard, 29th Daniel Whitely Laser 4.7 Ladder 5 4th Gethin Owen, 11th Milla Monaghan, 15th Christopher Jones Laser 4.7 Ladder 6 12th Milla Monagahn, 20th Gethin Owen Laser 4.7 Ladder 7 5th Christopher Jones, 6th Milla Monaghan Harken 2 3rd Rowan Edwards & Dan Blight, 8th Huw Edwards & Josh Dawson Harken 3 19th Charlotte Watson & Chloe Butterworth TOPPER Nationwide Series NS3 Queen Mary - 9thTom Renny, NS4 Inlands 42nd Harry Pulford, 82nd Alex Watson 4.2 Nationwide Series NS3 10th Benjamin Jukes-Bennett NS4 Inlands 5th Benjamin Jukes-Bennett, 27th Thomas Watson FEVA Nationals Silver fleet 3rd Loreli Bates & Felicity Allen, 4th Tom Bale & Zac Blomeley, 10th Ewan Luke & Daisy Lee-Browne Grand Prix 36th Ewan Luke & Daisy Lee-Browne, 46th Tom Bale & Zac Blomeley, 55th Amy Bale & Lucy Hughes Europeans 68th Tom & Amy Bale Laser 4.7 Ladder 7 4th Gethin Owen, 7th Milla Monaghan, 11th Christopher Jones

2 BART S BASH 20TH SEPTEMBER GBR Optimist Europeans Team GET DOWN TO YOUR CLUB AND RACE! Download the SafeTrx app to your phone The RYA SafeTrx app monitors your boat journeys and alerts designated emergency contacts should you fail to return on time. Using iphone and Android smartphone technology this tracking and alert system is easily accessible and ideal for those who don't usually register sail plans or carry navigational aids and distress alerting equipment on board (for use in UK territorial waters). Directly from your Smartphone you can enter your journey details and set off knowing that should you not return by the time given, your emergency contact will be alerted and advised to initiate appropriate action. When an emergency contact calls HM Coastguard about an overdue trip, they will have access to your location and SafeTrx Trip data through a secure SafeTrx server. Since the RYA SafeTrx App periodically sends your location data back to our servers, the Coastguard's response team can get help directly to you, and quickly. Eric Twiname Results RS Feva 8th Tom Bale & Zac Blomeley, Optimist 23rd Alice Reynolds Topper - Lowri Boorman The Welsh team had a fantastic weekend. Looking great in their red team hoodies! Challenge Wales Challenge Wales is offering 5 day summer voyages on board Wales Tall Ship Ages st 25th July 26th 30th July 5th 9th August Llangorse formally opens its doors! Don t miss out on the opportunity to take part in some CYRC open training, asymmetric open training or windsurf training. Look at the open training section of the website for more details of training in your area. Open asymmetric training on 15th & 16th August at Plas Menai is open to all sailors wanting improve their asymmetric skills or try a new class of boat.

3 What are you doing this summer? It s a summer packed full of events! Optimist Optimist European Championships 17th - 23rd July, Pwllheli Optimist National Championships 25th - 31st July Pwllheli Topper ITCA 5.3 National Championships 2nd - 7th August at WPNSA ITCA 4.2 Summer Championships 2nd - 7th August at WPNSA 2015 Topper World Championships: Fraglia Vela Riva, Lake Garda, Italy July 2015 Optimist Irish Nationals 13th - 16th August, Skerries Sailing Club, nr Dublin Laser Laser Nationals 1st - 7th August at Mounts Bay Laser 4.7 Youth World Championships 6th - 10th August, Medemblik, Netherlands Laser Radial Youth World Championships 14th - 20th August, Kingston, Canada Laser Under 21 World Championships 15th 22nd August, Medemblik, Netherlands RS Feva RS Feva Worlds 20th - 24th July, Germany Volvo RS Feva Grand Prix 5th 7th Sept, Hayling Island 29er Europeans 17th - 21st July, Medemblik, Netherlands 420 Zhik UK Nationals 1st - 6th August, Pwllheli 420 World Championships, 17th - 25th Castle Bay Karatsu, Japan 420 French Nationals 18th - 25th July, Northern France Zhik World Championships 8th - 14th August, Pwllheli

4 CARDIFF EXTREME 40 s A report and photos by Matt Viney Some of squad sailors were lucky enough to attend the Extreme Sailing Series, hear how Tilly and Matt got on. On Sunday 21 st of June Tilly Matthews and I were invited to a day out at the Extreme 40 sailing series in Cardiff Bay. We got there in the morning and were invited to the hospitality tent amongst all the sailors, teams and celebrities. We met some great people such as Sir Gareth Edwards and Matt Baker and had photographs taken with them. We made the most of the hospitality tent with the benefits of being VIP such as: the food, drink, great atmosphere and brilliant views of the extreme racing. The sailors had a challenging day on the water with the breeze gusting up to 30knots at times. This unfortunately meant we were unable to get on an Extreme 40 to race as guest sailors, however we were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to get up close to the action on a rib. It was extremely fun and we had a nice day out. I am very grateful to the RYA for giving me this opportunity.

5 420 TO LASER RADIAL, MANAGING THE CHANGE Dan Whiteley gives us his experience from transitioning from the 420 to the Laser Radial Firstly, well done for your result at the Youth Nationals. A great achievement after only 6 months in the Laser. Tell us about it? What was the event like? What did you find most challenging? Thank you, it was great to be challenging the front of the fleet again after a tough winter. The youths was a really good event for me, the light winds allowed some of the lighter and younger sailors to push the front along with the more experienced youth squad leading to some really interest racing for everybody. I definitely found the Wednesday the most difficult. After only finishing one race out in the bay we waited out on the water until the 29ers and 420s had finished before racing 2 races inside the harbour in an unpredictable breeze, the long day and conditions were challenging and my results reflected that. You ve obviously just transitioned from the 420 into the Laser Radial. How have you found the Laser Radial? What advice would you give someone who is about to transition into the Laser Radial? What, if anything, surprised you? What did you find most challenging? I really enjoy sailing the laser, the racing is tight and the margins are small so it reminds me of my time optimist sailing. It's definitely much more physically demanding than any boat I have sailed before and I realised the necessity to constantly hike in anything over 8 knots was real and far more difficult than I had previously thought, that still remains the most difficult aspect of sailing the boat. I guess the best advice I could give to anybody transitioning is that it will be hard at first but if you stick it out and put effort in you can really make some gains on the fleet catch up quickly. How about your time in the 420? What advice would you give someone who is about to transition into the 420? What did you find most challenging? Is there anything you would have done differently with the benefit of hindsight? Sailing the 420 was really fun. The class is friendly and competitive and is definitely a change from the junior boats. Sailing with another person was also rewarding especially when you win, it s nice to have someone to share that with. It does however become challenging when you have a bad race, then you don t want to speak to anyone least of all your crew so my advice is to keep winning, then everything will go smoothly. Alternatively, I would put more effort into improving my communication skills in the boat because it s not something you learn in oppie s and toppers because it s just you in the boat but in the 420 it makes a real difference. You ve obviously about to start a busy summer of competition. Which events are you competing in? What training are you doing in preparation? What is you priority? This summer I am competing in the Europeans, Worlds and EUROSAFs as well as the ISAF selector at the end of August. Now my exams are over I am sailing at squads and in Port Dinorwic over the weekends to get back into it and training in the gym over the week. I m looking forwards to all the events but the Worlds in Canada is definitely my priority as I can t wait to race against the world s best. You ve been working hard down at the Unit over the past few months. How has this helped you transition into the Laser Radial? What benefits have you felt on the water? When I first moved into the Laser Radial I was so slow in hiking conditions but now my strength has improved so I can compete when it gets windy. Having said that hiking hasn t got any easier, but I can sail faster for longer and I have Chris to thank for that. What s next after the Laser Radial? Are you considering an Olympic campaign? Any other boats you are intending on having a go in? I d love to pursue an Olympic campaign and if I ever get the chance I would jump at the opportunity but that s a long way away from where I am now. I enjoy sailing the Laser so the natural step is into the standard, but I d also like to sail a 49er as they are far quicker than anything I have sailed before.

6 University Sailing Exams are over, the summer holidays are here and many of you in the Youth squad will be enjoying a busy programme of events. Those of you in year 11, 12 and 13 will have decisions to make when term starts again. This may be choosing subjects to study or choosing whether or not to go to university. As a Youth squad sailor you will have already put in many hours training and taking part in events. Some of you maybe thinking of going straight to university or maybe taking a year out to concentrate on your sailing. If going to university is the right thing for you, then as a sailor you need to carefully consider your university options. The place you study could have a big impact on how much sailing you do, the type and the location. This isn t the only consideration, the course you want to study and the grades required to get in will have an influence on your decision. Choosing a university that is right for you is so important. Try and attend open days if you can, this way you can get a real feel for the place. Do your research on the course you want to study, read the prospectus and look at the content and structure of the course. Once this has been done then you can start thinking about sailing! Not all universities sail or have their own boats, some sail on lakes others on the sea. Team racing is also a large but very social part of university sailing. The national governing body for university sailing is BUSA (British Universities Sailing Association). They are affiliated and supported by the RYA. It is run by students for students and host numerous events during the year. Their website contains useful information on all university sailing clubs and the many university sailing events. Toby Morsley has just finished his first year at Cardiff University, we spoke to him to find out how he made that choice of which university to choose from and his experience of university sailing. When choosing your University did you choose it because of the town or city or because of the course? Combination of both. Being fussy I wanted it to be a Russell group uni, by the sea and with a course I liked the look of - only so many of those! What are you studying for at the moment? Archaeology and Ancient History When you were choosing uni s for your UCAS form how important was it for you that the University had a sailing club? Very important! I knew from friends already at uni that I really wanted to sail! Were you interested in joining a University sailing club or did you want to continue sailing your own boat on the circuit and or at a local club? I wanted to join a uni sailing club: most of the sailing done on the uni circuit is team racing, something which I, and I think most sailors, really enjoy! It's tense and exciting, and puts emphasis on boat handling in tight situations, communication, quick tactical decisions and rules. I also wanted to carry on sailing but change it to keep it exciting and different - plenty of time to go fleet racing in the summer! Did the university have to be on the coast? For personal preferences yes but many inland unis have top sailing scenes e.g. Birmingham, Manchester, Warwick, Oxford and Cambridge, York, London uni s... The list is long! Also note that team racing must take place on non tidal waters so being by the sea doesn't mean you team race on it! Did you ever feel that you should be on the South Coast, maybe you were slightly restricted on choice due to your course choice? It's true that there are more sailors on the south coast and unis such as Southampton and Plymouth have the biggest and most varied sailing clubs with the all the yacht racing etc down there, and from a sailors point of view there is definitely a pull south! From experience this year, however, I'd say it doesn't particularly mater for team racing/ dinghy racing and many unis further north are incredibly active too; for instance the Scottish universities virtually all sail and have a very good league set up. Bath, Bristol and uni of west Essex all sail at chew valley where there is also lots of club racing to get involved in too. Course choice: most of the unis I was interested in had some form of classics course, and for those who feel like going down South is tempting there are lots of unis to choose from down there! Have you got involved in University team racing? Yes, personally I think it would be silly not to! High quality racing, good fun, cost effective. Are you a member of the University Sailing Team? Yes I am; I'm the current vice captain. As well as team racing there is match racing in Weymouth, yachting nationals in Portsmouth (both of which we sent a team to this year) and the fleet racing nationals, this year in Cardiff! Is the social side good fun? Social side is brilliant. Sailors know how to have fun, nothing else need be said! Thank you Toby for giving us this insight on sailing at University.

7 Welsh Zone Championships & North Wales OnBoard Festival 26th & 27th September 2015 at Clwb H Bala Sailing Club On line entry now open at Entry Fees Single handed - 37 Double handed - 40 Main fleet and OnBoard/Regatta fleet Youth classes U19 Junior classes U16 Windsurf This year the Welsh Zones will be combined with the OnBoard Festival. Don t miss out, it should be a great event! There is some great camping available and with some sunshine and a good breeze we will have the perfect combination for an excellent weekend of racing.