Sail for Gold - World-class sailing commences June 9th

by Matt Carter on 29 May 2013 The 2013 Sail for Gold Regatta will commence this summer at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy. The regatta, which is run by the Royal Yachting Association and the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, is the third stage of the EUROSAF Champions Sailing Cup and gets underway from 9–13 June on the waters used for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The local residents of Weymouth and Portland and sailing enthusiasts in general have the opportunity to venture into the Academy during the five days of racing, where they have the chance to rub shoulders with some of last summer’s medal winning sailors, including Weymouth and Portland’s very own London 2012 Olympic silver medallists Stuart Bithell and Nick Dempsey.

The RYA’s flagship event is the only international multi-class Olympic and Paralympic event in the UK and will welcome more than 200 athletes from 23 different nations to do battle across eight Olympic and three Paralympic classes. Adding to the excitement, the event will welcome the Nacra 17 and 49er FX classes for their first taste of competitive action on British waters since being named as the two new Olympic classes for Rio 2016.

Sailors entered include London 2012 Paralympic gold medallist Helena Lucas in the 2.4mR class while Lijia Xu who made history by becoming China's and Asia's first Laser Radial sailing gold medalist will be back in action on the same waters where she also earned the title of Women’s World Sailor of the Year.

Councillor Ian Bruce, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s Briefholder for Tourism and Culture, said: 'This promises to be an amazing event and will give visitors the chance to watch a fantastic regatta of sailing from vantage points around the coast.

'Weymouth and Portland is on the map as one of the very best places in the world to enjoy sailing. I’d like to encourage people to come to our lovely borough and enjoy the show.'

The sailing will take place daily within Portland Harbour from 11am, times may change depending on the weather. Vantage points for watching include Sandsfoot Castle and spectators are advised to take binoculars.

The event is also teaming up with SailRacer and Danish company SportsXstream to deliver live video from the racecourses and GPS tracking solutions across the Sail for Gold fleets which will be available for fans and spectators on big screens within WPNSA.

Tim Hall, Sail for Gold Event Director, said: 'We believe the Sail for Gold Regatta has built a reputation for offering World Class race management and excellent facilities at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy. We are very much looking forward to welcoming sailors, their coaches and local spectators to the venue in just under a weeks’ time. We expect some familiar faces returning to our venue as well as some sailors new to the Olympic circuit and everyone can expect World Class racing on the waters of Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour.

'We are very excited to be opening the venue up to the public across the five days of racing. I imagine the ‘Finals Day’ on the closing day of the regatta will be the most popular day for local residents and sailing enthusiasts to attend as this is when the medal ceremony will take place. If you are planning to make a trip down to the Academy for a taste of the Weymouth and Portland Olympic legacy then I suggest Thursday 13th the day to attend.'

Entries for the event are still open and can be made via the event website and must be received no later than 31 May 2013.