Please select your home edition
Edition

GJW Direct SailFest starts in 2 days

by Brenda Hoult 20 Aug 2014 05:57 PDT 22-25 August 2014

GJW Direct SailFest heads to the Southern promontory of the New Forest this weekend with 3 fleets using the event as their National Championships - the Byes, ISOs and 18ft Skiffs. The strong coaching bias to the event sees a training day supported by North Sails One Design on Friday with continued coaching support throughout the event.

Within the spirit of the SailFest, on the water tips are allowed and there will be a morning briefing to discuss tides and weather conditions each day. After racing, footage from the Garmin VIRB cameras around the course will analysed by the coaches in a daily post-racing debrief. Experienced Laser coach James Royston will be focussing on the Laser and Byte classes throughout Saturday and Sunday.

Expanding the coaching element this year also sees Nutrition Consultant and sailing fanatic Gareth Edwards join the proceedings. This is a fantastic opportunity to hear the views of a sailor with a contagious enthusiasm for nutrition who has been studying and prescribing performance related eating plans for over 20 years, unaffected by fashion and whims.

In addition to racing and coaching there will be activities ashore during the day and into the evening, making use of Calshot Activities Centre's awesome facilities. The RNLI have a routine exercise on Sunday morning and there is also the 16th Century Calshot Castle (run by English Heritage) to explore, plus plenty of beaches and the New Forest. Southampton's Maritime festival takes place on Friday and Saturday and hopefully the Spitfire and Hurricane fly-past at 2.30pm on Saturday will be clearly visible from the shore and race-area. All set for great event.

The fleet will be split into 3 or 4 starts for the handicap racing on Saturday and Sunday and GJW Direct SailFest culminates on Monday with the all-in North Sails One Design Long Distance Pursuit Race. This is double point scoring and non-discardable and not strictly all-in as it will exclude the Skiffs who will race their own separate course as they will do throughout the event. The PRO feels this is for the best!

CalshotCats Sailing Club are based in the end of the enormous flying-boat hangar that now houses ski slopes, climbing walls and the velodrome. Their involvement in the event is hopefully a springboard for catamarans to be included in the racing at future editions and for SailFest14 their clubhouse will be the race office hub. Racing for CalshotCats is generally an informal affair, haring around the Solent sampling the best ice-creams the waterside establishments have to offer, hence they have brought in experienced PRO Peter Knight and his team from SolentXtra, who ran the RSX course at the 2012 Olympics.

SailFest has the support of a number of local organisations with, in addition to the Fareham based North team and Warsash based PRO, will be assisted by the UK Youth Marine Training Academy, based just along the shoreline at Lepe. The UKYMTA are the featured charity for the event and will be providing their highly qualified young adults to be a part of the safety team (again led by a 2012 safety veteran, John Horwell). The youth members are equipped with a diverse range of skills and qualifications in marine activities, focusing around seamanship and the sport of power-boating. Having been working with Warsash SC during the Blaze Nationals and their main Optimist Open meeting (both being GPS tracked events) the club will also be providing some of the rescue cover during the weekend.

Applications are invited for National Championships to be hosted at SailFest in 2015. Other locations for future events are being considered, but tides for the 2015 bank holiday (28th to 30th August 2015) are good for Calshot and, with the work that has been put in to this years event, the organisers are keen to build on the same location and support teams for next year. As well as the opportunity to use the on-site facilities, two large slipways are complemented by plenty of parking, fantastic surroundings for competitors and shore-crew alike and extensive on-site regatta accommodation and catering.

With the cancellation of the Oxford Summertime Blue (scheduled for the same day as the Round the Island race - a very long day) the Garmin Summer Series will now be scored on competitors' best 2 results of the series, which means the placings in the overall series are still wide open. Currently RS300 sailor Tim Keen lies a close second behind Tom Gillard who has been sailing his Streaker throughout the series. Interesting, due to the scoring being weighted to level the high entry events with the smaller events, a number of high finishers in the Lord Birkett are in a strong position if they are also placed highly at SailFest.

The early entrants' prize was drawn earlier in the month and it was 18ft Skiff sailor Steve McLean who was the lucky winner of another or Garmin's fantastic VIRB Elite action cameras. SailRacer spotted he was racing at FedWeek and popped down to present him with his prize - so he should be getting to grips with it for some fast action footage over the weekend.

GJW Direct SailFest runs from Friday 22nd to Monday 25th August 2014, with the regatta racing from Saturday to Monday. The regatta represents the final round of the Garmin Summer Series, also supported by Gul and Trident. Find out more and enter at sailfest.sailracer.org

Related Articles

A more sustainable Transat Café L'OR edition
The race aims to be innovative and a driving force for the transitions taking place in ocean racing For the upcoming 17th edition, the TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR Le Havre Normandie is stepping up its commitments to take better care of the earth's climate and the natural, living planet. Posted today at 10:28 am
Engedinwing 2025 WingFoil Racing World Cup preview
The world's most daring wingfoilers are heading for the heights... literally The world's most daring wingfoilers are heading for the heights - literally - as the Ensis ENGEDINWING 2025 WingFoil Racing World Cup Switzerland descends on lake Silvaplana. Posted today at 9:19 am
Diverse maxi fleet ready for Loro Piana Giraglia
Inshore/coastal racing prior to the event's famous offshore race to Genoa The International Maxi Association's 2025 Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge (MMIC) continues tomorrow, Saturday 7 June with the first of four days of inshore/coastal race of Loro Piana Giraglia, organised by the Yacht Club Italiano Posted today at 9:04 am
Marine Auctions: June online auctions
Bidding to open on Friday 20th June The Bidding for the June Online Auction will commence on Thursday 20th June and will end on Thursday 26th June at 2pm AEST. Posted today at 5:19 am
2025 Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis, USA Day 3
Nicole Breault and Allie Blecher to meet in the final USA's Nicole Breault / Vela Racing and Allie Blecher / Team Baam have both advanced to the final of the Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis, the second stage of the 2025 Women's World Match Racing Tour championship. Posted today at 4:48 am
Scandinavian Gold Cup at Sopot, Poland Day 2
Three boats are now through to the final stage Three boats are now through to the final stage of the Scandinavian Gold Cup in Sopot, Poland. Aspire, Marie-Françoise XXII and Artemis (NOR 57, Kristian Nergaard, Johan Barne Trond, Solli-Sæther) have each won one race each. Posted today at 1:48 am
49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 Europeans Day 4
Bergmann with Wille keep their nerve to move into FX lead Olympic veterans in the 49erFX Marla Bergmann with Hanna Wille (GER) kept their nerve and used their speed to move into the lead, scoring the fewest points on day 4. Posted on 6 Jun
Windies Multihull Trophy winners announced
Thirty multihulls competed across eighteen events from Barbados to the British Virgin Islands. With the conclusion of the 2025 season, the Caribbean Sailing Association's Budget Marine Windies Multihull Trophy results are in! Posted on 6 Jun
Galicia 52 Super Series Royal Cup Day 4
Hutchinson adding the missing element as American Magic Quantum Racing close in on title Now holding a 13-points lead after today's two races contested at the Galicia 52 Super Series Royal Cup, American Magic Quantum Racing crew are on the cusp of completing their first 52 SUPER SERIES regatta win since victory in Barcelona in September 2022. Posted on 6 Jun
Emirates GBR looking to bounce back
At the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix this weekend Emirates GBR Driver Dylan Fletcher said the team was "looking to bounce back" at the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix this weekend, following a "tough time" at the back-to-back US events in LA and San Francisco in March. Posted on 6 Jun