South West Youth Sailing Association Regatta 2019 at Paignton Sailing Club
by Nick James 24 Sep 2019 08:29 PDT
21-22 September 2019
Last weekend was the annual junior regatta for the not for profit group the South West Youth Sailing Academy (SWYSA) with 36 junior sailors on the water.
Started by a couple of parents in 2014 the SWYSA has grown and been very successful. Set up to bridge the gap between club sailing and regional squads the group had helped produce three National champion sailors and encouraged many more to progress within the sport with their programs of winter training.
The free to enter two day Regatta is now an annual event where new and past sailors come together in a three fleets for a series of races. This years fast fleet was sponsored by local company, Two Bare Feet who donated an amazing first prize of a £600 paddlboard to the winners. Chatham Shoes, RS Sailing, Optimum Time and the Venus Company also sponsored the regatta and added to the amazing selection of prizes.
The event was held at Paignton Sailing Club and as usual the Saturday was a training day where new sailors have top quality coaching in a classroom and on the water to prepare them for the following days racing. The conditions were quite challenging for some with a 1.5m swell but with excellent coaching and a highly experienced safety team all the youngsters had time on the water and came in smiling.
The regatta fleet also received coaching before and on the water throughout the racing on Sunday with some amazing progress from the young sailors. Emma Rhodes from SWYSA said "it's so rewarding to see how the sailors skills are progressing and making new friends, we have top sailors including ex World Champion sailors coaching and passing on their skills". SWYSA is again now running two groups of open winter training one for the RS Feva class and one for the RS Tera at venues throughout the South West.
Joint founder Nick James said, "We have been really fortunate this year with an amazing group of sponsors and sailing clubs who can see all the hard work we put in to develop junior sailing at grass roots level and the results we have achieved. We keep it fun and the parents are involved so its not just the sailors making new friends but also families, so when they are ready to take the next step and go to a racing event or the RYA Junior Championships there is already a good group of friends there to help encourage and support the young sailors."
The top place was won by Ffion and Cerys from Exe Sailing Club for the fast fleet and Miles Ripley from Paignton won the Slow fleet in his Topper "Miles Ahead" Well done.
Details of our forthcoming training can be found on www.facebook.com/swterasquad or email Emma for Feva training and Sarah for Tera Training