Sailingfast Team Riders head Stateside
by Emma Hepplewhite 14 Mar 2022 05:04 PDT
16-20 March 2022
Ross Banham © Sailingfast
The WASZP class is truly a class with world-wide reach as a few of our Sailingfast Team Riders are heading across the pond to compete in the WASZP Americas Championship. They will be going head-to-head with WASZP sailors from North and South America over 4 days next week, at the Richmond Yacht Club in San Francisco.
The British contingent consists of experienced WASZP sailors Ross Banham and Zac Blomeley with Francesca Mackay, who only stepped into a WASZP at the end of last season for the first time demonstrating that, as sailors, you can do anything you put your mind to.
Ross (aged 22) who now sails out of Datchet says, 'Sailing with a backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge is going to be an epic experience! I look forward to meeting other WASZP sailors from across the world and if we can persuade them to come over to Europe for the WASZP Games in Italy this summer, all the better'.
Dividing his sailing time between Plas Heli and the National Sailing Academy at Weymouth, Zac (20 years old) has been selected to represent team GB at the SailGP finals which are being held in San Francisco a couple of weeks after the Americas Championship. He continues, "Having the WASZP Americas Champs to warm up and acclimatise, before racing in the SailGP Grand Final seemed like the best option and I'm so excited to get involved."
Sailingfast Owner, Duncan Hepplewhite says, "It's great to see so many opportunities for young sailors out there. I know sailing has taken me all over the world both as a sailor and coach, and with Sailingfast. It's really exciting to see these young sailors jumping at the chance to travel to new venues halfway round the world."
You know you have a great venue to host a WASZP event when the Richmond Yacht Club moto is 'this club was built for fun' and the WASZP Americas Championship is sure to live up to the expectation. Wishing our Team Riders all the very best of luck in the coming days and weeks.
Find out more about our Team Riders on the Sailingfast website, sailingfast.co.uk/sailingfast-team-riders
If you would like to know more about the WASZP, drop us a line on 01324 861756 or via email