A team of British Keelboat Academy’s (BKA) Development Squad sailors will be pitting their skills against the UK’s best J80 sailors at the end of the week (6-8th May) as they go head-to-head at the 2010 J80 National Championships held at Cardiff Bay Yacht Club.
Having demonstrated they have the potential to make it as World class keelboat sailors at the selections back in November, the members of the 22 strong Development Squad have been receiving intensive training and coaching over the last four months, funded by the RYA and UKSA, focusing on technique out on the water as well as maintenance, logistical, and organisational issues involved in running a successful keelboat campaign.
The squad have already proved they are a force to be reckoned with out on the water having had two crews finish within the top five boats in IRC Class Three fleet at the BKA’s opening event of the season, the RORC Easter Challenge last month, but this weekend’s event is a much bigger challenge for the five competing sailors.
As well as taking on the UK’s cream of J80 sailing talent, the squad members have also taken on the responsibility of organising their entire involvement at the event. The boat and sails have been loaned to the sailors by the BKA, however the challenge of getting the boat up to Cardiff, making sure it meets all the class rules and safety regulations, and organising their own budget for the event has been handed to the sailors.
BKA Head Coach Luke McCarthy explains: “The sailors have worked really hard over the past few months. From some early season training on the water with the whole BKA squad in January and February, they have come together strongly to really push their own campaign forward for the Nationals this week. There is a lot more involved than simply racing the boats and the sailors have done a great job so far in preparing for the event with us giving only a bit of direction as required and leaving the vast majority solely down to them."
The five will be led by 21-year-old Tom Phipps who has plenty of experience sailing at a World class level having previously been part of Skandia Team GBR and a Tornado Olympic Campaign; his crew, consisting of proven student keelboat racing circuit talents; Mark Yeabsley, Matt Haslam and brother-sister duo Kelvin and Kirsty Matthews.
Kirsty Matthews commented: “We’re confident we can achieve a good result at the event having trained intensely for it over the past months. We’ve invested a lot of time and effort in the campaign and we’re really fired up and focused on posting as best a result as possible.”
After the Nationals this weekend the team’s efforts will turn to the J80 European Championships in Lake Garda (23-27, June), where they hope to be joined by two other Development Squad teams, pending enough funding, for the five day event.
Although the BKA already have a fantastically generous group of sponsors and supporters, it is actively looking for additional funding to help support an even more effective programme of training and events, including the Europeans, for the rest of the year and beyond.
BKA’s partners include B&G, Wild Graphics, Hamble Yacht Services, Harken, Henri Lloyd, North Sails, Ocean Safety, Premium Liferafts and RORC. For more information about the Academy and how you can help with fundraising visit www.britishkeelboatacademy.org.
For full race results at the event visit Cardiff Bay YC website.
You can now follow the latest news from the BKA on Facebook (British Keelboat Academy) and Twitter (@tweetBKA).
Image credit - Tacktick Suunto J80 UK Nationals Fleet Shot - Ian Finlay