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RYA Youth Sailors at the America’s Cup Jubilee Regatta
Author: Royal Yachting Association
The RYA along with the Royal Yacht Squadron and the Eric Twiname Trust have gathered twenty one talented young British sailors to enable them to experience the thrill of racing in the America’s Cup Jubilee Regatta in August.
The young sailors were selected from over sixty applications in January and have now all been assigned to the yachts they will crew on. The sailors are mostly dinghy sailors from the RYA youth squads, and have grasped this great opportunity to become involved with keelboat racing. Some have been aboard these yachts since March, and are now well accepted crew members.
Many famous yachts and their owners have agreed to accept the new crew members as they all support bringing youth sailors ‘up through the ranks’ to potentially develop world class crews. A particularly generous owner has even loaned the use of his ј tonner for racing in Cowes Week with a skipper and crew selected from this talented squad.
Adam Greene of Arun Yacht Club in Sussex is crewing on the 90ft ‘Skandia Leopard’ and talks of his experience so far:
“Well sailing with a huge crew which includes 3 Aussies is fun if not slightly unnerving to say the least. Add to that a 90ft long rocket ship and you’re getting someway to what I've been experiencing. The boat oozes 'slickness' and a huge sense of power even if you’re just looking from the dock. Sailing is something else. For instance, corporate sailing the other day with guests and cruising sails up and not pushing at all, we hit 13kts no probs. Trying to hit 13kts in our sportsboat is an achievement; in this boat, it’s a walk in the park.
I have mostly done all my sailing in dinghies and in the last few years on sportsboats. I'd like to think I was reasonably competent, but once you step on one of these boats its a different ball game. It's taking me a while to settle in and get used to the boat, but it's started easier than I'd first thought; everything is push button hydraulics. But most of all I'm having fun. The crew's great, the boats great and 'the life’, it’s superb. I can’t thank everyone involved enough!”
The Jubilee fleet, formed to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the America's Cup will consist of past and present America's Cup challengers and defenders. Yachts from many of the other America's Cup Challenger Clubs from the past will also be competing on the Solent.
The impressive line up for this regatta includes the last remaining J Class yachts Velsheda, Endeavour and Shamrock V. There will also be more than thirty 12 Metres and the modern day America’s Cup Class (ACC) yachts. The entry list will include 'Australia 2', the first yacht to lift the America's Cup from the New York Yacht Club in 132 years (1851 - 1983) through to Team New Zealand's IACC yacht, 'NZL - 32', winner of the 1995 Cup series. GBR Challenge, Great Britain's first entry in the America's Cup in 14 years, will also be competing in GBR 44.
The enthusiastic sailors will be mostly staying at the UKSA in West Cowes, where they are hoping to mix with keen young sailors from other nations. The assignments are as follows:
- Henry Bulbeck - Evaine
- Paul Campbell James - Rebecca
- Andrew Cornah - Crackerjack
- Thom D’Arcy - Crusade
- Tom Finch - Desperado
- Kit Glover - Babbalas
- Scott Gray - Endeavour
- Adam Greene - Skandia Leopard
- Jonathon Griffiths - France 2
- Ed Hill - Charlatan
- Nick Hutton - Yellowdrama
- William Jones - Yeoman
- Caroline Lassen - Team Tonic
- Stuart Laurie - Victory 1
- Anna Ludgate - Desperado
- Peter Marshall - Yeoman
- Ross Monson - Skandia Leopard
- Niall Myant - Moonbeam
- Kate Sanders - Crusade
- Nick Wilcox - Velsheda
- John Wilson - Team Tonic
More Information:
- YachtsandYachting.com America's Cup Jubilee Page
See also: DEE 25 for sale
