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Press Release 16th May 2009 The 28th April 2009 saw the start of the 2009 UK Firefighters Sailing Challenge, the sixth running of this increasingly popular annual three day regatta, organised by serving and ex members of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service. The weather was less kind this year with strong winds and rain greeting the competitors, some of whom had travelled from as far away as West Yorkshire. The number of entries once again showed an increase on previous years with 31 boats leaving the pontoons for the race area, including 1 yacht from our ‘Gold’ sponsors telent and six yachts crewed by representatives of five Police forces, one Ambulance service and one Mountain Rescue Team, making this probably the only ‘999 Emergency Services’ sailing event in the country. To allow the more inexperienced crews to compete, skippers were given the option to race with white sails only (no spinnaker) and 12 boats went for this option. Day 1: Having made their way to the indicated mark competitors were first kept waiting whilst one of the yachts was held up at the pontoon as a result of defective equipment. The flat seas and light winds that were to become the dominant feature of the first day’s sailing then caused a further delay whilst the regatta officials were forced to switch from their intended initial start point to one where we would at least get some racing in. The only bonus was the fact that when the first race started, at a just after midday, the lighter winds enabled the 31 entrants to ease themselves over the start line without incident. The racing format has always been a passage race to start the event, to give crews a chance to get to know their boat and indeed each other as many crew members are trying sailing for the first time. The UKFSC organising committee actively encourage skippers to enter crews of mixed ability so that newcomers to sailing are provided with a safe but exhilarating introduction to sailing. For the first time the passage race was won by Peter Crowther who skippered yacht number 8 from West Yorkshire. Peter had proven in 2008 that he was particularly adept at maximising progress even the smallest of breezes and 2009 was to be no different. Peter Crowther won the first and only race of day one with Roger Glass (Met Police 2) in second place and Robert Jones (Oxfordshire Fire) in third place, Michael Holt (Suffolk Police) was the first ‘White Sail’ yacht over the line. With deteriorating wind strengths racing for the remainder of the day was abandoned and the fleet made its way to Cowes Yacht Haven for its overnight mooring.
Mick Stead, chairperson of the UKFSC organising committee, opened the gala evening by welcoming the 248 competitors. Using the results of the day’s racing he announced that the 31 boat fleet was to be separated into one of three classes to facilitate a secondary competition on day two of the event. The Haven Events Centre staff had prepared a delicious meal and we were joined by the author of the award winning book ‘Left for Dead’, Nick Ward and his wife Chris. Nick was the last survivor to be rescued from the ill-fated 1979 Fastnet Race and had kindly agreed to be our guest speaker for the evening. His captivated and harrowing experiences enthralled competitors and Nick was given rapturous applause at the end of his talk in appreciation. The rigours of the day certainly told on the crews though as many retired to their bunks before 11 pm ready for the next days racing. Day 2: The day commenced with the same very light winds experienced the previous day and race official Simon did a commendable job in locating a section of the Solent that offered some improvement to facilitate quality racing. In all four races were to be achieved on day 2 and whilst they involved the same buoys in many instances each produced a variety of outcomes.
Ray Crouch and his crew aboard yacht number 14 (Hampshire 4) were to show by winning the first race of the day that they were major contenders for an event trophy. By race two however Peter Crowther and the crew of yacht 8 (West Yorkshire 2) returned to their winning ways and were to complete their hatrick of first places by race 4 on day two of the event. Adrian Murphy and his crew aboard yacht 22 (West Sussex 1), who had been so dominant in previous years, had to wait until race three of the day to secure their first win of the 2009 Challenge. Frustratingly an anticipated fifth race of the day was cancelled due to the race official’s yacht fouling its propeller whilst trying to retrieve a large inflatable buoy it had laid earlier in the day. The UKFSC photographer’s rib was able to assist the official by transferring him to the designated marker for the completion of race four of the day. With racing unable to continue all crews returned to Cowes for more fun and games in the evening. The telent Gala Evening was particularly busy and following a first class chicken dinner Mick Stead rose to provide the commentary for the prize giving, raffle and charity auction. Dave King, of telent Technology Services Ltd, kindly agreed to present UKFSC mid-event Class Awards to West Yorkshire 2 (Peter Crowther), Hampshire 1 (Mick Stead) and West Yorkshire 3 (Robin Moore). UKFSC committee member Shaun Coote had done some sterling work in the period leading up to the UKFSC 2009 and had gained over £2,500 worth of prizes for the raffle and auctions which were held during the course of the evening. Vic George, one of our event photographers, and his wife kindly added to our auction with a yacht charter for 10 people on their luxury yacht. Not to be outdone BAA Heathrow also came up trumps when they donated a SatNav system towards the auction. The raffle that followed the prize-giving raised just over £1,800 and a further £1,325 was added with the auction of significant donations.
Returning to Port Solent the crews gathered in the bar in readiness for the UKFSC prize giving event. Prizes this year were presented by our patron, Mike Golding OBE, and the children of our former fire service and sailing colleague the late Ian Thresh. The UKFSC committee are very grateful to Mike not only for his continued support but also his willing contributions as Patron. The trophies presented were:
Despite the lack of consistent sunshine, good sailing winds and three boats potentially losing their security deposits all competitors thoroughly enjoyed themselves and have said that they will be back next year. With the great help of our ‘Gold’ sponsor telent, Silver sponsors Boddingtons Electrical and Inspired 2 Learn, Bronze sponsors SolentNightz and SunSail and the ongoing generosity of crews £2,500 has been raised for each of our two deserving charities of this year – The Fire Fighters Charity and Care of Police Survivors (COPS). Link to full race results listing --oOo-- Extract From the HFRS 'Exchange' magazine - October 2008 The prestigious and demanding UK Firefighters Sailing Challenge took to the waters of the Solent for its fifth successive year, attracting and unprecedented field of 23 yachts. Over 180 competitors from fire and rescue services acroos the country pitted their sailing skills against teams from both City of London and the London Metropolitan Police, as well as the South East Coast Ambulance Service. The Fleet was split into classes at the end of day one, providing the opportunity for crews to compete in class races on day two, as well as contesting the overall event competition. This enabled less able crews to compete for UKFSC trophies on an equal footing to the regatta veterans. West Sussex successfully clinched this year's UKFSC title, ahead of Hampshire and West Yorkshire. The UKFSC has a proven track record of providing vital support to charities. The event organisers work hard to encourage sponsors to to support their good causes, raising money from competitors through raffles, auctions and by inter-crew competitions. This year's fundraising saw the Ellen MacArthur Trust and the Fire Fighters Charity both benefiting from donations of £2,000 each.
It was a very proud day for the UKFSC organisers, as retired HFRS Divisional Officer Mick Stead, seen here with Shaun Coote and Debbie Gregory of the FFC, presented a cheque for £2,000 to Dame Ellen MacArthur at the Southampton International Boat Show this September. Launched in 2003, the Ellen MacArthur Trust takes young people sailing to help them regain confidence, on their recovery from cancer, leukaemia and other serious illnesses. If you're interested in participating in the 2009 UK Firefighters Sailing Challenge, or you jus wish to be kept informed of future events, please visit www.ukfsc.org.uk
------<<<O>>>------ Press Release Issued 16th May 2008: UK Firefighters Sailing Challenge 2008...............and the winner is The 29th April 2008 saw the start of the 2008 UK Firefighters Sailing Challenge, the fifth running of this increasingly popular annual three day regatta, organised by serving and ex members of the Fire and Rescue Service. The weather was less kind this year with strong winds and rain greeting the competitors, some of whom had travelled from as far away as West Yorkshire. The number of entries once again showed an increase on previous years with 23 boats leaving the pontoons for the race area, including 2 yachts from our ‘Gold’ sponsors telent and four more yachts crewed by representatives of the Police and Ambulance services, making this probably the only ‘999 Emergency Services’ sailing event in the country. Sadly one boat forgot to turn left in the Portchester channel and spent several hours aground on a sand bank. To allow the more inexperienced crews to compete, skippers were given the option to race with white sails only (no spinnaker) and 6 boats went for this option.
The racing format has always been a passage race to start the event, to give crews a chance to get to know their boat and indeed each other as many crew members are trying sailing for the first time. The UKFSC organising committee actively encourage skippers to enter crews of mixed ability so that newcomers to sailing are provided with a safe but exhilarating introduction to sailing. For the first time the passage race was won by Hampshire(1) (Mick Stead) and not by a West Sussex boat who have been so dominant in the past four years.
A shorter second race completed the first day off Cowes, with Hampshire (1) and West Sussex (2) swapping the first and second places, followed by a gala dinner in the Cowes Haven Event Centre. Mike Golding, who has a fire service background, opened the gala evening by providing a televised interview to wish all 184 competitors good luck and fair sailing. One crew had to return their boat, for replacement, to Port Solent following a crash that left a large hole in their side – the offending crew said that they did not have any damage to their boat and yet their anchor roller was found still embedded in the hole! Using the results of the day’s racing the fleet was separated into one of three classes to facilitate a secondary competition on day two of the event. The Haven Events Centre prepared a delicious steak meal for the crews which was enjoyed by all but the rigours of the day certainly told on the crews as many retired to their bunks before 11 pm ready for the next days racing.
The telent Gala Evening was particularly busy and following a first class chicken dinner, where the wine was kindly provided by telent guest Oliver Youldon from EADS Defence and Security, Mick Stead rose to provide the commentary for the prize giving, raffle and charity auction. Steve Harris, Managing Director - Enterprise of telent Technology Services Ltd, kindly agreed to present UKFSC mid-event Class Awards to West Sussex (2) (Adrian Murphy), Isle of Wight (John Stannett) and London 3 (Chris Knight).
The raffle that followed the prize giving raised just over £900 and a further £610 was added with the auction of significant donations which included a day’s sailing on the Solent for four people, courtesy of Mick Norman from the yacht London (2). Mick Stead was also pleased to announce that the four crews from West Yorkshire had managed to raise in excess of £6,000 in the build up to UKFSC 2008 and had presented this to charities in their local area. Mick was joined by everyone at the evening in congratulating them on their superb fund raising efforts.
Returning to Port Solent the crews gathered in readiness for the UKFSC prize giving event. Prizes were presented by Deputy Chief Officer Dave Curry of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and Trish Thresh, widow of our former fire service and sailing colleague Ian Thresh. The trophies presented were:
Despite the lack of sunshine, the strong winds and three boats losing their security deposits all competitors thoroughly enjoyed themselves and have said that they will be back next year. With the great help of our ‘Gold’ sponsors telent and the generosity of crews several thousand pounds has been raised for our two deserving charities of this year – The Fire Fighters Charity and the Ellen MacArthur Trust.
------<<<O>>>------ On the morning of Day 3 of UKFSC 2009 the crew of boat 13 checked the content of their spinnaker bag that had been left out on deck overnight. To their surprise it had changed colour from white to BLUE!! Clearly it wasn't the fairies but whoever the culprits were they made a BIG MISTAKE by picking on the boat containing the majority of the UKFSC committee as we have access to the event photo's. Did we mind? Not really guys we still crossed the line in front of you in all the races on the 3rd day.....does that tell you something! See you next year. ------<<<O>>>------
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17/05/2009 00:15:05
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