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Chernikeeff 2 in the Fastnet

Alex Woodhouse of Smart Group enjoyed a day trip on the Solent with his family to watch the 300 boat fleet of competitors in the Rolex Fastnet Race cross the startline and head for the Needles. Of particular interest to Woodhouse was the UKSA GBR Yacht Racing Academy racing on Chernikeeff 2.

The Smart Group provided the necessary finances required for Chernikeeff 2 to complete the race 2 days before the start. Onboard Chernikeeff 2 were 13 relieved Yacht Racing Academy sailors, all under the age of 23, joined by Tom Gall having returned to the UK after working with Puma Volvo Ocean Race Team and Skipper Lars Lippuner sailing for the first time on the boat.

The team sailed well for the first two days, rarely out of the top 5, and at one stage leading. On leaving the Channel and tacking around Lands End a running backstay broke forcing the boat to bear away and sail in the opposite direction to the Fastnet Rock for an hour. Two bowmen were sent up the mast to repair the damage to return battered and bruised.

Chernikeeff 2 finished the race in 12th position. Given that the boat was not able to cross the start line a week before finishing the race, the crew were quite happy with the experience and knowledge gained over the course of the race. The Peter Harrison Foundation will continue to support the Yacht Racing Academy next year to allow young sailor the opportunity to compete at a high level of yacht racing, and this years sailors are keen to drive the project and develop as an independent racing team.

Without the support of Smart Group the culmination of a season's training would not have been possible for the Yacht Racing Academy. The sailors would like to thank Smart Group, Peter Harrison and the staff at UKSA for their can-do attitude.

Chernikeeff II clinches Myth of Malham victory!

Congratulations to the GBR Yacht Race Academy crew onboard Chernikeef II who sailed to victory in the Myth of Malham Race in May 2009.

The 230 mile race from the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes around the Eddystone Lighthouse and back proved to be a very demanding race for the 130 boats competing for the RORC Myth of Malham Trophy. Light airs and strong tides conspired to produce a tactical conundrum that was an ever changing picture.

After an unexpectedly breezy start off the Squadron line, the fleet headed off into a dying breeze in the Solent. After staying in the Island shore, Chernikeef II quickly sailed through the early starters to lead the fleet out of the Solent and towards the Lighthouse, where the crew began to experience wind from almost every direction and long periods of light airs.

As Chernikeeff II came back towards the Solent they caught sight of their competitors. The crew used the tide well and kept her moving in very little wind. By the finish line they had closed the gap to the winner over the water to just 20 seconds, winning the race by adjusted time by well over an hour.

This is another fantastic result in what has been a highly successful season so far for the young GBR Yacht Race Academy team.

First offshore of the season

Last weekend was the first RORC offshore race of the year. As the main aim for the young crew on 'Chernikeef 2' this season is the Fastnet, these offshore races provide an excellent opportunity for the sailors to get some practice, as well as the vital qualification miles required by the RORC.

We had an early start to the race which would take us around the needles and straight across the channel to Le Havre. This meant that we had had the boat ready to go the day before. All the safety equipment like lifejacket and liferafts had to be loaded onto the boat as well as enough food to feed 14 people for 2 days, which is prepared for us by UKSA. We rotated everyone in and out of the positions that were most physically and mentally demanding, such as grinding the winches and helming. This helped everyone to keep up their concentration and stopped people getting too tired. Sailing with the same 14 people for 24 hours can be tough, especially trying to keep the conversation going and everyone concentrating. But because we all came through the trials together to get selected for the Academy, and have all trained for a year onboard as a team, we’ve have all bonded really well. This made the communication onboard much more fluent, whether it was an important instruction or just a quiet conversation between team mates. The sunset just hours before we got to Le Havre and finding the finishing line would be the final challenge. We drifted slowly, in the light breeze there was, into Le Havre looking for the lights on the finish boat. And then the highlight of the race for me, getting to enjoy some nice hot food after we finished just before midnight. Nothing lifts your spirits more for the journey home than pot noodle!

Red Funnel - success continues!

With a light wind forecast for the 2009 Red-Funnel Easter Challenge, conditions were going to be tricky for all competitors. For the young, determined crew from the GBR Yacht Racing Academy, on board Peter Harrison’s Farr 52 Chernikeeff 2, this only served to offer them an opportunity to improve on their 2nd place in the previous weekend’s Raymarine Warsash Spring Series Big Boat Championship.

Racing started on Friday afternoon in the Eastern Solent under the watchful eye of the RORC race committee. A single race was run ‘around the cans’ in which Chernikeeff 2 held her own, with a solid second place in IRC Super Zero behind the well sailed, professionally crewed Farr 45 Atomic of Cowes. A second race was not run due to a race 1 finishing later than anticipated and the threat of a rapidly dying breeze. The Yacht Racing Academy sailors therefore headed back to Cowes to learn from Jim Saltonstall’s debrief.

Saturday morning started with a light breeze which persisted throughout the day to provide the competitors with three perfect windward-leeward races. Chernikeeff 2 started the first race, nailing the start and consolidated their lead to take line honours and the race overall on handicap. After their fantastic first race the crew were keen to get on with the second, resulting in an OCS! This put the pressure on for the rest of the course but due to sailing a faultless race still resulted in a 2nd place. The final race of the day saw a rather over-ambitious start in which Chernikeeff 2 lost their end of the line and had to start late. However, with great tactical decisions from Guy Filmore and unrivalled boat speed, they came out on top, and lead at the first mark. By the end of the race however, some of the other crews had caught up and Chernikeeff 2 had to settle for 3rd place on corrected time. Overall however as they motored to the Yacht Haven they were leading the fleet by two points going into the last day’s racing.

Sunday’s forecast was for an extremely light breeze, and strong tides. After a one hour postponement racing got underway on windward-leeward courses. Trimmers Mark Angell and Sam Pearson had an opportunity to get off the boat with coach Jim Saltonstall to have the best view of their sail trim, which helped them make improvements for the last day of racing. Race 5 of the regatta saw Chernikeeff 2 win the pin and go on to win the race, with some great crew work under pressure. In the final race it was still all to play for. Initially anxiety on the start line led to another early start. However, yet again showing superior boat speed and brilliant team work in breeze that died to almost nothing, the crew won the race, and the regatta in style.

This result, along the 2nd place in the previous weekend, is a great start to the season for the young crew, who have an average age of just 21. The sailors remained in Cowes for a day of training on Easter Monday followed by a week of safety training and boat work.

Crew list:
L. Cross (skipper); P. Lasko; G. Filmore; M. Angell; A. Friend; K. Matthews; S. Pearson; P. Woodward; L. Rees; A. Bull; A. Prime; P. Knight; H. Macdonald; E. Fitzgerald; A. Cooper.

Big Boat 1 - good start to the season!

After a murky start, blue skies greeted the Warsash Big Boat 1 race fleet on 4th April. This was the first race weekend of 2009 for the GBR Yacht Racing Academy. A group of young sailors aboard Chernikeef 2, a Farr 52 racing yacht kindly lent to the programme by Peter Harrison.

The squad have spent a lot of time getting ready for the season with many hours preparing Chernikeef 2. The winter’s training for this season also included shorebased lectures, time on the water practising drills and maintaining the boat.

All of this preparation has paid off for the squad who lead the fleet to the first mark and going on to win their first race of 2009. This race was sailed in light winds which then ran out, the fleet waited two hours for the wind to fill in. Two more races were held on Saturday in 15-20 knots of wind, providing a different challenge to the morning’s light airs. Chernikeef 2 finished the day in a strong 3rd position in the 15 boat fleet.

Sunday held great conditions with sunshine, and wind increasing over the morning. The race fleet swelled to 26 boats as it combined with the weekly Warsash Spring Series fleet. The Yacht Racing Academy relished the challenge, with a 6th in the first race of the day followed by a 4th in the final race of the weekend. These results were enough to give the Chernikeef 2 crew second overall in their first weekends racing of the season, a fantastic result.

This was a great start to the season and made the hard work over the winter worthwhile. Next its back home to school, university or work for the sailors. They will be back at the squad’s base at UKSA in Cowes in 4 days ready for the Red Funnel Easter regatta followed by a week of intensive training.