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We will be running VHF Radio courses for the Short Range Certificate during the autumn.

Users of marine band VHF Radios are required by law to hold a VHF operators licence, this course will equip students with the knowledge, confidence and legal documentation required to operate a VHF / DSC radio.

The course will give you practical experience of using a VHF / DSC radio with the guidance of an SRC Assessor. The course also seeks to develop an understanding of marine band channels, etiquette, licencing requirements for vessels and owners, digital selective calling, GMDSS and most importantly how to send, relay and respond to distress calls.

The course is one-day in duration and runs from 9am until 5pm. We have the following dates scheduled: 3rd October, 6th November and 4th December. The fee is £99 per person and includes VAT, course notes and refreshments throughout the day. There is an additional fee of £30 payable to the RYA for issue of the licence upon successful completion of a short assessment at the end of the course.

We have places available on all the above dates, if you would like to book a place please contact us.

After a ten race series James Kelly has convincingly won the RS Tera Pro World Championship. This is the first time the Isle of Man has had a World Champion in sailing since Graham Scott back in the 1980s!

James has sailed a consistent series with four wins, two seconds a third and a fourth to count, discarding two 6ths.

It sounds like it has been a windy week for the competition, with a steady sea-breeze of 16 – 25 knots developing each day.

The whole performance of the Manx Youth Sailing Squad has been outstanding. Hannah Howitt is first girl, finishing in 5th place overall. Izzy Sharpe is second girl and finished 7th overall and Amie Shute who has recently moved into the Pro rig finished 17th.

The competition in the Sport fleet was tough, with thirty boats on the start line. Greg Kelly has a dissappointing start to the week, but after the first day his results improved significantly later in the week with a fourth, two fifths and a sixth. Overall he finished in 7th place. Ffinlo Wright sailed a consistent series just outside of the top ten and finished 16th overall.

A superb result for the Isle of Man and the Manx Youth Sailing Squad, who in three years have gone from competent local dinghy sailors to World class racers.

Coaches Phil Hardisty, Don Edwards, Rob Cowell, Jenni Quillin and everyone involved with the Manx Youth Sailing Squad, Isle of Man Yacht Club and 7th Wave are absolutely delighted.

From MYSS Feb 2010

James Kelly age 13

From MYSS Feb 2010

Hannah Howitt age 14

James Kelly had another excellent day at the RS Tera World Championship today. After six races he is lying in 1st place overall with a 5 point lead, having scored a second, forth and another win today.

Hannah Howitt is currently in forth place and looking good to finish first girl overall. In the Sport fleet Greg Kelly also had a good day with a fifth and a seventh, he now has his sights set on finishing in the top five.

Pro Fleet overall results after 6 races:
James Kelly 1st
Hannah Howitt 4th
Izzy Sharpe 7th
Amie Shute 17th

Sport Fleet overall results after six races:
Greg Kelly 7th
Ffinlo Wright 17th

Tomorrow is a rest day, the final races will be sailed on Thursday and Friday.

Manx Youth Sailing Squad results from the RS Tera World Championships first day of racing, after three races, look like this….

Pro Fleet
James Kelly 1st, 6th, 1st = 1st overall
Hannah Howitt 6th, 3rd, 9th = 3rd overall
Izzy Sharpe 8th, ?, ?, = 11th overall
Amie Shute 14th ?, ?, =16th overall

Sport Fleet
Greg Kelly 10th, 11th 10th = 10th overall
Ffinlo Wright 14th, 14th, 23rd = 16th overall

It has been a windy day for them, which suits the Manx sailors. Let’s hope it stays like that for the rest of week!

Manx Youth Sailing Squad member James Kelly (age 13) has just won race 1 in the Pro fleet at the RS Tera World Championship today!!!

Nice one!

The Manx Youth Sailing Squad competed in the RS Tera National Championship at Netley Sailing Club on 26th & 27th June.
Hoping to repeat last year’s results and bring home the National Team Champions Trophy again Amie Shute, Greg Kelly and Ffinlo Wright sailed in the Sport class. Also sailing in the Sport class was new Squad member Matthew Petts experiencing his first national championship. This year saw a record entry of 52 boats in this class.

The Manx sailors had some excellent results during the weekend’s six races. Greg Kelly finished 5th in Race 3 and 6th in Race 5, Ffinlo Wright came 5th in Race 6 and the best result in an individual race was from Amie Shute in the final race of the regatta. She had an excellent start leading the fleet round the windward mark she held her position near the front of the fleet throughout the race and finished an impressive 3rd in Race 6.

In the Pro fleet Hannah Howitt, Izzy Sharpe and James Kelly had some tough racing during the weekend. The light breezes were not ideal for the Manx sailors who have been training most of the winter in wind and waves! James Kelly found the conditions particularly difficult and struggled to work away from the middle of the fleet. Izzy and Hannah finished 6th and 7th respectively in Race 2 and then both sailed consistently just outside the top ten in the remaining races. Overall Hannah finished 11th, Izzy 13th and James 17th.

The team have trained hard during the winter with local coaches. GBR RS Tera Squad Coach Jonathan Lewis has visited the Island three times and the team attended a full GBR Squad training weekend at Draycote Water last March. The thirty Tera sailors who make up the GBR Squad in the UK have also received coaching during the winter, so the level of competition in the top half of both fleets has been raised considerably. Greg Kelly can be very proud of his 10th place overall, Ffinlo Wright, improved from 30th overall in 2009 to an impressive 14th place, Amie Shute 16th and Matthew Petts 34th.

Overall the Manx Youth Sailing Squad achieved some respectable results in difficult conditions and a very big fleet. Jonathan Lewis said the team “all displayed the professional attitude needed at events like this while still having fun and are a National Squad that the Coaches, Parents, Class Association and the Isle of Man can be very proud of.”

This competition has given them a taste of what to expect when they sail with the RS Tera GBR Squad at the World Championships in Carnac later this month. The team will now continue to train at the Isle of Man Yacht Club and at 7th Wave in the run up to the World Championships.

From MYSS Feb 2010

Amie Shute, finished 3rd in Race 6 and 16th overall at the RS Tera National Championships

From MYSS Feb 2010

Greg Kelly finished 10th overall in the RS Tera Sport Class

From MYSS Feb 2010

Hannah Howitt, 11th overall in the Pro fleet.

We now have tickets on sale for Yn Daunse n Skeddan “The Herring Dance” (or Queenie Festival Tent Do). This year The Heights are supporting Soul Suspects, in the Stone Field, Port St Mary on Saturday 10th July from 7.30pm. There will be a licensed bar. Tickets are £12.50 and will not be available on the door.

The second annual Queenie Festival is now just around the corner, bringing a weekend of fun, inspiring and unusual events in the open air…

While the hoped-for sunshine and calm seas remain in the lap of the weather gods, what is certain is that from 9th – 11th July, there’ll be a packed schedule of things for people to see and do in Port Erin and Port St Mary. Following on from last year’s festival, there will be a great mixture of sea sports, Manx heritage, wildlife, live music, children’s entertainment and plenty of delicious, fresh food throughout the weekend.

Here’s a preview of what you’ll find Beside the Seaside next weekend:

Friday 9th July
The Sure Beach Party

To celebrate their Third Anniversary of business on the Isle of Man, Sure Mobile are throwing a giant beach party in Port Erin. Amongst the attractions will be a free running display, a volleyball tournament and a chance to try diving, snorkelling, kayaking, kite surfing and sailing. After working up an appetite, partygoers can feast on fresh seafood, salads and barbecue fare, then relax with a beer from Bushy’s Beach Bar and catch live music from The Heights and Carbon Frog. Youngsters can join in a treasure hunt and sandcastle competition, while everyone will enjoy the antics of the Fairly Famous Family.

Admission: FREE.

Saturday 10th – Sunday 11th July
Marine Weekend

All weekend, the beach and harbourside in Port St Mary will be alive with a host of attractions highlighting different aspects of our marine environment and history. The Manx Wildlife Trust will return with their popular touch tanks and marine lectures, while the history of Manx fishing will be brought to life through the dramatic re-enactments of ‘Fishing into the Past’. While the MV Karina takes people on a leisurely sail from Douglas to Port St Mary, a dozen fishing vessels will battle it out in the 2010 Trawler Race. On a course which takes in Poyll Vaaish, Scarlett and Perwick, the trawlers will compete for three titles: overall winner, best-dressed crew and best-dressed boat!

Hardy open water swimmers of all ages will take to the waves for the Manx Mile, a sporting challenge unique to the Queenie Festival, and there’ll be more chances to try out some sea-going sports. And in what is most definitely a first for the Isle of Man, Quintin Gill MHK will lead a band of fellow politicians and other notables in a ‘Scallop Dance’ down to the harbour from Mount Tabor, with scallop-adorned costumes and dance steps specially created for the occasion!

Throughout both days, there’ll be a dizzying array of food and drink for hungry festivalgoers, with the emphasis proudly on local producers.

Admission: £2 for adults, children free. Proceeds to the Manx Wildlife Trust.

Party Time – Yn Daunse n Skeddan

On Saturday night, ‘Yn Daunse n Skeddan’ (The Herring Dance) returns to the Stonefield at Ballacreggan Farm. DJ Pete West, The Heights and Soul Suspects will be providing the sounds and a fantastic atmosphere is guaranteed.

Tickets priced £12.50 are available now from Paddy’s The Quay (Port St Mary), Discover Diving (Port St Mary), The Bay Hotel (Port Erin) and 7th Wave (Port Erin). Alternatively, call Tim on 495930 or Lenny on 461245.

The Hunt for the Golden Queenie

After its runaway success in 2009, the hunt for the Golden Queenie returns! Who will win the race to find the £4,000 solid gold prize? The treasure hunt is being sponsored by Celtic Gold and Jimbo’s Ice Cream. The all-important clues, to be released on Friday 2nd July, will be published on the festival website and in the programme, which will be available from various news outlets and retailers, as well as Paddy’s The Quay in Port St Mary. Alternatively, pick up a copy of next week’s Isle of Man Examiner, where the clues will also be revealed!

RS Tera GBR Squad coach ran another coaching weekend for the MYSS at the Isle of Man Yacht Club last weekend in preparation for the RS Tera National Championship this weekend.

The team had a great weekend on the water working on boat handling and tactics.

On Sunday afternoon represetatives from the Manx Lottery Trust handed over three new RS Teras to the Squad these boats were funded by the Manx Lottery Trust.

This weekend the Squad are at Netley S.C. in Southampton to compete at the RS Tera National Championship. Last year the team won the National Team Champions Trophy at this event. They have trained hard since last year and we hope for some more good results from them this year.

Izzy Sharpe, Hannah Howitt and James Kelly will compete in the Pro rig class. Amie Shute, Greg Kelly, Ffinlo Wright and Matthew Petts will compete in the Sport class.

Matthew was invited to join the Squad at the beginning of this season, last weekend with Jonathan was his second Squad training weekend. Jonathan was suitably impressed by his performance and invited him to attend the Nationals this weekend! The team rallied round, a boat and a lift were found and Matthew is heading to compete in his first National championship.

We wish everyone in the Squad well and look forward to receiving results over the weekend. Sadly we won’t be there as we are at Dave’s wedding!!

Well, it looks like the summer is here! This weather is set to continue into the weekend giving perfect conditions for sailing, powerboating and kayaking this weekend.

On Saturday we are running the RYA Powerboat Level 1 course which is an introduction to powerboat driving. The course will allow you to spend the day at the helm of our RIB with an instructor on board. Course content includes equipment, weather and safety brief, launch and recovery from a road trailer, slow speed boat handling and high speed manoeuvres. Weather and time permitting you should also get to experience a trip to the Calf of Man and hopefully see some seals, basking sharks and other wildlife. This course is £129 for the day, we will provide boats, lifejackets, RYA Logbooks and certificates and refreshments throughout the day. There are a couple of places left on this course, please contact me if you would like to make a booking.

For the juniors on Saturday there will be the regular Saturday Club sailing sessions in both the morning and afternoon. These sessions are suitable for any junior sailors who have completed RYA Stage 1 or sail to an equivalent standard. Saturday Club sessions enable students to continue improving their sailing skills and working through the RYA scheme. As usual there will be plenty of games and fun as well. There is plenty of room for sailors to join us on Saturday and no obligation to attend every week. Please drop me a line to let me know who we are expecting at the weekend.

And if you want to get on the water over the weekend our kayaks are available to hire. When the weather is good it is worth calling us in the morning to book.

The Manx Youth Sailing Squad will be busy in Port St Mary this weekend with GBR Squad coach Jonathan Lewis running the training session for them. The team are off to the RS Tera National Championship the following weekend and we wish them the very best of luck.

We hope to see you over the weekend, please drop me an email if you would like to go powerboating, sailing or kayaking over the weekend.