Coaching, racing and taster sessions this August Bank Holiday
A festival style weekend offering coaching, racing, spectator interest and taster activities will be recapturing the Olympic spirit in Weymouth and Portland.
This summer’s August Bank Holiday weekend will see the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA), the 2012 Games sailing venue, hosting a brand new event, open to all.
Action will begin on Friday 23 August with a coaching day.
GJW Direct SailFest, the inaugural WPNSA annual handicap regatta, will run from Saturday 24 August to Monday 26 August.
There will be racing on the Olympic waters, from Portland Harbour to Weymouth’s Nothe peninsula, GPS tracking and live updates, commentary and analysis.
Ashore at the academy, there will be an exhibition of dinghies with class association displays, trade stands, workshops and seminars, evening meals and guest speakers
Accommodation packages are available at RYA Portland House – the Olympic Team GBR base – campervan pitches and a camping field.
During all four days of the event, there will be a fleet of windsurfers available for fully instructed taster sessions by the Official Test Centre (OTC), based right on the slipway at WPNSA.
Booking will be opened in June for 90 minute sessions, running at four time-slots each day, for just £17.
Tris Best, of the OTC, said: ‘SailFest is a great event to keep the momentum of the 2012 Olympics going and we’re hoping to build on the 780 plus tasters we achieved last summer.
‘Sail sports are more accessible than ever before – an excellent – and enjoyable – way to keep fit, socialise and make the most of some of the best conditions in Europe that Portland Harbour offers. Come and get involved.’
Alongside the dinghy racing, the OTC will be running a mid-season slalom training camp in association with the British Slalom Association (BSA) – a chance to keep your slalom skills honed during the summer break in the series calendar.
(Picture 1: A windsurfing taster session with the Official Test Centre during the Olympic sailing events. Picture: Graham Manchester
Picture 2: Olympic windsurfer Nick Dempsey competing in an Official Test Centre slalom event in Portland Harbour. Picture: Roger Turner)