The 2008 National Youth Regatta at Carsington has seen visits from both BBC and ITV news crews, these can be viewed by watching the following links:

BBC - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7520474.stm

ITV - http://www.itvlocal.com/central/news/ (see 22.19 minutes into the show)

With most the fleets restricted to, or dominated by, one design classes it is the slow handicap fleet which has seen a very strong performance for Speed Sails. Optimists hold the top spots with Speed Optimist sails being used on the top 2 boats overall.

A more comprehensive report of the racing so far can be found at http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/?article=142552.

Full event details and results can be found at http://www.nssa.org.uk/micro%20regatta.htm

The 2008 Solo Nationals is turning into a 2 horse race between defending Champion Andy and Charlie Cumbley. At the half way point just 4 points separate these 2 with a 22 point gap to third place. Click here for full results.

Speed sailmaker Andy is using a Speed hull and Dacron Speed mainsail on a Selden Cumulus rig. After 6 races he is discarding a 7th place and has already recorded his first race win in the 83 boat fleet.

3rd, 4th and 5th overall are also using Speed sails. Geoff Henstridge took delivery of a new laminate sail at the Nationals and after winning the 1st race is currently lying 4th overall 3 points behind Paul Ellis in 3rd and a point ahead of Chris Brown in 5th

Team Speed / Gill sailors Tom Jeffcoate and David Hynes have claimed the 2008 Fireball European Championship after only 1 race was completed on the final day of racing. Held at Nieuwpoort, Belgium between the 5th and 11th July the event saw plenty of wind with 4 of the 10 scheduled races lost due to severe conditions.

The win is the latest in a string of recent victories for Speed Fireball sails at major events which also includes the 2007 National and World titles. Using an ODL06 main, the new RS4 jib and an AirX spinnaker Tom and Dave discarded a 4th place and claimed 2 race wins during the 6 race series.

As well as Tom and Dave, Speed Sails were well represented in the top 10 with Irish team Kenny Rumball and Dave Moran, recent Czech National Champions Martin Kubovy and Milan Cap and local Belgian pair B van Antwerpen and Wilfried De Backer all performing well.

There is still time to get a new set of Speed Fireball sails in time for the National Championships this August at Mounts Bay. All sails come complete with numbers, battens, windows, tell tales and sail bags where appropriate and can be delivered to the event free of charge.

Fireball laminate main - £664.07
Fireball Dacron mainsail - £539.40
Fireball jib - £224.43
Fireball spinnaker - £347.02

For more information please contact Tom Jeffcoate or Richard Estaugh on 0845 50 40 600 / or www.speedsails.co.uk

Speed Sails / Gill race team sailors put in a convincing display to win Merlin Rocket Salcombe Week with a race to spare. This is the 2nd time in 2 years a set of Speed Merlin Rocket sails has dominated in such a fashion after Roger Gilbert and Matt Mee achieved the same feat last year.

With a capacity 100 boats competing each year and a waiting list for entries Merlin Rocket Salcombe Week is one of the most popular events in the UK. Despite splitting into flights the racing in the confined waters of Salcombe estuary is extremely close. Andy and Ellie finished with 4 wins and a 2nd from their 5 races showing excellent boat speed, especially upwind. They used the latest GPL00 main, RS4 jib and Dynakote spinnaker.

As well as Salcombe Week, Speed Merlin Rocket sails have already claimed victory at the 2008 Inland Championship and hold the top 2 positions in the 2008 Silver Tiller series with Roger Gilbert and James Stewart leading on 7.3 points from Matt Biggs and Rob Kennaugh just behind on 8.2 points. With just over a month until the Nationals, Speed Merlin Rocket sails are in a strong position to defend the title they won last year and there is still time to get your new set of sails ready for the event.

The Sails:            

Mainsail - The Speed Merlin Rocket mainsail is manufactured from Dimension Polyant ODL06 Technora and comes complete with sail bag, battens, numbers, window & cunningham block.

Jib - Now made from NEW Contender RS4 cloth for extra durability. The new jib material extends the competitive life of your sail without reducing performance. Comes complete with sail bag. 

Spinnaker - Manufactured from AirX 700 the Speed spinnaker is an excellent all round sail which provides exceptional performance both reaching & running. The sail has a radial bottom to provide extra stability and panels are glued & sewn to provide extra durability. Sail comes complete with sail bag. 

To design your own spinnaker please follow the link below:

For more information on Speed Merlin Rocket sails or to place your order please contact us on 0845 50 40 600 or sails@speedsails.co.uk. Alternatively, further details can be found by visiting our webiste online at www.speedsails.co.uk

Fireball Europeans at Nieuwpoort

Speed / Gill race team sailors Tom Jeffcoate and Dave Hynes have won the Fireball European Championships.

Merlin Rockets Salcombe Week

Speed / Gill race team members Andy and Ellie have won Merlin Rocket Salcombe Week.

GP14 Welsh Areas

Speed Sails claimed another GP14 area title in 2008 with a 1,2 finish for both the hulls and sails at Neyland. In the last major event before the World Championships at Abersoch Richard Instone and Steve Parker (sponsored by Gill) added the Welsh Areas to the Southern Areas they won at Poole last month. In an extremely close finish they won the event ahead of Carl Jeffs and Jim Toothill courtesy of victory in the final race.

Miracle Southerns at Margate

After a 3 month break from racing Tracy and Gemma Amos were straight back on the pace as they finished 2nd overall at the recent Miracle Southern Area Championships. Using a complete set of Speed Miracle sails the pair showed good speed in both the strong breezes on the Saturday and the lighter winds on the Sunday.

Enterprise Open at Notts County

Jonathan Woodward and Alex Halliwell ran out convincing winners of the recent Enterprise open meeting at Notts County SC. Using a complete set of Speed Enterprise sails and also trialling the new flyaway jib stick system they

reported excellent boat speed both up and down wind. The flyaway jib stick is currently under development and is legal for open meetings but not the Nationals and Area Championships. Jonathan Woodward is working with Speed Sails to develop a simple conversion kit for people wishing to try the system for themselves and this should be available from August onwards.

Mirror Irish Westerns

Speed Mirror sails have added another major title to the UK Eastern and Eric Twiname championship titles already claimed in 2008 with victory at the Irish Western Championships. The sails have also seen strong performances at the Southern, Scottish and National Championships after development on the 2007 World Championship winning sails was conducted over the winter and throughout the spring.

Entries for the GP14 World Championship 2008 to be held in Abersoch, North Wales have now hit 110. Amongst the latest to enter are former Endeavour Trophy Champion of Champions, and one of the most successful GP14 pairings of all time, Richard Estaugh and Simon Potts, alongside the well known and also very successful dinghy sailor (himself a former Champion of Champions), crewed by Andy Service.

Richard’s record in the GP14 is impressive. He has won no less than 6 World, 12 National and 11 Inland Championships! Back together with Simon for the first time since their 2007 Nationals win, this team will no doubt be pushing for another podium finish. However, it will not be an easy challenge.

This event will also see current GP14 World Champions Ian Dobson and Andy Tunnicliffe seek to defend their title, 2003 World Champions Neil Marsden and Derek Hill team up again to repeat the success they enjoyed in Abersoch that year and current Fireball World Champion Matt Mee looking to add another World Championship to his growing list of honours, which already include a GP14 National Championship. There are many others too, including Carl Jeffs and Jim Toothill who will again be hoping to capture the major title that still alludes them. 

Elsewhere, there will be the inevitable fight for silver and bronze fleet prizes and special trophies, which feature as much in the post-race bar talk as any other. And as if this high level of competition throughout the fleet and the prospect of racing against 109 other boats was not enough to entice people, Championship Chairman Ian Sinclair and his team, together with South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club are working tirelessly to ensure a great time off the water as well, with live bands, hog roasts and much more!

We look forward to seeing you!