Author: Peter Ward

Kicking pebbles on the beach wishing he was sailing!.

Marconi SC Prepares for Strong Competition in Sailing Leagues this Season Last weekend 5 Marconi Keelboat sailors participated in a J70 training session at the Royal Southern Yacht Club.The sessions and drills were delivered by Megan Brickwood, recent British Sailing Team member in the 49erFX class. ‘Megan was brilliant with her insight and advice with regards tactics, boat positioning and overall strategy.’ David Nickalls Team Marconi Bow The weekend provided both a really heavy weather day and a light airs day, which allowed our sailors to add skills and experience for conditions they are likely to come across as they…

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At the start of September Marconi members Mia, Tiegan, Hannah, Niamh and Daisy took on the women’s leg of the 2023 British Keelboat League in Southampton. (Team M in the photo’s) Here’s their report: (Ed) After our success at East Coast Piers the self named Slaydeez we’re super excited to take on the British Keelboat League. Saturday morning was a slow start with racing postponed due to lack of wind but we made the most of the opportunity and enjoyed swimming off the hotel boat as we waited for our first race. After our first couple of races we settled…

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As a result of their 3rd place in last years British Keelboat League Finals, Marconi Sailing Club will participate in the Sailing Champions League at Sopot in Poland, June 15-18th. The event in Poland is one of 3 qualifying events at which British clubs will race against winning teams from other European Nations Keelboat Leagues. The first event has already been sailed, and Strathclyde University returned home having finished in 10th place in their event, confirming that the competition is of a very high standard. Club Commodore Richard  Collis said, ‘We are extremely proud that our sailors have won selection to participate in…

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A weekend of match race training was scheduled for Marconi as our members were warmly welcomed by the Royal Corinthian YC this week. Not only did we have 5 sailors competing in the event, but RCYC RO Edwin Buckley and his team invited fledgling race officers Debbie Grafton and Lana Clarke to shadow his teams activities from the committee boat. In amongst the rapid succession of races, the RCYC team explained the processes and sequence of events to our members so that they might bring back what they learned to Marconi. ‘An invaluable and exciting insight into the intricacies of match racing,…

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Training Program 1 – THEORY Wednesday 1st March – SAILING Sunday 5th March 2 – THEORY Wednesday 15th March – SAILING Sunday 19th March 3 – THEORY Wednesday 29th March – SAILING Sunday Sunday 2nd April All training sessions are open to everyone, whether you have match raced before or not, it is also ok to come to any session even if you cannot make others. Big Easter Back to Basics 1 – THEORY Wednesday 5th April – SAILING Sunday 9th April MATCH RACING REGATTA Monday 10th April Our Easter Back to Basics sessions are great if you are not around for the main program but want to…

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On Saturday 14th January, Marconi members Mia Morgan, Pat Healey, David Nickalls and Peter Ward were invited to shadow the on water race officials and umpires in the British Winter Match Racing event at Queen Mary’s reservoir. During a long postponement for high winds and heavy rain, the event officials and 9 sailing teams watched the windsurfers zipping past the fleet of RS21 keelboats on their moorings. Eventually the windsurfers were noticeably slower and that was the signal for the Match Racing to commence. Like a well oiled machine, the officials cranked into action and by the time the fleet had…

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Building on the momentum of the Keelboat Academy, a group of Marconi sailors were introduced to match racing as they extended their sailing season throughout the Autumn. The initiative, sparked from an idea of Isabella Ferneyhough, was taken on by Mia Morgan who set about accumulating video resources and other training assets that were then delivered by Mia in a series of evening online ‘Introduction to Match Racing’ workshops. Each workshop was followed up by on water sessions where the knowledge gained was applied in short match races where all participants got the chance to both crew and helm, whilst others made…

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Following a successful qualifying event in Cardiff, Marconi were invited to the Royal Southern Yacht Club for the British Keelboat League Finals. The team, consisting of (stern to bow) Dan Nickalls, Jack Wardell, David Nickalls and Hannah Bard were representing not only Marconi but also the Marconi Keelboat Academy. The MKA gives youth and adult sailors the opportunity to race at a high level at open events and experience close competition which they may not have done in the past. It is through the MKA that all four team members were first introduced to keelboat sailing. The team were appearing…

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A news embargo in respect for the Royal Family and the period of mourning was requested by Cardiff Bay Yacht Club, who decided to go ahead with their running of the British Keelboat League on 10th – 11th September. This having now passed, Marconi SC thank them for their consideration. Here’s a report with contributions from our participating sailors. 12 Marconi members gathered at Cardiff in the late afternoon of Friday 9th September ready to participate as three teams, competing against other clubs in the BKL. Some of our members were old hands at this event (Hannah, David, Dan &…

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