BKA sailors ready for J80 Worlds action

BKA sailors ready for J80 worlds action © Paul Wyeth / www.pwpictures.com

Two crews from the British Keelboat Academy will be competing for World Championship honours next week, as sailors from the RYA and UKSA joint keelboat racing initiative battle it out on home waters at Dartmouth in the 2012 MIQ Logistics J80 World Championships Powered by SLAM (9th-15th June).

The regatta will be jointly hosted by the Britannia Yacht Club, the Royal Dart Yacht Club and the J/80 UK Class Association with around 80 teams expected to travel from across the globe to compete in one of the world’s largest keelboat classes.

Nia Jones (Cardiff Bay YC), Fergus Barnham (Snettisham Beach SC), Alice Butler (Warsash SC) and Serena de Nahlik (Draycote Water SC) are the four sailors on board GBR1054 while GBR1055 will consist of Joanna Ireland (Restronguet SC), Jack Whiting (University of Plymouth), Will Semken (Royal Thames YC) and Nathan Thorne (Holyhead SC).

On competing in his first J80 World Championships, 21-year-old Jack Whiting, commented: “The Worlds has become my main focus in life over the past six months - which has been difficult whilst at University! It is the event I am looking forward to the most this year as there are over 300 sailors from seven nations competing! We have entered the RORC Easter Challenge, the Warsash Spring Champs and have being sailing the boats hard during the winter to get as much training in as possible.”

Alice Butler, 19, added: “The worlds will be a much bigger fleet than any of our previous competitions. Over the winter we have been working on our boat handling and race preparations with the British Keelboat Academy. Our main priority has been to find sponsorship to allow us to compete at the highest level and we are very grateful for all the support we have received so far. I have been working on the logistics, ensuring the boat is ready to travel and that it is fully prepped for racing.”

The BKA sailors were given the sole responsibility of organising their campaign and funding for the event, working alongside BKA coaches. The two teams have been working hard to gain sponsorship over the past twelve months to raise the funds necessary for the event.

“The BKA has given us the knowledge and encouragement needed to keep pushing to get to the Worlds. Without their support we would have definitely struggled to enter the event this year. We have developed our ability to organise the shore side of sailing that can often seem boring but is essential to racing successfully and can now lead our own campaigns. In addition, the BKA coaches have been instrumental in helping us develop our sailing to be able to sail the boats competitively in a short space of time,” said Whiting.

“Our main aim will be to finish within the top third of the fleet, but ultimately, we want to show the other nations the golden future of Britain’s sailing campaign’s lie not only in the talented Olympians during 2012, but also in the racing yachtsmen and women of tomorrow.”

Luke McCarthy, British Keelboat Academy Head Coach, commented: “I am really excited to have two teams heading to the J80 Worlds this year. The sailors have put in a huge amount of time and effort to not only develop their sailing but also organise all aspects of their campaign. It is great to see some of the country’s top young sailors lining up at a World Championships in this highly-competitive fleet, and I am sure that they will put all their hard work to good use and get the results they deserve.”

For further information on the 2012 J80 World Championships visit the event website For more information about the British Keelboat Academy and how you can help with fundraising, please visit the BKA website at www.britishkeelboatacademy.org , or follow the BKA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BritishKeelboatAcademy or on Twitter (@tweetbka).