The game of Sailing - Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta

There are sports other than Cricket – some are lesser known because only few participate, they are very tough, there is not much of coverage, the rules are very complex,  they are localized and some are extremely expensive.  One such sport is Sailing – it is the art of  controlling a boat with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to change the direction and speed of a boat. Mastery of the skill requires experience in varying wind and sea conditions, as well as knowledge concerning sailboats themselves and a keen understanding of one's surroundings.  It is said that Sails work in two ways using the wind  - using conditions which push the sail  and  using conditions which pull the sail.  The principle is to use the airflow set up by the wind and motion of the boat.  It is not the air flow at the sail surface – the World record set by Hydroptere reveals that the boat sailed 1.71 times the speed of the wind.  The energy is harnessed by relative movement of wind and water speed.   The manouvre is not with sails alone. 

The sport of sailboat racing generally  categorised as :  Class – of boats of identical hull shape and sail area;  Handicap – boats of different sail and handicaps reckoned either before the start or after the finish; Box Rule – the first to finish of similar sails.  The racing ranges from a single person dinghy racing to large boats with 10 or 20 crew and from small boats costing a few hundred dollars to multi-million dollar. 

The  Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta 2011 is on now.  This year will officially see the biggest Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta ever, as a record-breaking entry of more than 1,000 of the world’s top Olympic and Paralympic sailors bid to claim early supremacy. With a confirmed entry of 1050 sailors, in 740 boats, from 62 nations, competition within every class will be extremely fierce, with many of the sailors bidding to show their Olympic selectors why they should be in contention to represent their country at next year’s Games. No fewer than 11 reigning Olympic and Paralympic champions, and a whole host of Beijing 2008 and World medallists, will do battle across a total of 13 classes.

This Regatta is the penultimate event of the seven-round ISAF Sailing World Cup, with the latest event taking place just one week ago at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik.   This regatta is held at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy in Dorset, Great Britain.  It reportedly is relatively new event.   Skandia have become a renowned supporter of sailing events in Great Britain. As well as being title sponsor for the Sail for Gold Regatta since its inception in 2006, they also sponsored Cowes Week for 14 years. UK Sport is the other major contributor to the Regatta with money coming from UK National Lottery funding.

Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy is a centre for the sport of sailing on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England, United Kingdom. The academy building is located in Osprey Quay on the northern tip of the island, and the waters of Portland Harbour and Weymouth Bay, adjacent to the site, are the main areas used for sailing.  The harbour covers an area of 8.6 square kilometres (2,125 acres),]and is ideal for sailing as it is exposed to reliable winds from most directions.

Geographically,  Weymouth is a seaside town in Dorset, England, situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey on the English Channel coast. The A354 road bridge connects Weymouth to Portland, which together form the borough of Weymouth and Portland.

The Isle of Portland is  in the English Channel. Portland Harbour, in the bay between Portland and Weymouth, is one of the largest man-made harbours in the world. The harbour was formed by the building of stone breakwaters between 1848 and 1905. From its inception it was a Royal Navy base, and played prominent roles during World War I and World War II; ships of the Royal Navy and NATO countries worked up and exercised in its waters until 1995. The harbour is now a civilian port and popular recreation area, which will be used for the 2012 Olympic Games.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.