PAA OFFSHORE SAILING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2001
Dates: Sunday, 20 May - Friday, 25 May
Venue: The Solent
Hosts: West Midlands Police

Further details of all races below:

PAA OFFSHORE SAILING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2002
Dates: Sunday, 12 May - Friday, 17 May, 2002
Venue: South Coast based at Port Solent
Host Force: Dorset Police

PAA OFFSHORE SAILING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Dates: Sunday, 18 May - Friday, 23 May, 2003
Venue: Southwest coast, Start & Finish at Plymouth

The 2003 Championships were hosted by Devon & Cornwall Constabulary, beginning and ending in Plymouth.

Pictures of the event

The Police National Offshore Sailing Championships, 2004
Hosts = Metropolitan Police Sailing Club
Dates = 9th-14th May, 2004

L.G.

Click here to view pictures of the event

Police Sport UK National Offshore Sailing Championships, 2005
held Sunday 15th to Thursday 19th May 2005.
Argyll, Scotland.

Hosted by Lothian and Borders Police Sailing Club 

Friday 13th
For most participants in the 2005 Police National Offshore Sailing Championships, Friday 13th May meant an early rise and a long drive, flight or sail north to Scotland. Despite the ominous connotations of the date, those arriving were greeted with bright sunshine and fair winds.

With this year's event taking place on the west coast of Argyll for the first time, the majority of chartered boats available north of Hadrian's Wall, the Sunsail fleet, were to be collected from their base at Largs, on the Clyde, before transferring them through the Crinan Canal, in Argyll for the start of racing at Crinan on Sunday 15th May. Other boats that would form the rest of the fleet were either brought to the race area by their owners or from Argyll based yacht charter firms. Teams arriving at Glasgow Airport were met by their Scottish colleagues and the feeder race to Largs was won narrowly by the Strathclyde minibus, with Lothian and Borders a close second; local knowledge proved the winner on this occasion!

So, for many, the Championships began in Largs and, for many, the expected lengthy waits for their boats to be handed over never materialised. The steady stream of competitors arriving throughout the day fitted in well with Sunsail's arrangements and most crews were able to leave within a few hours of arriving. The main benefit for the morning arrivals was an additional day's sailing that gave them the option of reaching Tarbert in the early evening, with the consequence of only a short sail to Ardrishaig the next day for the Canal opening time of 7.00 a.m. It was good sailing too - as confirmed by several calls from those on the water to the shore based organisers!

The next day, British Waterways' staff were on hand to assist the fleet through the sea lock gate and onwards to Crinan. This was done so efficiently, that all the fleet were past Bellanoch and into the Crinan Basin by the early afternoon giving plenty of time for old friends to become reacquainted, and for new friends to be made, at the Crinan Hotel. A check confirmed all 19 entered teams had arrived safely and the 'Rock Steady' committee boat was also on stand by. The sun was still shining and all was set for the beginning of the Championships.

The Police National Offshore Sailing Championships
At the 1200 hours briefing on Sunday 15th May 2005, the Race Officer, Mike Harrison was introduced to the skippers, the day's racing instructions were issued and the skippers were returned to their boats which, by this time, were out on Loch Crinan, circling around, sails at the ready, in a building Westerly wind.

The start line for Race 1 was set off the north shore of the loch and, after a general recall, the fleet got away at the second attempt (even so, some boats were still over the line although most returned). The wind direction meant a fairly arduous beat up to the Dorus Mor, before yachts were able to free off onto a fetch off Craignish Point as they turned northwards into the Sound of Luing. By this time the skies had turned grey but it was still a great sight to see the fleet approach Easdale Island, with the cliffs of the Ross of Mull as the backdrop, raising their spinnakers on their way to the Sound of Kerrera. At the entrance, the wind slackened and changed direction. Spinnakers were dropped and for a short while the committee considered shortening the course. However, the wind picked up again, the sun came out, and it was a close haul to the Ferry Rocks buoys before freeing off for a spinnaker reach to the line at Oban Sailing Club where Joey Gough noted the finish times.

The fleet in the Sound of Kerrera

On this occasion, West Yorkshire, in their Jeanneau 35, took line honours and Nottinghamshire were only a short distance behind. Corrected time placed Strathclyde A first and they won the Hampshire Trophy.
The race was over a 24 mile course and the finish times fitted in perfectly for crews to tie up at Oban Yacht's pontoons at Ardentraive before tucking in to a spit roast barbecue at a Civic Reception part funded by Argyll & Bute Council.

This event was set in the boat shed that the owners, Tony and Lisa Cox, and their staff, had cleared specially for the occasion. Some local entertainment was provided and there was an impromptu 'Strip the Willow' orchestrated by Allan McLean. In true fashion, chaos ensued but everyone appeared to have a great time! This was borne out by a local guest who could still hear the singing from the island when she returned to her home at the opposite side of the bay.

Oban Bay
Daybreak revealed that the wind had continued to veer overnight and there was now a stiff, chill North Easterly blowing for Race 2. Outside, the swell had built considerably so the start line was set within Oban Bay. The residents of the town awoke to the sight of all 19 of the fleet jostling for position. It was an impressive display and once the fleet were away (first time) they headed on a beat for the North Entrance. The narrow channel was testing and there was much manoeuvring and shouts for water or for rights of way. From the shore, it was all very exciting and the calls could be clearly heard. So too was the sickening crunch when Lancashire collided with Leicestershire and discernible gasps were heard throughout the town.

Once free from the North Entrance, the fleet was able to bear away and set off on a rollercoaster ride (as the Oban Times reported it), south towards the Garvellach Islands. Spinnakers were set and it was not long until the first call was made for the sail loft to be notified they would be in business later.
It was a 38 mile course but the strong wind for the return leg increased the distance to around 45 miles. Despite this, the first boat, West Yorkshire, returned to Oban Bay in the early afternoon. Nottinghamshire were a close second and, although the wind had decreased, it was not much longer until all competitors had negotiated the tough course. After corrected time, PSNI emerged as the winners of the Thames Valley Cup.

The early finish gave the crews an earlier start to their evening in Oban. They headed for the town on the ferry into a cool Easterly breeze that continued for their return.

The Sound of Mull and Tobermory
Tuesday morning was in contrast to the previous day. There were very light, variable winds from the West for the start of Race 3 outside Oban Bay. This became a reach towards the entrance to the Sound of Mull at the Lismore light house and fickle winds continued further into the Sound. However, they picked up to give a reasonable beat up to Tobermory and the fleet finished the 23 mile course in good time inside the Bay, courtesy of Neil MacInnes of the Western Isles Yacht Club who was on hand to record the finish times.

Yet again, West Yorkshire crossed the line first with Nottinghamshire a few minutes behind. Corrected time gave PSNI first place overall and their second prize of the week, the Anchor Trophy.

The fleet's home for the next two evenings was to be the recently installed pontoons that are situated in the South West corner of the bay. These proved to be a fantastic facility and all of the fleet plus two support boats were able to tie up in glorious, but cool, sunshine that lit up the brightly painted façade of the shore side buildings. Competitors enjoyed the other facilities the town offers in particular MacGohan's and the Mishnish Hotel, and the Police National Offshore Sailing Section AGM took place in the Western Isles Hotel on Tuesday evening.

Wednesday's challenge was to put in two races in the Western Entrance to the Sound of Mull. Using existing navigation buoys, courses were set to give an upwind first leg followed by some downwind sailing. Both starts were in Tobermory Bay.

The first race (Race 4) began in a strong South Easterly wind although this was not so obvious from inside the bay. However, as the yachts entered the Sound of Mull they were immediately hit with the full force of this wind and it was a long beat to the first mark. The organisers caught occasional glimpses of the fleet as it passed the bay's entrance following the course that took them into Loch Sunart, opposite Tobermory before heading into Kilchoan Bay and around the, now legendary, isolated danger mark.

The antics of the fleet there did not go unnoticed and it was not long before reports got back to the shore support team - such is the way of things on the West Coast of Scotland!

Fortunately, everyone survived this encounter although North Yorkshire and Cleveland had a bit of a bump at another stage of the race which resulted in North Yorkshire's Ovni 35 returning to Tobermory looking a bit worse for wear. It was also a bad day for PSNI in their Maxi Mixer who had to retire with a broken halyard.

In a break from the emerging pattern, line honours were taken by Metropolitan B with Lothian and Borders just over a minute behind. Corrected time put Strathclyde in first place to win the West Midlands Cup.

After the finish of this race, there was just sufficient time for the crews to refresh before the second race of the day (Race 5) over a shorter course. All the problems from the morning were resolved and all boats started the race in darkening skies and the beginnings of a long spell of rain. As they left the bay, spinnakers were raised aloft, and, despite the gloomy outlook, it was a good sight to see. Over the water, Nottinghamshire were first to cross and Devon and Cornwall put in an impressive display to finish within a minute. Corrected time gave the Overnight Bell to PSNI.

Return to Oban
The rain continued to fall on Thursday in typical West Coast fashion (some may have noticed it has a knack of seeping through waterproof clothing). The wind was still strong and continued to blow from the South East which meant a beat for the return of Race 6 to the finish off the Yuill Rock in the Sound of Mull (unfortunately, the tides were not favourable for a race all the way to Oban). Because of the damage suffered the previous day, North Yorkshire did not start and not long after they left Tobermory Bay, Strathclyde A experienced catastrophic gear failure when their forestay broke, forcing an immediate retirement.

The rest of the fleet flogged their way through the frequent rain squalls until they reached the finish, arriving there just behind the committee boat which had left Tobermory over two hours ahead of them.
In a repeat of the previous day, Nottinghamshire finished ahead of Devon and Cornwall to take line honours and PSNI won the Stern Light Trophy on corrected time.

Rock Steady
The Police National Offshore Sailing Championships was very fortunate in receiving sponsorship from Rock Steady, an Edinburgh based event and security firm celebrating its 25th year since it was founded by its Director, Mark Hamilton. In its time, Rock Steady has become established at home and abroad and distinguished itself with several, high profile events such as Edinburgh's Hogmanay Street Party and 'T in the Park'. The company also provides security for some well known public figures. The organisers were pleased to welcome Mark Hamilton to Tobermory on Wednesday evening when he had an opportunity to meet with some of the competitors and join the crew of the committee boat on the water the next day.

The Prize Giving
The prize giving buffet dinner was held in McTavish's Kitchens in Oban on Thursday 19th May 2005. The Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police, Paddy Tomkins was in attendance, representing the host force, and so too was Strathclyde Police's Assistant Chief Constable, Ricky Gray (his force had provided the location for the Championships).

Mr Tomkins presented the individual race prize winners with their trophies. All six of these went to two of the Celtic nation's forces, Strathclyde, skippered by Dougie Reid and PSNI, who were led by Stevie Andrews.

The Ian Toomer Trophy, presented this year to the lowest placed team that had completed all the races, was presented to Dave White of Cleveland Police and there was a special 'one-off' prize, two bottles of champagne and a baseball cap, awarded by Robert McLeod of the Mishnish Hotel in Tobermory. This went to Andy Cuddon, Lancashire Constabulary for his team's perseverance during races 4 & 5 outside Tobermory when Robert had felt sorry for them coming in as tail-enders in the driving rain.

Finally, the main prize of the evening, the Metropolitan Police Shield, awarded to the highest placed team over all the races went to Nottinghamshire Police and their skipper, Pete Walters. As the best placed Sunfast 37, he was also presented with the Sunsail Trophy. His team comprised, Helen Neaverson, Paul Pilsworth, Rick Priestly, John Austin, John Neaverson, Nick Shaw and Simon Judge.

Second overall was Strathclyde Police (Dougie Reid) and third was Metropolitan B (Andrew Gardiner).
Throughout the week, it was difficult to tell who was going to be outright champion and it came down to the last race. However, consistency paid off and Nottinghamshire's worst race result was 5th place. This is now the third time in four outings that Nottinghamshire have won the Police Sport UK National Offshore Sailing Championships and they are definitely the team to beat next year. Our congratulations go to them for their tremendous achievement.

Was It Worth It?
Organising this year's Championships was all about teamwork and making connections with people who could help us in the West of Scotland. These people have already been thanked individually for their contribution.

When we began, we set out our measures of success; to support sailing at all levels in Police Sport UK; to provide suitable competition; and to promote friendship. As planning progressed, some additional aims were introduced, the main one being that if participants left feeling they'd wish to return again some day, we had achieved some success. From the feedback we've had, this seems to be the case.

Our main thanks, however, go to the competitors. Without their support and commitment to take this leap of faith, the event would never have started - we are very grateful.

Was it worth it? Yes. Would we do it again? Give us a break …

Andy Clark
June, 2005

Final Overall Result

In view of the large amount of pictures, the selection has been divided into two parts

Click Here to view the first Picture Gallery

Click Here to view the second Picture Gallery

See also the 'Reports & Stories' section for a view of the Championships from Chris Jellis, Devon & Cornwall Constabulary

Police Sport UK Offshore Sailing Championships 2007
Hosted by Cleveland Police

Ladies and Gents,

Please find below the revised and final results of the PSUK National Offshore Sailing Championships 2007. I apologise for the delay in posting of the results. In the original 'Notice of Race' (scoring) issued on the Police Sailing website in January, 2007, it stated two races would be discarded on completion of 7 or more races. It has been brought to the notice of the organising committee (by several competing teams) that Sunsail issued a different 'Notice of Race' (Instructions) on Monday 21st May 2007, stating only one race would be discarded. I apologise for this misunderstanding and feel the correct way to resolve the matter is to accept that the ‘Notice of Race’ issued by Sunsail is the ruling one and the final results reflect this.

I hope this minor issue is forgotten in lieu of the excellent weather provide during the Championships.

Tony Riordan
6/6/07

Police Sport UK
Offshore Sailing Championships, 2007
Final Result

Result details supplied by the Organiser