UK National Police
Offshore Sailing Championships
This page provides details of past Police National Offshore regattas.
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Sails reefed during the
National Offshore Champs., 2003
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PAA
OFFSHORE SAILING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2001 |
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Further details of all races below:
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PAA
OFFSHORE SAILING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2002 |
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PAA
OFFSHORE SAILING CHAMPIONSHIPS |
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The 2003 Championships were hosted by Devon & Cornwall Constabulary, beginning and ending in Plymouth.
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The Police National Offshore Sailing Championships, 2004
L.G.
Click here to view pictures of the
event
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27/05/04 - from Mike Corrigan:
At the conclusion of the 2004 racing, a rumour started that Sunsail considered
that this was the last year of this event using the Sunsail yachts in The
Solent.
Mike has spoken to a representative of Sunsail management who categorically
denies that any such decision has been made. Furthermore Sunsail consider the
Police Offshore Championships as one of their prestige events and are looking
forward to organising the event in Scotland in 2005 and of course seeing all the
teams and more back in The Solent in 2006.
Friday 13th 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.
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 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.
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. 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 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. 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 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.
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 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. Rock Steady The Prize Giving 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). Was It Worth It? 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
Final Overall Result
In view of the large amount of pictures, the selection has
been divided into two parts
See also the 'Reports & Stories' section for a view of the Championships from Chris Jellis, Devon & Cornwall Constabulary
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Police Sport UK Offshore Sailing Championships 2006
Warwickshire Police hosted the 2006 offshore sailing championships from the Solent on 22nd - 26th May.
Twenty-two crews of eight, representing 19 forces all arrived at
Port Solent on the preceding Sunday to be designated their Sunsail, Sunfast 37ft
yacht. All these yachts are of the same specification. With this being a one
class regatta there is no need for any handicapping therefore it will be the
best sailing team that wins the event. The week brought a mixture of extreme
weather conditions from very strong winds to none at all.
Monday, Day One, proved to be a non-starter; with winds of over 50mph
being recorded in the English Channel, the race officer deemed, quite sensibly,
that it was too windy to race.
By Tuesday the winds had eased and the fleet set off for an 80 miles
race, anti-clockwise starting from Portsmouth, around the Isle of Wight via
Poole Harbour entrance, finishing at Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight. The passage
to Poole was challenging to all crews; with the winds hitting the yachts head on
and the seas producing waves of 10 - 15 feet. Even the most hardy of sailors
found these conditions testing. Three yachts, for various reasons retired but
the rest of the fleet battled on. After rounding the mark at Poole, the sun came
out and the conditions changed from challenging to exhilarating. The wind was
now behind us and the fleet surfed the whole of the southern Isle of Wight.
Speeds of up to 18 knots were recorded. Alas this could not last as this was a
circular course and the Solent, with persistent head winds had to be conquered
again. By the finish all the teams acknowledged that this had been the most
arduous but rewarding of days. Courage, strength, stamina and seamanship had all
been tested to the extreme.
Racing on Wednesday was again abandoned due to very strong winds.
Thursday brought a complete change in the weather; the winds dropped and
the sun came out. The fleet set off in light winds sailing east towards Cowes,
Isle of Wight. The first two marks proved to be very competitive as the fleet
stayed together then the wind dropped. Those yachts that headed towards the
mainland coast in search of wind had a very long morning. At several stages
anchors were dropped to stop the yachts from being taken back by the tide, to
where they had started. During the afternoon the winds freshened just a little
and two very competitive races 'around the cans' were completed.
That evening the whole fleet were invited to a BBQ at the Royal Corinthian Yacht
club. There was a charity collection for the Tall Ships Youth Trust that raised
the grand total of £1,300.
Friday was greeted by stronger winds again. Racing finally got under way
at noon. Teams had to battle both tides and winds as they made their way back
towards Portsmouth and the end of the regatta.
After a good week sailing, races had been won by North Yorkshire, the
Metropolitan "A" teams and three races won by the outstanding team from
Nottinghamshire. The final results were;
1st Nottinghamshire
2nd Metropolitan "A"
3rd Leicestershire
4th Devon and Cornwall
Warwickshire Police would like to thank Police Credit Union, George Burrows and
Dairy Crest for their support in helping them to host the event.
Chris Edmond
Police Sport UK Offshore Sailing Championships 2006 |
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Skipper | Team | Overall Position |
Race Winners |
Walters | Nottinghamshire | 1st | Races 3,5,6 |
Glass | Metropolitan 'A' | 2nd | Race 7 |
Milner | Leicestershire | 3rd on count back | |
Jellis | Devon & Cornwall | 4th | |
Pope | South Wales | 5th | |
Waters | Metropolitan 'B' | 6th | |
Rigby | Sussex | 7th | |
Caukwell | North Yorkshire | 8th | Race 4 |
Riordan | Cleveland | 9th | |
Spark | Dorset | 10th | |
Ingram | West Midlands 'B' | 11th | |
Burbeck | Warwickshire A | 12th | |
Clark | Lothian & Borders 'B' | 13th | |
Reid | Strathclyde | 14th | |
Sprott | City of London | 15th | |
Watson | Lothian & Borders 'A' | 16th | |
Beverley | Kent | 17th | |
Collins | Cheshire | 18th | |
Cuddon | Lancashire | 19th | |
Ashcroft | West Yorkshire | 20th | |
Scutt | Warwickshire 'B' | 21st | |
Corrigan | West Midlands 'A' | 22nd | |
Races 1&2 were abandoned due to very strong winds. |
Police Sport UK Offshore Sailing Championships 2007 |
Ladies and Gents,
Tony Riordan |
Police Sport UK |
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TEAM |
RACE 1 |
RACE 2 |
RACE 3 |
RACE 4 |
RACE 5 |
RACE 6 |
RACE 7 |
RACE 8 |
RACE 9 |
RACE 10 |
RACE 11 |
TOTAL POINTS |
POSITION |
Nottinghamshire | 1 | 1 | 1 | Abnd | 1 | 1 | 1 | Dis | 6 | 1 | |||
West Midlands 'C' | 3 | 2 | 4 | Abnd | 4 | Dis | 6 | 10 | 29 | 2 | |||
Metropolitan 'A' | 9 | 3 | 6 | Abnd | 7 | Dis | 2 | 4 | 31 | 3 | |||
Metropolitan 'B' | 5 | 7 | 7 | Abnd | 8 | Dis | 9 | 2 | 38 | 4 | |||
Sussex | 17 | 4 | 2 | Abnd | 2 | Dis | 14 | 1 | 40 | 5 | |||
Cornwall | 6 | 5 | 8 | Abnd | 6 | Dis | 3 | 13 | 41 | 6 | |||
Devon | 8 | 6 | 3 | Abnd | 10 | Dis | 12 | 3 | 42 | 7 | |||
Kent | 10 | 12 | 5 | Abnd | 3 | Dis | 8 | 9 | 47 | 8 | |||
Dorset | 4 | 8 | 9 | Abnd | 11 | Dis | 17 | 7 | 56 | 9 | |||
Warwickshire 'B' | 12 | 10 | 11 | Abnd | 14 | Dis | 4 | 12 | 63 | 10 | |||
Cleveland | 2 | 9 | 13 | Abnd | 5 | Dis | 11 | 24 | 64 | 11 | |||
Leicestershire | 7 | 11 | 17 | Abnd | 15 | Dis | 7 | 15 | 72 | 12 | |||
Strathclyde 'A' | 19 | 13 | 12 | Abnd | 13 | Dis | 10 | 14 | 81 | 13 | |||
Lancashire | 20 | 20 | 16 | Abnd | 22 | Dis | 5 | 6 | 89 | 14 | |||
Lothian & Borders | 13 | 14 | 14 | Abnd | 17 | Dis | 16 | 18 | 92 | 15 | |||
Warwickshire 'A' | 21 | 16 | 18 | Abnd | 9 | Dis | 20 | 8 | 92 | 15 | |||
Metropolitan 'C' | 5 | 18 | 23 | Abnd | 21 | Dis | 13 | 16 | 96 | 17 | |||
West Midlands 'B' | 16 | 17 | 10 | Abnd | 12 | Dis | 21 | 24 | 100 | 18 | |||
Hertfordshire | 14 | 19 | 15 | Abnd | 16 | Dis | 15 | 24 | 103 | 19 | |||
City of London | 11 | 15 | 19 | Abnd | 18 | Dis | 18 | 24 | 105 | 20 | |||
West Midlands 'A' | 18 | 21 | 20 | Abnd | 19 | Dis | 23 | 17 | 118 | 21 | |||
Strathclyde 'B' | 23 | 23 | 21 | Abnd | 23 | Dis | 19 | 11 | 120 | 22 | |||
West Yorkshire | 22 | 22 | 22 | Abnd | 20 | Dis | 22 | 24 | 132 | 23 | |||
Result details supplied by the Organiser |
Organiser: Tony Riordan
Work: 01642 303352 (new number)
Home: 01642 890498
Mobile: 07764 211171
Email: Anthony.Riordan@cleveland.pnn.police.uk
Police Sport UK Offshore Sailing Championships, 2008 Final Result |
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TEAM | SKIPPER |
TOTAL POINTS |
FINAL POSITION |
Notts 'B' | Pete Walters | 11 | 1 |
Metropolitan 'B'' | Dean Ingledew | 21 | 2 |
PSNI | Garth Henry | 24 | 3 |
Metropolitan 'D' | Stuart Jenkins | 29 | 4 |
Kent | David Lavender | 37 | 5 |
Cleveland | Tony Riordan | 43 | 6 |
Metropolitan 'C' | Roger Glass | 46 | 7 |
Warwickshire | Henry Scutt | 48 | 8 |
Metropolitan 'A' | Nigel French | 49 | 9 |
West Midlands 'A' | Ian Ingram | 63 | 10 |
Notts 'A' | Mark Flavell | 72 | 11 |
Northumbria | Tim Douglas | 79 | 12 |
Devon & Cornwall 'B' |
Chris Jellis | 84 | 13 |
Lancashire | David Old | 90 | 14 |
City of London | Richard Maynard | 99 | 15 |
Cleveland 'B' | Ian Bedford | 103 | 16 |
Leicestershire | Tony Onions | 107 | 17 |
Sussex | Steven Rigby | 109 | 18 |
West Midlands 'C' | Paul Deakin | 113 | 19 |
West Yorkshire | Gerard Sharp | 114 | 20 |
Metropolitan 'E'' | Alan Slater | 115 | 21 |
Strathclyde 'A' | John Love | 120 | 22 |
Lothian & Borders | Jim Watson | 121 | 23 |
Devon & Cornwall 'A' |
David Hurd | 130 | 24 |
Herts | Stan Thingsaker | 145 | 25 |
West Midlands 'B' | Mike Corrigan | 146 | 26 |
Strathclyde 'A' | Andrew Ronald | 173 | 27 |
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Organiser:
Nottinghamshire Police Sailing Section
Go to the
Stats for:The records above have been provided by Len Gooch. If you have any other records that you would like to be added, please send to this Web administrator