World Championships Field Visits

The Dinghy Show at the beginning of the month was a good opportunity for the World’s Team (Gill, Michelle, Sam, Sarah and Monkey, minus Tom) to meet and greet with some of our sponsors including title sponsor Gul. As well as providing a very generous prize allocation Gul have now also agreed to provide all competitors with a Gul visor on the proviso that we have a Gul visor day and all wear them on the water!

We also met up with Harken to talk prizes and drones. Hopefully, weather depending, we will be getting a day of drone footage action on the water.

We also stopped in to see our official chandlers for the event, P&B and spoke to Dave Wade. He confirmed that the P&B van will be onsite and open for business every day before and after racing. The times will be confirmed at the event but you will be able to pick up all the essentials you might need including masts, spars, fittings, tiller extensions and gloves. Dave said (more croaked as he had lost his voice!): “We are happy to be involved in the GP14 World Championships, we will be represented on the water and love doing the chandlery at events. Having P&B there with our knowledge of the GP14 works really well for competitors as we will have the right bits of kitand the right knowledge to fit them.”

This weekend just gone Gill, myself, Sam and David Rowlands went to Mount’s Bay Sailing Club for an intensive day and a half of meetings (Gill likes to pack as much in as possible!) The Club were very welcoming and as the debate about SI’s got into full swing I nipped out with my cameras to get some pics and video clips of the club, launching area, dinghy park and slipway and a bit of the town as it was a lovely day. There are a few pics on the Facebook page and at some point I will put a little video clip online too. After my wander I was pleased to see everyone still on one piece after what is always the agenda item that gets most debate. I met with the event photographer, local Lee Whitehead, who will be there all week snapping your triumphs and tears and then we talked socials and arrival logistics. There will be a daily masterclass, briefing and weather reports for all sailors before racing so we can make sure everyone is prepped and ready for the conditions.

Looking at the social space we have a marquee that will be covering the car park and that is where food will be available every day apart from Wednesday including breakfasts, simple lunches to take out or eat in and an evening meal, there will hopefully also be a small bar down there too. This space will also be used for some of the entertainment which will be split into three zones to ensure there is something for everyone. For the sailors there will be photos and other footage shown in the sailors zone every day. For those who like to partake in a beer or two we have been set a challenge. Apparently there was a night at the 505 nationals where they drank a barrel ofbeer every 20 minutes, can we out do that on party night?! The other zone will be outside with a large covered balcony that overlooks the Mount.

There will be socials during the day for the non-sailors and everyone is encouraged to come to the socials and soak up the atmosphere, there will be the usual treasure hunts, quizzes, bands, games nights and a special surprise on the last night. As much as possible will be included in your entry fee with details confirmed once we hit late entry but you know you will be getting a post-race drink, pasty on one of the nights, two live bands, a glass of prosecco on the last night, goody bags which will include a souvenir English Braid rubber wrist band, Gingerboats lanyard, Gul visor, Y&Y magazine, P&B or SP Boats/Elite wallet.

For those who haven’t booked accommodation, there is some still available and for those on a budget there will be a campsite opposite the event dinghy park. This will be basic (no hook ups) but will include a toilet and possibly a shower block. There will be toilets and shower facilities in the event dinghy park and in the club and will include parking. Details to follow shortly but if you want to put your name on the list email Michelle: mutch@hotmail.com

Finally, onto merchandising. As you may have seen we had some clothing samples made up before Christmas but that unfortunately fell through so we have managed to source and set up something else. There will be polo shirts with just an embroidered logo on the front and then hoodies and t-shirts with the embroidered logo on the front and on the back the title of the event and the names of all of the competitors inside the year of the event. There will also be the option to add on your club name, nickname, boat name etc. at the bottom. The association is taking no profit from the sales to try and keep the costs as low as possible for you. T-shirts will be around £13, Hoodies around £20 and Polos around £19 with a wide choice of colours and sizes. Once the online shop goes live you can order and then pick up your clothing at the event so there is no delivery charge. This should be ready in the next couple of weeks.