Part of the 2013 London Boat Show included the UK Star Championships; a race for Olympic class Star keelboats. These sailboats were recently seen at the 2012 London Olympic Games, and were on the waters of the Royal Victoria Docks on the 18th January, ready to race with a difference. The recent arrival of snow in London meant that they were off to a chilly start, and the Olympians and World Champion sailors set out to brave the cold weather. These famous sailors included the likes of Iain Percy, Andrew Simpson and Michael McIntyre.
The difference with these Star boats was their appearance.
This was a Fine Art Sails regatta, a new means to showcase art. The main sail
of each boat was a canvas for some of the best international modern artists, including EINE (a favourite of Samantha Cameron, Prime Minister David Cameron’s wife), Jaime Gili and INSA. With sails catching in the winds, the artwork constantly moves and changes appearance throughout the race. The regatta was won by French sailor Xavier Rohart and Serge Pulfer of Switzerland, the only non-British pair in the race. Not all the art was on the water though; Ben Ainslie also donated his Finn class sail to Fine Art Sails, to be displayed in the main exhibition hall.
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Yesterday, 12/12/2012, the result of the bid to host the 2016 Vintage Yachting Games was announced. The Games are to be held at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA), which has already proved itself as a fantastic venue during the summer as it is where the London 2012 Olympic Games sailing took place. The English club beat competition from German, Romanian, Swedish and French clubs to win the bid, as Weymouth demonstrated that it has the capacity to hold the predicted 650 competitors.
no longer used in the games and also gives former Olympic sailors the chance to return to the water and show off their skills, as they can longer compete in these classes in the Olympic Games. In 2016 the Vintage Yachting Games will celebrate over 90 years of sailing in the most recent Olympic sailing venue, which could not be a better place to host the games. The games will see the return of traditional models such as the Flying Dutchman and Tempest, and the venue can also cater for the largest of the categories, the 5.5m keelboat.
The Red Bull Youth America's Cup, which shall be joining the America's Cup Finals in San Francisco, is the perfect chance for young sailors to improve their skills and make their way up in the professional sailing world. Yesterday marked the announcement of the 12 youth teams to be invited to the February Selection Series, taking place from the 9th-24th February in San Francisco. These 12 teams are some of the best national youth sailing teams in the world, and their skills and competences will be put to the test in February.
worked together as a crew, and of course their standard of sailing. They needed to choose the best of the bunch, given they shall be sailing the physically demanding AC45 wing sail catamarans in both the selection series and the race in September. These are the same boats that will be raced by the teams in the AC World Series, proving just how good these young sailors have to be, to be able to sail the same boats as the more experienced racing teams. 
