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4th Regiment Royal Artillery
Sailing
Capt Charlie Jefferson RA
Over the last year the Regimental Sailing Team has enjoyed a long- overdue resurgence. The Regiment
is now a member at the Catterick Garrison Sailing Club (CGSC) which has a fleet of dinghies and sailing equipment for use by soldiers and officers. CGSC is based at Thornton Steward Reservoir, only 30 minutes from Alanbrooke Barracks, allow- ing members of the Regiment to sail dur- ing Wednesday afternoon sports sessions. The Regiment also sent a team to the Royal Artillery Yacht Club Dinghy Regatta on Thorney Island for the first time in a number of years which provided an excel- lent opportunity to develop the eager but fledgling team.
Royal Artillery Yacht Club (RAYC) Dinghy Regatta 2022
With the sun in the sky, the sound of sails being unfurled and the smell of neoprene in the air, June 2022 saw the Royal Artil- lery Yacht Club Dinghy Regatta get into full swing. While winds were light, it was a beautiful warm and sunny day as 62 Gunners from across the Royal Artillery gathered on the shores of Baker Barracks, Thorney Island, ready for racing.
The Regatta, which is held annually, is open to novice and experienced sailors alike, from across the Royal Regiment. While some sailors attended just for the day’s racing, for many this week was their first experience of dinghy sailing and they had spent the week learning the basic skills required to sail solo. Thorney Island is home to the Army Inshore Sail Train- ing Centre (AISTC), and it was here that 15 soldiers from the Regiment descended en masse one Sunday evening ready to start their Royal Yacht Association (RYA) Start Sailing course, the first qualification of the RYA sailing scheme. As ever winds can be fickle, but the instructors and stu- dents worked through both windy and calm conditions as the week progressed. Despite some soldiers spinning round in circles, capsizing, and wondering what
an earth was meant by “port”, “starboard”, “tack”, “broad reach” and “close hauled”, by Thursday everyone was ready and eager to enter the Regatta.
Despite light winds on the day of the Regatta, all sailors were full of enthusiasm and some good tight racing was had by all, set against the marvellous backdrop of Chichester Harbour. Although 4th Regi- ment RA were pipped to the post in the overall Regimental rankings, with 16th Regiment Royal Artillery clearly utilising their home advantage to great effect, there were some good individual results from a largely novice team. Capt Jefferson also managed to keep the Regiment’s Second in Command happy bringing home some silverware, winning The Pinchard Pot for ‘Best RA Junior Officer.’
2023
As I sit and write this in May 2023, after returning form the Regimental exercise (Ex SUNDERLAND DAGGER), the summer sailing season is just starting. The team is looking to build on last year, developing those that were new to the sport last sea- son and aiming to enthuse new soldiers about taking to the water. The team is determined to train hard at CGSC ready for this year’s RAYC Dinghy Regatta and hope to bring home more silverware this time round. Beyond the RAYC Dinghy Regatta the team hopes to undertake an Overseas Sports Visit in Autumn to hone their skills on foreign waters with some reliable winds.
Regimental Sailing Team at RAYC Dinghy Regatta
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Laser 2000s working hard to maximise speed around the course