Sailing Sports Section
Annual Reports
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009 Out January 2010
2008 top
Sailing Sports Section
By Secretary Inspector David Old
2008 has seen members of the Constabulary participating and performing well in off shore events.
PSUK Off -Shore
The 1st event of the year was the PSUK Off Shore Regatta held in the Solent and south coast between the 18th and 23rd May 2008. Lancashire finished 14th overall out of a fleet of 27 Sunfast 37’s and showed significant improvements over the week which would have been even better but for a start line infringement resulting in a disqualification from one race. The team continue to improve, and have developed a greater appreciation of tide and tactics.
North British Open - Strathclyde
The Strathclyde Off Shore event from the 9th -13th June 2008 saw the return of Te Lauth (a Najad 331) Skippered by Eric Lange representing Lancashire. Eric and his team finished 10th = out of a fleet of 18 teams, which is also an improvement on previous years.
Largs – Training Weekend
A group of 6 off shore sailors braved the cold in Scotland for a weekend sail training in March. Although blowing a force 8 they reefed the main and went out. Fortunately the weather improved over the weekend and much needed spinnaker work was practiced. The weekend proved to be a popular and introduced some new members to Off Shore sailing. Unfortunately the Sunsail base in Largs has closed so to repeat the event an alternative charter company will need to be found.
There has been little dinghy sailing this year with members confining themselves to social sailing rather than racing. The nearest police dinghy racing event is held at Winsford Flash in Cheshire and is one that we would like to support if there are any dinghy racers interested.
Overall the constabulary’s sailors have performed well this year and hope to build on this during 2009. Planning is underway for the 2009 season and new crew members are welcome to get involved.
Picture: http://www.slateman.co.uk/lcssc/off-duty/lcssc-offduty5-sailing2.jpg
2007
By Secretary Insp Dave Old
2007 has seen members of the Constabulary participating and performing well in both off shore and dingy events.
PSUK Off-Shore
The 1st event of the year was the PSUK Off Shore Regatta held in the Solent and south coast between the 21st and 25th May 2007. Lancashire finished 14th overall out of a fleet of 24 Sunfast 37’s and showed significant improvements over the week to finish 5th and 6th in the final two races. This was also an improvement on the 2005 and 2006 positions which were both 19th place in smaller fleets.
North British Open - Strathclyde
The Strathclyde Off Shore event from the 10th -15th June 2007 saw the return of two privately owned boats representing Lancashire. Final Fling (a Westerly Oceanquest) skippered by Steve Martell finished 9th, and Te Lauth (a Najad 331) Skippered by Eric Lange finished 11th in a fleet of 17 boats.
Europol Coppers' Cup
Dave Hayes and crew returned to the Europol Coppers Cup held in Holland between the 15th to the 21st September, and again showed improvement over previous events. They finished 15th in the Gold Class, and were the 1st English boat. The fleet consisted of 29 boats with police crews from as far a field as Australia and Croatia.
Cheshire Open - Dinghy
Lancashire gave the PSUK event a miss this year due to the distance to travel/tow boats, but made up for it in the Cheshire Open at Winsford Flash held on the 3rd September 2007. Andy Cuddon sailed his Laser to finish 3rd overall after three races in which he finished 3rd, 3rd, and 4th (best two to count). There were some doubts from our Cheshire colleagues as to whether this event would run, therefore Lancashire were keen to support the event and will look to do so in the future.
Overall the constabularies sailors have performed well this year and hope to build on this during 2008. Planning is underway for the 2008 season and new crew members are welcome to get involved.
2006
By Secretary PC Andy Cuddon
2006 was another successful year for the Lancashire sailing section with teams and individual sailors competing in the PSUK Dinghy Championships, the PSUK Offshore Championships, and the North British Offshore Championships.
Members of the Sailing Section competed in the following sailing regatta events.-
PSUK Offshore Sailing Championships, May 2006.
Held in the Solent and Isle of Wight sea area. 19 Police forces were represented and crews of six raced the chartered Sunsail sunfast 37-foot yachts. Gale force winds forced the first day of racing to be abandoned. Racing resumed on the Tuesday with an 80-mile race from Portsmouth, past the Needles, to Poole harbour entrance buoy, continuing anticlockwise around the Isle of Wight finishing at Yarmouth. The sea and wind conditions provided challenging but exhilarating sailing.
An 8th place in the final race when we beat some of the top teams confirmed that we could continue to compete at this level of offshore racing in future events.
The Lancashire Police team were, - Andy Cuddon (skipper) Insp Simon Hayes, Insp David Old, PC Ian McMillan, PC Simon Street, PC Paul McCann.
PSUK Laser and Dinghy Championships- June 2006
Held at Nottinghamshire County Sailing Club with the Laser class event held on one day, followed by the open dinghy event on the following two days.
PS Tony Critchley raced his supernova class dinghy well in the light wind conditions and finished in 8th position.
Andy Cuddon sailing a Laser class dinghy finished in 9th place in the Laser event, and in 20th place in the open championships.
North British Offshore Championships, - June 2006.
Two yachts privately owned by skippers Eric Lange and Steve Martell sailed north and enjoyed 4 days of racing in the scenic Clyde area of Scotland.
Eric Lange and his crew finished in 2nd place, sailing his yacht “Te Luath”a Najad 331
The overall sailing trend now appears to be away from single/ double-crewed dinghy racing towards larger offshore yacht racing events, with teams of 6-8 crewmembers.
I am pleased to see and encourage this as it is competitive with good team building, camaraderie, fitness levels, and develops seamanship and racing skills.
It is only in the last two years that Lancashire has entered the PSUK offshore championships, an event first held 20 years ago.
As I have recently retired from the Police I intend to “hand over the helm” as secretary for the sailing section to someone with a passion for sailing, who will encourage, support and promote dinghy and offshore sailing.
It has been an honour being the sailing secretary for the last five years. I thank all those who have offered their support and attended sailing events.
I wish all Lancashire Sailing skippers and crews fair winds and calm seas.
2005
Report by PC Andy Cuddon-Secretary
A successful year with Lancashire sailing crews competing in events ranging from regional dinghy regattas, PSUK Offshore, PSUK Dinghy Championships, to the Europol International Race Series in Holland.
Members of the Sailing Section attended the following sailing events.-
PSUK Offshore Sailing Championships - May 2005
A crew of seven sailors represented Lancashire at the Offshore Championships held off the west coast of Scotland, Argyll. The 37-foot yacht was raced for five days in testing weather and tide conditions from Crinan to Oban and around the Isle of Mull.
It is believed that this is the first year that Lancashire Constabulary has taken part in the national offshore championships, and the 19th position achieved is a base to build on for future 2006 and future years.
The Lancashire crew were-Andy Cuddon, Kevin Boyce, Simon Hayes, David Shepherd, Peter Blackburn, Chris Shaw, Ian McMillan.
PSUK Dinghy Championships – June 2005
Held at Scaling Dam Sailing Club, Cleveland. PC Andy Cuddon attended for Lancashire and was placed 7th in the Laser class championships, and 15th position in the open dinghy championships.
Europol “Coppers Cup”- September 2005
David Hayes and his crew from Lancaster travelled to the Netherlands to compete in the biennial International sailing regatta held on the Ijsselmeer inland sea. 30 teams from the law enforcement agencies from 10 countries attended. Lancashire finished in 14th place. Lancashire was one of only 4 united Kingdom Police force entries. The Dutch hospitality was good, and we hope to attend this event in 2007.
Cheshire Police Dinghy Regatta-September 2005
Held at Winsford Flash Sailing Club, Cheshire. Andy Cuddon was placed 8th in his Laser class dinghy.
The 2006 year sailing season is already being planned, the Offshore Sailing Championships PSUK are to be held on the Solent, on 22-26th May 2006. The Laser and dinghy Championships PSUK are being held in Nottingham on 14-16th June 2006.
So come along all you sailors and landlubbers, get on board and enjoy the sport of sailing. You don’t get wet all the time. Have a look at the Intranet or website www.policesailing.org.uk
Andy Cuddon will be retiring in June 2006, and is looking for other keen sailors and serving personnel to take over / assist with the running and development of the dinghy and offshore sailing sections.
2004
Report by PC Andy Cuddon - Secretary
The Sailing Section is on the crest of a wave, increasing in active membership, and raising its profile in the Constabulary, and in Police sailing nationwide.
Sailors representing Lancashire Constabulary have been active in both dinghy sailing regattas, and offshore yacht racing. Members of the Sailing Section attended the following events last year:
June, 2004 - Strathclyde - North British Police offshore sailing championships. With four days of race series covering 135 nautical miles in the Clyde area. Two yachts were entered in the event, with crews made up of eight members of the sailing section. Overall result was 5th and 6th place.
September 2004 - Cheshire Police Open Dinghy Regatt at Winsford Flash sailing club, Cheshire. Two Lancashire dinghies attended, a Laser class dinghy sailed by PC Andy Cuddon (8th place), and an RS200 dinghy crewed by Supt Gary Stephenson and Insp David Shepherd (10th place).
For the forthcoming year, there is a full programme of sailing fixtures available suitable for all sailing abilities, at regional, national, and international level.
It is proposed to enter two yacht teams in this years PSUK offshore sailing championships to be held May 15-19th in the Argyll, Oban area of Western Scotland. This will be the first year that Lancashire Constabulary will have entered this major event. a the competitive dinghy sailors are preparing for the PSUK National Dinghy Championships to be held at Cleveland on 15-17th June, 2005.
2003
Report by PC Andy Cuddon - Secretary
The Sailing Section is afloat once again. Over the last year 2003-2004 sailing representatives from the Lancashire Constabulary have travelled to several PAA Sailing Regattas. The skippers and crews have competed in wet and windy and difficult conditions, and put is some notable performances, and achieved some encouraging results and trophies.
The Sailing Section has been in the doldrums recently with the absence of a secretary. This has now been rectified, and PC 176 Andy Cuddon from Blackpool, Western Division Communications has taken over at the helm as secretary. The previous secretary was PS Tony Critchley, who is thanked for his work over previous years.
Members of the Sailing Section attended the following events last year.
PAA Dinghy and Laser class championship, in June, at Leigh and Lowton sailing club, hosted by Greater Manchester Police. PC Andy Cuddon, 8th in Laser class.
Cheshire Regatta, in September, at Winsford.
PC Andy Cuddon, 3rd place.
PSNI, Police Service Northern Ireland, Regatta, at Strangford Lough, in October. Insp Dave Hayes and crew, Overall Winners of event.
The sport of sailing is increasing in popularity and there are numerous officers and staff enjoying racing and cruising in dinghies and yachts at all levels; be it local club racing, or sailing offshore, or even crewing on ocean racing yachts for national teams.
The new secretary is keen to co-ordinate and encourage more participation in the sport of sailing, and has some exciting ideas for the future.
A budget has been applied for the coming year, which will enable officers / staff to sail in the variety of events.
2002
No report received
2001
No report received
