Volvo RYA Keelboat programme

Harriet Prest looks at how year one has gone so far

With Olympic and youth programs both working well, the RYA last year recognised a gap in their development programs for up and coming sailors wishing to take up keel boat racing. To rectify this the Volvo RYA Keelboat Program was launched at London Boat Show to help those wishing to make the transition into big boats, a few of whom ultimately might end up racing in events such as the America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race. Such schemes have proved invaluable abroad, most notably in New Zealand (see our interview with the Royal NZ Yacht Squadron’s Harold Bennett).

Between February and July this year a number of three day training sessions were held at Rutland and Weymouth which were open to all - not just those looking to become part of the squad. “We get people there who want to learn about keelboat sailing and we take them through a whole load of exercises and classroom stuff covering all aspects of keel boat racing,” explains RYA Racing Services Manager Dave Atkinson, who runs the program.

The training over these three day weekends takes place both on the water aboard the RYA’s fleet of Beneteau First Class 8s and in the classroom. "The first morning is usually an on the water assessment of who we have," says Atkinson. "We let them sail with who they want to sail with so we get an idea of their capabilities. We do basic tacking, gybing and spinnaker work on the water. Then we start rotating the crews around.

"We try to get everyone on the boats doing every job on board. We have people who have only ever steered and have never been up the sharp end, so we put them on the sharp end and it improves their skills because they then become aware of the difficulties a bowman faces when the helm does something." At the end of the day one of the most fundamental differences for sailors making the transistion up from dinghies is that keelboat racing involves working as a team.

Over the three days the crew get to carry out increasingly complex manoeuvres such as gybe sets while in the classroom they are given basic training about the weather, rules, preparation before events, etc.

While the three day long weekend sessions are open to anyone they also form part of the selection process for those wishing to be considered for the RYA Volvo Keelboat program squad. Applicants have to be aged 16-24 and have sent their CVs into the RYA beforehand.

This spring potential candidates were assessed by a judging panel comprising Atkinson, Iain MacDonald-Smith and Jim Saltonstall. "We look at all aspects of them, the way they behave, their sailing ability, everything about them," says Atkinson. "We are looking for people who have got something we can work with and also people who want to be trained. There are a lot of people out there who want to go sailing, but they don’t want to do the training. There’s no point in taking people on to the program unless they want to work to achieve something."

Aside from the weekend sessions there were four or five who made it on to the program based on a solid recommendation that they had talent and something to offer.

This year there were 80 applicants that resulted in the selection of 21 men and women. This could swell in the future says Atkinson depending upon the level of demand.

One of the 21 and one of the most committed to the program is Mike Ferguson, from Bangor, Northern Ireland. Ferguson’s burning ambition is to compete in the Volvo Ocean Race and he sees his selection onto the Volvo RYA Keelboat Program as bringing him a giant step closer to his goal.

20 year old Ferguson already has a healthy sailing CV. His success afloat includes Laser 2 and 1720 Irish National Championships, the national title in each event eluding him by one place. In terms of big boat offshore sailing he has completed two transatlantic passages while working for Mike Golding. He has also gained his RYA Yachtmaster qualification through the UKSA in Cowes, where he started as a Dinghy Instructor at the age of 16.



Mike Ferguson on board Volvo For Life - Team Tonic

Ferguson’s CV made such an impression on the RYA and Volvo that he was invited to attend one of the three day weekend sessions in February this year. Initially the trial was a little daunting, says Ferguson. "The first morning was quite uncomfortable and then you get to know the people and start to have fun… you almost forget why you were there. We all had a go at everything… driving, foredeck, trimming… they weren’t going to pick someone who was only good at one particular job because that wasn’t their thinking."

Indeed the thinking behind the program is to develop ‘all rounders’ claims Dave Atkinson: their goal: to create a "raft of top quality, all round keelboat sailors."

Once the squad was selected, the program moved into its next phase. The chosen few were then placed upon race boats for the season to gain some first hand practical experience (for those not on the squad this is also possible through RYA Crewsearch).

Ferguson was lucky enough to get a place on board Nick Hewson’s Farr 52 Volvo for Life - Team Tonic for the season. "That was amazing," enthuses Ferguson. "I didn’t quite know what to expect when I first went on the boat… I felt a little out of my depth but all the guys on board were really good and helped you along and gradually you learnt bit by bit what you were doing."

On board Team Tonic he mainly filled the mid-bow slot alongside Tonic’s foredeck regular Nick Butt. Butt rates Ferguson as an extremely capable sailor who has "everything you need" in terms of personal and professional attributes to make it to the very top in the industry. Ferguson was very keen to work his way backwards to the cockpit and also spent time learning about trimming the main and the backstays with Andy Yeomans. Ferguson found that, in any position on the boat, the whole team’s continual input in the tactical discussion of wind and tide taught him an immeasurable amount.

Volvo for Life - Team Tonic’s owner Nick Hewson has his own views about where the keelboat program should be going and believes that the quest for 'all rounders' may be giving out the wrong signals to young people hoping to keelboat race professionally. "My belief is that they should be going for a team which has got a spread of people who you would normally see in a typical keelboat of 50 feet: you need a good dinghy sailor who has a brilliant helm talent, you need a good navigator, a different kind of talent, a tactician and bloody great big animals that go grind the boat… a different skill altogether."

But Ferguson’s view aligns with the RYA/Volvo position - that to be a good team member on a racing yacht, an individual needs to be able to perform and understand every role on the boat: "I wouldn’t say I’m best at anything. I can do everything - I just need to be better," he says.

Hewson and Ferguson do agree on one thing; that promotion for the program should be improved to encourage more people to apply. With the program continually recruiting new members, the existing squad and yachts such as Volvo for Life - Team Tonic could be used for this purpose. Aside from a recruitment drive, there is also the constant requirement for owners of active campaigns to offer space on their boats for squad members.

Another concern expressed was the lack of girls being brought into the program. Although the ratio of 25% girls to 75% boys reflects the number of applicants Nick Hewson thinks more can be done to increase the ratio. "We need to talk louder… they didn’t know about it," he says. "Girls are fantastic tacticians, navigators, tricky in the grinding position but that doesn’t matter, they can do all the normal jobs on a boat, we would love to have a lot more on board. We also sort our language out… we behave better."

Dispersed to all manner of different classes from 1720s to 6 metres, all with different schedules, those on program have not reconvened for classroom training during the season. The first opportunity for this will be when the official training restarts in the autumn. This will include weather briefings from Chris Tibbs, Stuart Quarrie discussing navigation and John Doerr rules as well as a number of industry workshops from the likes of Lewmar and North Sails.

There are also plans for a squad team to compete in the Hamble Winter Series on board a Euro Prix 45 loaned from Farr International.

Meanwhile Dave Atkinson is negotiating with Volvo to further their commitment for another three years, following on from their test this year. "It has been so successful that they see it is going to go somewhere," he says. We can then look forward to the program growing and maturing as it captures the imagination of more potential candidates.

The training weekends next year will be announced once agreement has been finalised with Volvo and the RYA’s racing schedule has been fixed. Atkinson says that next year they plan to have assessments in both the north and south of the UK to increase the catchment across the country.

For information on applications for the RYA/Volvo Keelboat Sailing Program contact:

Dave Atkinson
RYA Racing Services Manager
T: 02380 604166
Email: david.atkinson@rya.org.uk
or send CVs to RYA House, Ensign Way, Hamble, Southampton, SO31 4YA

More photos from the Volvo RYA keelboat program on the following pages