Ellen MacArthur joins youths for final leg
The 48-foot yacht Scarlet Oyster completed the final leg of the Ellen MacArthur Trust Skandia Round Britain voyage on September 12, sailing from Torquay back to its starting point in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. This concluding passage marked the end of a carefully planned 132-day circumnavigation of Britain that brought the benefits of life-changing sailing experiences to young people recovering from serious illness.
Over 17 separate legs, the Scarlet Oyster carried 74 young people, all aged between 8 and 18, who are in recovery from cancer, leukemia, and other major illnesses. The voyage called at a wide range of ports around Britain, including Brighton, Dover, London, Ipswich, Hull, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness, Glasgow, Belfast, Douglas, Liverpool, Cardiff and Southampton. Each stop offered the participants a chance to experience different coastal communities, stretch their confidence and personal resilience, and benefit from structured, therapeutic sailing activities run by the Trust.
The Dame Ellen MacArthur Trust runs a sailing programme specifically designed to help young people rebuild confidence and wellbeing after serious illness. Sailing provides a combination of teamwork, practical skills, fresh-air exercise and new challenges that many young participants find empowering. During the final leg from Torquay to Cowes, Dame Ellen MacArthur joined the crew and five young people on board, sharing the voyage and taking part in the hands-on experience that is at the heart of the Trust’s work.
“To be part of the team to make it happen has been an absolute joy,” MacArthur said as Scarlet Oyster completed the circumnavigation. MacArthur is renowned for her long-distance solo sailing achievements and at one time held the world record for the fastest solo global circumnavigation. Her involvement with the Trust reflects her ongoing commitment to using sailing as a tool for personal development and recovery.
The voyage combined practical seamanship with a supportive environment tailored to the needs of young people recovering from illness. Crew members and volunteers worked alongside medical and care professionals to ensure safe, positive experiences. For information about future voyages and the Ellen MacArthur Trust’s work, readers can visit the Round Britain project pages at www.roundbritain.org.
U.S. wins two gold, two bronze at Sail for Gold
American sailors added to the United States’ medal tally at the Sail for Gold regatta in Weymouth/Portland, England, securing two gold medals and two bronzes at the International Sailing Federation’s event. The regatta took place at the venue that will host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic sailing competitions, and it represented the final stop of the ISAF Sailing World Cup 2008–09 series.
Olympic silver medalist Zach Railey of Clearwater, Florida, claimed bronze in the Finn class, while Anna Tunnicliffe of Plantation, Florida—an Olympic gold medalist—earned further success alongside her crew. Tunnicliffe, together with Molly O’Bryan Vandemoer of Redwood City, California, and Alice Manard of Charleston, South Carolina, secured a bronze medal in the Elliott 6 Metre class. In the new Women’s Match Racing event, Tunnicliffe and her team fought a closely contested petit final against France’s Claire LeRoy and won the match series 2–1.
Only six classes were able to complete their double-point medal races after a long onshore postponement, when the usual southwesterly breezes returned to the Weymouth racing area. Despite challenging conditions and schedule disruptions, the event concluded with strong performances from several U.S. competitors across Olympic and Paralympic classes. Tunnicliffe also topped the Sailing World Cup standings in the Laser Radial class for the season, and the U.S. pairing of Stu McNay (Boston) and Graham Biehl (San Diego) finished second overall in the men’s 470 standings after consistent podium results.
Gold medals at Sail for Gold were claimed by Scott Whitman of Brick, New Jersey, and Julia Dorsett of Westchester, Pennsylvania/Boca Raton, Florida, in the double-handed SKUD-18 class, and by the Sonar crew of Rick Doerr (Clifton, New Jersey), Hugh Freund (South Freeport, Maine), and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Marblehead, Massachusetts) in the triple-handed Para sailing class. Whitman and Dorsett also topped the ISAF Sailing World Cup standings in the SKUD-18, while Doerr’s Sonar team finished second in the overall World Cup standings for their class.
This report originally appeared in the Mid-Atlantic Home Waters section of the December 2009 issue and summarizes the Trust’s Round Britain voyage and the U.S. results at Sail for Gold, highlighting how competitive sailing and sailing-based recovery programmes continue to make a meaningful impact for both athletes and young people rebuilding their lives after illness.