Opportunities to Represent the NSSA at the Merlin Rocket Nationals

This year, the NSSA, along with the Merlin Rocket Owners Association, are pleased to be able to offer the opportunity for several young sailors from the NSSA to attend the 2017 Merlin Rocket National Championships. This is a great opportunity for young sailors from the NSSA to get to try out a new boat, compete in a different environment, and expand their sailing experience.

The 2017 Merlin Rocket National Championships will be held at Pwllheli Sailing Club between the 12th and 18th August. The Merlin Rocket Owners Association are offering several NSSA sailors the opportunity to compete at the event at a heavily subsidised rate. For those who are successful in securing these places, the Owners Association will offer free event entry, free use of a boat, and free coaching from an experienced crew under a 'buddy system'. Sailors must arrange their own accommodation for the duration of the event, and may need to be involved in the transport of their boat.

Sailors can apply for this opportunity either as a pair who wish to compete together, or as a single applicant who will then be matched with another young sailor. All applications must be current NSSA members who will have competed at at least one NSSA event in the 2017 season. All applications will need to be signed by an NSSA team manager, who must be willing to vouch for the competence and responsibility of the sailors. When considering these applications, please bear in mind that the absolute minimum crew weight for a Merlin Rocket is 18 stone, and sailors must be confident they can adapt quickly to the technical nature of the boat.

For more information about the boat and the event, have a look at the Merlin Rocket Owners Association website here.

The application form can be downloaded here.

Any questions or queries, please get in touch with Ellie Gaddes, the NSSA Secretary, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Good luck!

Double Handed Team Racing

Congratulations to Winchester College; winners of the 2017 NSSA Double Handed Team Racing.

A summary of the Overall Results and the outcome of All Races are available here.

Click here for photos of the event by Nigel Vick

NSSA Development Officer Role

The NSSA seeks a motivated and enthusiastic individual to help further develop its reach and maximise its potential. The successful candidate will be responsible for increasing links with class associations and other youth groups, leading on procurement of grant funding for both the NSSA and affiliated counties/associations and leading creation and sourcing of materials for the website and managing the NSSA’s social media presence.

Please click here for the job description and person specification.

Applications, consisting of a CV and covering letter, should be sent to NSSA Secretary Ellie Gaddes at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Friday 24th March 2017.

NSSA Singlehanded Team Racing

On the weekend of the 8^th and 9^th October 2016 Aztec Upton Warren hosted the National Schools Sailing Association Singlehanded Team Racing event.

A mixture of conditions created an exciting playing field for the racing, which led to Derbyshire A’s team of Kate Robertson, Emma Robertson and Liam Weighill taking the first place title from reigning champs Cambridgeshire A (Michael Carver, Harry Moffatt and Tom Bryant, after 2 wins out of 3 races.

The event sailed 8 rounds of the Swiss League style racing leading to semi-finals and finals. The semi-finalists of the weekend were Worcestershire A and Cumbria D. Cumbria had further success as their Cumbria A team were this year’s winners of the Under 16 trophy. The most improved team from last year and winning the Lancashire Plate were Watford Grammar A.

All competitors sailed brilliantly over the weekend and on behalf of the NSSA we would like to thank the organisers for yet another fantastic event. Also to all of the competitors for taking part, we hope you had a great time and got to experience some exciting racing!

We now turn our focus to the next event, the NSSA Match Racing. This year based at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy over the weekend of the 5^th and 6^th November. Information is found via this link (http://www.rya.org.uk/racing/keelboat-racing/match-racing/Pages/national-match-racing-series.aspx) but get in touch with us if you have any questions.

Happy sailing everyone and see you out on the water soon!