Dovestone sailors flying at national championships – and it’s a family affair.
Dovestone Sailing Club sailors took both first-place spots last weekend at the Flying Fifteen Classic and Silver National Championships held at Dovestone reservoir. Brother and sister Andy McKee and Emily Kippen were crowned Classic champions, with Tim Allen and Iain McNeill triumphing in the Silver class. This was the first national championship event to be held at the club in its 58-year history, with 30 sailors from all parts of the UK taking part.
Victorious helm, 2022 Flying Fifteen European champion Andy Mckee, said “It’s been 20 years since I last sailed with my sister Emily, and winning this championship in our grandfather’s boat ‘Flame’ was really special for both of us.”
Winning Silver class crew and club commodore Iain McNeill said “I was delighted when Dovestone Sailing Club was given the honour of hosting this prestigious event. It was great to be able to give a warm Oldham & Saddleworth welcome to competitors travelling from as far as Shetland, and a double win for Dovestone was the cherry on the cake.”
Dovestone Flying Fifteen sailors’ next big challenge is the World Championship, being held in the UK for the first time since 2011 at Weymouth in August.
Background/additional facts
- Dovestone Sailing Club was formed in 1967. It is a sailing club affiliated to the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) that welcomes families and individuals new to sailing or experienced. The club’s membership includes novices trying sailing for the first time through to European and World champions, with an age range of active sailing members from 3 – 86 years.
- The Flying Fifteen is a two-person racing keelboat, first built in 1948. It is sailed and raced in several countries around the world on the sea, estuaries and inland waters. (The Flying Fifteen is a dinghy with a keel so is ideal for those who have sailed dinghies and are tired of handling capsizes.)
- The most famous Flying Fifteen is ‘Coweslip’, a gift from its designer Uffa Fox to HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Philip on the occasion of their wedding in 1949. Prince Philip and Uffa Fox regularly sailed ‘Coweslip’ in the 1950s and 1960s. In recent years it has been displayed on board Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh.
- The Classic and Silver classifications are reserved for older boats, closer to the original design - Classics are boats built between 1948 and early 1980s, with Silvers then up to around 1991.
