2015 Weymouth Bid: Onsite report by Gordon Upton

On a sailor info request to the President, Gordon Upton from the British Assoc sent a report on the facilities and sailing venues at Weymouth , one of the 2015 Worlds bid.
Report by Gordon Upton: "Just returned form our meeting with the NSC at Portland.

You would be mightily impressed with what is on offer!! - The facilities and all the organisation are second to none. International juries, safety cover, race organisation are all handled by the centre as a matter of course - they were gearing up for the Dragon Worlds in 2 weeks and had 160+ keelboats registered, many were all ready rigged to go.

Huge boat parking areas, all with tie down points, rigging areas, large indoor measuring hall with in and out entrances, committee rooms for registration and protest hearings, large daytime cafe, large bar area with panoramic balcony - what's not to like??!!

The sailing areas can be varied. At a push, a race could be held within the inner harbour area, but it might be a squeeze if there are a lot of boats. Just outside would be favourite depending on wind direction - sea breezes tend to be SW there.

Time to sailing areas is not an issue I am assured, especially on an A Cat. - In fact Paul Goodison tells me he has crossed the whole bay on his DNA in 30 mins!

Large launching areas allow many boats to get off in one go, regardless of wind direction, jet washing points too.

I made a quick little iPhone movie of some of the details just for a record - check it out here.

The venue can also be used for training before the event, and we have a good price for a weeks use of the facilities for anyone wanting to get some on site training 7 days earlier. Motorhome camping onsite is free. They also have a 40 room apartment block built as part of the Olympic village and boasts 4 star facilities too!"

Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Centre walkabout Video can be found here: http://youtu.be/95iOqXMTYDU