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Displaying items by tag: Boat Repairs

An inquest into the death of company director Kevin Keeler, who was crushed while working on his boat in Weymouth a year ago, has heard that he had made the boat’s cradle unstable while painting the bottom of its hull.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the 56-year-old was crushed by the half-ton yacht in a Weymouth boatyard on 16 April 2018.

Keeler had been a member of Weymouth Sailing Club since the previous year with his partner Tatiana Saltykova and had purchased the 29ft yacht Ginny Kwik that Christmas, according to Mail Online.

The yacht was lifted out for maintenance in March 2018 and Wheeler, an electronics engineer, borrowed a cradle from a fellow sailor to carry out the work.

However, the inquest heard that he had made this cradle unstable when he lowered one of its supporting props to reach the underside of the hull, which caused the vessel to collapse on top of him.

Another man on a nearby slipway told the inquest how he heard a ‘loud crash’ as the boat fell in his direction — and how he attended to the fallen Wheeler whose condition deteriorated quickly before paramedics arrived.

Mail Online has more on the story HERE.

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A man has died after he was crushed by the half-ton yacht he was working on in a Weymouth boatyard, as Mail Online reports.

The 56-year-old, believed to be a company director, was carrying out repairs on his 29ft sailing yacht yesterday (Monday 16 April) in advance of the summer sailing season when the boat suddenly fell over.

“The man in question was a full member of the sailing club and he joined last summer,” Weymouth Sailing Club Commodore Euan McNair said in a statement. “He was coming up to a year of membership and it’s tragic what has now happened.”

The incident occurred at a time when many boats are being worked on and lifted back into the water around Britain and Ireland ahead of the summer season. 

Mail Online has more on the story HERE.

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Mixed Two Person Offshore Keelboat

For the first time in sailing's Olympic history, a Mixed Two Person Offshore Keelboat event will be on the slate at the Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Competition.

The Mixed Two Person Offshore Keelboat will join kiteboarding, windsurfing, multihulls, singlehanded and doublehanded dinghies and skiffs, promoting the diversity of the sport. This, in turn, will support World Sailing's desire to promote and grow universality in all disciplines and increase female participation with gender-equal medals and athletes.

Offshore sailing is the ultimate test of endurance, skill, discipline, navigation and critical decision making.

Embracing a major part of sailing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will enable new stars of the sport to come to the forefront.

Qualification

Offshore sailing is a universal discipline that every World Sailing Member National Authority (MNA) can participate in.

Up to 20 nations will be on the start line at Paris 2024 and sailors from every continent will be represented. To qualify for the Olympic Games, continental qualification events will be held and competition for a spot will be hotly contested.

Equipment

For qualification events, World Sailing will approve a list of one-design boats that are already regionally available and can be accessed as a charter boat. Boats will be equalised to ensure fair competition.

For Paris 2024, World Sailing's Council will select a list of different Equipment it considers to meet the key criteria by 31 December 2020 and then make a decision on the Equipment, selecting from the list, no later than 31 December 2023.

MNAs, Class Associations and Manufacturers have all been invited to propose Equipment for the list and a World Sailing Working Party will evaluate each proposal. A recommended list will be presented to Council for approval in November 2020.

This recommended Equipment list will ensure that event organisers, MNAs and the sailors have opportunities to train and compete in Equipment that is readily available and affordable within their continent and country. It will also ensure each MNA has a fair opportunity to prepare for qualification events and eventually, Paris 2024.

Format

Starting and finishing in Marseille, the Mixed Offshore event is expected to last for either three days and two nights or four days and three nights off the French coastline and whoever crosses the finish line first will be declared Olympic champion.

The race course and length will be announced in the lead up to the start so the competition can take advantage of the latest weather forecast. Current options proposed include long and short courses heading towards the West and East of France.

Safety and Security

The French Navy and Mediterranean forces have extensive experience of supporting major oceanic sailing races. They will provide safety and security at Paris 2024.