An International Perspective on the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy

One Year Since Completion


The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy. Image copyright Dorset Media Services 2008.

by Cailah Leask

The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA), has been receiving significant international attention since the award winning venue’s official construction completion 12 months ago.

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) completed work on new enhanced sailing facilities at the Academy in November last year in preparation for the Olympic and Paralympic sailing events to be held in Weymouth & Portland in 2012.

The completion of the works saw Weymouth & Portland become the first 2012 venue ready, delivering an early legacy of world-class facilities for all ages and abilities to use.

The new enhanced sailing facilities based next to some of the best boating waters on the planet have propelled Weymouth and Portland onto the world stage whilst maintaining a strong commitment to legacy in the local community. After successfully hosting the final event of the 2008-09 ISAF Sailing World Cup Series, Sail for Gold, RS:X and Techno World Championships, as well as hosting RYA elite training camps, Farr 45 Yacht Racing National Championships, match racing and numerous local dinghy events throughout 2009, the venue has a much deserved international, national and local following.

Representatives from across the international marine industry have been visiting the Academy, keen to see firsthand the venue’s unique assets and understand further the reasons for enhanced construction and logistics of running a world class venue.

Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee: ‘Since last November’s completion of enhancement works, the WPNSA has hosted spectacular sailing competitions, held several training camps as well as running innovative community sailing schemes. Together with the adjacent commercial Portland Marina that was completed in the summer this year, London 2012 has its first fully operational new venue in place’.

‘In the coming year, we look forward to working with our venues and the local community as we progress our plans for hosting 14 days of Olympic sailing competition and 6 days of Paralympic Sailing competition in the summer of 2012’.

Olympic Development Authority Director Ralph Luck: ‘The Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy is a first-class venue and the enhanced facilities we have delivered for the Games in 2012 and the world class events leading up to them will help boost its deserved reputation as one of the best venues in the world. The 2012 project is driven by legacy and it is fantastic to see the enhanced facilities in Weymouth & Portland being used by sailors of all ages and abilities well ahead of the Games’.

David Kellet, Vice-President, International Sailing Federation: ‘Judging by the reaction from the international sailors, the work carried out to upgrade the facilities at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy have been well planned and executed giving an excellent site for the Olympic Games and a world class facility as a legacy to sport in Great Britain’.

John Longley, Event Director, Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships: ‘The Weymouth facility sets the standard for venues of this nature globally. With such a well thought out permanent facility, British Sailing will be tough to beat in the foreseeable future. The fact that the facility is able to house so many yachts with apparent ease, in a relatively compact footprint, helps build the sense of a single event while still conducting multiple competitions across a number of classes. This sense of a single event and the camaraderie it builds across all the sailors of every class, is an aspect we aspire to replicate during Perth 2011.

David Campbell-James, RYA Competitions Manager: ‘The facilities upgrade at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy is already providing legacy benefits for the RYA and British sailing. The major world events the RYA has already been able to stage at WPNSA as a result of these enhancements, and will continue to stage there between now and 2012, provide unique opportunities – not only for the sailors but also for the teams of race officials and volunteers who are gaining so much from these world class events which will benefit the sport for years to come’.

Ben Ainslie, Director, The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy: ‘Hosting the sailing events for the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games on the home waters of Weymouth and Portland is a major positive for GBR sailors and windsurfers, these waters are some of the best on the planet for clean racing and the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy has demonstrated that it is a modern venue adept at coping with mass numbers of international participants who expect world class facilities to train and compete from’.

With a number of mass participant world, national and regional South West regattas already secured in the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy’s 2010 event diary, the next year is set to be busy leading up to the 2012 sailing events and building a legacy.

Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy