Sonar Team go for Gold

The British Sonar Racing team won gold at the recent Skandia Sail for Gold regatta putting another positive step on their path to winning their class at the Paralympics in September, with a bit of help from the Little Ship Club.The team signed in for the regatta under the Little Ship Club banner, thanks to a sponsorship deal with the Club. They spent the week battling other competitors and the elements in a regatta that was dominated by high winds and lashing rain across the South West.

Paralympic sailing events start on 1 September for the mixed three-person keelboat (Sonar), the GB Sonar team consists of skipper John Robertson, mainsheet Stephen Thomas, jib/tactics Hannah Stodel.

Steve Thomas, speaking after the Skandia Sail for Gold regatta said: "I was quite disappointed actually that racing got cancelled, it would’ve been good to get more practice in before the Games. We had an average start to the regatta but we improved on the second day and we wanted to continue with that through the week. It was a pretty tough competition, all the guys here are going to be at the Games, it was a strong fleet, everyone sailed well.”

The Brits took the win from Dutch trio Udo Hessels, Mischa Rossen and Marcel van de Veen. There were just two points in it, with Canadians Bruce Millar, Logan Campbell and Scott Lutes seven points behind the Dutch team.

The Sonar team competed at the Beijing and Athens Paralympics and "were disappointed to come sixth". Their website www.3rdtimelucky.org reflects their intention to make the podium this September.

Fundraising for British Sonar

The team is hosting a Fundraising Golf Day at Five Lakes Golf Club in Essex on Thursday 28 June (find out more on the British Sonar Facebook page). Show your support for the trio and their campaign, all you need do is play a little golf….

The team will be coming to the Club to give a talk, look out for dates when announced. There will be a feature in the Summer issue of the Little Ship magazine, but you can find out more on their websites and Facebook page:

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/British-Sonar-Sailing-Team

On Twitter: @BritishSonar @SailingHannah

www.britishsonar.com

www.3rdtimelucky.org

And here's a glimpse of the Paralympic Sailing team in action:

Paralympic Sonar sailors John Robertson, Hannah Stodel, Steve Thomas

Collecting Gold at Skandia Sail for Gold June 2012