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The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy is a centre for the sport of sailing on the
Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct fr ...
,
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
, on the south coast of England. The academy building is located in Osprey Quay on the northern tip of the island, and the waters of Portland Harbour and
Weymouth Bay Weymouth Bay is a sheltered bay on the south coast of England, in Dorset. It is protected from erosion by Chesil Beach and the Isle of Portland, and includes several beaches, notably Weymouth Beach, a gently curving arc of golden sand which st ...
, adjacent to the site, are the main areas used for sailing. Local, national and international sailing events have been held at the site since it was opened in 2000, and in 2005 WPNSA was selected to host the sailing events at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.


History

The academy was formed as a not-for-profit company in 1999 and officially opened on 1 April 2000. It occupied converted naval premises until a clubhouse was built, which was opened in June 2005 by the
Princess Royal Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been se ...
. £7.85 million of funding for the project was donated by charities, individuals and local councils; the National Lottery donated £3 million in 2003, and the
South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
Regional Development Agency added £3.34 million. The academy's aims are to promote the sport of sailing at all levels of competence and ability, through courses, training and events, and to contribute to the economic regeneration of the area. Since opening it has created a demand in service and marine industries worth around £10 million. WPNSA continues to promote sailing to local schools, offering benefits such as free boat hoist and storage. Use of the facilities and access to training is open to anyone in return for an annual membership fee. On 6 July 2005,
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
was chosen to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the WPNSA was chosen to host the sailing events.


Facilities

Portland Harbour and
Weymouth Bay Weymouth Bay is a sheltered bay on the south coast of England, in Dorset. It is protected from erosion by Chesil Beach and the Isle of Portland, and includes several beaches, notably Weymouth Beach, a gently curving arc of golden sand which st ...
are the main areas used for sailing. The harbour covers an area of , and is ideal for sailing as it is exposed to reliable winds from most directions, but is sheltered from large waves and currents by
Chesil Beach Chesil Beach (also known as Chesil Bank) in Dorset, England is one of three major shingle beach structures in Britain.A. P. Carr and M. W. L. Blackley, "Investigations Bearing on the Age and Development of Chesil Beach, Dorset, and the Associat ...
and the breakwaters. The clubhouse houses facilities on two floors, including a gymnasium, seven lecture and meeting rooms for 260 people, an event hall with kitchens and a bar, VIP meeting rooms and offices, a lounge bar and cafeteria seating 350 people, and two balconies. The outside of the academy complex has a slipway and two deep water slipways, 30 pontoons with disabled access, cranage and boat hoists, boat storage and parking areas. WPNSA also operates Boscawen House, formerly an admiral's residence, which offers accommodation for a maximum of 47 people. The clubhouse generates 15–20% of its electricity from
solar cells A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon.
, and rainwater is collected from the roof to wash boats.


Osprey Quay

In November 2007, the South West Regional Development Agency signed a deal with Sutton Harbour Group to construct a year-round tourist and leisure complex in Osprey Quay, between
Portland Castle Portland Castle is an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, between 1539 and 1541. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and defended ...
and the academy. The £30 million scheme, called ''Castle Court'', includes a hotel, apartments, public areas, a restaurant, shops and other employment space, and is expected to create 300 jobs. A permanent base for the
Royal Yachting Association The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is a United Kingdom national governing body for sailing, dinghy sailing, yacht and motor cruising, sail racing, RIBs and sportsboats, windsurfing and personal watercraft and a leading representative for i ...
's senior, youth, junior and paralympic national sailing squads is to be provided.


Events

Since opening the academy has hosted national and international sailing events, including the J/24 World Championships in 2005, staging trials for the
2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
, the
ISAF ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...
World Championship 2006, the
BUCS British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. BUCS was formed in June 2008 following a merger of British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport ...
Fleet Racing Championships, and the RYA Youth National Championships. Local events are also held at the academy; nearby schools have extra-curricular sailing lessons, and in October each year WPNSA hosts Weymouth Speed Week. The British Olympic Sailing Team train at WPNSA.


2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

In 2005, the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) was chosen as the venue for the sailing competition at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. WPNSA was chosen to host these events due to its existing World class facilities. The Olympic Delivery Authority has built upon these facilities providing a new 220m slipway accessible at all states of tide and wind, an additional 70 marina berths and an extended dinghy park with capacity for 600 boats. In addition, the Academy provides direct access to Portland Harbour and Weymouth Bay which have been credited as some of the best sailing waters in the World. Olympic sailing events took place between 28 July and 11 August 2012, and Paralympic events between 31 August and 5 September. One course was in Portland Harbour and four in Weymouth Bay. Sailors from all over the world competed for 30 medals in the Olympic Games and 18 medals in the Paralympic Games. A cruise liner berthed at Portland Port was used as accommodation. The academy is around from the Olympic Zone in central
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. There was concern about the logistics of transporting athletes from London to the academy, as there is no motorway in
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
, and transport links are already often congested in summer.
Weymouth and Portland Weymouth and Portland was a local government district and borough in Dorset, England. It consisted of the resort of Weymouth and the Isle of Portland, and includes the areas of Wyke Regis, Preston, Melcombe Regis, Upwey, Broadwey, Southi ...
Borough Council lobbied the Department for Transport to reinstate double track between Moreton and Dorchester South on the
South West Main Line The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south we ...
and increase services from
Weymouth railway station Weymouth railway station is the main railway station serving the town of Weymouth, Dorset, England (the other being Upwey station which is located north of the town centre). The station is the southern terminus of both the South West Main Line, ...
to London Waterloo and
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, and to introduce new direct services to Exeter. Services to London Waterloo began running every 30 minutes from December 2007, but services through Bristol to
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
were stopped. On 5 April 2007, Dorset County Council granted planning permission for a relief road scheme to alleviate congestion between Weymouth and Dorchester, which includes a single carriageway running north of Weymouth, and a 1000-space park-and-ride scheme, costing £84.5 million. Work on the road commenced in 2008, and as anticipated it was completed in three years, in time for the 2012 Olympic sailing events. The academy also hosted the
Moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
World Championships in 2008.


2016 Vintage Yachting Games

The
Vintage Yachting Games The Vintage Yachting Games are an international Quadrennial multi class sailing event for former Olympic classes and the former Classes of the Paralympic Games. The Vintage Games is held every four years. The idea behind the Vintage is to Org ...
(Vintage) are the International Post-Olympic
Yachting Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called ''yachts'' for racing or cruising. Yachts are distinguished from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. "Yacht" derives from the Dutch word '' jacht'' ("hunt"). With sailboats, ...
/
Sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...
event for former Olympic classes. The Vintage is held every four years. During the closing ceremony of the
2012 Vintage Yachting Games The 2012 Vintage Yachting Games was the second post-Olympic multi-class sailing event for discontinued Olympic classes. The event was held on 7–14 July 2012 on Lake Como in Italy. The organization of this event was in the hands of the Multilar ...
at Lake Como
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) was formally announced as the venue for the 2016 Vintage Yachting Games. The Academy later withdrew from hosting these games, necessitating postponement to 2018 and transfer to another host in Denmark.


References


External links


Official websiteLondon 2012 Olympics profile
{{good article 1999 establishments in England Venues of the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic sailing venues Sport in Weymouth, Dorset Buildings and structures in Weymouth, Dorset Sail training associations Isle of Portland Marinas in England 2012 Summer Paralympic venues Sports academies