Swarkestone Sailing Club hosted a Northern Access championship event on Saturday June 14th 2008.

Apart from a short shower of rain after the first race, the weather was perfect for sailing.

A total of 22 Access boats were on the water from as far away as Essex. Seven Swarkestone boats were amongst those entered, one helmed by Keith Fern. Keith lives in Crich, Derbyshire and is blind. He won the Northern 303 Access Championship in the “Partnership” boat sponsored jointly by Bott Ltd and the Rotary Club of Ashby Castle. Swarkestone Sailing Club’s Swarkestone Sailability is one of the most successful disabled sailing centres in the UK. bott sponsored 2 uncapsizable two person dinghies and produced modules for a high-stability high-level floating pontoon equipped with a personnel winch for hoisting sailors into boats.