For a club that has already managed to attract the likes of Mount Gay Rum and Plymouth Gin for its Summer Series keelboat and sportsboat racing it wasn’t altogether surprising to learn that the Royal Southern Yacht Club has signed up Carlsberg as title sponsors.

The first event to benefit from Carlsberg sponsorship deal is BUSA – the British Universities Sailing Association Yachting Championships – which is taking place from 10-13 April. Apparently 35 teams have already signed up and once the word gets out about the overall prize of the skipper’s weight in Carlsberg beer, entries will no doubt flood in.

Tim Thubron – sailing secretary of the club – today confirmed that thanks to the influx of sponsorship it’s going to be a bumper year for the club with plenty of top class events lined up. “The Carlsberg sponsorship is fantastic news because we have such a lot planned for the year. We’ve also secured Veneziani (leaders in yacht paint systems) as supporting sponsors who’ll be regularly awarding Prix d’Elegance prizes throughout the season.”

As well as the Carlsberg Keelboat and Sportsboat series the club is running a further five national championships this year along with other prestigious events including the first two Commodores’ Cup trials, a Laser SB3 Grand Prix, Dehler Yachts Regatta and the J Cup.

For more details and entry forms go to www.royal-southern.co.uk or contact Tim Thubron at sailing@royal-southern.co.uk, or telephone 02380 450 302.