One of several teams from the Gay UK Sailing Team (GUST) has won silver in the keelboat racing at the International Gay Games. The games, held in Cologne, Germany, but with the sailing taking place just over the border on a lake at Roermond in Holland, saw nearly 30 three-person keelboats raced by crews from Germany, Holland, Belgium, the US, Argentina and the UK.

Silver medallist 'Team Gusty Springfield' from GUST was skippered by Mark Munday and crewed by Reggie Blennerhassett and Jason Keedy, all of whom also sail with the Sailing and Cruising Association (S&CA), the 'home of gay sailing in the UK' which hosts GUST for competitive events. Another GUST team also reached the finals, and the bronze medal went to a German boat which included another S&CA member as a crewman.

Reggie Blennerhassett, who is also the commodore of the Sailing and Cruising Association, said "It was great fun to sail in the Gay Games, and we feel very privileged and honoured to have taken the silver medal. The officials at the Dutch sailing club who oversaw the racing confirmed our view that there was a genuinely high standard of sailing across the week, and it is very much to our club's credit that at least one other of our crews was also in the top rank."

The races were held over four days in August in six-metre 'Valk' class keelboats, using an Olympic-style course and the international racing rules, supervised by race officials of the Maas en Roer sailing club of Roermond. Team Newport, from Rhode Island, USA, took the gold medal.

The Sailing and Cruising Association (S&CA) promotes sailing and boating among gays and lesbians and their families and friends across the UK. It is affiliated to boating's lead body, the Royal Yachting Association, and this year is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Outside of racing under the GUST banner, S&CA members club together to charter boats between them for weekends and holidays, as well as sailing on boats owned by members.

Media enquiries for this  story: Kevin Thomas, GUST team member at Cologne/Roermond, 07896 745342

General media contact for S&CA: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it