Brightlingsea One Design

As previously noted the 2016 Final Fling will now be raced on the morning of Sunday 30 October from the BSC Line.  David Chivers is our Race Officer and will be running a special start for us after the BSC race which starts at 11.00. High tide is at 11.39 and the forecast is for a lovely light to moderate breeze.

The first BSC Winter Series all in handicap will start at 11am on their normal 5 minutes sequence using the illuminated number board system with their course displayed on the front of the box. We are asked to please ensure we keep well clear of their starting line to avoid any confusion.

In the unlikely event that there is a general recall for the Winter Series race this will have to take priority as their sailing instructions assume they are the only fleet.  Therefore David would recall the Winter Series boats and then restart them before being able to get us underway.

Once the Winter Series boats are on their way down the creek, David will change the course letters and numbers over to a BOD course and he will get the computer system reset for our race which will also use the normal 5 minute sequence with the illuminated number board system.  All being well he should be in a position to start our sequence about 10 minutes after the Winter Series.  Obviously if there is any delay to the BSC Winter Series race, our race will be delayed accordingly too. Please also remember that because he has to restart the system you will need to start your watches on our five and not any of the Winter Series start signals as the two will not be linked as they normally would.

Just to be quite clear, once David has restarted the system it will initially show numeral 0 again which will indicate that he is almost ready and you should be listening and watching for the five. At the five minute gun numeral 0 will disappear and 1 will appear.  At the four minute gun 1 will disappear and 2 will appear.  At the one minute gun 4 will disappear and 5 will appear.  At the start 5 will disappear.

Sorry for this slight change to the usual arrangements but the Winter Series Sailing Instructions only allow for a single handicap fleet and we need to avoid any possible confusion with their race and to keep a small amount of separation.

Good news. The Sailing Club and OOD Dave Chivers have kindly offered to run the Final Fling Race for us on Sunday 30th October. Racing will get underway at 11am for the BSC Winter Series and we will have our own start after that (details of the start sequence will be published shortly). Please make sure you have a current BSC course card for the race. The good news is that it’s high tide at 11.39 so we’ll be racing over high tide and its then back into the BSC bar for beers and prizes. 

This will be the day after the BSC Laying Up Supper for which we already have a couple of BOD tables organised. If you want to join us for what promises to be a fab evening just book in online at http://www.sailbrightlingsea.com/blog/2016/10/16/place-your-laying-up-supper-orders-here/ by Sunday 23 Oct.

It’s great news that so many BOD teams are coming to the the BSC Laying Up Supper and Prize Giving on Saturday 29 October. You can now place your orders for the tickets online via the Sailing Club website.  When placing your orders please say you want to join the BOD Tables in the “Who you want to sit with” box.

Orders must be in by Sunday 23 October so please get onto this right away and we’ll look forward to seeing everyone at the dinner.

Due to the song wind forecast the Final Fling Race had dad to be postponed. A new date will be advised shortly. The lunch at CYC will go ahead at 1pm. See you in the bar for a pre lunch drink.

If you would like to join a BOD Table for the Brightlingsea SC Laying Up Supper on Saturday 29 October please book your tickets with Marianne as below and confirm to her that you would like to join a BOD Table.

With apologies – In the first edition of this story we made a mistake in the placings for fifth to seventh.  Please see corrected text below.

It may have been the penultimate race of the season, but that didn’t stop Sunday’s inaugural running of the Reg White Trophy race from being an absolute hum dinger. After a few rather lean weeks while everyone recovered from Pyefleet Week and disappeared on holidays, it was great to see seven boats coming to the line for what proved to be a very challenging light airs race.

From the off Jeremy Newman, crewed in Avocet by special guests the Mersea Boys, got a jump on the fleet. Behind him though the rest of the pack chased out of the Creek together and there were plenty of place changes as the boats contended with the fickly and patchy breeze.

Guest staring at the helm of Fi Brown’s Grethe, Jarvis Simpson initially looked to have made the worst of the start, being both furthest out in the tide and last across the line.  However, as they came down the creek there was better breeze to the middle of the channel and this combined with a smart approach to the run down to Cocum allowed him to sail around the opposition and into second place just behind Jeremy, with the rest of the pack hard on their heels.

From this point onwards Jeremy took full advantage of the clear air and gradually extended his lead on each leg to claim the inaugural Reg White Trophy race by a very comfortable margin. Despite a late charge from Alan Hicks and Craig and Jayne Bond in Storm Petrel, Jarvis, crewed by Fi and Becky Ashworth, defended his second place successfully leaving Storm Petrel third.

Mark and Georgina White and Dick Stephens sailed White Spirit to fourth, while the battle for the remaining places came down to a dog fight in the final 200 yards with Mike Hempstead and Eddie and Anne Howson in Gelasma sliding home for fifth, just ahead of sixth place Trevor Stone and the Ruff boys who sailed a blinder to beat Geoff Gritton, sailing Never Say Never with Chris Walker and Ian Hastings, into a very close seventh.

Huge thanks must go to Barry Newman who stepped in at the last minute as Race Officer so that Jeremy could take part in the race.  And huge thanks to Mark and the White Family for donating this lovely new trophy in memory of Reg, which will be presented for the first time at the BSC Laying Up Supper.

There are just three official BOD races left in the 2016 Calendar so help us see out the season in style as we build up to the Final Fling on Sunday 16 October.

This coming Sunday 2nd October it’s the Robbie Stone Chalice starting at 14.00 from the CYC Committee Boat off Bateman’s.

Sunday 9th October is the new Reg White Trophy race starting from BSC from 14.00.  BSC are running their Autumn Points all in handicap that day, but we will have our own start for this special new trophy which has been presented to the class by Mark White in memory of his father.  We will be using BSC BOD courses for the race so please watch for a possible change of course number once the all in handicap race has started.

And finally we have the Final Fling on Sunday 16 October.  The start for this is at 11.00 from the CYC Committee Boat at Bateman’s and the race will be followed by the traditional Final Fling Sunday lunch in the Colne Yacht Club.  Once again the meal will be a traditional roast carvery with main course costing £9.50 and the optional pudding being £4.25.  Those wishing to join us for lunch and the end of season fun and games including the prize giving should reserve their places with CYC either at the bar or by calling the office on 01206 302594. Please make sure when booking that you clearly book in for the Final Fling and not just the usual Sunday lunch.

After a few weeks absence supporting Hannah at the Paralympics Sue Bouckley has confirmed that Eider will be back out with us for the last few races of the season.  Alan Hicks in Storm Petrel and Fi Brown and the Grethe Girls will also be back from their travels in time for the Reg White Trophy and the Final Fling. Jeremy Newman has confirmed that Avocet will be racing the Final Fling and of course White Spirit, Never Say Never, Blue Peter, The Mike, Ruff and co have all been racing through the autumn anyway and we look forward to seeing them out again for these final races. Who else is up for joining us to see out the season in true style?

After the post Pyefleet Week malaise and a couple of weekends when wind stopped play it was terrific to see a fleet of five BODs back out on the water on Sunday 18 September for a three race windward leeward mini series that provided fantastically close racing and some great spectating.

Conditions were near perfect with lovely sunshine and a nice northerly of around 8 knots so Jeremy and Barry Newman set windward leeward courses which took the fleet from the Bateman’s starting line on a beat up river, before turning back to run past Brightlingsea Creek to the leeward mark. Not only did this give a perfect course, but it allowed those at BSC and along the prom to keep a close eye on proceedings.

From the off Mark White in White Spirit had the bit between his teeth and with a 1, 2, 1 scoreline he won the series by a two point margin. Mark and Debby Wilby and Phil Holding proved that The Mike has what it takes to win races too though and with a 2, 1, 3 scoreline they claimed second overall, their best result of the year and their first ever race victory. Geoff Gritton placed third and naturally took the endless ribbing from The Mike’s crew in his stride!

Rounding out the results were Graham and Claire Bridle in Blue Peter with the Ruff Boys in fifth.

A glitch in the programme means that BSC cannot run our racing this coming Sunday 18 September as planned.  But fear not, Jeremy Newman has kindly agreed to step in and act as Race Officer using their launch Dug.  The start will be at Noon and they will be using the CYC BOD Course Card starting in the vicinity of the Bateman’s line. Listen out on VHF Chanel M1 for further instructions.

So far Never Say Never, The Mike, White Spirit, Ruff and Blue Peter have said the plan to race so come on out and join them as the forecast looks good.

Geoff Gritton is turning 60 !!

Come join Geoff, family, friends and fellow sailors

For a drink and a bite to eat

At the Colne Yacht club

On Friday 23^rd September 2016 from 7:00pm

Special club meal will be available at £10 per head

If you would like to eat and to give us an idea on numbers please

RSVP to Phil Holding on 07798 566335

Looking forward to seeing you