Brightlingsea One Design

The days are finally getting longer and our thoughts are starting to turn to the coming sailing and social seasons.  We’ve already published the sailing programme so now it’s time to mark your diaries for this year’s key BOD social events.

First up is the BOD Dinner, which will take place at the Colne Yacht Club on Saturday 25th April.  This event truly kicks off the BOD sailing season and last year’s dinner at BSC was a resounding success with a great turnout. Mark Wilby and the CYC team are determined to present an equally fantastic evening this year and are busy agreeing menus and entertainment as I type (rumours abound that one Eddie Howson, BOD crew of this parish, may reveal a skill none of us could have possibly imagined).  Full details of the event and how to book tickets will follow shortly, but please mark this date in your diary and start thinking about who to invite to join your table and what to wear now.

In the spring/early summer we will have launching events for both Adrian and Sue Bouckley’s C50 Eider and Mark Wilby and Phil Holding’s C75 The Mike (dates for these will be confirmed in due course).

By popular demand Mark and Marianne White’s BOD Summer BBQ makes a welcome return and the date of this will also be confirmed shortly.

The Pyefleet Week BOD German Night will this year take place on Monday 3rd August. Dirndls and Lederhosen will be the order of the day and don’t forget to bring your best drinking boots and singing voices (yes Katie Holland this means you).

The ever popular Final Fling Lunch will follow the Final Fling Race on Sunday 11th October at the Colne Yacht Club.

And last but by no means least, we will end the season with a spectacular BOD Halloween/Curry Party at the Colne Yacht Club on Saturday 31st October.  Can Charlie Lightly out do his Mexican night Tequila Bottle outfit? Will Celia Charlton be able to retain her disco queen crown? Will Kate Button prove to be as good at the Bollywood hip wiggle as she was at the Samba? Can we rely on Chris Matthews, Mark Wilby and Mark White to put on their usual impromptu floor show? OK – that last one is just a silly question as we know perfectly well they will whether we like it or not ;-), but put 31st October in your diary now and be there to find out the answers to the others!

Following the AGM on Sunday we are delighted to publish the 2015 BOD Sailing Programme. The fleet has some serious momentum at the moment and we are looking forward to another amazing season so hope to see everyone out on the water as early as possible in the season.

This year we are welcoming/rewelcoming at least four boats to the active fleet in the shape of Sue and Adrian Bouckly sailing their brand new boat C50 Eider, Richard Austin sailing C44 Janice, which is just nearing completion of a full restoration by Rob Maloney, Phil Holding and Mark Wilby sailing C75 The Mike, which is in the final stages of a major refit, and Graham and Claire Bridle in their newly purchased C31 Blue Peter, which we understand is also undergoing a little bit of titivation.

These four boats will join the 22 we had racing in Pyefleet Week last year so we have a very real expectation of hitting 25 boats for this year’s big event.  We’re also looking forward to regular weekend and Thursday night racing with fleets in the mid to upper teens.

We can’t wait for it all to begin to Click Here to view the programme and get your diaries updated!

Graham and Claire Bridle loved their time racing Endeavour (on loan from Nick and Pam Readings) last summer so much that they couldn’t resist the lure of the BOD fleet and have become the proud owners of C31 Blue Peter. Graham is one of Brightlingsea’s top racing sailors and is more often to be found careening around on foils, winning Cherub championships and racing his 18 Foot Skiff.

Although the BOD couldn’t be more different to his other boats, Graham loves the close and very tough competition in the BODs and the fact that he and Claire can race the boat with their sons Will and Eddie too.  Claire suffers from MS which severely affects her strength and mobility, making dingy sailing extremely difficult for her, but the BODs room and stability mean that she can not only sail, but can take an active role in racing again.

We are thrilled to welcome Team Bridle to the BOD Fleet and very much look forward to racing against them this summer.

At the same time we are very sad to say au revoir to Blue Peter’s previous owners Adrian and Judith Gibbons, for whom a combination of cruiser ownership and working away from Essex takes BOD sailing off the agenda for the next couple of seasons.  There is good news however, as they expect to be back in Essex full time in a few years and very much hope to rejoin the fleet then, possibly with a brand new boat. Come back soon guys – we will miss you!

If you have found yourself down at the boating lake at the same time as our local model boat club recently you just might have come across this little beauty!  She’s a wonderfully detailed and accurate scale model of a BOD which is sailed regularly on the boating lake by her owner.  John Bines kindly drew her to our attention and brought her to the club to allow us to grab these photos.

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With the shortest day of the year fast approaching it won’t be long before the days start getting longer and we can all begin thinking about the 2015 sailing season.  And what a season its going to be with no less than three boats already confirmed as joining/rejoining the fleet for 2015.

Sue and Adrian Bouckley’s new build C50 Eider is now safely in the shed at Simon Hipkin’s yard and Sue and Simon have been working closely together to agree all the final details for her finishing and deck layout.  They are both famed for their attention to detail and this, combined with the fantastic work already done by John Mullins, means we can look forward to a beautifully finished brand new boat joining the fleet.

Over in Wivenhoe Rob Maloney is also hard at work on the full restoration of C44 Janice for Richard Austin.  A quick peak into the shed last week revealed that the deck is going back on and it won’t be long before the paint brushes are out so she too will be ready for the start of the season.

C75 The Mike rounds out our trio of boats that will be joining the fleet next year.  Having had some work done at Rob Maloney’s she is now back in the capable hands of owners Phil Holding and Mark Wilby who are on the final stages of her refit and looking forward to getting her on the water in the spring.

Stand by for more updates on these projects after christmas!

The BOD Mexican Night at the Colne Yacht Club was undoubtedly one of the best evenings the club has seen in a long time.  Huge congratulations to Mark Wilby and his team for organising everything so perfectly and well done to the fleet for the outstanding fancy dress, salsa and disco dancing and impressive contribution to bar profits.  Best costume was definitely won by Charlie Lightly of his bottle of tequila. Best salsa dancer had to be Kate Button. Best disco dancer was Celia Charlton. And of course no BOD evening would be complete without the Chris Matthews/Mark White entertainment package!  Here are a few happy snaps courtesy of Matt Wilby:

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Organiser Mark Wilby tells us that there are just a few tickets left for this coming Saturday’s BOD Mexican Night at the Colne Yacht Club.  Almost all of the 100 tickets have already been sold but there are a few left so to reserve yours please call the Colne Yacht Club on 01206 302594.  All the details are in the poster below and we’re looking forward to seeing everyone in their ponchos and sombreros for that first Tequila/Corona.  Arriba!

More fantastic new boat news for the BOD Fleet! Today Sue Bouckley, her husband Adrian and daughters Hannah and Abbi Stodel became the very proud owners of Brightlingsea One Design C50 (shown being loaded to transport this morning).

This is the GRP boat that builder John Mullins was constructing for himself and is in fact the first of the GRP hulls moulded (hence sail number 50).  John also built C31 Blue Peter, now owned by Adrian and Judith Gibbons, and C51 Grethe, now owned by Fi Brown.  John’s quality of work and attention to detail is the stuff of legend, but very sadly he has been suffering from Alzheimer’s for several years and this has made it impossible for him to complete the boat personally.

Sue, whose maiden name is Green, hails from Brightlingsea, has a long family association with the BOD fleet and sailed in the boats herself as a cadet.  Having been a very successful dinghy sailor in her youth, including representing Great Britain in the 420 and 470 classes, Sue has done very little of her own sailing in recent years.  Instead she has been supporting elder daughter Hannah Stodel in her Paralympic sailing campaigns and building a successful training business which she runs with her husband Adrian and younger daughter Abbi.

Back in their youths Fi Brown and Sue had sailed dinghies together and when Fi purchased Grethe she got in touch with Sue to come for a sail.  One very light airs aborted race and a breezy evening cruising up and down Pyefleet with Adrian and her young nephews (the sons of her late brother Jamie Green, who was a very well known member of the BSC Laser fleet) was all it took convinced Sue that it was time to get a BOD and she began looking for the right boat.

At about the same time John Mullins was reluctantly contacting the class to say he was looking for someone to purchase and complete his boat.  The stars were clearly aligned for what has proved to be a match made in heaven, not only because it gives Sue a beautiful boat which she can have completed to her own deck specification, but because it also turns out that Sue and John have some unexpected links. When John became an apprentice shipwright his first master was a man called Harry Webb – who was Sue’s maternal grandfather – and he was at school with her mother and aunt, both of whom sailed BODs.  Although John must be terribly sad to say goodbye to C50, I am sure he must take heart in knowing that she is going to such a good home and to a family with which he has such a longstanding connection.

Sue advises us that the boat is approximate 2/3 complete and that the final work on her will be done by boatbuilder Simon Hipkin, who fits out the new glass boats.  She plans to race with her daughters Hannah and Abbi, another extremely good sailor, and will be introducing Adrian, a self confessed novice, to the joys of BOD sailing too.  She is also looking forward to more fun sailing with her nephews and other family members.

Simon will be starting work on the boat next week and she will be launched in spring 2015, after which she will be based at Park and Ride.

Sue tells us that the girls have had great fun naming her.  They were keen to keep up the informal BOD tradition of sea bird names and have chosen Eider, the duck from whose feathers Eiderdowns are made and which the RSPB informs us is the fastest sea duck in British waters.  We hope she lives up to her reputation for being both cosy and speedy.

We are all very much looking forward to welcoming Sue, Adrian, Hannah and Abbi to the class in 2015 and wish them many happy hours aboard Eider!

With Christmas just around the corner here a couple of great gift ideas for the BOD sailors in your life:

Kate Button Limited Edition BOD Print

Artist and BOD sailor Kate Button has created this wonderful BOD lino cut which can be printed in your choice of colour and with your own sail number (our example photo shows it printed in navy blue to match C51 Grethe).  Each print is individually made to order with your choice of colour and sail number.  Unframed prints cost £40 each and Kate can also arrange framing at additional cost (price depends on your choice of frame style).  Kate advises she can take just one more order for delivery in time for Christmas so to find out more please contact Kate on kate.button@btinternet.com

BOD Jackets And Polo Shirts

Burnham On Crouch based Blackjack Design now hold the artwork for the Brightlingsea One Design boat logo and can produce embroidered and printed clothing to order carrying the logo and your individual boat name and sail number.  They offer a full range of clothing at a variety of price points, including all the top sailing brands, all at excellent prices.  Order before end November to guarantee delivery in time for Christmas.

Contact Suzanne on sales@blackjackdesign.com and visit www.blackjackdesign.com for more information.

BODs At Rowhedge Regatta – Prints And Cards By Paula Webb

For the new Rowhedge Regatta BOD Downriver Race Trophy well known local artist Paula Webb created a fabulous watercolour painting showing the BODs starting the race at Rowhedge.  The picture is now available as both a full size print, mounted ready to frame in a standard 30cm x 40cm frame, and as a greetings card (no message inside).  The prints cost £12.50 and the cards £1.50 and can be ordered from Paula on paulawebb103@yahoo.co.uk.  Paula also takes individual commissions so if you would like an original picture of your BOD.

Tim Bees Photographs

Tim Bees has taken some amazing BOD photos over the years.  If you would like a print of one of his stunning images please check out his Online Gallery to make your selections and contact Tim on timbees@gmail.com.  Prices vary according to the size and format of the print but are always very reasonable.  Tim is also available for individual commissions if you would like him to take photos of an individual boat (this would need to be presented in the form of a give voucher with the photography taking place during 2015).