Brightlingsea One Design

Celia Charlton and her crew aboard C30 Sarah Louise got the BSC Winter Series off to a great start for the BOD fleet by claiming second place in a hotly contested fleet of 22 boats.  Sadly the BOD fleet was a little depleted for this opening race with several crews unable to compete, mainly due to half term family and holiday commitments for their crews.  But what we lacked in quantity we made up for in quality.  Only Pete and Tom Kyne in their Fireball were able to better Celia and she left third place Mike Bees and Martin Worth sailing a B14 and fourth placed Pier Lambert and Tim Bees in the Merlin Rocket trailing in her wake on corrected time.  Mike Hempstead was also racing in C18 Gelasma and finished in tenth place.

Weather permitting we should have several more BODs out this weekend and for the rest of the winter series.

Full Results

The joint BSC/CYC Laying Up Service was held at St James’ Church, Brightlingsea on Sunday 26 October with the BOD Fleet’s own Reverend Anne Howson leading the service.

The church had been beautifully decorated with a spinnaker suspended overhead and signal flags draped all around the church to give a wonderfully nautical feeling.  The service included various readings, poetry, hymns and prayers as well as musical contributions from The Motley Crew and St James’ Singers and the atmosphere was so convivial that almost the entire congregation stayed on after the service to enjoy a glass of wine and a good end of season chat.

For those of you who weren’t able to attend here is a transcript of Anne’s contribution to the service which not only had some lovely references to her BOD sailing, but also  sums up perfectly the joy that so many of us find in a life that involves sailing and the sea.

Laying Up Talk 2014 – The Reverend Anne Howson

This evening we are here to give thanks for the gift of life, and most particularly for the gift of the sea. Somehow the sea seems to feed both our outer and inner lives, and we have a deep connectedness to the water.

Alice [Davis – BSC Commodore] read an extract from the America’s Cup speech, when JFK declared that “we are tied to the ocean”. I did a little research, and found that his science was rather flawed. Sadly we don’t have the same percentage of salt in our blood as the sea. However, I do rather like the poetic idea, because I think it captures something of the mystery that we call the ‘pull of the sea’. I must down to the seas again.. says Masefield in his poem.

Last year at this service, I talked of the ‘sheer joy’ and tranquility that I have found sailing. This year the joy has continued, however the tranquility, now that’s another story..

As many of you know, Eddie & I crew for Mike on BOD C18, Gelasma. Apparently we’re known as The Revs! [Eddie & I – not Mike!]

2014 was my first season of racing, and back in the spring, I attended a Brightlingsea One Design dinner, and was referred to as “crew”. As I was so very new, I didn’t feel worthy of the elevated title!

However, not that many weeks later, I found myself taking part in the Wivenhoe Regatta.

In front of the huge crowd lining the quayside, the wind caught the spinnaker. At the same time coming in behind us, I heard Bob in Panic yell to his crew “get the ******spinnaker in NOW!

As we broached, I heard the crowd cheer – and there I was in the bottom of the boat on my knees, and up to my chest in water, hauling in the spinnaker for all I was worth…

Once ashore, someone asked me if I was praying whilst on my knees in the water – I think I replied that I was more intent on getting the spinnaker in! On reflection, I would imagine that somewhere in my subterranean depths, I was indeed praying!

I do enjoy the exhilaration, excitement and the unpredictability of sailing. I also love the deep peace of the water and the call of the Curlew at sunset. I feel close to God on, in, and next to the water, I feel part of the mystery that is our inter-connected life. I find rest here.

St Augustine has written many wise and beautiful things; one such quotation is this;

“Lord you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you”

When I sit on the Yacht club jetty to pray, or a bench past Batemans’ Tower, the physical surroundings help me connect to the mystery that is God. And as the Sailor’s version of the 23^rd Psalm says:

The One who is our Pilot, lights our passage across dark channels

This connectedness to unknown “mystery” that is God, can be known in a very personal way through his Son, Jesus Christ.

It is in knowing Christ, in the deep place of our being, that gives us peace and hope beyond our human understanding – or to put it another way, it is the ‘Rest’ in a restless world’ that St Augustine talks about..

This is another mystery… and the church calls it GRACE, Amazing Grace. 

Hymn: Amazing Grace

Click here to view the full Order of Service.

The Colne Yacht Club’s Laying Up Supper takes place on Saturday 1 November and tickets can be booked using this Ticket Application Form.  The cost is £25 a head to include a delicious three course meal, so come along and join in the celebrations and applaud our BOD sailors as they receive their trophies.

All are invited to the joint BSC/CYC Laying Up Service at St James’ Church in the High Street, Sunday 26th October at 6.30pm. It is an informal service which includes hymns, readings, poetry and prayers, with music from The Motley Crew and St James’ Singers, followed by wine & nibbles.  Our very own BOD sailing Reverend Anne Howson will be officiating and all BODs sailors will be very welcome to join the congregation to give thanks for the wonderful 2014 season.

Don’t forget to book your tickets this week for the BSC Laying Up Supper which is fast approaching on Saturday 25 October.

Party Time people!  Get out your sparkly frocks and your dancing shoes and join in the fun at the Brightlingsea Sailing Club Laying Up Supper on Saturday 25th October as we celebrate a fabulous season of BOD sailing.  It’s an evening of great food, great company, great music and great craic so book early to avoid disappointment as this event always sells out.

If you would like to join one of the BOD tables please just book your tickets with Donna Bees on bees.donna@gmail.com or 07966 820953 or in person at BSC and confirm to her that you are joining the BOD tables.  Alternatively if you would prefer to put your own table together please note that tables are available for groups of up to 12.  Full menu and details are in the poster below.

The Final Fling certainly gave everyone something to think about.  Twelve boats came to the line on a gloriously sunny Sunday morning and made a delightful sight starting off Bateman’s Tower in a very light and fickly northerly(ish) breeze.

There was just enough wind to enable the boats to beat up to Number 15 against the tide before they turned downtide to Point Clear and then across to Inner Fishery and finally back up tide to the line. Sadly the light northerly was soon fighting with the sea breeze which was attempting to come in from the south west and the result was a big old hole in the breeze.

The majority of the boats got round number 12 just before it shut down completely, but sadly Ruff didn’t quite make it and found themselves struggling to fight back against the ebbing tide while the rest of the fleet set off down tide with pace and very little directional control. Those with a knack for spotting the slightest spot of wind gained, whilst the less experienced or observant lost.

The leading group eventually battled their way back up to the East Mersea shore and spent a good half hour tacking back and forth attempting to get round the corner and head for the line.

Meanwhile White Spirit and Gelasma had already given up all hope and headed for the bar for a pre-prandial livener before the Final Fling lunch.

Back out on the water Colin Willett in Bidi finally managed to find a zephyr of breeze to pull him up to Batemans and win the Final Fling with Danny Fox in Egret second and Malcolm Goodwin in Jean following him in for third. Back down tide Phil Rust in Dulcet, Jeremy Newman in Avocet and Alan Hicks in Storm Petrel were still struggling to get around Mersea Stone and decided to call it a day and join the others at the bar.

This left Celia Charlton in Sarah Louise and James Anderson in Wind Sprite duelling it out around Mersea Stone and Fi Brown in Grethe miles back barely stemming the tide off Inner Fishery.

Fi and her crew had decide to give up too when suddenly the sea breeze put in an appearance and they were once again underway and closing the finish and the other two boats.  The breeze held just long enough to bring them right up to about 50 yards off the line and directly abreast of Wind Sprite and Sarah Louise, before shutting down once again leaving all three boats stemming the tide just before the line.  Eventually the northerly filled back in a tiny bit to allow Sarah Louise to finish fourth with Grethe fifth and Wind Sprite sixth.

Back ashore the Colne Yacht Club had managed to delay lunch to allow the sailors to get their boats ashore but before long more than 50 people were enjoying a Sunday roast and the chance to look back on a fantastic season of BOD sailing.  Class Chairman Bob Richardson took the opportunity to pay special tribute to Nick and Pam Readings and Marilyn Hempstead and their various supporting crews who have given up so much of their time to act as our race officers this year.  Without their fantastic support our CYC racing would not be possible and the entire class is extremely grateful to them.

Final Fling Results

1.  C9 Bidi – Colin Willett
2. C8 Egret – Danny Fox
3. C1 Jean – Malcolm Goodwin
4. C30 Sarah Louise – Celia Charlton
5. C54 Grethe – Fiona Brown
6.C55 Wind Sprite – James Anderson
Rtd – C20 Ruff, C53 White Spirit, C54 Storm Petrel, C32 Avocet, C14 Dulcet, C14 Gelasma

It’s time to book your tickets for the amazing BOD Mexican Fiesta Night being hosted by the Colne Yacht Club on Saturday 22 November.  Tickets are going to be in big demand for this event, but are on exclusive sale to BOD sailors via Mark Wilby until this Sunday 5 October.  To secure your tickets call Mark on 07803336960 or see him in person at the Final Fling lunch this Sunday!

Great news everyone – we will be at least 10 boats on the water on Sunday for the BOD Final Fling (start 10.30 at Bateman’s Tower) and the weather forecast is looking OK too.  Sadly the very hot weather will not last that long, but it should still be dry and bright with a SW breeze in the mid teens and temperatures in the mid to high teens.

The official deadline for booking lunch tickets with the yacht club was today but if you didn’t already book and want to join us for the carvery lunch at 1.3opm you can probably still get a ticket if you call first thing tomorrow (Thursday) morning. Call Sue on 01206 302594 or book at the bar.

Its been a great season so we look forward to racing against as many of you as possible and to seeing everyone (whether you have raced or not) in the bar and for lunch afterwards!

Conditions for the R Stone Chalice on Sunday 28 September were wonderfully warm and sunny with a light and often shifty easterly wind, making for challenging racing and plenty of place changes.  Eight teams came to the line at Bateman’s Tower where our trusty team of Pam and Nick Readings and Marilyn Hempstead got racing underway from the RIB.

With a strong flood tide running and a first mark of Hills, the choice had to be made between starting near the committee boat and fetching straight to the Mersea shore or starting near Bateman’s and holding up on the Brightlingsea shore before crossing the tide.  It was a close call, but Jeremy Newman’s C32 Avocet took the Mersea side to establish an early lead by the first mark.

As the boats came hard onto the wind for a beat across to Beach Avocet began to eek out her lead, whilst Danny Fox and the boys in C8 Egret established themselves in second place.  Behind them the rest of the fleet jostled for positions.  Mark White in C53 White Spirit and Phil Rust in C16 Dulcet didn’t get a great starts and then struggled a bit on the first leg, but both found some form as they came onto the wind and began to pass boats.  Alan Hick’s C54 Storm Petrel and Fi Brown’s C51 Grethe initially looked pretty good, but were amongst the boats who struggled to get into phase with the tricky conditions.

Mike Hempstead sailing C18 Gelasma had stuck with the Brightlingsea shore off the start and it paid off nicely for him.  But his first beat saw him drop back down the fleet, before recovering a little on the second.

As the leaders stretched away, the rest of the pack continued to vie for positions.  By the start of the second lap Avocet’s lead looked unassailable, but Egret sailed a superb second short lap making up a lot of ground.  Egret must have been hoping for a third lap to give them time to pass Avocet, but it was not to be and on the line Avocet took victory a minute and sixteen seconds from Egret.

Behind them White Spirit had been working super hard and pulled up into third place to lead Dulcet and then Storm Petrel across the line.  Gelasma and Grethe had a lovely fight for sixth place with Gelasma just managing to hold off the girls on the line and Trevor Stone and C20 Ruff team following them in to completed the rankings.

Post racing the entire fleet retired to the CYC Balcony for a well deserved refreshment and to look back on a wonderful afternoon of BOD racing.

With the Final Fling coming up next Sunday 5 October (start from Bateman’s at 10.30) and the forecast looking promising for a lovely final fleet sail of the season we hope to see as many BODs as possible on the water and joining us for a carvery lunch at CYC at 13.30.  Don’t forget to book in for the lunch at the CYC by calling 01206 302594 by Wednesday 1 October latest – tickets £14.50 each for main course, pudding and tea/coffee – all BOD friends and family welcome.

Final Results

C32 – Avocet – Jeremy Newman – 15:22:45
C8 – Egret – Danny Fox – 15:24:01
C53 – White Spirit – Mark White – 15:26:15
C16 – Dulcet – Phil Rust – 15:27:05
C54 – Storm Petrel – Alan Hicks – 15:28:24
C18 – Gelasma – Mike Hempstead – 15:30:07
C51 – Grethe – Fiona Brown – 15:30:22
C20 – Ruff – Trevor Stone – 15:32:50

During this summer some of you will have met Richard Austin who has been guest crewing on various boats to gain experience of BOD sailing.  The reason Richard has been such a willing volunteer crew is that he became the proud owner of C44 Janice earlier this year and wanted to learn all about the BODs in preparation for her restoration and sailing her next season.

BOD restorer Rob Maloney has had a busy year helping Malcolm with Cormorant and also doing some jobs on C75 The Mike, as well as restoration work on several of the Wivenhoe One Design Fleet.  But a couple of weeks ago he brought Janice into the workshop ready for her restoration and work is already proceeding at great pace.

Rob sends us this report:
Restoration is well under way on Janice C44. I started her at the end of August, the whole boat has been stripped out and is now back to bare wood, uncovering all sorts of nasty surprises!  It turns out she had a lot of new planks fitted at some point, mostly mid-ships. The remaining original planks are in need of attention and are being dealt with at the moment. I have had the stem out and also fitted a new transom. We have left some of the ribs in as they are perfectly ok.  I am going to make a start on the centreplate case next week and hope to get the new ribs and floors in followed by the case by the end of october.

And here are some photos showing progress to date:

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