Brightlingsea One Design

This Sunday 28 June will see the second CYC BOD race of the season in the shape of the Carstairs Cup which starts from the Bateman’s Tower line at 14.15. Currently the forecast is indicating a dry but overcast day with a moderate to strong south westerly breeze and a high temperature of around 20 Deg C.

The following weekend – 4 and 5 July – is Brightlingsea Regatta and we hope to see as many BODs out as possible over the two days.  The official BOD Race will be the CYC Hickley Tiller race on Sunday 5 July at 14.00 (note this is 15 minutes earlier than our usual CYC start time) from the Bateman’s line, but for those who would like to race both days there will also be a BSC Summer Points race on Saturday 4 July starting at 14.00 from the BSC line.

In addition to the Regatta racing there will be lots of fun and games ashore with lots of trade and retail stands, watersports, gig racing, the boat show, great food and live music for all to enjoy.  Find out more at www.brightlingseaboatshow.com, www.sailbrightlingsea.com and www.colneyachtclub.org.uk.

Whilst the weather may have been a bit damp and overcast for this year’s Rowhedge Regatta, the same cannot be said for the spirits of the Brightlingsea One Design fleet which were in exceptionally good form.

A dozen BODs came to the Bateman’s line for what was to be a closely fought and at times very tricky light airs race up to Rowhedge.  Geoff Gritton, sailing C51 Grethe in Fi’s absence with a scratch crew, got off to a great start and led the fleet away from the line, but before long the experience of the old hands began to show through and Danny Fox in C8 Egret took an early lead, sailing very fast and avoiding all the usual up river obstacles to comfortably claim victory and the Marlow Trophy for 2015.  Second place went to Craig Bond sailing C54 Storm Petrel in Alan’s absence.  Malcolm Goodwin in C1 Jean had looked very good for second until an altercation with a mooring line just off Wivenhoe Sailing Club allowing Storm Pertrel to overtake. Celia Charlton helming C30 Sarah Louise took fourth with Mark White in White Spirit fifth.

Once of the nicest aspects of the day was the number of new crews making their first racing appearances onboard BODs.  Debbie Wilby crewed for Mark Wilby aboard C75 The Mike, Marianne White was sailing with Mark in White Spirit and Emma McTiernan stepped in at the last minute to race with Gritter in Grethe.

The fleet was very ably supported by a strong fleet of tenders led by Dan King, Rob McTiernan and Kate & Billy Button.  With no rescue work to trouble them the support boats focused on photos and encouragement on the way up and providing a full bar service on the way home, all of which helped to ensure a very merry day was had by all.

After a stretch ashore in Rowhedge for the traditional free beers and snacks the fleet went afloat again for the downriver race.  A slight misunderstanding in communications meant that several boats missed the official start time, but with virtually no wind and just the ebb tide to carry them away from the line no one seemed to mind too much and the fleet raced/cruised in company back down river.

For those racing seriously the Ian Brown Trophy was won by Malcolm Goodwin in Jean with Celia Charlton and Sarah Louise second and Dany Fox and Egret third.  Storm Petrel crossed the line in fourth but had to confess to “outside assistance” from the support boat/bar so retired.

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All in all a great fun day was had by all. Huge thanks to Nick Baker and the organising team in Rowhedge for laying on another great day out for the BOD fleet.  As always the sight of the massed BODs streaming upriver into Rowhedge was impressive and when the Smacks, WODs and rowing gigs were added to the mix it made for a visual feast for the spectators.

Our thanks to James Wilby, Phil Holding and Kate Button for the great photos.

Brightlingsea One Designs Upriver Race for the Marlow Trophy
1^st C8 Egret Danny Fox
2^nd C54 Storm Petrel Craig Bond
3^rd C1 Jean Malcolm Goodwin
4^th C30 Sarah Louise Celia Charlton
5^th C53 White Spirit Mark White
6^th C16 Dulcet Chris Rust
7^th C75 The Mike Mark Wilby
8^th C51 Grethe Geoff Gritton
9^th, C29 Panic Graham Bridle
10^th C6 Jumbo Too Tom Sargent
11^th C20 Ruff Bob Richardson
12 C18 Gelesma Mike Hempstead

Brightlingsea One Designs Downriver Race for the Ian Brown Trophy
1st C1 Jean Malcolm Goodwin
2nd C30 Sarah Louise Celia Charlton
3rd C8 Egret Danny Fox

Big news everyone.  Another new BOD has just been ordered!  The irrepressible Geoff Gritton has confirmed that he has paid his deposit on an order for a brand new BOD, sail number C56, for delivery in early 2016.  Geoff tells us he has lots of plans for exciting new developments on his BOD so watch this space for more news.

Welcome to the BOD Fleet Mr Gritton – we knew you couldn’t resist our charms much longer!

We’ve just been running through the anticipated BOD entry list for this year’s Pyefleet Week and the fleet is shaping up really nicely.  We still have a few boats pending confirmation but already the following 23 boats have said they will definitely be racing:

1. C1 – Jean – On loan from Malcolm Goodwin to the WOD boys with Rob Maloney and Nic Blowers
2. C4 – Cormorant – Malcolm Goodwin
3. C8 – Egret – Danny Fox and the Mersea Boys
4. C9 – Bidi – Dan/Colin Willett
5. C11 – Grayling – John Payne
6. C14 – Aina – Steve Heppell
7. C16 – Dulcet – Phil Rust
8. C18 – Gelasma – Mike Hempstead
9. C20 – Ruff – Trevor Stone/Mike Rees/Jim Bray
10. C24 – Nan – On loan from Nick Readings – Robin Cole
11. C27 – Rebel – Chris Matthews
12. C29 – Panic – Bob Richardson
13. C30 – Sarah Louise – Celia & David Charlton
14. C31 – Blue Peter – Graham & Claire Bridle
15. C32 – Avocet – Jeremy Newman
16. C40 – March Hare – On loan from Nick Readings – Dave Draper (possibly for the President’s Race only)
17. C43 – Endeavour – On loan from Nick Readings – David Conlon/Sarah Bines/Mitchell Bond
18. C50 – Eider – Sue & Adrian Bouckley
19. C51 – Grethe – Fi Brown
20. C53 – White Spirit – Mark White
21. C54 – Storm Petrel – Alan Hicks
22. C55 – Wind Sprite – James Anderson
23. C75 – The Mike – Mark Wilby & Phil Holding

In addition we have the following boats pending confirmation but hopefully they will also be out with us to making us up to 27 boats this year!

24. C6 – Jumbo Too – Tom Sargent
25. C25 – White Magic – Brian Walker
26. C44 – Janice – Richard Austin
27. C26 – Krystina – up for sale so hopefully we can find her a new owner to race with

Rowhedge Regatta is just around the corner on Saturday 20th June and as always the BODs will be well represented at this very special local event.

The organisers have kindly taken on board our comments about the need for improved mooring and this year you will be able to tie up alongside the key (make sure you bring good fenders).

The upriver start will be from Batemans at 13.15 and the downriver race will start from the Rowhedge line at 15.35.

I am also delighted to let you know that Dan King has very kindly agreed to accompany the fleet in his RIB and be unofficial BOD safety boat for the day.

With more boats arriving on the moorings and into Park and Ride each week the season is really getting underway and we look forward to a great turnout for Rowhedge this year so get organised and don’t miss out on the fun.

Click here for the full Rowhedge regatta sailing instructions

Please note that there is an error in the BOD Programme for this Sunday 14 June.  The BOD programme indicates that the Cormorant Cup 2 race will start from the BSC line at 14.00.  In fact the start will be at 11.00 as per the BSC programme.  Please kindly spread the word to all BOD sailors to ensure they are aware of the change.

We’ll have a full report and photos for you shortly but here are just a few snaps of the brand new and very beautiful C50 Eider being launched today.

Hard as it might be to believe today, the forecast for Wivenhoe Regatta on Saturday is looking fantastic with warm sunshine and a perfect southwesterly breeze of around 10 to 15 knots forecast.

The start is at 12.30 at Batemans and you can enter using the entry form or in person at the committee boat Viking on the day.  Cost is just £5 for which you get beer and BBQ vouchers and any profits go to local charities.

Click here for the sailing instructions and entry form.

C75 The Mike, owned by Mark Wilby and Phil Holding, has spent the last two years undergoing a major refit, and this weekend saw her finally hit the water for her first sail.  Jeremy Newman took Avocet out to keep them company and the boat (and the boys) looked fantastic setting off for their first mini adventure.

Mark and Phil have put in literally hundreds of hours to bring the boat back to life, but they also paid tribute to Malcolm Goodwin, Rob Maloney and Craig Bond for all the help and support they had given along the way. It’s been a labour of love but the boat is looking stunning so it was most definitely worth it.

Welcome back to the fleet guys and we hope to see you on the start line for Wivenhoe Regatta next weekend!