Brightlingsea One Design

Volunteer Needed – Barry Newman could really use an assistant in the Committee Boat (Dug) for the BOD Mini Series this Sunday 20 July.  Anyone who can help hold up the flags, write down the finish orders and put the buoys in and out of the water would be great.  The first start is at 14.00 so you would need to meet Barry at around 13.00 (probably at the Colne YC but Barry will confirm directly).  Any Volunteers???  Contact Fi on fiona.brown@fionabrown.com.  Thanks

Don’t forget that we have a special BOD Mini Series event this Sunday 20 July.  First start time is 14.00 and racing will be run from a committee boat using windward leeward courses.

The plan is to run three relatively short, fast and furious races.  Barry Newman will be your Race Officer using his white launch Dug as your committee boat and he will be listening on Channel M2 if you want to contact him to find out where he is located.  Nick Readings has kindly offered to come out an act as support with his RIB.

It looks like we will have a really good turnout this weekend so we’ll see you all out there.

Don’t forget that we have a fantastic double launching celebration this Saturday evening, 19 July, when Malcolm Goodwin will launch the newly restored C4 Cormorant and James Anderson will launch the brand new C55.  Please be at the club for 18.30 – all BOD sailors and friends are welcome.

Huge thanks to Mark and Marianne White for hosting last night’s It’ll Be All White On The Night BOD Party.  Some 60 BOD sailors and friends enjoyed a fabulous evening (and for some a fabulous early morning!) in Mark and Marianne’s wonderful garden with a great time being had by all as you can see from our photos below.

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At this rate we might have to get the harbour authorities to dredge the start area to make sure we have enough room to fit the fleet on the Committee Boat line! 😉 Unbelievably we are now up to 24 boats for Pyefleet Week as Dave Draper has just confirmed that he will be racing in C40 March Hare, which will be on loan from Nick Readings (one again huge thanks to BOD Fleet Fairy Godfather Nick for being so generous in lending his boats out to keen teams).

Dave confirms he plans to put March Hare together over the next few days and will then be out for some warm up racing.  He will be sailing with Andy Chase, who used to own and race Squibs from Burnham, and they are currently looking for a good third crew so if anyone wants to volunteer just give Fi a shout on fiona.brown@fionabrown.com and she will put you in touch.

Now we just need one more to make it 25 for the entire week!  Come on someone… get that boat out of the shed and come and play in the most exciting fleet in Pyefleet Week bar none!

Click here for the current Provisional Pyefleet Week entry list

Click here for the official Pyefleet Week website.

As you already know, we have an incredible 23 boats confirmed as racing for the whole of Pyefleet Week which is fantastic.  However, on the opening day, Sunday 10 August, we have the special President’s Cup race which is a one off race in which we aim to get as many boats on the water as we possibly can (it does also count towards the week’s points).

With 23 boats already confirmed as racing Pyefleet Week our aim this year is to have 25 boats out for the President’s Race – which will be a BOD World Record!

So even if you can’t do the whole of Pyefleet Week do please come and join us for this very special race.  The start will be just after 14.30 (currently programmed for 14.36 but subject to confirmation once the classes are confirmed by the BSC – please check the Pyefleet Week official notice board on the day).

If you need any help to get your boat out and ready for the race just give Fi a shout on fiona.brown@fionabrown.com or 07711 718470 and she will do what she can to find you helpers or crew.

It is incredibly exciting to see our wonderful class so active and vibrant.  There’s a great mix of camaraderie and competition, the boats look absolutely stunning and we’re bucking the trend of falling class numbers.  So come on down and be part of the fun!

And don’t forget you can enter The President’s Race (or the whole of Pyefleet Week) online at www.pyefleetweek.com

The Pyefleet Week programme has been confirmed and the BODs will be sailing as follows:

Friday 8 August – BOD Pyefleet Week Welcome Drinks – 19.30 at Fi’s Flat (13 The Colne, Waterside Marina)

Saturday 9 August – Carole Cruickshank Trophy (Warm up pursuit race) – 14.00

Sunday 10 August – The President’s Cup (calling all BODs to take part) – Afternoon

Monday 11 August – Morning (The BOD German Night Party is on Monday evening)

Tuesday 12 August – Afternoon

Wednesday 13 August – Big Wednesday (not part of the points series) – 14.30

Thursday 14 August – Morning

Friday 15 August – Afternoon

Saturday 16 August – Morning

Currently the programme shows that we will be the third class to start after the Cat Handicap and the Fireballs and that we will be followed by the Slow Handicap and Mirrors, however, class changes can be made right up until the end of registration on Saturday 9 August so please check with the notice board to confirm the final timings prior to sailing.  Assuming we are the third class to go we will starting at 10.36 in the mornings and 14.36 in the afternoons.

For more information and to make your entry in advance (no need to pay but you can get the paperwork done online to save time) please visit the Pyefleet Week website.

Don’t forget that the only place to be from 7pm this Saturday night will be Mark and Marianne White’s garden for the It’ll Be All White On The Night BOD Party!  And on Sunday we have racing from the BSC line starting from 14.00.  With so many boats now launching and preparing for Pyefleet Week we’re expecting a good turnout.

On the subject of good turnouts, with so many boats now needing to launch from Park and Ride each race its important that we get our act together and try to be ready to leave promptly to avoid last minute rushes with the tractors.  Please would everyone do their best to get there a little bit earlier and go afloat as soon as you are ready to help ease congestion for the next few weeks.  Thanks!

Seven BODs including Malcolm Goodwin sailing C1 Jean in her first appearance of the seaon, came to the Bateman’s start line for the Colne Salver on Sunday 6 July.  It was champagne sailing all the way for what proved to be an exciting and challenging race.  Malcolm got Jean off to a flying start but then didn’t quite have the pace to maintain his lead (possibly because it was his first sail of the season or perhaps because Jean has been in the water for a couple of weeks and the warm weather means the baby barnacles are spreading like wildfire).  On the other hand Danny Fox and the boys in C8 Egret, who also got a good start, were fully arced up and soon had control of the fleet.

Behind Egret, Alan Hicks in C54 Storm Petrel initially looked good but a combination of a poor tactical decision followed by a spinnaker pole fumble allowed first C9 Bidi, helmed by Colin Willett, and then C53 White Spirit, helmed by Mark White, to overtake him.

Having been disqualified from the last couple of CYC races for failing to correctly pass through the start line between laps, this week Egret made sure they complied with the sailing instructions and didn’t put a foot wrong.  At the finish line they had a confident lead from Bidi with White Spirit third.

Its clear that the standard of sailing is really hotting up in the fleet this year.  And its also clear that although the new fibreglass boats are on the pace, the well prepared wooden boats are still more than capable of beating them.  As we get closer to Pyefleet Week we can look forward to growing fleets and ever more exciting racing.  Bring it on we say!

Thanks as always go to Nick Readings and Marilyn Hempstead for their sterling work on the committee boat.

Colne Salver Final Results

1.  C8 Egret – Danny Fox – 15:15:57 (1hour 30mins 57secs)
2. C9 Bidi – Colin Willett – 15:16:47 (1hour 31mins 47secs)
3. C53 White Spirit – Mark White – 15:17:39 (1hour 32mins 39secs)
4. C54 Storm Petrel – Alan Hicks – 15:18:06 (1hour 33mins 06secs)
5. C1 Jean – Malcolm Goodwin – 15:19:44 (1hour 34mins 44secs)
6. C6 Jumbo – Tom Sargent – 15:24:42 (1hour 39mins 42secs)
7. C29 Panic – Bob Richardson – 15:28:59 (1hour 43mins 59secs)

We have two fabulous BOD parties coming up in July and we’re also preparing for BOD night at Pyefleet Week so mark your diaries and come and join the celebrations:

First up is the “It’ll Be All White On The Night” party on Saturday 12th July from 7pm hosted by Mark and Marianne White at their lovely home, 30 Nelson Street, Brightlingsea.  Mark will be firing up the BBQ, the bar will be flowing and with luck the good weather will hold so we can enjoy Marianne’s fabulous garden to the full.

Parking is very limited in Nelson Street so we’d be most grateful if those who can walk there please do so.  If you need to drive and can’t park in Nelson Street try Duke Street which runs behind the house.  There is a brown wooden pedestrian back gate to the garden located next to 25 Duke Street (Geoff Gritton’s house) which you can use if approaching from that direction.

Contributions to the bar will be much appreciated.  Mark will be slamin’ the sausages and burgers on the barbie, but if anyone has any special dietary needs please feel free to bring along something appropriate for yourself.

And just a week later, on Saturday 19th July we will celebrate the arrival in the fleet of two new BODs at 6.30pm at Brightlingsea Sailing Club .  The first is Malcolm Goodwin’s newly restored C4 Cormorant, one of the most successful BODs ever built, originally owned by the legendary Ralph Sutton and on which Malcolm has spent well in excess of 1,000 hours restoration time.  The other boat to be christened that night will be James Anderson’s new fibreglass boat C55 which is just being completed at Simon Hipkin’s yard. The entire fleet is invited to join in the celebrations and welcome both boats to the family.

Finally don’t forget that the BODs will be hosting a German Night on the Monday of Pyefleet Week, 11 August.  Mark Wilby has been leading the organisational charge for this one and has a German Oompah band, German beer and German food all lined up.  It will be a fancy dress night so look out those lederhosen and dirndls and be prepared!  More information will follow shortly.