Bembridge Sailing Club August Keelboat Racing

by Bembridge Sailing Club 26 Aug 11:29 UTC

Monday 11 August - by Mike Toogood

Five Redwings and five One-Designs lined up in champagne sailing conditions to race for the Campbell Trophy on Monday morning. The Redwings, as normal, were first off; Toucan (Colin Samuelson)and Quail (James Wilson) jockeying for position at the pin end biased line as the wind swung left repeatedly during the sequence. There was then a three minute gap to Musicus (Rosie Sym), Prawn (Oliver Morgan) and Quintessence (Robin Ebsworth). The course to Moreton, Janson and Footprint 3 times round proved too much and was shortened second time round at Moreton.

Final placings were:

1 Quail - Jockey Wilson
2 Toucan - Colin Samuelson
3 Prawn - Ollie Morgan
4 Quintessence - Robin Ebsworth
5 Musicus - Rosie Sym

with the last three finishing in very close order.

The 'crew' race followed shortly thereafter in the softening breeze. Prawn went home prior to the start leaving the other four to battle it out over a course starting at Fitzwilliam, to Moreton and back to Under Tyne twice round. Quail established a lead fairly quickly with Arabella Wilson bringing home Quail by a comfortable margin.

1 Quail
2 Quintessence
3 Toucan
RTD Musicus

Arabella Wilson won the Crew Trophy and a complementary dinner invite to next week's Redwing dinner courtesy of the current future (subject to election) class captain!

The One-Designs got off to a similarly challenging pin end biased start to go to Fitzwilliam, Janson and back to Footprint. Like the Redwings the course had to be shortened at Fitz on the second beat. Charles and Lavinia Perry seemed to veer off towards the harbour on the run so giving Alexander Ross to the opportunity to overtake and round Footprint first. However, it was No 5 who took line honours in the end.

1 No 5 - Charles and Lavina Perry
2 No 8 - Alexander Ross
3 No 1 - Russ Fowler and Simon Allocca
4 No 9 - D Orange
5 No 2 - Martin Bonham and Roy Burrows

Whilst the majority returned to the moorings Under Tyne, No 2 and No 5 were enjoying it so much that they went for an impromptu second short race. No 5 sailed by the Perrys prevailed over No 2, Martin Bonham and Roy Burrows.

Tuesday 12 August - by Mike Samuelson

With a fraction more breeze than the previous day, five Redwings and seven One-Designs managed to get two races completed. Having started at Under Tyne they had a challenging sail to Moreton, then Fitzwilliam as a wing mark and an inflatable as the leeward mark. Originally set for two rounds, both fleets had a course change after the leeward mark that took them to Tara, the inflatable and Under Tyne to finish.

Toucan (Colin) pushed Musicus (Rosie Sym) over the line at the start. Mind you it did come round to bite him as he was also OCS. However, it did not seem to slow him down very much and Toucan was first round Moreton and kept the lead for the rest of the race. Second was Redwing (Olav Cole) with Quintessence (Robin Ebsworth) third. It was good to see Banzai (Nick R-L) out for their first race of the summer.

The second race was for the Mercedes Trophy (Lady helms); disappointingly there were only two takers - Becky Samuelson in Toucan, and Rosie in Musicus. Set Tara, Garland, Under Tyne twice, this was shortened to one round after the breeze started dropping. Becky nailed the start and soon established an unchallengeable lead finishing seven minutes ahead of Rosie.

Although there was not a lot of place changing, the seven One-Designs enjoyed two testing races following behind the Redwings. In the first, No 9 (Mark Grz) lead round Moreton with No 10 (Robin Joy), No 8 (Charles Perry) within challenging distance, however it was not to be. At the other end of the fleet, No 1 (Simon Allocca), No 5 (Susie Beart) and No 7 (D Orange) were close and despite every effort to gain advantage from using his spinnaker, Simon was unable to make it pay; indeed it was almost a hindrance made worse when they had a problem dropping it at the leeward mark.

The second race was less No 5 who headed back to the moorings. No 8, No 1 (Russ Fowler) and No 3 all came in together at the stern of the Committee Boat with lots of cries of 'no room' that saw No 8 (Lavinia Perry) having to circle round. However it did not effect them much as they were ahead at both the windward mark (Tara) and after a slow run to the leeward mark (Garland). But the beat back to the line at Under Tyne saw No 3 (Mark Hodgkinson) overtake then. Mark Grz in No 9 was third and Russ in No 1 was fourth, but admitted to keeping their spinnaker in its storage bucket!

Wednesday 13 August - by Mike Samuelson

A light and fickle breeze on Wednesday morning did not bode well for the annual long distance handicap race (Zanen Trophy); however three Redwings (Toucan, Tarpon and Quintessence) and three One-Designs (No 1, No 3 and No 8) said that they were keen to give it a go. Additionally there were five other One-Designs who opted for two shorter races. Both options were started at Fitzwilliam with the Zanen Trophy group heading off to Warner on a running start taking advantage of the F2 SE'erly breeze.

It did not take long for the fleet to spread out across the course and for No 1 One-Design with her spinnaker pulling nicely to show that she could almost keep up with the Redwings. With Warner within touching distance of Toucan (Colin Samuelson), Quintessence (Robin Esworth) and Tarpon (Dominic Samuelson) and with No 1 One-Design not far behind, the breeze dropped and the tide strengthened. With no sign of a respite, it was decided to finish the race in the positions the six boats were in and tow them back to the moorings. Using the infamous 'Samuelson' handicap, the Zanen Trophy went to Mark Hodginson in No 1 One-Design.

In the meantime the other five One-Designs started in the more traditional direction with Tara as the windward mark, Janson as the leeward mark and back to Fitzwilliam to finish. Although they split on the first beat, they made Tara with No 4 (John Suffield single handed) in the lead. Although he rounded Janson still ahead the rest had compressed as they tried to work out the best way to get to the finish line as the breeze faded. John managed to hold onto his lead but it was anyone's guess who would be second and third. In the event, Penny Stanley (No 9) and Charles Perry (No 5) crossed the line together so tied for second place. Extraordinary after an hours race in such fickle conditions. By heading back to the moorings it was clear that there was no appetite for a second race!

Thursday 14 August - by Alastair Speare-Cole & Mike Samuelson

Although initially it looked as if the forcasted SW'erly F4 breeze was going to be a myth and therefore scupper plans to race round the West Princess for the annual Princessa Trophy, in the event it held for most of the hour race, albeit a bit more southerly. Although a bit disappointingly only four takers, it was probably just as well as the launches struggled to get from the Club pontoon to the moorings Under Tyne.

Starting from an inflatable laid about 250m north of Under Tyne, the course took them via Under Tyne to Cochrane and West Princess, before returning to Under Tyne again via Cochrane. The first leg was planned as a beat but the breeze veered to the SSE so it was a close fetch. Toucan (Colin Samuelson) rounded first and lead the way to Cochrane. Plover (Andrew Eddy), Quintessence (Robin Ebsworth) and Tarpon (Dominic Samuelson) took the inshore route to the turning mark, and Redwing (Olav Cole) decided there was a bit more breeze out to sea. Even though the tide was stronger off-shore, it was a killer move and they closed on the West Princessa with a substantial lead, Olav then had a brainstorm and went round the buoy the wrong way; by the time he realised his error and unwound, Toucan was closing the gap which made the final two legs more interesting. Third round was Quintessence followed by Plover and Tarpon. With the tide underneath them they made rapid progress to the finish via Cochrane. Despite best efforts by Colin he was unable to get in front of Olav who therefore won the Princessa Trophy by four seconds. Andrew was third, Robin fourth and Dominic was fifth. A glorious sail.

Six One-Designs meanwhile completed two races. In the first race No 4 was late to the start but in the light SSW wind soon caught up with the Group by Janson. The fleet split on the beat to the Garland with No 3 helmed by Mark Hodgkinson heading for the Fort with the others choosing to keep on Starboard towards Ducie beach. At Garland No 3 had was in the lead followed by the Perry's in No 8 and Jos Coad in the No 1. No 3 extended his lead during the run to Fitzwilliam where the wind shifted to the South making the beat to the finish very one sided.

The front three at the finish were No3, No 1 & No 9 (D Orange)

At the start of the second Race, the fleet all headed off on Port tack with the exception of No 8. By the leeward mark No1 had worked out to a substantial lead. The wind which continued to shift around made the beat to the finish very one sided and so the leader remained unchallenged to the finish. No 7 flew a spinnaker on the run to try to catch the fleet but and did address the deficit. The final top three were No 1 (Jos Coad), No 3 (Mark H) and No4 ?.

Friday 15 August - BSC (EWCC) Regatta

With very little wind forecast, and the clubhouse flags showing no signs of life, expectations were low for any sailing on the first day of this year's BSC regatta. However, half a mile offshore a gentle 10kts from the south set in, and remained constant for the afternoon. A start line was laid to an inflatable ODM, Under Tyne was the windward mark, Janson a wing mark, and Derek the leeward mark.

For the first time in living memory a cruiser raced, albeit alone, and David Curling's pretty Folkboat Lavrock sailed one round to be awarded the race. The six edwings were next away, and a tight race developed between the leading three. Billy Clegg in Lady Letitia led Jockey Wilson in Quail and Colin Samuelson in Toucan at the first mark, but had slipped to third by the second beat. Jockey got away somewhat, but Colin overstood the finish line at the end of the second round, and allowed Billy to slip through to take second. Richard Jessel in Blue Jay was fourth, followed by Andrew McCue in Musicus and Robin Ebsworth in Quintessence.

Understandably, the prospect of very light winds meant that no Mermaids could come over from Seaview, so the six BODs were started next, with Britten as a leeward mark giving them a shorter course. Charles Perry (No 8) was in his customary good form and soon established a clear lead. He was never caught, with John Suffield (No 4) coming home second, with Mark Grz (No 9) taking third. Mark Hodgkinson (No 3) was next, followed by Martin Bonham (No 2) and James Petit (No 7).

Two Squibs were welcome visitors from RVYC, with Kestrel (No 835 - Charlie White) leading Icarus (No 687 - Philip Russell) home.

Disappointing number of entries for the inshore Dinghy Regatta. Two Teras, four Scows, two ILKA 4s, two Fast Handicap. F2 Southerly with the start line (with an inflatable pin) halfway between Spence Willard and Nainby.

Saturday 16 August by Mike Samuelson

Day 2 of the BSC Regatta was always going to be a challenge as this year it was also the first (of two) days of the J70 Regatta which aimed to have six races, one of which was to be the BSC Regatta race. Preceded by three shorter races using laid inflatables, the J70s were set off on a Special Course 1 (triangle, sausage and triangle) using Ruthven, an inflatable wing mark and Under Tyne. After some very close racing Monty Orange and team 11 finished just ahead of No 5 (Marcus Howe) with No 7 (Ed Eddy) in third. An excellent race that certainly proved to be quite testing for the non-experts. Max Aylmer in No 6 and Rex Chalmers in No 9 both retired.

Eight Redwings sailed the same course with Quail (James Wilson) finishing just under two minutes ahead of Musicus (Andrew McCue) and a further minute later Gosling (helmed by Serena Gosling). Six Mermaids had the same course with U4 (Noel Dobbs) coming first, U7 (helmed by Robin McCaw) was second three quarters of a minute later. U10 (Jeremy Spencer-Cooper) was third. Disappointingly, there were only two One-Designs; their course was slightly shorter (two triangles) and No 9 (Penny Stanley) finished three minutes ahead of No 7 (Charles Abel Smith). Three Squibs made it from RVYC via SVYC and they sailed the same course as the One-Designs. Charlie White in 835 was the comfortable winner finishing three minutes ahead of Philip Russell in 687. The challenging conditions meant that sadly there were no Victorys from Portsmouth.

J70 Weekend by Mike Samuelson

Unusually the annual J70 weekend, organised so brilliantly by Andrew Eddy, had to be scheduled to coincide with the second day of the BSC Regatta (Saturday) and the first day of the SVYC Regatta (Sunday). In the event, it all worked extremely smoothly and great sailing (and fun) was had by the crews of the twelve J70 that had been chartered of RYS and RTYC. To read more of what went on, see www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/289169/J70-Weekend-at-Bembridge

Sunday & Monday 17 - 18 August - SVYC Regatta

Sunday - Redwings (9) 1st - Quail (James Wilson); 2nd - Redwing (Olav Cole); 3rd - Toucan (Colin Samuelson)

Sunday - One-Designs - no takers

Monday - Redwings (5) - 1st Quail (James Wilson); 2nd - Redwing (Olav Cole); 3rd - Lady Laetitia (Billy Clegg)

Monday - One-Designs (1) - 1st No 1 (Simon Allocca)

Tuesday 19 August by John Suffield

Although there was a nice breeze on Tuesday morning, coming from the NW meant that there was a nasty swell. Slightly surprisingly there were no Redwings, however there were eight One-Designs who were competing for the Cartwright Prize which is sailed over an Olympic course with three rounds (a triangle, a sausage and a second triangle). In view of the bumpy conditions and a wish to have two races, the course was kept set relatively inshore. The start line was at the Under Tyne (E) and the windward mark was Fitzwilliam (F), with an inflatable buoy as the spreader.

Start of the Cartwright Prize race:

Simon Allocca in No 10 was first across the line but was swiftly overtaken by No 5, with the BSC Commodore at the helm, and those positions remained the same throughout the race, with No.1, sailed by Russ Fowler, in 3rd place, closely pursued by Alexander Ross in No.8. The Cartwright Prize race lasted just over 45 minutes.

Conditions eased to some extent for the second race that followed but the sea remained choppy. The start line was a little nearer to the first mark at Fitzwilliam followed by a run down to Garland and then a beat out to Britton, with some boats choosing to sail downwind of Bembridge Fort to their slight disadvantage, and a straight forward finish at Under Tyne. No 8 (Alexander Ross), No 10 (Simon Allocca) and No 4 (Richard Hall) arrived at the first buoy and the finish line in that order. This race was just under 50 minutes. In both races, only four minutes separated first from last.

Wednesday 20 August by Mike Samuelson

Another morning with a F4 gusting F5 NE'erly breeze that of course meant a nasty swell and the problem of transferring crews from the launch to their boats moored at Under Tyne. In the event there were no Redwings and only four One-Designs. The programme for the latter had them racing for the Burrows single handed trophy, however with conditions as they were, this was a non-starter, so it was agreed that there would be just one normal race for August points.

Not a bad start given the conditions. Initially all stayed on starboard as they punched into the NE'erly swell. No 4 (John Suffield) tacked first which, given that he reached Fitzwilliam first by quite a margin, suggested that this was the best route to take.

Race start:

Stephan Ludwig (No 3) was second to round, followed closely by Penny Staley in No 9 and Simon Alloca in No 1. The run to Garland saw John extend his lead by a couple of seconds and Penny squeeze round Garland just ahead of Stephan and Simon. Initially all headed out on starboard on the first leg of the tricky beat to Janson. Just short of St Helens Frt, Simon decided that he had nothing to loose and tacked onto port - sadly for him it did not pay off. In the meantime Stephan & Penny traded tacks as they closed on Janson ready for the final run to Under Tyne. Although unable to dent John's lead, Stephan crossed the finish line thirty seconds ahead of Penny.

Thursday 21 August by Mike Samuelson

Programmed for the Billie Fortescue (Ladies Race) sadly there was only one eligible boat (D Orange & Penny Stanley) so it was agreed that there would be a 'race within a race' with the Trophy shared between D & Penny. Sea conditions were slightly improved on the previous day, plus the sun was shining so a great morning's racing beckoned. There were no Redwings.

The start at Under Tyne was pretty good with all four boats within feet of the line; all initially remained on starboard as they worked out the best was to get to Janson and back to Under Tyne twice. Martin Bonham in No 2 seized the initiative and got it spot on to round Janson well ahead of the other three boats who changed positions quite often throughout the race. Initially it was D Orange in No 9, Susie Beart in No 5 and Jos Coad in No 8; but on the second round Jos moved ahead of Susie and D only to loose out after a course change at Tara which saw Ruthven (which he touched and took a penalty) bought into the equation. Martin remained a country mile ahead and crossed the line four minutes ahead of Susie who overtook No 9 (now helmed by Penny) in the last few seconds of the race. Amazing after an hour and a half's race.

Friday 22 August - by Mike Samuelson

No Redwings again and the One-Design Jubilee Trophy (top 4 boats) final was postponed to the afternoon in anticipation of the forecast breeze picking up - which it duly did. Qualifying crews were reminded by Jos Coad (a finalist himself) of the traditional format for the trophy and set off for Under Tyne. With Sea Breeze set up about half way between Britton and Under Tyne, the first race was a simple triangle with Janson as the wing mark. Three boats were close to line at the start with No 9 (Mark Gregorczyk) a bit behind but close to the Committee boat. No 4 (Jos Coad) rounded the windward mark safely ahead and increased his lead on each leg; Alexander Ross (No 8) was second and No 3 (Stephan Ludwig) was third.

Having changed boats and although the breeze was starting to get unstable, the same course was used for the second race. The start saw Stephan and Mark caught the wrong side of the line and having to effectively re-start well behind the other two boats. No 4 (Alexander Ross) was first round the windward marks and held off challenges from Jos and the other two boats.

With a first and a second each, it was clear that the overall winner was going to be either Jos or Alexander. After the course was re-jigged to Under Tyne, Fitzwilliam, Janson, Under Tyne the latter, unfortunately for him, overcooked the start and from then on was always in catch up mode. Mark (in No 4) lead from the start and finished thirty seconds ahead of Jos, Stephan was third.

Overall this meant that Jos won the trophy; Alexander was second.

Saturday 23 August by Mike Samuelson

Saturday morning of the August Bank holiday is always programmed for the Redwing Jeannie Cochrane final - one race between the winners of three key races during the season. This year, the three were James Wilson (Quail), Olav Cole (Redwing) and Tim & daughter Amelia Montague (Musicus). Although the light northerly breeze was just sufficient to get the boats moving, its stability and strength was the big question mark. Starting at Under Tyne, the course was twice to Janson with an additional loop between Tara and Fitzwilliam.

Start of the JC final:

After an excellent start by the three boats James was the first to tack to the right side of the course - a move that resulted in him rounding Janson three minutes ahead of Olav with the youngest helm of the whole fleet, Amelia, rather a long way behind. The run back to Under Tyne was very slow but again Quail seemed to always be the one to pick up the elusive zephyr and so extended their lead to eight minutes. With the breeze continuing to drop the race was finished as Quail rounded Janson for the second time - a worthy winner.

Quail was the only one to stay on for the BHYC Regatta Redwing race that as normal was run after the JC final. With the breeze veering and increasing by a couple of knots, eight Redwings got away to a clean start; with the majority at the Committee boat end there was quite a bit of shouting when Gosling tried to 'shut the door' on Avocet.

Start of the BHYC Regatta race:

Most quite quickly tacked and headed to the Bembridge shore to get out of the tide, Mike Toogood (Tara) was first at the wing mark (Fitzwilliam) but with Quail close behind it was no great surprise that places had changed by the time they reached the leeward mark (Nainby). With the breeze holding the course was then changed to Cochrane and back to the finish at Under Tyne. All eight boats headed to the Bembridge shore and worked their way eastwards to Cochrane. By that time Quail was just under three minutes ahead of Tara with Avocet (Alastair Speare-Cole) third and Harlequin (Xander Shaw) fourth.

Sadly there were only four One-Designs, but those that did race were all quite close other than at the start when Richard Hill in No 4 went for the pin end of the line which was not where he needed to be! This put him well last at the initial windward mark (Tara), however he had reduced the deficit considerably by the time they reached the wing mark. Although still in the lead at the leeward mark (Footprint), Mark Grzegorczyk in No 9's substantial lead that he had established during the first leg had diminished considerably. Given that progress was better than expected, the course was changed so that after Footprint they went back to Tara and then finished at Under Tyne. As with the Redwings they all headed inshore to get the best of the tide. Mark finished a minute and a half ahead of Richard, with Hamish Janson in No 12 a minute later.

Sunday 24 August by Mike Samuelson

Had the F3/4 breeze not been from ESE again and therefore quite bumpy, it was champagne sailing for the second day of the BHYC Regatta. Starting at Under Tyne, the twelve Redwings had a longish beat to reach Cochrane. Mike Toogood in Tara was OCS and had quite a problem extracting himself so as to get back to the pre-start side of the line.

Start of the Redwing Race:

All headed inshore and tacked up the Lane End shore. Unfortunately following a damaging port and starboard incident Toucan had to be towed and Avocet limped back to the harbour. The other ten boats continued to Cochrane and then enjoyed a long run to Nainby with Quail (James Wilson) leading the way followed by Harlequin (Xander Shaw), Redwing (Olav Cole) and Goose (Jaffa Orange). The long beat back to Cochrane saw everyone again beating up the Bembridge shore and although Quail and Harlequin dominated at the front, a few boats changed places mid-fleet. With time ticking on it was decided to change/shorten the course after two rounds but with the finish line moved to Tara just to ring the changes. Despite this change being broadcast on the VHF at least half a dozen times, unfortunately Goose failed to hear it and so thinking they were still heading out to Cochrane, somewhat over staying which allowed Redwing to take third place. Lower down the order, Tara just crossed the finish line ahead of Lady Laetitia helmed by Annie Clegg. Although one from last, it was great to see young Amelia Montagu helming so competently and enthusiastically.

The eight One-Designs had a slightly shorter course using Tara (rather than Cochrane) as their windward mark. The start was pretty conservative and the line was all clear.

One-Design start Sunday 24 August:

Not surprisingly they all headed inshore to minimise the tidal effect; that said after the race guest helm Richard Coleman in No 10 questioned the wisdom of this 'traditional' tactic! Rounding Nainby first after run from Tara (no one was brave enough to fly a spinnaker) was No 9 (Penny Stanley) just ahead of No 12 (Mark Hodgkinson sailing single handed); there was then a gap to the remaining boats who where bunched close together. The beat to Tara was hard work with the key being able to keep the boats moving through the increasing swell. Penny was still ahead as they rounded Tara with No 3 (Stephan Ludwig) and No 10 (Richard) close together not far behind. Martin Bonham in No 2 had made up a lot ground and was in fourth place ahead of Susie (No 5), Sarah (No 7) and Simon (No 1). After another run to Nainby and beat back to Tara, no one could make a dent in Penny's lead; Richard in No 10 was second 40 seconds behind her, and Martin in No 2 was third. A challenging race.

Monday 25 August by Jos Coad

Four Redwings and five One-Designs came out to enjoy a steady ESE force 3 to 4 that held throughout the morning as forecast. The Redwings opted for one long race whereas the One-Designs preferred two short races. Sea Breeze parked herself halfway between Garland and Janson to ensure courses with a good beat.

The course set for the Redwings was Cochrane to port, back to Britten to port twice round; they were confident of the wind holding as they asked not to be required to come through the line after the first round. Xander Shaw in Harlequin, Mike Toogood in Tara, Mike Orange in Goose and Rosie Gosling in Gosling set off well together all going inshore to get out of the tide. Xander took the lead followed by Mike Orange and Mike Toogood with Rosie and her young crew fourth which was the order throughout. Xander went steadily further ahead of the others and won by a clear 1 half minutes from Mike Orange who was followed by Mike Toogood and Rosie. It had taken Harlequin an hour and 36 minutes.

The course for the five One-Designs was Tara, Janson and Britten and back to finish at the line. Penny Stanley in No 9, Susie Beart in No 5, Richard Hall in No 4 and James Petit in No 7 all got a good start and followed the Redwings inshore. Alexander Ross in No 8 was in the wrong place at the start and was some way behind the others so stayed out which helped him make up some ground. However No 9, No 5 and No 4 went round Tara close together with Penny then edging further ahead flying the spinnaker. She duly won the first race followed by Susie, Richard and Alexander who had made up ground. James, some way behind, was given a finish without going round Britten to enable a quick start to the second race.

The course for the second race was as for the first without Janson - Tara, Britten and the line. Susie in No 5 opted out to leave the other four to race. Mark Grzegorczyk, now helming No 9, took the lead followed by Richard in No 4, Willie Cobb now helming No 8 and Sarah Marshall now helming No 7. Mark won comfortably with Richard just pipping Willie on the line and Sarah fourth.

Congratulations to Penny and Mark in No 9 who won the Victory Trophy for the Bank Holiday weekend's racing.