August 2023 – Page 3

Despite the challenging sailing conditions and cancellations due to weather these past few weeks, the club has had a busy time on the river. It was very disappointing having to cancel the Gravelly Race and the Newtown Creek Rally but there was a lot of fun on the river during Senior Sailing the other week.

SENIOR SAILING LASER REPORT from Simon Knott

The first day of Senior sailing finally arrived and a more beautiful day at Needs Ore you could not imagine. A Mediterranean blue sky, a warm breeze, an unnaturally quiet river and 12 rather apprehensive teenagers most of whom had not sailed since last year and who would not have been there but for the strong friendship group that has developed between them over the years.

As always the first morning was “mayhem” as the sailors tried to find their boat, recall how to rig it and then discover bits were missing. The helpers assisted with rigging, launched the rescue boats and were allocated roles. As always everyone was delighted to see each other and there was an air of excitement intensified this year by the rapidly stiffening breeze.

The group was split between the “experts” (Henry Gedge, Oscar Healey, Barnaby Warrilow, Henry May, Freddie May, William Rosling, Charlie McNair Wilson) and those progressing from toppers (Xanthe Knott, Tabitha Fothergill, Ollie Hoffman, Rose Osborne Young, Willoughby Dubois )

By now the average wind speed was 19 knots and conditions were nearing the upper limit but with 3 safety boats and only 12 sailors the decision was made to launch.

Fear of the initial capsize was dispelled within minutes with everyone going over and at least one person capsizing before the end of the jetty. Henry Gedge (on a full main) made it look easy but proudly announced at the end of the first session that he had capsized 9 times and others certainly capsized more. However everyone proved able to right their boats with little or no assistance and a fantastic morning was had by all.

The afternoon session, Thursday and Friday followed a very similar theme with Force 5 winds and the Lasers virtually flying. This made spectacular viewing for the proud parents and the nervous yacht owners foolishly moored in the vicinity.

Sailing had to be cancelled on Saturday because of force 7winds and although conditions calmed on Sunday the decision was made to launch a smaller number of boats for safety reasons.

The conditions during the week were extremely challenging and while serious instruction was virtually impossible this really did not matter. BRCS sailing week has always been about instilling the joy of sailing and having fun on the water with friends. 2023 sailing week achieved this and more and it was an indictment of the clubs ethos (and previous years training) that everyone was able to handle the conditions and that they were even willing to try.

Things they definitely learnt.

1. Taking time to rig your boat correctly makes it far more controllable;

2. Failing to tie on the mast is a terrible idea;

3. The downwind death roll really is a thing and it’s hilariously funny for others;

4. Dry capsize is a skill worth mastering;

5. Holding on to the dry capsize too long turns the boat turtle;

6. If you fall backwards off the dry capsize you may bounce off the centre board on the way down (Rose)

7. You turn a weird blue colour if you don’t wear the right clothing;

8. Sailing is fun

The Laser Tiller Trophy was awarded to Will Rosling and Xanthe Knott.
Henry May was highly commended for his perseverance and endurance and the unofficial award for the most bruises, Tabitha Fothergill.

A very big thank you to June Kirkman, Andrew Roberts, Charlie Rosling, Angus Strang-Pollock the safety boat crews and the shore helpers for making it happen and providing copious amounts of tea and extremely nice cake. Lastly a huge thank you to June Kirkman, Karl & Lila Liebat, Dominic & Lizzy May for hosting the parties because it is a lot of effort and our sailing week just would not be the same without these.

Up river, we tested a new program – a second year of Scow training at Oxleys, by kind permission of Charles & Steph Morgan. We too had very blustery conditions but June and I were determined to give the young sailors the experience of sailing down to Needs Ore and back so after a couple of days training they were ready for their adventure!

The coveted Scow Shield was awarded to Harry and Oliver Nicholas for their Down River Sail.
Here is their report:

Down River

As we pushed off from Oxleys jetty we quickly realised that the wind was on our nose which made it hard going and forced us into tacking constantly to avoid going into wind. The river was so narrow that it forced us to do hundreds of tacks and we felt like we were getting nowhere.

As we reached Bucklers Hard the wind really picked up and the channel got narrower as the tide went out. This left many of us fighting for survival in the strong winds.

A couple of scows in our group ‘threw in the towel’ and ended up being towed down to Needs Ore.  Another couple of scows ran aground and had to be helped off. Coming into the home stretch only two boats remained in the running just a couple of minutes apart.

Although we were first over the line I suspect no one else was treating it as a race like we were.  Rather, a ‘fun sail down river’ as many a time we saw people with their feet up taking a break and singing songs with each other.

Up River

The next day the wind was again strong with fierce gusts. We had to get going quickly to catch the tide and keep ahead of the weather. Sadly the rescue boat had engine problems and there was one capsize before we’d all launched so we de-rigged and were towed the first stretch to near Bucklers Wood where the wind was less.

We set off again, this time reefed and well prepared for the fast and furious tacking needed to get through the marina. Then, once past the marina the opposite happened and there was almost no wind! This meant that it took much longer than expected to get back to Oxleys requiring light wind sailing skills, a little ‘rowing assisted sailing’ and a couple of scows had to be towed the last stretch to get back in time before low tide.

Harry and I made it to the end, both down and up the river. It can only get easier from here and we were even hoping to take the next step and join the Newtown Creek Rally to tick ‘Solent’ off our list but sadly this will have to wait til next year because the weather was against us again!

Thank you to Victoria Bonham Carter, Tim Robinson and Jack Durrant, Peter Heyward-Broomfield,  Peter Bettridge and all the duty helpers and shore crew for a great Senior Scow week.

RACES 4 & 5   Saturday, 5th August 15.00   HT 1449
****** Keep an eye on website incase of cancellation *****

Starting Platform Miranda Knowles
Race Officer Andrew Duncan
Safety Boat Team Rupert Scott & James Evans

VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES

RACE 6   Sunday, 13th August 11.00  HT 1014
All slots available for volunteering

Just a quick reminder that Keyhaven Yacht Club will be holding the second leg of the LRSCA Travellers’ Trophy at their club on Sunday 6 August. Bill Vance has the details: bill.vance@btinternet.com. Racing starts at 1400 and all members are welcome to join in the racing.
Please look on the LRSCA website for more details.

Looking forward to a packed few days of Junior Sailing at Oxleys and RFF starting tomorrow and very much hope we are able to get together on Saturday for 2 ‘back to back’ races.

Yours aye,

Victoria Bonham Carter
Captain of Scows