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CentreBoard
September 2003
The Newsletter of Spinnaker Club, Ringwood
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CentreBoard |
September 2003 |
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The Newsletter of Spinnaker Club, Ringwood |
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Commodore's
comments I am
pleased to see the club used for all sailing activities, not just racing,
and this year seems to have had a good mix. |
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Editors
comment Spinnaker is not simply Sundays. September’s CentreBoard shows our club in a wider perspective. The whole of this year has seen the Lake really buzzing with activity 7 days a week. September’s CentreBoard includes varied accounts of experiences at home and away. New members have added a new vibrancy to the scene. As editor I make no apology for the perhaps less easily digestible size of this issue. Even so I did have to cut off a few corners here and there, so do remember to visit the website to see the unabridged version. It gives web-links and images which do not reproduce well in print. Ed. Class vs. Handicap Is there anybody out
there, anybody at all who prefers class racing to general handicap? John Clarke Solo 4042 tel 01425 479517 Any views on John’s point should also be addressed to the Sailing Committee for discussion at its next meeting (6 October), so that any requests for change can be agreed well in advance of the publication of next year’s programme. In 2003 the ratio of Class versus Handicap (or Fleet) starts has been reduced due to the 3rd Race on Sundays during the summer changing to a general handicap race. This was done due to the lower numbers racing in the Class starts which had previously been run. Although numbers have increased this year, the 3rd race is still the most poorly attended, and any suggestions for increasing its appeal would be most welcome. The date of the switch from Summer to Autumn schedules is broadly similar to 2002. Solo sailors out there, also be aware that the Sailing Committee currently lacks a Solo Class Captain. Is there anybody out there? Ed. Crew kit For personalised embroidered or printed
T-shirts, hoodies, rugby shirts or caps as often seen worn at Spinnaker
contact CoucheBébé on 0800 435 4635 or email budgetdigitizing@enterprise.net. Role reversal Gullible as ever, I agreed to crew for
Felix at the recent Firefly Open at Hamble River SC. Last time I crewed
anything plimsolls and baggy shorts repaired with beer mats were still de
rigueur. Sailing in a compact fleet of 19 in brisk Solent winds over 2
days, I discovered dormant muscles in unexpected places, and that my
son’s vocabulary bears little relation to what he should have picked up
at mother’s knee. We transom-gated some of the best sailors in their
leagues and learned a huge amount. Firefly sailors are undoubtedly among
the most friendly and helpful around. We ended up with new bruises, a
‘new’ mainsail and buckets of advice. Forget the notion that fathers
and sons/daughters don’t get on when racing, just try swapping roles and
see what happens! Or if he/she just flatly refuses to crew for you, ever,
then take a deep breath and hand them the stick. Tips!
3 Letter from Laura Thank you very much for your support in my
campaign as member at Spinnaker. I achieved my best ever result last week
in the Europe European Championships where I finished 9th and 7th European
/ 122 boats! This result has secured me as a member of the RYA World Class
Performance Program. My next task is repeating this result at the Worlds
and qualifying GBR for the Olympics. I will bring my Europe down to
Spinnaker one weekend when I am back in the UK around October to show and
tell all about it. Lost
for words Boat Park As you’re doubtless all well aware, the club boat park is bursting at the seams – to the extent that we are having to ask new members to join a waiting list if they require a boat parking space. In order to try and ease the situation we have written to members whose boats appear to have been little used, asking them to remove them and offering a pro rata refund of their boat park fees. If you haven’t received a letter, but have a boat you’re not using much and would be willing to free up its space we’d be most grateful for the help. Sailboards: On similar lines, there are a large number of unused sailboards lying around various parts of the club. Again, collectively these are using up valuable space, as well as making the place look untidy. Could I ask anyone who owns one of these to retrieve it ASAP. Any not claimed by the next work party will be disposed of. Junk: And there’s more: Please could anyone owning any trailer, trolley, tyres, boat supports, masts, booms or any other boat bits which are not kept tidily within their allocated space PLEASE REMOVE THEM. Again, any not clearly owned and of no commercial value will be disposed of. Paul Irons Who does the gardening? Well we all do, or we can. There are work parties at the club from time to time and there is usually a modest turnout of the same dedicated volunteers who sort out the worst of the weeds and bushes that threaten to take over the parking spaces for our boats and cars. Bushes seem to grow ever faster to stop us getting a good sailing wind. Help is much appreciated from anyone who would like to spend a nice morning or afternoon doing gardening at the club. (Please check with Brian Watkins before any substantial clearing or any bonfires.) No need to check before any minor tidying up, such as Bramble eradication and looking after your own boat space. We know some members keep their boat spaces tidy and free of unwanted vegetation, and that is greatly appreciated. Hopefully others voice appreciation where appropriate. For instance the flower tubs are a picture thanks to one of our members who looks after these. Many thanks on behalf of all our members for the flower tub planting. Talking about gardening and our club, you may have noticed a new seat at the South West end of the Clubhouse. This seat has been made by John Noble as a present to the club. Thank you very much John on behalf of all members, especially those who sit there, like me sometimes. Is there is any member interested in helping organise the occasional gardening party? If so, please tell the committee, and we can help with logistics. For that matter, any member who would like to lend a hand, please let us know. We already have a lot of volunteers giving a little bit of time to the club here and there, but we can all benefit from having more volunteers, it can be most enjoyable helping out. Paul Mathews Tips!
5 Identify yourself! Could
I possibly request everyone who is or will be racing, to ensure that they
have sail numbers on their sails, preferably correct, and unique to them. Toppers and Mirrors at Spinnaker 10 Mirrors and 13 Toppers came to our joint Open Meeting on Saturday, 21 June. Winds are predictable when they come up the length of the lake. However, the wind did not do this - indeed it came from most other directions, often unpredictably, so many boats found themselves moving up and down the fleets, especially the Toppers. Fortunately (for some), Race Officer David Wilkins wisely kept each race going so long that at the finish the better boats tended to be near the front. The Toppers had a more keenly contested event. In every race, they stayed together in a pack for ages, and no helm was first in more than one race. In the last race three helms were in with a chance of winning the Trophy, and Kirsty Lytton dropped back to 7th before making an excellent recovery by climbing back towards the front. Climbing? Climbing? Yes, and that's not easy in a boat - especially on water. Second place was however decided by a tie-break, as were some lower places in both fleets. There were some very good Mirror sailors, including 3 from the RYA National Squad (Tom Robinson, Shaun Mason and Silvania Booth) and 2 from the South Zone Squad (Emma Hine and Gemma Knill). Despite the wind shifts and the unavoidably short downwind legs, they gained much benefit from hoisting spinnakers - even though the crews seemed to be taking the poles across from side to side, more like drum majorettes than sailors. Spinnaker’s Ed Morris had no spinnaker – he did not even have cleats for his jib – so he really needed 3 hands, though the 3rd one was not visible later, so he did remarkably well for someone who had not previously sailed a Mirror. Note for diary: must get a yellow Mirror - they are faster than other colours. Third place was decided by a tie-break Mirror Results: 1st 70003 Tom Robinson & Shaun Mason (Warsash & Hill Head) , 2nd 70024 Silvania Booth & Anna Nicholls (Poole), 3rd 59187 Ron Vass (Maidenhead), 4th 70102 Simon & Thomas Lovesey (Warsash). Topper Results: 1st 44756 Emma Porteous (Papercourt),
2nd 9477 Kirsty Lytton (Papercourt), 3rd 42831 Tom Walker (West Wittering). Solo Open at Spinnaker On
a hot and sunny 14 June 23 sailors arrived to contest this open event. |
Features in this issue
Starboard!
Spinnaker Dinner Dance A fun opportunity to
identify people not in sailing clothes! The Club is hoping to hold a
Dinner Dance in the New Year. Solos at Christchurch On 3 August Spinnaker Club was represented
by 3 boats (Paul Irons, Dave & Paul Nixson) at the Christchurch
Sailing Club Solo Open meeting. CSC is set in a magnificent setting within
Christchurch harbour, the downside of which is the very scenic (but, at
times trying) sail out to the start area in the bay. With the weather very
hot and with very little wind, it was quite a difficult day’s sailing,
but we all had a good time, and faced up to some very tough competition
(getting some sea sailing practice before the Nationals). Normally people
moan about the showers being cold at events, but had that been the case
that day, I'm sure nobody would have minded! Oh, and not to mention the
excellent aerial display by a Vampire (I think) over the bay + quay area
which was absolutely superb, at times skimming the sea at very low
altitude. Solo Training day This will take place on Saturday, 18
October, open to everyone who's interested. Will be partly ashore and
partly on the water. Let Hywel Morris know if you'd like some more
details, want to go on the list of attendees, or want to borrow a boat for
it. Be
aware! Tips!
2 Cruising Representative Spinnaker Club’s Sailing Committee is a team representing the Club’s adopted classes. Members meet once a month to discuss all matters relating to classes, racing, schedules, safety and all manner of organisational issues. The Sailing Committee feels that those members who only use the lake and club facilities outside the scheduled events are not properly represented. It recognises that Spinnaker Club ‘is not just Sundays’ and wants to hear the voice of the majority who enjoy the lake during the week. The meetings are generally relaxed, friendly and stimulating. If you feel you qualify and can donate a little time please contact Bill Bacon or Paul Irons. Oh, and the title Cruising Representative is open to better suggestions too! Jo Newall-Smith Dependable Sue caters for all As dependable as races starting on time on Sundays, Sue will be there well before us sailors, preparing sustenance for all, rain or shine, usually from 10:30 to just after the last race. She and her team always have a good selection of alluring sandwiches and baguettes prepared for us. If you plan to race then do be sure to make your choice in advance from a range of tasty hot meals to be ready for you and your family just when you need it. Interesting snacks, home-made cakes and drinks hot or cold are available throughout. Sue’s ‘rocket cake’ is fast gaining renown among sailors far and wide. Try it! Jo Newall-Smith Lost property I am constantly surprised by the QUANTITY and QUALITY of items left behind at the club and not reclaimed. Surely someone must noticed if they have lost an almost new pair of black Rhino shoes with socks inside, or fleeces with distinctive names or logos, or even a Warner Bros red sweatshirt (Samuel R Lemon are you reading this?). I'm sure Sam and Harry Herbert would like their very nice black fleece back. Please check the 'items found' pile as soon as possible as I shall be disposing of them to the nearest charity shop within a few weeks. Brenda Jackson Tips!
4 Solo National Championships 2003 Around
74 Solos gathered at Llandudno in North Wales for their Championships this
year. I was the only representative from Spinnaker Club. The event was
characterised by lots of wind, big waves and a surprisingly strong tide
most days, not typical Spinnaker conditions! The highlight of the week
(for me) was the last race on Friday, when the wind had died down a lot,
and I managed to actually be in touch with the front of the fleet, and
despite finishing 18th, this was only a few dozen boat lengths from the
winner. The lowlight was the second race, when I managed to get Black
flagged, but fortunately for me a combination of the conditions and the
Race Officers’ patience led to the race being abandoned anyway. Wednesday Evening Racing Congratulations to all who took part in our Wednesday evening racing series this year. We have had a splendidly supported series again this time proving that we seem to like getting away from it all and going sailing midweek for a break. Racing and supper, splendidly catered for by Sue, make a welcome change in the middle of the week. It has been particularly pleasing to see so many youngsters and beginners giving racing a go and the improvement in sailing standard becomes obvious as the weeks go by. If you want to improve your sailing skills then racing really makes the difference, so let’s see lots more of you next year and for everyone who has made a start, do come and join the Sunday racing series we would love to see you there as well.
Back to this series, the Summer Cup. 35 helmsmen and women managed to complete 4 races out of the 10 available thus earning themselves an overall result. Honours went particularly to the Gill-Taylor family with Isobel and Maya 1st and 2nd overall and Tara in his Oppie in 26th. Somewhere in the first 10 places were Lasers, a Solo, a National 12, a Firefly, an RS400, and a Topper, which shows that it doesn’t matter what boat you sail, you still get a chance to finish well up the fleet. My personal thanks go to all the many helpers who keep the wheels of the Wednesday evening series running. Sue and her helpers in the galley, Brenda in the bar and in the hut when I’m on holiday, Liz and Shirley who do all the testing writing down in the hut and keep my race recording under control, Paul who sets the courses and dashes about with flags and buoys. There are too all those extra people who step in when others are away or offer to do rescue, etc. if the wind gets up. Without you all the series could not run. We will of course be running the Wednesdays again next year, starting just after Easter, so keep your eye on the calendar for the starting date. Tiggy Ansell National 12 Fleet Growing You may not yet have noticed but the National 12 fleet at the club is growing again. This season has seen the arrival of Gareth Humphries and his family sailing 3345 and more recently Simon & Thomas Walworth have joined bringing with them 2996, “Rumour”, which is a Windfall design which is very well suited to the lake. I, and sometimes Frances are now to be seen sailing round in our shiny new Feeling Foolish design “Cooked to Perfection”. This is our first new boat since 1990 and brings us bang up to date with the latest technology in the class. The biggest gains to be made in our positions will probably be on waters bigger than Spinnaker where many of the older designs can sail just as fast in our normal sailing conditions. Competitive boats for the lake can be bought from around £500. These boats really are an absolute delight to sail with great responsiveness. I’d
be delighted to arrange for a trial sail or to give advice to anybody
considering joining the Class which has a very active owners association,
to which I’ve just been elected vice chairman. Tips! overviewSome of the Tips! offered in this edition of CentreBoard are borrowed with thanks from the Mirror Class Association’s Technical Tips page by Alex Beach. Preaching to the converted, food for thought. Perhaps you too have some useful practical hints for future editions? Jo Newall-Smith
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Some upcoming Spinnaker events20 September Optimist Open 27-28 September Optimist Team Racing Nationals 4 October Laser Open 11 October Twisted Tube 12 October Firefly Open 18 October Solo training 18 October Optimist Girls training 26 October Winter membership period starts 29-30 November RNVR Firefly National Team Racing Championships 50th anniversary 1 January 2004 New Year’s Day Race New Fireflies
After 5 years of service Spinnaker’s flight of 6 Fireflies is being replaced. 5 years, is that all? Well, in team racing events alone each boat may be used in some 150 races by dozens of different crews in a single day. The old Fireflies now have a new role with Birmingham University Sailing Club, and our new Rondars will soon become a familiar sight on the Lake.
Jo Newall-Smith Sailing talks Spinnaker Club is working
on the idea of presenting ‘supper talks’ in specialist sailing topics
with invited guests and a bite to eat, probably on Wednesday evenings
during the winter months. Watch out for announcements! Tips!
1 Doing your first Open event Chris Harvey and I dipped
our toes into the world of Open events at Spinnaker Club’s Solo Open on
14 June. We both moved to the Solo this season, and wanted to push
ourselves on a little. The event was fairly low key with 23 competitors
with 13 from the club and the rest from the south and southwest. The
atmosphere was very friendly and relaxed. Neither of us starred, but we
both enjoyed ourselves. Boat hire Whilst most people are following the instructions for Boat Hire, I'm afraid there are some who are not, so feel a reminder of the procedure would be helpful. If you wish to hire a Club boat, you must enter all the correct details as requested in the Boat Booking book and on the relevant page for that week. This should be followed by an envelope being completed as requested on the front label with ALL details requested and legible, the relevant money inserted (PLEASE no coins smaller than a 10p piece - £1's worth of 5p, 2p and 1p's is not helpful!). The envelope should then be posted through the letter box in the galley next to the bar door until it drops. It is a little difficult, but the envelope must be pushed right through until it drops. If you book a boat in advance, but then find you will be unable to use it, please remember to cancel it out of the book in advance so that it can be used by another member. Also it means that if the booking is still in the book I am likely to chase you for unpaid fees! Brenda Jackson BSDRA International Championship 2003 Light to non-existent winds made for a frustrating end to the British Schools Dinghy Racing Association’s team racing finals held at Spinnaker 30 June-1 July. The conditions made it impossible to run semi-finals and finals. Sevenoaks finally reigned supreme, while our own Spinnaker Juniors did not quite find the same form which had led to their winning the qualifiers on 3 May. Team (l to r): Richard Clay, Matt Moseley, Chris Moseley, Edward Steele, Isobel Gill-Taylor, James Anderson. Jo Newall-Smith
Postscript to BSDRA Qualifiers (see June's CentreBoard): Max Holloway, who joined us as helm from Highcliffe SC, is now UK National Laser 4.7 champion. Well done Max! Let's see more of you at Spinnaker. Ed Where our water goes We sail on a reservoir that belongs to Wessex Water and, not unreasonably, from time to time they like to use their water, which is why we see the level of the lake drop. It is only used as a back up and emergency supply for Bournemouth so is not on stream all the time. The reservoir was created when the gravel extraction had finished and I remember seeing the lake drained with heavy machinery in the bottom installing the plumbing. The inlets and outlets for the pipework lurk under the two yellow buoys, marked E and W, so don’t try picking them up to move as racing marks. Now I don’t know the full details of the plumbing system around the Blashford Lakes but at one of the Blashford Lakes Consultative Committee meetings I briefly saw a slide of the system and it appeared to me that the inlet to our Blashford Lake from the river Avon ran via Ivy Lake and there is a little pumping house opposite our entrance from Ivy Lane. The problem we had last year with low water levels was cited by Wessex Water to be due to the possibility that Ivy Lake was contaminated with Algae so they could not abstract water from it and neither, I believe, were they pumping water into our lake, because it would have needed to pass through Ivy Lake. The lake level has recently been falling and Wessex Water informed me that it was because the water quality from Blashford Lake is better than from Ivy Lake, its nice to know we are clean sailors. They have, however, promised to start abstracting again from Ivy Lake and we hope our lake level will rise back to normal in time for the Oppy events. Ian Campbell Cowes Week 2003 We sailed our first Cowes Week this year in my 1720 Sports Boat. The crew was Tom, Richard, & James Clay, Felix Newall-Smith and Chris Redburn, all except me, teenagers. Our results were undistinguished (in, of course, a very competitive fleet) but we enjoyed ourselves. Some impressions of the week: - there is less sailing
than at an Oppie Nationals – we had one race a day starting at 10.30am
and if there was a reasonable breeze we would be finished by 1.00pm. General reaction from the crew was ‘we have got to do better next year’. Tom Clay
This summer I was privileged to be one of the intrepid students from Peter Symond’s College, Winchester to take part in the Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race 2003 on the leg from Poland to Finland. After a stringent selection system to pick 10 students out of 200 applicants, we were faced with 12 months of fundraising including a treasure hunt, organised parties, and company sponsorship. We underwent sessions for endurance and teambuilding, sailing and navigation theory and practical, as well as a practice voyage on the English Channel. My personal tasks included running the team website and organising the crew’s specially embroidered and printed shirts. Thanks Lottie and CouchBébé! The team flew from Heathrow arriving in Gdynia, Poland late the next day, where we sunbathed (!) on the beach and prepared to start the race soon after in our boat Ocean Scout, a 48 foot Oyster ketch. The race right across the Baltic to the edge of Finland took around 5 days on a flat sea in no wind (rather like our lake on a Wednesday evening) and in swelteringly hot weather. Unbelievably we did not tack once during the entire distance of the race! Afterwards we all relaxed
after a stressful 5 days of watches on and off every 4 hours, 24/7. We
cruised from the Archipelago Islands to and around the Auland islands near
Finland. After several days of exploring these weird and wonderful desolate islands we arrived in Turku ready to celebrate our result of coming 7th in class and 33rd overall out of 100. Formal and less formal receptions, the crew parades, team rowing, sunsets at 2 am and sunburning sunrises at 4 am, saunas, great nightlife, Viking meals (a welcome change from tinned anything) are all vivid memories for me. Thank you to those of you at the Club who gave me support and advice. I strongly recommend the experience as one you will never forget. Felix Newall-Smith L170451 |
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Thank you for your numerous contributions! Cramming them all into this September issue has been a massive challenge. Hence the small typeface and images. Remember you can view the full, unabridged version via http://www.spinnakerclub.co.uk/ and in colour. Comments, suggestions and above all more content for the next issue are welcome from now. We are due to publish to coincide with the Spinnaker Club AGM. |
Contributors
in this issue |
Views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the club's committees or of their individual members. Last updated 21 September 2003 sept2003.html
21 September 2003 |
