Worst Falmouth Week Ever!

Dear Falmouth Week Bay sailors,

Yes, this year's bay regatta courses on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday were just simply awful - but it was as big a disappointment for the race team as the sailors.  They are friends of mine who I know worked hard and were as diappointed as anyone when the regatta courses simply failed because of unkind shifting wind conditions rubbishing the course set.  They learnt a lesson and want to come back next year and sort it.  They have exciting embryo plans to lay trapeziodal type courses with an assistant race officer on each leg to relay the windward mark on a wind shift to keep the course true with the wind.  What more can a sailor ask for?

Give the race officer and his team fair due, they did set a extra super tapeziodal course on the Friday which gave superb competitive racing with the first 6 boats in IRC A class finishing within 71 seconds of each other after 2 1/2 hours racing - not bad?

Falmouth simply has the cleanest, best sailing waters combined with the best club hospitality anywhere.  My crew had a great time and we are making it our number one priority for the 2008 sailing season

Good sailing everyone and see you in Falmouth in 2008

Hi, I am the Rear Commodore Sailing RCYC - Just for the record - Falmouth week racing is organised by PoFSA, effectively the combined Falmouth clubs. The race mangement for the week is under the direction of PoFSA. Socal events each day are hosted at different individual PoFSA clubs with the addition of a big week long shoreside entertainment programme in the Town at two locations. Details of all this is in the programme given to all competitors and on the website.  RCYC host two social events in the week and for both the club was fully open with teas, bar and a big welcome to all. On the Sunday it was Helford Club as the social host and centre. There was a great barbeque, steel band, real ale bar and a huge welcome with arrangements to tie up and get ashore, Sadly, most yachts decided to finish the race and go home. The racing in the Bay is a work progress with a new team headed by IRO Mike Pearson. I was an ARO. Both Mike and I agree that racing on some days on the courses that PoFSA gave us was not good. We should have anticipated this and reacted sooner. We attempted to improvise improvements during the week as the apportunity arose. The Bay race team has already determined a range of courses and other improvements for next year that will solve these problems. Stick with us,Falmouth is a fantastic venue, we all want the week to improve and grow, it will be great in 08 and the West Country tradition of a welcome to all is top of the agenda.

Oh, doesn't sound much like our experience - but we did have fabuous weather and a lot of alcohol (!),  so race-management may have had an easier time.