Bembridge Sailing Club Keelboat Racing in August
by Andrew Eddy & Mike Samuelson 25 Aug 18:50 BST
17-22 August 2021
Bembridge SC Keelboat Racing in August 2021 © Mike Samuelson
Tuesday 17th August - SW F4
After a good turn out for the BSC and SVYC Regattas, the Redwing fleet stayed on their moorings today. However, three One-Designs were keen to race.
With a force 4 SW, Fitzwilliam was selected as the starting line by the Race Officers, Andrew Eddy, Rory Morrison and new member Alex Kimber.
Against the tide Garland was a challenging first mark with boats heading to the Lifeboat getting to the windward mark first. With Undertyne on the way for a gybe and then rounding Morton for a beat to the finish. First was No 1, followed by No 5 then No 9; each only one minute apart.
For the second race a running start caused no difficulties although the leeward mark, Morton to Starboard, was lassoed by No 1 which caused her to lose her first place. After some delay they joined the beat to Tara with No 5 rounding well ahead of No who had made up some lost ground.
After a run to Fitzwilliam the beat back to E was well judged by Susie who came in 2 minutes before No 1. Penny arrived two minutes later!
Wednesday 18th August - WSW F3-4 overcast
A very sailable breeze but drizzle to begin with favoured one longer race to two shorter ones! Using Fitz as the pin for the start the course for the three Redwings (5, 17 & 21) and seven (yes seven!) One-Designs (1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11) was G, E, M (2) finish at W. After a good start Jonthan Nainby-Luxmoore in Snow Goose and Olav Cole in Redwing headed inshore in the hopes of finding a weaker tide. David Swinstead in Vera tacked early but then also headed inshore. Snow Goose led round Garland but by Moreton had been overtaken by Redwing who clearly has better downwind speed.
However, Jonathan was back in front after the longish beat back into Garland only to then be overtaken on the final run to M. Re-establishing the lead on the final beat into E, he finished eight seconds ahead of Olav. David was never that far off the pace and finished a minute and a half later.
Although they had a course change (F instead of M) for their second round, the seven One-Designs mostly followed the Redwing tactics of keeping inshore on the beats. Penny Stanley in No 9 tried a port tack flyer at the start but was forced onto starboard near the pin. The inshore route to G paid off for Russ Fowler in No 1 who established a substantial lead ahead of Jos Coad in No 8 and Susie Beart in No 5.
Over the next few legs, Susie moved up into second place and Penny also overtook Jos to secure third place. A fine race in the improving conditions even for those who did not make the podium.
See a video of the One-Design race start
Thursday 19th August - SW F2-3 - sunny periods initially
The occasional glimpse of the sun and a gentle SW F3/2 breeze offered the three Redwings and six one-Designs some nice racing. The Redwings started quarter of an hour earlier than programmed as they were all ready to go. After a clean start Andrew Eddy in Plover tacked first on the beat from Fitzwilliam to Pepe but then joined the other two who had gone inshore to minimise the tide. Snow Goose, Jonathan Nainby-Luxmoore, just made it to Pepe first ahead of Plover, with Olav Cole in Redwing a bit behind.
As the previous day, Olav made up a lot of ground on the run to Ruthven, which Snow Goose rounded just ahead of Plover, however it was clear it was a two boat race and with a few hundred meters of the finish at Nainby, Snow Goose was badly headed and Plover snatched victory by 5 seconds.
The six One-Designs, with Helen Mathieson in No 1 and John Suffield in No 4 the only two competing for the Burrows Single Handed Trophy, made a clean start, albeit Susia Beart in No 5 was a bit kind on William Bland in No 12, and John Suffield just got away with a port tack flyer close to the pin. Split tacks on the beat to Pepe with those going inshore doing slightly better.
Susie was first round ahead of Helen Mathieson and Russ Fowler in No 7. Jos Coad in No 8 took over the lead on the run back to Fitzwilliam and the beat to Garland, however on the final leg from F to E, Susie benefited by a wind shift and finished fifteen seconds ahead of Jos. Helen and Russ had a very close final couple of legs with Helen finishing a second ahead and therefore winning the Burrows Single Handed Trophy.
Friday 20th August - S/SSW 2-3 - overcast
In the absence of much of a breeze, the likelihood of being able get a race in on Friday morning did not look too promising. However after re-laying the inflatable pin a couple of times, a reasonable race for the two Redwings and two races for the five One-Designs was achieved. Although only a couple of Redwings, they had a very close race with the lead changing a number of times.
Indeed it looked as if Redwing, helmed by Olav Cole was going to pull it out of the bag after Plover, helmed by Andrew Eddy took a turn having hit the leeward mark (JJ) on the second roud, however in the final 100m to the finish at E, Andrew found the extra boat speed and crossed the line a few seconds ahead.
Of the five One-Designs only two of them qualified for the family pairs; No 5 with Susie & James Beart, and No 7 with Sarah & Sophie Marshall. After a good start to the first race, those that stayed offshore found the slightly better breeze, but there was not a lot in it as they rounded T and slowly ran to JJ. Penny Stanley in No 9 and Simon Allocca in No 1 had a very close final leg to the start/finish line with Penny winning by inches.
Sarah in No 7 had a difficult decision to make when she had an HOB (hat overboard) particularly as it was her favourite hat! However as she was trailing already, try to find her hat took priority. Sadly though to no avail. The second race ended up as a bit of a whitewash with James Beart in No 5 successfully pulling out a two minute lead when he found himself on the right side of a substantial wind shift on the final leg when it veered to the SSW. Charles Perry was second and Penny Stanley was third. Well done to the Bearts (Susie & James) who therefore won the Margetson Trophy (Family Pairs).
Saturday 21st August - E/SE 3 very lumpy - overcast
The normal Redwing and One-Design racing had to dovetail in with the J70s that were racing from the same Committee Boat which proved an interesting exercise in the E/SE'erly breeze and lumpy sea. Starting from a laid line to the west of Garland, the first leg took the eight Redwings on a good beat to Moreton, then run the N then back to M and N before a finish at E by Ali Gornall and Duma.
See a video of the start of the Redwing race
The front three (Enigma helmed by Mark Downer, Toucan helmed by Colin Samuelson and Redwing helmed by Olav Cole established a substantial lead ahead of the rest of the fleet and except for the initial tack from N which raised some interesting radio traffic, kept clear of the J70 start line! Not the nicest sea conditions and a few crew were very very pleased to get ashore safely! Particular mention has to be made of Robin Ebsworth in Quintessence who was sailing single handed - what an example to us all.
If the Redwings had difficulty punching through the easterly lop, the five One-Designs had an even more challenging time. Charles Perry in No 8 was last to start having been trapped at the Committee Boat end of the line, however after the long beat to Moreton was in front and never looked as if he was going to be overtaken by the rest of the fleet led by No 7, helmed by Sarah Marshall and No 1 helmed by Russ Fowler.
Sunday 22nd August - NW 3-4 - sunny
Although sadly the hoped for beat from Ruthven to Warner did not work as planned (it was a close fetch) for the eight Redwings, it was still such a lovely morning that they did not seem to mind! The opening beat from a laid line close to F to Britten was spot on and soon established Toucan and Enigma as the leaders with Olav in Redwing; then it was a run to Tara, a close reach to Ruthven, what turned out to be a close reach to Warner before the long leg to E and a short beat to the finish (by Duma again) at G. Meri Benham in Paroquet was third and Olav was fourth.
See a video of the start of the Redwing race
The six One-Designs had two nice races for the Spouses Trophy; with the female half helming first and Penny & Mark Stanley deciding to just race with Penny helming, it turned out to be a two boat race for the actual trophy; Susie & Syd Beart in No 5 and Jacs & Tim Cottrel in No 11. The first race saw Susie establish a 1 minute lead over Charles Perry in No 8 with Jacs in No 11 holding onto 3rd.
In the second race Syd took over helming No 5 and Tim took the helm of No 11. Fifty minutes later, Syd brought No 5 home first ahead of Russ Fowler in No 1; Charles in No 8 was third and Tim in No 11 was fourth. This means that the Spouses Trophy becomes another win by the Beart family.