Osprey Open at Queen Mary Sailing Club

Alex & Nick Willis finish 2nd in the Queen Mary Sailing Club Osprey Open © Ros Downs

Roger & Jamie Blake win the Queen Mary Sailing Club Osprey Open © Ros Downs

A look back on the Osprey Open meeting at Queen Mary Sailing Club on 14th June 2025, where a bright, blustery morning greeted the sailors who made it there for the Osprey's inaugural one day open meeting. The weather looked promising for a great day's sailing - if a bit on the windy side!

The event was shared with the Merlin Rockets and the Phantoms, with a turn out of 4 Ospreys for the books.

A relaxed morning of rigging saw Jonathan still in Watford at 9am as his temporary pairing with helm Richard rigged the boat. As always the time got away, leading to a panic when launching took longer than planned down the steep banks of the reservoir. With the water level being lower than it usually is at this time of year, and the onshore wind on the west bank, the majority of crews opted to launch down the east side of the reservoir wall. Ros and David (1114) wisely decided to wait for a break in the wind before launching, and kindly helped Nick and Alex (1291) launch.

The first start was postponed due to the gusty challenges of launching to allow everyone to get to the start area, and for the race officer to lay the course with the shifty conditions. The Osprey's started with 3 boats on the line, and 1291 successfully managed a successful port flyer, before promptly going the wrong way up the beat. Roger and Jamie, sailing the Class Association Boat, took the lead and disappeared down the run, with Jonathan and Richard, and Alex and Nick fighting the shifts to make it to the windward mark. The tactics of the day was finding and staying in a favourable gust - be it up wind or downwind! With the Willis' attempting to come back at the Blakes (albeit from about half a leg back - a bit of a pipe dream!) on the final reach, Race 1 results were Blakes 1st, Willis' 2nd, and Richard & Jonathan 3rd.

The 2nd race saw Ros & David join in the fun having successfully launched. The Blakes again successfully raced away with 1291, 1373 and 1114 a bit closer on their heels.

The final race, with increasing and very shifty wind, saw another successful port flyer from 1291, this time managing to convert it into following the shifts all up the beat. The wind did opt for about a 45 degree shift which definitely helped 1291, but hindered others. 1114 unfortunately saw equipment failure of their kicker in the final race, so opted to head back to shore. 1385 was chasing down 1291, before an unfortunate gybe saw them filling up with water, but still keeping the boat upright!

Another high winds event, with all 4 Ospreys remaining upright - I don't think there was an Osprey swim all day. A long day but fantastic fun, with very little interference whilst sailing from either the Phantoms or the Merlins which was impressive on the same course. Congratulations to Roger and Jamie in the Association Boat for winning the event. Thank you to all the sailors who made the journey to join us. Finally, a big thank you goes to the Race Officer, race team and safety team, as well as all involved at Queen Mary Sailing Club to make this such a great event!

Overall Results: