Bembridge Sailing Club Late June 2026 Keelboat Racing
by Robin Joy & Mike Samuelson 30 Jun 14:18 BST
27-28 June 2026
Saturday
Saturday's forecast 6 knots from the south was pretty much spot on, and this was just enough to get seven Redwings and four One-Designs going for two morning races.
A start line was laid between Under Tyne and Fitzwilliam, and, given the light conditions, a single round upwind to Tara, downwind to the newly laid Britten, and back to the line was set. The wind veered during the Redwing start sequence, causing rather a log-jam at the committee boat end of the line, and following a minor bump on Redwing (Olav Cole), Quintessence (Robin Ebsworth) took a 360 penalty just after starting. The fleet remained bunched on the short first beat and the run, but split somewhat on the longer second beat back to the finish.
The lead boats (led by Bruce Huber helming Blue Jay) opted to stick inshore on starboard, but those following naturally split onto the offshore tack, and found a little extra wind! Olav stood offshore on starboard longest and led home, followed by Billy Clegg in Lady Laetitia, Bruce, Mike Toogood in Tara, Jonathan N-L in Snow Goose, Chris Andreae in Sophie, and Robin.
Race two was run over a similar course, but with a finish at Under Tyne to be a bit nearer the moorings. A nicely timed start by Bruce closed out a couple of others at the committee boat end of the line, and he held a comfortable lead at the windward mark. Bruce kept faith with the inshore option again on the second beat, and this time the wind did not let him down. The boats offshore didn't make the gains seen in race one, and although he was being caught somewhat, Bruce held on to win, from Olav (second) and Billy (third). They were followed by Mike, Jonathan, Robin, and Chris.
Four One-Designs raced over the same course as the Redwings, got away cleanly, and were in close quarters at the windward mark. Pete Summerhayes in No 1 and Mark G in No 9 were vying for the lead on the run, with No 9 flying her spinnaker to lead at the leeward mark. As with the Redwings, the fleet then split for the second beat, with the identical result! Charles Perry in No 8 and Tad Ross in No 10 stood offshore, and consequently were first and second, with the inshore pair of Mark G and Pete third and fourth.
As the first race had been rather slow going in the light airs, the One-Designs were given a shorter second race, with Footprint set as the leeward mark. Lavinia Perry was now at the helm of No 8, Penny Stanley helmed No 9, and Mark Hodgkinson helmed No 10. Again, there was little between the boats until the second beat, when seeking out an extra couple of knots of wind became paramount. In the end it was Penny's day, with Mark H snapping at her transom. Pete, and then Lavinia, were not far behind.
Sunday
Although not forecast, a light drizzle had started as the crews for six Redwings congregated at the Club at 09:30, however it did not last long, and indeed by the time racing finished at 11:40, the sun was out again. With Chimet recording a SW'erly 18 knots, the Risk Assessment came out Red which meant no single-handed One-Designs which was a bit disappointing for the three members of BODA who therefore did not get a race.
With Bella Janson on Sea Breeze as the ARO, it only seemed appropriate that the start line was set up with JJ as the pin. This made Pepe a perfect beat and so not wanting to go too far offshore, the course was kept very simple - Pepe - JJ (2) finishing at Pepe. Despite the timings being broadcast over the VHF, starting five minutes ahead of the programmed start time seemed to catch a few boats out in the confused sea conditions.
Billy Clegg in Lady Laetitia had the best start however it was not long before Bruce Huber helming Blue Jay was in front - where he stayed for the rest of the race. That said, Billy remained in striking distance and forced Bruce to cover him. For most of the race, Jonathan Nainby-Luxmoore in Snow Goose, Olav Cole in Redwing and Robin Ebsworth in Quintessence were reasonably close, and it was good to see Chris and Alex Andreae in Sophie completing the course even if a little way behind. By no means a procession, and everyone waxed lyrical about the excellent racing.
There were no One-Designs. Afternoon racing next weekend.