Bart’s Bash – Sunday 16th September

Once again there had been a big build up to this worldwide event, with our organiser in chief, Rob Mitchell using facebook to increase the anticipation. Our chosen charity for this, the 5th running of the event, was All Aboard, based in Baltic Wharf and doing sterling work providing so many young people with opportunities to get on the water in lots of different ways.

The forecast last Sunday was for a brisk, gusty southerly breeze. The wind turned out to be a 10-15 knots southerly with some big gusts (26 knots at one point). Rob got the large inflatable marks out and set 4 laps of a triangular course. At the end, the course gets measured by GPS and, with each boat’s time sent in, the worldwide computer (!) has sorted a set of worldwide results….

Use this link to find out where our runners and riders finished. https://www.bartsbash.com

Earlier this week, Chew was still in the top ten clubs list with an entry of 43 – sadly we have since slipped out of contention.

For the record, each of our three starts saw something of a rush to the head of enthusiasm to get going! The overall winner was Nick Martindale who had borrowed a very tidy Laser Radial. 2nd and 3rd spots were filled by the Flying Fifteens of Andy Bones crewed by Josh Preater, followed by Doug and Gail Pattison. There were many capsizes and a gashed head, but everyone seemed to enjoy an exhilarating sail. It was particularly pleasing to see All Aboard enter two Vanguard dinghies which confused our handicap system!

As was said at the prize-giving, Rob really has made this event his own, hopefully for many more years!!

Police Nationals at Netley (report from Jeff Stratford)

Six Police group members ventured to Netley Sailing Club last week for the 2018 Police Nationals. Our Champion, Simon Hawkes, was there but out of action with five broken ribs, the result of a mountain bike accident.

On the Tuesday conditions were more than testing, with winds of 18 to 20 knots with gusts up to 30 knots. By Wednesday the wind had dropped and the Race Officer struggled to get two races in before the tide turned.

Hannah and Jim brought home all the trophies; ‘Spirit of the event’ for starting and finishing every race, and collecting the most points. The first slow handicap boat and the Maiden cup for never having won a trophy before. A good time was had by all!

RYA Beginners Course (report by Cathy Bartram)

The recent RYA training concluded last weekend, with all 10 candidates successfully completing Start Sailing and Basic Skills. We look forward to seeing them on the water in the coming weeks and months.

Indeed, four of them were on the water on Sunday, managing competently in the F4-5 southerly, with two of them successfully completing 3 laps of Barts Bash in the club’s new RS Quest.

The Quest arrived in time for the final weekend of the training, and has proved itself as an ideal boat for the club to own. It is more stable and roomier than the Vision whilst still being of a similar hull weight and manoeuvrability. Many thanks to John Smalley who sourced the Quest for the club.

Thanks also go to the Police sailing group who lent us boats to use for training whilst we were waiting for the Quest, and when the Hilda May Wayfarer had to be taken out of service due to leaks. And thanks too, to Dave Orme for all his hard work coordinating the training.

Volunteers Needed

We are entering our Autumn Open Meeting period with the Aero Inlands on 13th/14th October and RS200s/100s on 27-Oct-2018. These events place a great burden on our volunteer troops, but, having been involved in many, I can say with confidence that being a part of the team is one of the most satisfying experiences in sailing.

If you would like to experience this, please let me know.
John Smalley, Vice Commodore
Vice-commodore@chewvalleysailing.org.uk
01934 742635