September 2009 Mainsheet - Newhaven & Seaford Sailing Club€¦ · LASER TRAINING It was with a...

B U S I N E S S B U S I N E S S B U S I N E S S B U S I N E S S

N A M EN A M EN A M EN A M E

Mainsheet

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

DATES FOR DATES FOR DATES FOR DATES FOR

YOUR D IARY YOUR D IARY YOUR D IARY YOUR D IARY

LOOK ON THE LOOK ON THE LOOK ON THE LOOK ON THE

WEBWEBWEBWEB :

W W W . N S S C . O R G . U K

• Laying up supper Laying up supper Laying up supper Laying up supper

----31ST Oct31ST Oct31ST Oct31ST Oct

• Paddy’s Bonfire Paddy’s Bonfire Paddy’s Bonfire Paddy’s Bonfire

NightNightNightNight----7th Nov7th Nov7th Nov7th Nov

• Annual Dinner Annual Dinner Annual Dinner Annual Dinner

DanceDanceDanceDance–––– 28th Nov28th Nov28th Nov28th Nov

Last time I wrote, we were getting ready for Sailing Week. And what a really enjoyable week it was. The weather was the best we’ve had for many years (as I told everyone it would be!) which made for good sailing for everyone, and pleasant evenings on the veranda enjoying the sunsets. Volley Ball, Terry’s quiz, Mary’s egg race, Brian & Kevin with their guitars made for a sociable week for all. To round off a first class week, Paddy’s expedition to Cuckmere Haven rounded it off perfectly. It seemed a bit strange at first, with high performance boats such as a Hobie and Moonshadow going for a gentle coastal cruise in company with yachts and motor sports boats, but having a picnic on an isolated beach in good company proved to be a really relaxing and enjoyable day. Relaxing isn’t how I would describe Cadet Week. This was the first time I had been there all week to witness it. Fifty Cadets sailed during the week in some pretty challenging conditions. It was easy to see all of them improve their skills as the week went on. It was even easier to see how much fun can be had with a large muddy pond, a few buckets and anything that floats. Ages ranged from six to eighteen, and every one of them is a credit to their families and the Club. Thanks for letting me join in! As I’m writing this, I’m still recovering from launching and recovering 144 – yes one hundred and forty four- Lasers that attended the World and European Qualifier held at Seaford. This is by far the biggest fleet I can remember sailing off the beach, and it made a fantastic sight on the beach. The quality of the competition was of the highest, with Olympic training squads from Holland and even Japan. Saturday had some fairly big waves, so we moved the whole fleet to Tide Mills for launching, which went remarkably smoothly. By the time they had finished, the surf had got up even more which made for some heroic efforts from the beach party. Every boat that came to the beach in one piece made it onto a trolley in one piece, (except for Darren). Sunday was becalmed in the morning but racing managed to get underway at about Midday, with a little easier conditions on the beach. Nine of our members joined the racing. No surprise to see Alex as first club boat in the full rig in 10th overall, with George, Matt and Phil also posting results. First club Radial was Jonty Freeman in 60th out of 90, with the other club representation from Jess, Darren, Tim and Kate. Feedback from the competitors and class association has all been very positive, particularly for the help and enthusiasm from the club members, race organisation, beach team, catering and not least the “awesome” waves. Thanks to everyone who helped out, far too many to name, on land, the beach and all the safety and mark laying boats. Also thanks to Seaford Lifeguards for standing by, Eastbourne Sovereign SC for extra safety cover and to Simon Thomas for providing and manning the Committee Boat. Racing continues all the way through to the end of October at Seaford, so make the most of the good weather still to come. See you on the beach Rupert

RUPES RAMBLINGS... INSIDE THIS ISSUEINSIDE THIS ISSUEINSIDE THIS ISSUEINSIDE THIS ISSUE: RUPES RAMBLINGS RECORDERS NOTES UPDATE ON ALEX MILLS-BARTON LAYING UP SUPPER LASER TRAINING NOTE ON SEAFORD TIDY UP BONFIRE NIGHT DEVELOPMENT FLEET REPORT BILL’S MIDLIFE CRISIS! ANNUAL DINNER DANCE

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Please note that as of the beginning of November the Seaford Clubhouse Keys will be held by Clive and Joe Mills-Barton at 42 Belgrave Road, Seaford, BN25 2EJ, and as backup my address is 25 Blatchington Hill, Seaford BN25 2AJ.

Chris Turner Vice Commodore

Recorders Notes So far it has been a very successful sailing season with a good proportion of the races sailed. We also had a very enjoyable 'Paddy's Expedition' sail to Cuckmere Haven where we all beached for a picnic. There were a wide range of craft including dinghies catamarans, yachts etc. I sailed the 'Moonshadow' with Greg Jones. The weather could not have been better and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day. Several of us considered sailing up the river but the tide was too strong, however Tim Cox tried it with his Laser but could not sail back out of the mouth of the river and eventually gave up and had to pull his boat back out. We would all like to thank Paddy and his helpers for a great day. Back to racing. Fireball 'Comfortbly Numb' with Rupert and Chris have been very successful also Matt in his Laser has been getting faster especially after replacing his damaged sail with a brand new sail. However it was good to see some new names winning. Michael Veale and his son James won the second Sunday AM Series in 'Hot Toddy' followed in second place by Carolyn, Penny and Sarah in Arf 'n' Arf out of 40 boats. We also had enough cats to compete for their own class championship cup which Mike Godwin won. How-ever, it was disappointing that we had insufficient Squibs, Lasers or Radials to compete for their own class championship cups. Sailing Week had some great weather with all races being held. The morning fun series was won by Jack Turner and James Bovington and the PM series won by Alan Simmons in his brand new Streaker. All in all it has been a great seasons racing so far. I have listed, below, a summary of the races to date. If you wish to see a full set of results then take a look at the clubs website or have a look at our clubs notice board. Class Championships, Development:- 1st Laser 86 Matt Springall, 2nd Fireball 14242 Rupert Smith & Chris Turner, 3rd Fireball 14660 Steve Duncan & Charlie Gribble Class Championships, Multihulls:- 1st Dart 15 Sprint 1531 Mike Godwin, 2nd Dart 18 6743 James Clap-ham, 3rd Terry Jones Dart 18 1442. Wed Eve Series 2 :- 1st Fireball 14242 Rupert Smith & Chris Turner, 2nd Fireball 13973 Ruth Rhodes & Dorinda Dodd/ Neil Arnott, 3rd Laser 86 Matt Springall. Sunday PM Series 2 :- 1st Laser 86 Matt Springall, 2nd Dart 18 1442 Terry Jones, 3rd Squib 811 Sarah Gribble, Carolyn Turner & Penny Springall. Sunday AM Series 2 :- 1st RS 200 582 Michael & James Veale, 2nd Squib 811 Sarah Gribble, Carolyn Turner & Penny Springall, 3rd Fireball 14242 Rupert Smith & Chris Turner. Sunday AM Series 2 Lasers :- 1st 172160 Laurence Venus, 2nd 81824 Andy Rychinski, 3rd 86 Matt Sprin-gall. Sunday AM Series 2 Radials :- 1st 172368 Darren Field, 2nd 158377 Jessica Cox, 3rd 16 Tim Cox. Sailing Week AM Fun Series :- 1st Laser2 6509 Jack Turner & James Bovington, 2nd Laser 86 Matt Sprin-gall, 3rd Squib 811 Sarah Gribble, Carolyn Turner & Penny Springall. Sailing Week PM Series :- 1st Streaker 1700 Alan Simmons, 2nd Finn 595 Ed Thorburn, 3rd Fireball 14242 Rupert Smith & Chris Turner. Len Miller Cup :- 1st Laser Radial 172368 Nathan Bloss, 2nd Laser Radial 89477 Ross Turner, 3rd Laser2 Alice Smith & Sasha Stonard. Pursuit Race :- 1st Finn 595 Ed Thorburn, 2nd Fireball 14242 Rupert Smith & Chris Turner, 3rd RS500 633 Will Bovington & T Richardson. Seahaven Cup :- 1st Laser 177577 Alex Mills Barton, 2nd 158377 Jessica Cox, 3rd Fireball 14660 Steve Duncan & Charlie Gribble. Seaford Regatta :- 1st Byte C11 2941 Darren Field, 2nd Laser 86 Matt Springall, 3rd Laser Radial Jonty Freeman. Laurence Recorder.

NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE

NOTICE TO RACE

TO RACE

TO RACE

TO RACE OFFICERS

OFFICERS

OFFICERS

OFFICERS


Alex Mills-Barton Update...

With his last A-level only an hour behind him Alex was on his way to Germany with an eight strong team of RYA

Youth Squad sailors to compete in a Grade 1 Olympic and Sailing World Cup regatta in Kiel. The lack of time on

water and the heavy burden of studying took its toll with a couple poor first days results, day 2 was much better

with some strong individual results pulling him up the rankings but unfortunately it was also the last days racing,

leaving no time to improve his position. Onto Warnemunder, Alex and 5 other Youth squad members had 5 days

pre event training even managing to get into the German press as the the "Crazy GBR Sailors" who

swim through the jelly fish infested channel to get to the sailing club. The time on water paid dividends at the

Eurcup event, Alex finishing 11th overall, 2nd Brit and top under 19, he also beat 4 of his immediate piers in Team

GBR`s Olympic development and transitional Squad. After a few days at home it was back off to Sweden for the

European Youth Championships, although classed as Youths, several of the Worlds top sailors also competed at

the event as the competition is open to sailors under 21. Alex had a solid week improving everyday in the light

shifty winds to eventually finish in 12th overall and 2nd under 19 in Europe, losing out by only 3points for a place

in the top 10. He has just arrived home for 5 days R & R and an 18th birthday before flying out to St Margeretts

Bay, Nova Scotia to compete at the Senior World Championships and hoping to improve his World Ranking, and

gain some good experience against the Worlds top Laser sailors.

Seaford Club House Catering Jane and Clive have committed to providing food at Seaford on Sundays - even if the sailing is impossible,

so why not make a regular date for lunch at the clubhouse 13.00 - 14.30 hot meals, sandwiches, vegetarian option, homemade puddings and cakes all at very reasonable prices

more details from Jane & Clive at Seaford Club House galley or 01323 891818

SATURDAY 31ST OCTOBERSATURDAY 31ST OCTOBERSATURDAY 31ST OCTOBERSATURDAY 31ST OCTOBER

£10 PER HEAD£10 PER HEAD£10 PER HEAD£10 PER HEAD

MENU TO BE ANNOUNCEDMENU TO BE ANNOUNCEDMENU TO BE ANNOUNCEDMENU TO BE ANNOUNCED

THERE ARE LIMITED TICKETS TO THIS GREAT EVENING SO PLEASE BOOK EARLY THERE ARE LIMITED TICKETS TO THIS GREAT EVENING SO PLEASE BOOK EARLY THERE ARE LIMITED TICKETS TO THIS GREAT EVENING SO PLEASE BOOK EARLY THERE ARE LIMITED TICKETS TO THIS GREAT EVENING SO PLEASE BOOK EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENTTO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENTTO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENTTO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT————LAST BOOKINGS WILL BE TAKEN BY 26TH OCTOBER LAST BOOKINGS WILL BE TAKEN BY 26TH OCTOBER LAST BOOKINGS WILL BE TAKEN BY 26TH OCTOBER LAST BOOKINGS WILL BE TAKEN BY 26TH OCTOBER


LASER TRAINING It was with a certain amount of apprehension that I prepared myself for the August Bank Holiday training by James Gray, the Laser Radial GB Coach. I had already worked out that it could well be used by some of those taking part in the following weekends Laser Worlds qualifier event, but coaching was certainly essential and well, I should be able to keep up!. James kindly sent me an application form including a declaration to confirm the ability to sail a triangular course in 20knots of breeze, perhaps I should have taken this as a warning, but chose to concentrate on the word breeze rather than 20 knots. The training began in the clubhouse and ran through the boat controls and then on the water exercises which would concentrate on upwind sailing primarily. The coaches used a rabbit run exercise which involved all but one dinghy lining up as if on a start line with the rabbit out on the edge ready to sail across the bow of each dinghy in turn. On the whistle the rabbit powered up with each dinghy in turn bearing away slightly speeding up and passing as close as possible to the rabbit. Boat speed was key and those not quickly out of the blocks soon receiving dirty air and left chasing the group. The coaches were quickly on hand how-ever to give instruction on setting up boat controls which due to the strong winds usually meant masses of downhaul – then even more, and masses of kicker. This had a massive effect on upwind performance and along with huge amounts of hiking and constant adjustments to the mainsheet to keep the boat flat. I was massively impressed by the youngsters taking part in the training as their work rate and skills were well beyond mine. The wind continued to increase and waves grew to well over 2 metres, upwind this made things even more tiring but eventually turning downwind led to a whole new set of issues. Surfing behind other lasers was both dramatic and a little scary as I sat on top of a wave looking down on someone appearing to have stopped in the trough. Once again many of the youngsters simply flew down-wind with me simply trying to stay upright. Once ashore the coaches James and Tim debriefed us thoroughly with masses of video footage. The whole 3 day period was great fun and really informative, all the sailors were both challenged by the conditions particularly some of the launch and recovery but gained a fantastic insight into big wave sailing.

Darren Field

SEAFORD BOAT PARK (TIDY UP)

We are going to have a concerted effort to tidy up the

boat park of redundant trailers, boats and other equip-

ment. The large container will hopefully be removed

shortly, it has already been emptied of its contents and

the large store has been re-organised and emptied of

years of accumulated rubbish.

Due to space problems during the laser qualifiers

some boats have been moved about a bit.

To avoid too many problems it would therefore be useful

if everyone could identify their possessions with their

name, an easy way would be using gaffa tape and using a

pen to write their details on. I will leave gaffa tape in the

club house for people to use, (so please return it).

Any equipment left can then be disposed of or auctioned

off to club members.

Steve and Penelope Duncan!! Would like

to thank everyone who came to their wedding party and for making it such a special occasion for us. We’d especially

like to thank Penny and Sarah for the Prosecco, John and Helen for running

the bar, Jane and Clive for making the club look so wonderful but most of all Jo for organising the whole magic party and

running it with such style and love. Many thanks to everyone, it was fantastic!


SATURDAY SATURDAY SATURDAY SATURDAY 7777TH NOVEMBERTH NOVEMBERTH NOVEMBERTH NOVEMBER

SEAFORD CLUBHOUSESEAFORD CLUBHOUSESEAFORD CLUBHOUSESEAFORD CLUBHOUSE

ARRIVE ARRIVE ARRIVE ARRIVE 18.00 18.00 18.00 18.00 FOR FOR FOR FOR 18.3018.3018.3018.30PMPMPMPM

19.0019.0019.0019.00————PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATION ON HOW TO LET OFF A FLAREPRACTICAL DEMONSTRATION ON HOW TO LET OFF A FLAREPRACTICAL DEMONSTRATION ON HOW TO LET OFF A FLAREPRACTICAL DEMONSTRATION ON HOW TO LET OFF A FLARE

IF WE ALL BRING A COUPLE OF BIG FIREWORKS THERE SHOULD BE IF WE ALL BRING A COUPLE OF BIG FIREWORKS THERE SHOULD BE IF WE ALL BRING A COUPLE OF BIG FIREWORKS THERE SHOULD BE IF WE ALL BRING A COUPLE OF BIG FIREWORKS THERE SHOULD BE

PLENTY TO LAST FOR AN HOUR!PLENTY TO LAST FOR AN HOUR!PLENTY TO LAST FOR AN HOUR!PLENTY TO LAST FOR AN HOUR!

JANE & CLIVE WILL BE SELLING FOOD TO STAVE OFF THOSEHUNGER PANGS!JANE & CLIVE WILL BE SELLING FOOD TO STAVE OFF THOSEHUNGER PANGS!JANE & CLIVE WILL BE SELLING FOOD TO STAVE OFF THOSEHUNGER PANGS!JANE & CLIVE WILL BE SELLING FOOD TO STAVE OFF THOSEHUNGER PANGS!

Pictures from Laser International Qualifier


Development Fleet News

We’ve seen some fast boats helping to expand the Development Fleet this year – with extra Cats, RS700,

RS500, RS200, a Musto Skiff and even a Foiling Moth making appearances. Its just as nice to have also seen

additions at the slower end of the scale. We’ve seen Jonty Freeman sailing a Mirror (instead of his usual Laser)

with his mother, perhaps finding it more fun with two on board - even in a slower boat? It has also been nice

to see him sailing his father’s immaculate wooden OK (even Charles Humphries would have to agree that it

looked a lot more elegant than any Laser). We probably all have different ideas about what boats are best.

But when lots of boats have sailed on a Wednesday evening, everyone has seemed to agree that its been a case

of “the more the merrier”.

The Pursuit race earlier in the year demonstrated the wide variety of boats that sail at Seaford and it was clear

that handicap racing can be very competitive. Ed Thorburn won in his Finn (again), Chris & Rupert were 2nd in

their Fireball and Will Bovington & Crew managed a respectable 3rd in their RS500 (making “if only” com-

ments about the downwind part of the course). It’s been nice to have had a few more boats flying big genna-

kers – demonstrating that they can be a lot of fun and relatively easy with an extending jousting pole.

Some modern boats (and Fireballs) are far lighter than people expect and, due to shore build up this year,

we’ve been finding it easier and quicker to just get a few extra hands around them and lift them, one at a time,

over to a trolley – as opposed to trying to get a foothold and drag boats (on or off trolleys) up to the high tide

mark. Steve McLean might be able to pick up his Foiling Moth singlehanded and lift it into the water but Mi-

chael Veale’s heavy keeled Stratos had been getting the better of us (and the winch). It has therefore been

something of a relief to see him and James enjoying their new RS200 (which is only about 10% heavier than a

Laser) – and winning the Sunday AM Series 2. They might have missed their heavy keel at first but they’ve

given us a great demonstration of family sailing at its best.

We’ve recently had ideal sea conditions to suit those who’ve only previously sailed on the club’s safer water at

Piddinghoe Lake. There are all sorts of Development Fleet boats at Piddinghoe and it would be nice to see

more of them making the trip over to Seaford. Anyone wanting crew, wanting to crew or interested in going

for a day sail/dinghy cruise in company with other boats (somewhere like Chichester harbour) should post

their interest on the club’s Forum (on the website).

At NSSC, those who do not need assistance with launching/landing tend to be the first to kindly help those that

need it most. It is not always easy to know who might want help/assistance/advice – so if you have any appre-

hensions, just ask. Some of us might be apprehensive about giving others the wrong sort of help with launch-

ing and landing. The RS200, for example, has a protruding self-bailer to consider. Some boats with GRP dag-

gerboards have carpet around the slot that can hold sand/grit - so owners might like their boats to be heeled

over a bit or lifted to keep the slot or bailer clear on launching. The main thing is that until everyone gets to

know what sort of help is needed/desired, helms should not be apprehensive. Friendly gesticulations whilst

drifting close to shore – pointing to your trolley – letting everyone know about the delicate bits - asking helpers

to “lift” etc. is all fine.

In all fleets, those who allow themselves the least time to adjust to conditions prior to a race (because they’ve

been helping to launch the novices) often seem to make the best start and lead the boats in their fleet. They

are often then the first to sail their boats ashore (with no shore party to fetch trolley or help them out of the

water). You’d expect the underside of their boats to get scratched the most - yet they seem to slip along the

fastest! Could it be Divine Intervention for the most helpful?


More Midlife Crisis

Before in Mainsheet I expounded the virtues of my new (to me) Solo dinghy ‘Mid Life CriSis’. Having

enjoyed a good couple of winter series on the Pond I decided to use the summer to do her up a bit. This

was partly because she would always have about 5 gallons of water in the tanks after an hour of

racing. Also when I capsized she had so much water in the tanks that I feared that the Pond would be a

foot lower. Clearly she needed a bit of care to find and seal the hole(s).

So finding that Paddy’s shed was free for a couple of months I dragged (with Mike Woollard’s help) MLC

to the shed and set to work. Getting chisel under a loose portion of plywood deck I found that it was

held in place, just, by some short brass nails and that the glue, now 35 years old, had gone to

dust. Clearly the source of the capsize and fill-up issue. With the decks removed all the supporting

structure and the inside of the GRP hull were exposed. On view now were the horrors invisible be-

fore. The fact that the tank was just one compartment, some of the deck supports were rotten and that

external repairs to the GRP bodged by filler were all visible from the inside.

Turning my engineering skills to carpentry had the rotten wooden frames and struts fixed in short

order. A sheet of cardboard was turned into a templates to cut new plywood bulkheads to divide up

the buoyancy tanks. And I learned new skills in making GRP repairs – in fact I learned new words such

as chopped strand mat and epoxy resin, and how to get glass splinters out of thumbs, fingers and

wrists. A big chunk of woodwork on the Solo is the thwart – a 5 foot long bit that holds the sides to-

gether and has the mainsheet traveller attached. Trouble is the thwart needs a big bend in it as the

ends are about 5 inches higher than the middle. Fixing it without bending it first distorts the hull so I

have been torturing my selected bit of timber by immersing it in water while squeezing it with g-clamps

and a scaffold pole!

Eventually all the repairs required on the inside and some of the outside were complete and MLC was

rolled over (still deck-less in case I needed to get back into effect repairs). Anyway I discovered that a

previous owned had painted the hull in a sandstorm with a yard broom so that she had a non slip

bottom. Rubbing this down to a fair finish took ages and lots of sanding sheets. Again this uncovered a

further multitude of sins and some further GRP work. Also the Solo has aluminium keel bands and

these appear to have been held in place by small screws bedded into putty and they popped out with-

out much effort – but of course all these holes had to be filled. Hence a new bit of GRP lingo enters the

vocabulary – micro balloons. So all I had to do is drill out the old screw holes and get some resin and

micro balloons in place. This seems very simple but in places a ¼ inch diameter hole ½ inch deep can

take a LOT of resin (it has to be going somewhere but is not appearing on the inside of the boat).

So at last the end is in sight: newly painted bottom with no way water can get into my new tanks. The

decks are now firmly glued into place with modern glue and more brass nails. I have also reshaped the

centreboard, which was constructed by someone with only the haziest idea of how to make something

streamlined and made of mahogany or teak (and would be part of a protected forest now), and weigh-

ing a ton, so everything I shaved off is a bonus to add to the new streamlining..

It is only about 8 weeks to go to the start of the winter series again so all I will soon have to do is to put

back all the fittings for the control lines. This is a great opportunity to make good some of the dire

arrangements MLC had last year. Finally I need to get some new stick on lettering as I painted over her

name – although I suppose that I could change it to something like ‘never ending project’!

Bill Giles


P A G E 8

Newhaven & Seaford Sailing ClubNewhaven & Seaford Sailing ClubNewhaven & Seaford Sailing ClubNewhaven & Seaford Sailing Club

Seaford Golf Club, Firle Road, Seaford

Saturday 28th November 2009 7.00 pm for 7.30pm

(Carriages at Midnight)

Adults £27.50

Cadets £17.50 (Full meal)

Menu 1

Prawn Cocktail

Pot roasted free range chicken with stilton glazed leeks

Chocolate truffle tart with warm pecan nut and coffee cream

******

Menu 2 Roasted Tomato and Lentil Soup

Grilled fillet of Salmon with Braised Chicory

Lemon Tart and Crème Fraiche

**********

Vegetarian Option of Stuffed Peppers

To Book Tickets 1.Send a cheque payable to ‘Newhaven & Seaford Sailing Club’ With menu choices and seating requirements.C/O

Michelle Smith 16 Manor Road North, Seaford East Sussex,BN25 3RB or

Jo Mills-Barton In the Galley Seaford If you have a seating preference please ring Michelle 01323 898782. A limited no. of bedrooms are available ring 01323 892442. Arrangements for rooms should be made directly with the golf club


September 2009 Mainsheet - Newhaven & Seaford Sailing Club€¦ · LASER TRAINING It was with a...

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Transcript of September 2009 Mainsheet - Newhaven & Seaford Sailing Club€¦ · LASER TRAINING It was with a...