Burghfield Sailing Club

6th December

Christmas series racing

The last of the Autumn series is 15th December but don't worry you can still race over Christmas. There will be a series of 5 races:

Sunday 22nd December - First race 11.00 am (lap-timed handicap)
Thursday 26th December - 12.00 Burghfield Icicle (Pursuit race)
Sunday 29th December - First race 11.00 (lap-timed handicap)

A special Boxing Day lunch will be available after racing on the 26th as well as mulled wine and mince pies - but no need to sail to indulge!

Volunteers required for Race and Rescue Officers!

Further details.

2nd December

Mayday Chandlery closed 4-12 December

Mayday Chandlery will be closed for holiday from Wednesday 4th until Thursday 12th December.

13th November

RS200 Winter Series

Burghfield Sailing Club will be running a winter series for rs200s again this year. The format will be similar to last year: one Sunday a month will be designated for the series between November and March. On each of the Sundays the morning and afternoon races will both be part of the series giving ten races in total with six to count.

The weekends are:

24th November
15th December
26th January
23rd February
30th March

The races will take place as part of the normal club racing with results extracted.

Non members are welcome to join in for £5 per day temporary membership or can join with winter membership which includes a boat space for November to March.

If you would like to know more please talk to Joe Adams or Chris Martin.

7 November

Annual General meeting

The AGM will be held in the Clubhouse on Thursday 14th November at 19.30 pm.

Last year's minutes, this year's notice and proposed amendments to the constitution may be downloaded from here

Well done Kristof!

We are delighted that ten year old member Kristof Jenkins from Kingsclere has been awarded the two years’ exclusive use of an Optimist dinghy, donated by the John Merricks Sailing Trust (JMST). In August 2012 Kristof did an RYA level 1 and 2 sailing course at Berkshire Sail Training Centre and now regularly races on a Sunday.

Kristof will receive two years of exclusive use of the boat which has been donated by the Trust. After this it will be donated to Burghfield Sailing Club to benefit training programmes and enable other young sailors to benefit in the future and progress into club, regional and national racing activities.

Full details:- http://www.rya.org.uk/newsevents/news/Pages/JMSTOptimistrewardsKristof.aspx

4th November

Junior racing over the winter

There will not be a separate start for Juniors during the Autumn and Frostbite series. the Juniors will start on the club start appropriate which will mainly be with the slow handicap. Please be aware that this is the case and allow the Junior sailors the same rights that you would give to any other boat that normally starts with you.

The Junior starts will resume in the spring.

22nd October

Laser Open Meeting - 26th Oct

This Saturday sees our 2013 Laser Open Meeting.

••• Sailing Instructions now available for download.•••

The full Notice of Race is now available for download but here are the key points:

9:00 Registration (Enter on the day, no pre-registration)

10:15 Briefing

10:55 First Warning

2 races back to back

13:00 Lunch ashore, hot food available

2 races back to back

16:00 Prizegiving

Important Notices

The road to the club from the M4 is currently closed, please see alternative routes labelled for wide vehicles
Only genuine Laser sails and parts may be used at this event. No replicas, sorry
Entry fee: £12/boat

18th October

RNLI Christmas cards

RNLI Christmas cards and calendars will be available for sale (or to order) in the Clubhouse on Sunday 20th October. Support the RNLI and also be prepared for Christmas early this year!

15th October

Burghfield Invitational 2013

It's always sunny at Burghfield apparently. And somehow, despite a horrid looking forecast, this Saturday the sun shone and 33 RS200s got to enjoy four close races without even a spot of rain.

For the first time in the world the Rs200s trialled using a windward gate instead of the usual windward mark with spreader. This gave the fleet yet another tactical decision to make, on top of the usual and led to even closer racing

Full report here.

11th October

Station Road closed 15 October - 3 November

Station Road will be closed betweeen the railway bridge and the canal swing bridge from Tuesday 15th October until Sunday 3rd November. This will affect anyone approaching from the Theale/Junction 12 direction.

The Club can still be approached from the south via Burghfield Road/Deans Copse Road and is well signposted with "brown" signs.

Please see the directions for Avoiding the Width Restriction

9th October

Burghfield Win at Blaze Inlands

Seven Burghfield Blazes ventured north to Lake Bala for the 2013 Blaze Inlands last weekend.

Saturday had lightish winds which suited Mike Lyons (Burghfield) who won every race. The stronger winds on Sunday more suited the current National Champion Rob Jones (Warsash) who won every race that day. So it was down to best of the rest which Lyons won by a whisker.

Entertaining report & full results here

This was the last in the Blaze Traveller series which was also won by Mike Lyons. Results for the 'Southern Softies Circuit' were also announced, for which Burghfield sailors David Entwistle & Paul Taylor came 2nd & 3rd respectively.

8th October

Mayday Chandlery closed 9-27 October

Mayday Chandlery will be closed for Holiday from 09.10.2013 until Sunday 27.10.2013

7th October

RS400 Open

The RS400 part of the combined RS200 and RS400 meeting on October 12th has been cancelled. There are no pre-entered competitors and it clashes with the inlands at Grafham Water. This will leave more space and resources for the RS200 meeting for which a large entry is expected.

1st October

RS 200 SEAS & 400 Open 12th October 2013

In a little over a week the RS 200 and 400 fleets will be visiting Burghfield (12th October) for their annual open meetings. The day is planned to be a series of windward leeward races for both fleets.

For more information and to pre-book follow this link....

19th September

Prize giving Sunday 22nd September

The prize giving for the Summer Sunday series, Fleet Trophy Day, the Bank Holiday series and the 5 hour race will be held in the club room at 1 pm next Sunday, 22nd September. Please be there to support the prize winners and collect your own prizes.

11th September

A reminder from sailing committee: amendment to the sailing instructions

The amendment to the sailing instructions now comes into force with the start of the new series. You may not pass between “desert” island (near marks 12 and 13) and the shore on any leg of the course. This stops you sailing across the shallows . The island and the shallows are an obstruction to sea room which you can call for room on in the normal way.

7th September

Burghfield Summer Optimist Open Meeting

A rainy Friday gave way to blue skies at Burghfield Sailing Club on Saturday 7 September. The gates opened at 8am to welcome a total of 99 sailors and their families who came to participate in the BSC Summer Optimist Open and RYA South Zone Indicator event.

The wind settled at 12 knts from SSE, a good direction on the lake near Reading in Berkshire. Principle Race Officer, Ian Bullock set a trapesoid course and flighted the 86 Optimist main fleet sailors aged between 8 and 14 into two starts per race. The shifts, that have honed the skills of many Burghfield sailors, challenged the fleet. Six races were scheduled for the day and all were sailed by 4.30pm.

Racing was typically competitive with just 3 points separating the top 3, with Cossie Lewis from Bosham SC winning the day with just 9 points. Drew Wright from Chelmarsh SC was 2nd and Henty Beardsall from Warsash 3rd. Dermot Gannon took home the prize for 1st Burghfield sailor.

As is the tradition at many clubs, the Regatta fleet was run by ex Optimist sailors, with Fraser Woodley as Race Officer. Six races were sailed with Sam de la Feuillade from Christchurch SC winning, followed by Edward Beardsall from Warsash SC and Drew Barnes from Christchurch SC in 3rd.

The day was a great success with many visiting families complementing the club on the racing and the smooth running of the day. Well done team Burghfield!

Full results can be found here

Photo © Alex Irwin of sportography.tv

6th September

New Event on Sunday 15th - Burghfield 5 hour race

Come and support our new event on Sunday 15th September. It will be a single start lap timed handicap running for 5 hours, starting at 11am, the normal racing start time, running through to 4pm.
Competitors will be in teams so that you don’t need to sail non-stop for 5 hours (unless you want to). Teams will be for up to 3 boats worth of people; 3 people for a single hander and 6 people for a double hander. If you normally sail only in the morning, team up and insist on doing the first hour. Your team mates can collect the prize for you!
We would like to see everybody on the water.
The start will be on a fixed line from the shore so that the race can be watched from the shore and change overs between crews will be on the foreshore. The finish will be on the start line and each boat must race for at least 5 hours.
Prizes will go to the top three. Additional prizes will also be awarded to the fasted lap on handicap and fastest pit stop. Results will be posted throughout the day on a whiteboard.
Non-members are welcome, day membership is £5 so invite your friends to join your team. Teams are to be registered upstairs in the club house and there will be a briefing at 10.30 am.
Teams will be expected to provide some assistance to the race team so that they can have breaks. This will involve timing crew change overs and recording lap times. Please nominate a member of your team to report to the race officer.

27th August

Isle of Sheppey Race - 7th Sept

Fed up with the monotony of 'round the cans' races? Bored waiting for the line to be reset after a minimal wind shift? Can't stand the bit between back-to-back races?

The antidote to all of these is the annual Round Sheppy Race. Lottie Harland sailed it in a Laser a couple of years ago for charity, and last year Mike Lyons won it in a Blaze.

There's a contingent of Blazes (& possibly a couple of Icons) heading there this year. If you're interested in having a go, please email who can give you more info.

Chichester Harbour Federation Week

6 Burghfield boats went to Fed Week last week. It is a spectacular event with 378 boats competing on 3 overlapping courses entirely within the harbour. With just 1 race a day and 3 races to count out of the 5 sailed (the optimists do 9 shorter races), it is a relatively gentle way of getting a weeks sailing.

This year the weather gods were kind. The first 3 days had westerly sea breezes and the last 2 days slightly stronger easterlies all under sun and blue skies.

Peter Baddeley won the optimist fleet discarding a first. Adam Stone was 2nd and Matthew Stevens 4th in a competitive 32 boat laser radial fleet. The solo is one of Hayling Island’s strongest fleets. Will Rainey finished 9th out of 42 including a win on day 2.

David Angwin sailed his Halo in fast Handicap and also got a win on day 2 on his way to second overall while Rob & Jan Martin won the first 3 RS400 races to win their fleet.

A successful visit to a very enjoyable event.

20th August

Burghfield Success at Falmouth Week

6 Burghfield boats; 4 Blazes & 2 Icons ventured south west for Falmouth week.

All boats finished in the top 9 of Division 2 (PN950-1100) and congratulations to Mike Lyons who won it in a Blaze & Richard Goss who came 3rd sailing an Icon with his daughter Sophie.

Results Here

19th August

RS 200 Nationals 2013 - Burghfield winners

Well done Team Burghfield!

The podium at the RS200 nationals was dominated by boats with a Burghfield connection. It was a tough week, shifty and high scoring (sound familiar?!) and with such a big fleet mistakes are penalised hard.

After a very tense final day, Matt Mee and Emma Norris held on to become RS200 National Champions. Matt and Emma have been winter members in the last few years but still sail under their hometown pennant of Red Wharf Bay. In second, sailing his parents boat, was Ian Martin, 49-er coach, sailing with Laser Radial olympic hopeful Chloe Martin. In third were familiar faces Chris Catt and Ally Martin, then in tenth our class captain Chris Martin with wife Katharine.

Well done also to Kevin Druce and Rachel Coombes, Joe Adams and Emma Lucas, James Clayton and Collette Portway, Caroline Martin and Ben George and Ian Sharps and Ellie Martin.

Full results and links to photos can be found on the RS website, here: http://uk.rs200sailing.org/indexdetail.asp?selection=ResultsDetail&evid=2541

15th August

Burghfield in Mounts Bay

Team Burghfield are doing well at the RS200 nationals at Mounts Bay this week. With 97 boats racing, one day to go and all to play for. Matt Mee and Emma Norris (Burghfield moonlighters) are currently in the lead but being pushed hard by Ian and Chloe Martin and Chris Catt and Ally Martin in 2 and 3. Ian and Ellie are battling it out with Chris and Katharine for spots in the top ten.

You can see full results on the RS website and catch up with all the gossip on the RS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/InternationalRS200UkClassAssociation?fref=ts

Oppie Camp 2013

Oppie camp runs from September 13th till September 15th. It's a great event for the whole family so do try to join us for two nights of camping by the lake, lots of laughs, sailing and good company. Non sailing younger siblings are also welcome and as always we really appreciate parent helpers to assist run the event.

Register NOW and we will get the relevant info emailed to you Click Text Here

24th July

Light Airs and Sunshine at Queen Mother Reservoir

On the 13th of July a fleet of ten Optimist’s travelled to Datchet Water Sailing Club for the Thames Valley, South and South East Area Zone Championships.

For this article we focus on our Oppie fleet Group 3 regulars: David Calder, Thomas Clay-Michael, Ollie Woodley, Matthew Lees, Jake Allsopp and Kristof Jenkins. These sailors are part of a growing number keen to taste Open Regatta events, following their coaching and racing experiences in our Sunday Junior fleet.

Over the two days, the hot and sunny weather provided a light breeze that was shifty in direction. This challenged the Regatta fleet sailors who were either lifted or headed to the windward mark, with the light gusts alternately favouring different parts of the course.

In a fleet of 17 boats, our 6 sailors performed well and gained confidence in their first season of Opens. This event marked the first Open for Thomas, Kristof and Matthew, with rising star David winning his second race and achieving 4th place overall. It was encouraging to see all our sailors finish at least one race in the top half of the fleet.

We look forward to seeing our Regatta fleet sailors grow in confidence and gain better results during the rest of their first season.

19th July

Recreational sailors enjoy ideal conditions at Weymouth

Six boats including two RS Vareos, a National 12, Laser 2, Wayfarer, a Laser Vago and 10 sailors from BSC enjoyed almost ideal conditions sailing from the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy last weekend.

The sun shone and as temperatures soared the best place to be was most definitely out on the water where lightish winds and plenty of space made for some great sailing both in and out of the harbour.

5th July

Sailing Committee update

The Sailing Committee has made a number of changes which we hope will improve the quality of racing at Burghfield.

Further details

13th June

Fast Asymmetric Class Training: 22nd June

There will be training for the fast asymmetric class running on Saturday the 22nd of June. It is aimed at club racers who would like to get their boats going faster, work on boat handling or to learn asymmetric specific techniques. If you would like to attend you should be already taking part in club racing or able to sail a triangular course and are planning on joining club racing.

The training will start at 11.00am with boats rigged but you don't need to be changed, we will have a briefing upstairs in the club house to decide the format of the racing. Training will be run by club members Chris Martin and Kevin O'Brian, if you have any questions please contact Chris.

12th June

Burghfield Success at Blaze Nationals

Last weekend 10 Burghfield boats ventured off to the seaside at Paignton for the 2013 Blaze Nationals, making it the biggest club entry. Battle ensued, and 1st & 3rd positions were claimed by sailors from the Warsash hotbed of Blazes. Congratulations to Mike Lyons, Hugh Kingdon & Simon Beddows of BSC who came 2nd, 4th & 8th.

Results

Photos

10th June

Cock of Burghfield & RNLI/Sailability Regatta

This annual pursuit trophy was sailed in conjunction with the Sailability charity challenge day on Sunday June 9th. In addition to a good day’s sailing, £101.46 was raised for the RNLI and Sailability charities. Thank you to everybody who donated.

Full Report

6th June

Burghfield at Carnac

A number of Club members were away last week for the RS Eurocup at Carnac Yacht Club, Brittany. The Martin clan excelled, claiming the three top spots in the RS200 fleet. Nick and Caroline Martin were 3rd in the RS400.

Read Full report

29th May

John Leslie Vail

We are sad to announce that John Vail passed away peacefully on 21 May 2013 at home aged 74 years. Many of you will remember John as an enthusiastic Enterprise sailor with a great sense of humour. He was our Enterprise representative on the Committee for many years and then the Prizes Co-ordinator. More recently he was part of the Radio Sailing Fleet and occasionally helped with Sailability. John was an Honorary member and will be missed.

Our thoughts are with his wife Sue and her family who have expressed their thanks to everyone at St Michael’s Hospice and his dear friends for their support over the recent months. Funeral Service to be held at St Michael’s R.C. Church, Tadley RG26 4HG Thursday 30th May at 11am. Family flowers only, donations if desired to Burghfield Sailing Club Sailability or St Michael’s Hospice c/o Geoffrey Church & Co 48 Bishopswood Road, Tadley, Hampshire RG26 4HD Tel: 0118 981 4420.

25th May

Time to get building - 6th July is not far away

Come and compete in the Cardboard Raft race, Paddle on the windsurfers, survive the egg catching competition or walk across the upside down boat bridge !!!

Members / Friends and Family welcome.

If you can help please contact the Office.

Food available from Club’s Galley or BYO BBQ.

Sail your own boat or a Vision, Oppies, RS400, Icon, Q’bas and Feva’s.

Cardboard boat rules are here.

19th May

Light Airs and Sunshine at the Optimist Inland Championships

Whilst the club was hosting its annual open day a large contingent of our Optimist sailors were at Grafham Water this weekend (18th / 19th May) for the Optimist Inland Championships. The winds were light all weekend and quite shifty at times making tricky conditions for the sailors but the bright sunshine on Sunday was a bonus for the spectators.

In a main fleet of 210 competitors the Fox brothers were the stars of the show for Burghfield on this occasion with Fergus finishing 61st and Harry 66th. The full Burghfield results were:

61st Fergus Fox , 66th Harry Fox 95th Douglas Calder, 101st Dermot Gannon, 145th Peter Baddeley , 151st Joshua Thomas, 175th India Page-Wood, 194th Connie Stevens

Harry Fox won the Edmund Spalding Trophy for the sailor with the most improved position from the previous Inland Championship.

In the Regatta Fleet for the less experienced sailors who are just starting out racing, David Calder was the sole club representative in a fleet of 50 sailors. His performances improved as the weekend progressed culminating in a win in the final race of the series and a final placing of 4th overall.

Next stop for our Optimist sailors will be some of the south coast open events during June before then heading to Scotland and the National Championships which this year are being held in Largs during the summer holidays.

BSC and BSTC Open Day

2013 Saturday 18th May from 11am until 4pm

Saturday 18th of May sees the The Club and Sailing School open the doors again to welcome anyone who would like to find out more about learning, sailing and racing at Burghfield Sailing Centre. Weather permitting there will be the chance for all visitors to get out on the water with our crews and experience the fun of sailing. Last year we made over 200 runs with visitors of all ages; many of whom decided to join us on the spot.

Visitors should bring a spare set of clothes and shoes on the day, something to change into if they get wet. Hot food will be available all day in the Club House where everyone can relax and talk to other club members to gain an insight into the activities at this flourishing sailing venue.

If you enjoy sailing at Burghfield please encourage your friends, neighbours and colleagues to come a give us a try. The more the merrier.

Please click below to see the poster.

Click Text Here

12th May

RYA Eric Twiname Championships 2013

Rutland Sailing club 11th-12th May 2013

The pinnacle of the RYA racing calendar for the RYA Zone and Home Country Squads, the Championships which is now in its 27th year, pit the nine squad teams against each other over two days for the prestige of picking up the coveted Eric Twiname Shield and being named top RYA Zone.

Burghfield had three Optimist sailors in the team of ten, representing the South Zone Optimist squad. Dermot Gannon, Douglas Calder and Peter Baddeley all did their part in ensuring that RYA South Zone won the top Optimist Zone and the Eric Twiname Dinghy Trophy which is awarded to the Zone performing best from the top two dinghy classes out of the three.

Full Results

11th May

Challenger Open - 10th & 11th May

On Friday the 10th and Saturday 11th May Burghfield SC and Burghfield Sailability hosted the annual Challenger Open.

10 boats entered the event from as far afield at Rutland SC. The sailors and their teams were met with a range of conditions with some particularly tricky winds on the Saturday!

For a full report please click the link below:

Click Text Here

For pictures of the event:

Click Text Here
There is a gallery available to view on his website.

Click Text Here

RS200 ladies open meeting / training: 8 June 2013

Are you a girly 200 helm?

Do you like prosecco?

Do you enjoy going racing but sometimes feel a little intimidated by open meetings or get fed up by being out-hiked by boys? If so, this could be the event for you… We are running a one day coached open meeting specifically for girly RS200 helms.

Please pre-enter on the link below to give us an idea of numbers. Any questions please call Ellie Martin on 07809 628475.

More Info

Entry Form

View Entries

7th May

Prize giving

The frostbite prize giving will be held on Sunday 19th May at 1pm.

Afternoon racing will follow as normal.

4th May

Windy Treasure Hunt

A windy Treasure Hunt was the first Saturday sailing event of the year, and it saw 30 people in 18 boats on the water today, coping with gusts over 30 knots. After a tie with 7 correct answers from the fiendish 'What Knot' board, the first prize was won by Team Bullet (Jeremy and Sofia) with this limerick:

There once was a sailor from Burghfield
Who tacked on the lake and said "Sir, Yield
"You're on the port tack
"So you must go back"
But he sank and his fate was Grrrr! Sealed!

A great start to the season for Saturday sailing and watch out for other Saturday sailing events like the Development days.

1st May

A great day for Burghfield junior Sailors at Banbury Optimist Open

Burghfield's younger members had a good show at the Banbury Open on 17th April, the narrow north/south lake had 12-17 knots from the NE, challenging conditions for the 6 main fleet sailors, and a significant test for the 3 new regatta fleet sailors. The conditions were quite squally, shifty and very testing for many of the young sailors.

There were 34 entrants in total and we had 4 sailors in the top 10, the highest place being Douglas Calder coming 5th, India and Joshua continue to make steady progress, Harry looked comfortable in the conditions, Peter showed good determination and Dermot demonstration of clever starting, port tacking the fleet twice. David Calder won the regatta fleet, closely followed by Oliver Woodley and Jacob Allsop. Our next mass outing are the Inlands at Grafham on 18-19 May, with an ex Commodore as Regatta fleet PRO and 9 sailors attending.

28th April

Close Sailing at Burghfield Comet Open

The Comet Open on Saturday 27th April, held in conjunction with the Solo and OK Opens, was a great success, with eleven helms from ten different clubs sailing.

The shifty wind was punctuated by some very windy squalls throughout the day, which made the sailing very challenging at times.

The clear winner was Ian Stone from Maidenhead, who won all four races. However, behind him the racing was very close, with a different helm coming second in each race. Third place was a three way tie on points, with Burghfield sailor Chris Robinson taking third on count back.

Junior Sailing!

Following the success of Saturday's first Junior Sailing session there have been more added! As well as this, we are encouraging Junior Sailors to get involved in some of the Admirals Club events!

4th May- Admirals Club Treasure Hunt.
18th May- Burghfield SC Open Day
6th July- Family Fun Day - For more details and Cardboard raft race rules see 6th Jul Calender entry.

Specific Junior Sailing dates:

1st June, 22nd June, 20th July.

Whether you are a racer or a social sailor time on the water is important! Come down and try different boats, with all club boats available, Including: RS Fevas, Toppers, RS Q'bas, Oppis, RS Visions and lasers!

See who is coming on the facebook events, make sure you click attending and tell your friends!

To see Facebook Events page Click Here

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