Challenger Open, 2008

I'm sure my fellow race officers Andrew Leigh and Chris Neal would agree with me that the Challenger Open Meeting held this last Friday and Saturday was one of the best race officering experiences we've all had in a long time. the weather was kind, sun and moderate to fresh winds were the order of the day together with very close racing.

The fleet had 6 races over the two days and at the end the racing had been so close that the top two each had 3 firsts, one second and two thirds so the series was decided by who beat who in the last race.

Saturday lunchtime things took a serious turn when it was the helpers' race. Even for able bodied sailors these Challenger trimarans are great fun and very 'challenging'. Clearly there was some controversy going on and if it hadn't been for all the people that finished in front of me I would have won. As it was it was Jezza what won with Chris Neal close on his tail.

Many thanks to everyone who made this fantastic event such a great success.

Gold Fleet Results...
Silver Fleet Results...

And so the summer begins......!

Last night saw the perfect start to the very popular personal handicap wednesday evening racing series. A warm sunny evening with a gentle force 2 wind encouraged over fifty boats out onto the water for a race around the lake.

It was great to see some new faces trying their luck, and with a fantastic supper provided by Anthony and his team afterwards,... what better way is there to spend a wednesday evening?

Report...

Chandlery - Closed Saturday 26th April

Sorry - the Chandlery will be closed on Saturday 26th April 2008.

Open as normal 10.00 till 4.00pm Sunday 27th.

Sorry for any inconvenience to our customers.

FYT Club 2008 *** change of date ***

Due to overwhelming demand for the clubhouse (!), FYT Club 2008 will now start on:



NOT 2nd May as previously advertised - sorry!

• Pron. (fit klŭb)
• abbr. Friday Youth Training
• n. Young people considered as a group, organised for a common purpose, especially a group that meets regularly, preferably on a Friday.
• Sport. Sailing

For more details take a look at FYT Club 2008

For those Juniors interested and/or already down to help with racing on a Wednesday night, the Race Officer training (below) is an ideal opportunity to see what your ARO duty will involve. For those who can't make it we're planning an "Intro to Race Management" evening during the summer.

Race officer training

On Friday 2nd May at 7.30pm the club is offering an informal training evening for members who have an interest in the organisation and running of racing.

The aim of the evening is to take away the mysteries of running racing and is ideally suited to any member who is either an existing Senior Race Officer (SRO) or Assistant Race Officer (ARO) or for anybody who wishes to get involved in running races in the future.

The bar will be open throughout the evning and it is a great chance for members to get to understand just what happens on the committee boat!

More Info and Booking...

Laser 4.7 Ladder events kick off this weekend!

The first of the Laser 4.7 Ladder events will take place this coming weekend at Burton SC. The ladder events form a rolling ranking series, the winner of which wins a brand new laser! More details & NOR available from the Laser site. For more details about upcoming laser 4.7 events click here.

Admiral's Club - 2008 Brochure & Calendar

The Admiral's Club season kicks off on the 3rd May with the annual Treasure Hunt. If you would like to find out more about the Admiral's Club then please look at our new 2008 Brochure (pdf 1.1mb).

Please also download our 2008 Calendar: AC Calendar 2008 (pdf 0.2mb).

For regular AC updates please see our AC news pages.

Optimist Team Selections

Eight of Burghfield's talented optimist sailors will be spending the coming weekend in Pwllheli, North Wales for the Optimist Team Selection Trials. The event, split over two, 3-day events provides intense racing for the top 80 UK Optimist sailors to select the teams for the World, European and Swiss Championships.

Good Luck to Callum Ellis, Dan Bullock, Issy Hamilton, Josh Voller, Katie Russell, Luke Burywood, Robert Baddeley and Sophie Hamilton.

Details about the event and the results can be found on the Selections website

Wednesday Evening Racing

YES, I know we have only just cleared the snow from the covers, but the most popular Wednesday Evening series in the country is about to start again! As you can see: shorts, T-shirts and sun-hats are the order of the day.

On Wednesday 23rd April, at 18:50, the first of this years Wednesday Evening races will be under way. Don't forget to check your Personal Handicap for the start of the series, and to book your Sailors Supper before getting onto the water.

Before the series starts, there is an Introduction to Racing evening at 6.50pm on Wednesday 16th April. This will help to explain the mysteries of racing, signing on, starting, sailing the course, the racing rules, and finishing.
This evening discussion is open to all within the club, but is ideally suited to:

• Beginers - who haven't raced before.
• Intermediates - who started racing in the last year or two, and want a refresher of the right ways of doing things.
• Experienced people - who can always pick up some hints and tips from the other sailors at the bar!

The discussion will be focussed towards giving people just enough knowledge so that they can take their first steps into racing on a Wednesday Evening.

RS Feva Grand Prix 12-13th April

This coming weekend will see the RS Fevas coming to the club as part of their Grand Prix circuit. There is no club racing but members are more than welcome to come and watch the excitement.

If you planning on competing please use the link below to gain further information and to pre-register your entry.

further detail

Fitting out Supper cancelled

Unfortunately, due to the small uptake for the event, the fitting out supper this Wednesday has had to be cancelled.

Last year's event was a great success and it is a shame that we have had to cancel this year's as it is a great opportunity for members of the club to meet and socialize off the water.

Burghfield in the snow

Sunday April 6th and only a few brave souls shook the snow off their boat covers and went sailing.

The Europe event was cancelled as only 3 people managed the journey.

Our caterers spent the morning preparing the Burghfield Snowman!!!

National 12 Open Meeting

The strong local fleet and a weather forecast without any snow featuring attracted 7 visitors to make the fleet a round dozen for some close racing around the islands on Burghfield lake.

A rather unstable but generally south westerly breeze provided some challenging racing, with 90 degree shifts (thankfully mainly between races) and strength ranging from a millpond to marginal planning testing the competitors.

More Info...

Admiral's Club - Treasure Hunt

The fair weather is back and so is the Admiral's Club!

Our first event is on the 3rd of May and is the AC Treasure Hunt. Open to all members of BSC - please see the AC News Page for more details.

New BSC members especially welcome!

Fitting Out Supper

If you wish to come to the fitting out supper and quiz on Wednesday 9th April, could you please book as soon as possible, and by the end of Sunday at the latest, using the link below.

More detail

RS-Vareo Fat Face Open Meeting

No, it is NOT an April Fool!

The first of this years RS-Vareo Fat Face series Open Meetings is going to be taking place at Burghfield on Saturday 5th April.

We will be holding 4 races (3 to count). The first race will be at 12:00, following a briefing at 11:20, with the afternoon races from about 14:15.

The SeaVets will also be holding an event that day, and their AGM will take place in the Clubhouse at 10:30.