Blaze - Burghfield Sailing Club

Blaze Open - mark II - 23rd October 2010

After the disappointment back in April of a complete lack of wind for the Finn and Blaze Open we have invited the Blaze Class back to Burghfield for a second open on the 23rd October 2010.

The class will be sharing the event this time with the Phantoms,Solutions & OK's and we look forward to a far more windy event this time. Please pre-register using the link below to give us both an idea of numbers. As an incentive, those who pre-register will have a reduced entry fee of £10 (instead of £12). Please note that pre-registration will close on Thursday 30th September.

Further information can be found using the links below.

Pre Register...
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Additional Information

Notice of Race--- Sailing instructions---BSC Location---accomodation--Contact the Club

BLAZE & FINN OPEN REPORT - 17th APRIL 2010

Well what can I say? Saturday morning, cloudless sky and not a whisper of wind in the hanging air. And so it stayed for the entirety of what should have been the Blazes' inaugural 2010 Open Meeting, at Burghfield Sailing Club earlier today.

Over twenty helms between them – may be more, could be less; only two signed on – showed intent by turning up, with others having ducked out beforehand upon sight of the weather forecast.

Racing was postphoned by unanimous consent from 11.30 to maybe 12.30, at 12.30 to maybe 1.30, and at 1.30 or thereabouts it was given up for another day. In all probabilty that would have been the decision regardless, for by then the nature of the event had changed as we lapsed into to an afternoon of easy conversation, a pint or three of London Pride and an unexpected suntan on our very own Balcon of Burgfield Lake.

Thanks to everyone who did come – particularly the visitor helms – their support and conversation was appreciated; thanks as well to the two Phantom race officers Simon Smith and Alan Powell (they volunteered, they weren’t rostered), commodore Jeremy Carey and to everyone else in place to support the event. Burghfield has kindly offered to restage both Finn and Blaze Opens later in the year – confirmed dates tba – with every expectation of more wind than today.

But what of the training day? The Friday was windy and, as a Blaze coaching session, offered tremendous benefit to those who participated.

Training was provided both on and off the water by Ian Martin – a born and bred Burghfield sailor, a former Olympic contender and now a professional sailing coach. One of his unexpected strengths proved to be that, as Ian had never sailed a Blaze, he had no preconceptions as to how it should be tuned or sailed, and was able to address both by purely what he saw.

With only seven boats (he wanted 6-8), it was possible for him to coach helms individually as well as the group as a whole, using copious video footage that would later be dissected and discussed before going back on the water after lunch. From the rescue boat driver’s perspective (me) all seven visibly improved throughout the day and, interestingly, there appeared to be a greater uniformity of sailing as the day developed across the courses and exercises set.

Any key tips? It was personalised, so different people, different tips. One big one is that you should consider using him at your own club or within your fleet event – find him through Pat at Burghfield on 01189 303604.

General Blaze tips: work the boat, don’t just kneel there; make full physical use of your kicker and downhaul when the wind blows, and let them off the second it doesn’t; use more windward heel on entering into a gybe, letting the boat do the work for you; pay special attention to the top leech tell-tale, it is the most important; and pay attention as well to the position and draught at the bottom of the sail – too much draught too far back interrupts airflow and compromises performance. These are random tips really and you needed to be there to get the benefit in context. Perhaps next time.

Roger Williams
Blaze 762

Stuart's GPS tracks

Here are Stuart Brown's GPS tracks for Blaze 713 on Sunday 3rd December.

Stuart: "I was late for the start - playing catchup. You can see where my rudder broke before getting towed in (thanks chaps).

Thanks to Pete Barlow for the loan of the rudder blade!

The GPS recorded a maximum speed of 15.0 knots in the morning race and 15.5 knots in the afternoon."

Morning Track...
Afternoon Track...