This year I decided it would be a great learning experience for myself and Eve to try out the RS400 National Championship in Pwhelli North Wales. Paul Oakey had also decided to attend with Mark Oakey as crew (which ensured I had much needed assistance in erecting my tent). For those who have not sailed from this location it is approximately 7 hours drive when towing a boat from Portchester, but dont let this put you off as it is a beatiful location and a well organised club. I do however recommend getting their a day early and setting up tents and boats in preparation as this will provide the chance to relax, prepare and even check out the stunning surroundings.
Racing started on Saturday for a 4 day event and a schedule of 2-3 races per day (10 races planned in total). After final checks we were ready to go and set off with boat through the dunes down to the beach where the 60 boat fleet had amassed. A freshening breeze with some good gusts sent us on a fast run to the start and with some practice spinnaker gybes all was looking good, we felt it was going to be our day. The dinghy briefing described how to gate start which was a concern as I had not encountered one for many years, but some coaching by Paul Oakey (once I did what I was told) proved very useful.

The first race and the first beat, we rounded the windward mark in mid fleet and the boat speed felt good. We set off on the spinnaker run surfing at speed down medium height waves and managed to nail the first gybe, soon followed by a call of starboard and a quick unplanned second gybe.... Once we recovered the boat from a combination of turtle positions and rescue boat assistance our racing was over for the day with 2 DNFs recorded.. Sea water was still coming out of Eve 6 hours later, as she described searching for that all important air under the boat in full capsize. I am now reliably informed that the air pocket does not exist. Team Oakey had delivered much more respectable results of 29th and 26th for the two races.
The second day had 25mph with 40mph gusts forecasts. One look into the crews eyes said that the only hiking today would be over hills and not around the race course. In any case, the races were cancelled and all had the opportunity to try karting, walking or drinking... with some completing all the above. Thanks to Paul and Mark's erection skills, our tent made it through the night which is more than I can say for my wind break.

Day 3 and we were bottom of the table and already sailing for the experience. After being forced to promise a dry day sailing, I convinced Eve to leave the tent in variable breezes and the race officer planned 4 races to recover from the previous races lost. The wind span like a top and eventually settled on a Force 2-3. This proved challenging and with 7 hours spent on the water the fleet registered only 3 results. It is clear that to benefit from gate starts in big fleets, more practice was required, as we were always down after the first leg, from not gaining clear wind and water lanes (Adam Bowers, I should have listened). Three results in the forties were recorded with our best a 43rd. This was not going to be our regatta, however Paul and Mark were starting to get into their stride, leading at the Windward mark in one race, only relinquishing the lead due to a change of wind direction to register a 9th as their best result so far.
Day 4 and the last day of sailing. An early start in bright sunshine and the tent was put away after an early breakfast of porridge for that all important staying power. Light winds forecast and a predictable delay before the beachmaster allowed boats to set sail. Force 2 and "ploppy" conditions are not my forte and my starting skills were tested to the maximum. We managed to register a 41st and a 38th, but with the limited races sailed a DNF result had to be counted and this relegated us to 51st overall. Team Oakey did a much better job in flying the Portchester flag, by scoring a race win in the days first race to end the regatta in a respectable 16th position overall.

Home again and already thinking about Weymouth for next year as the experience has not put us off. It is a tough event make no mistake, but you cannot help think that the challenge and the experience is worth it. Just dont forget your snorkel.

Details of booking RYA powerboat and shorebased courses for the autumn and winter are now out, plus information on fun day and the RYA zone championships. Full details can be found in the Training Newsletter - August 2010, available to view within the members downloads section (under sailing), or by contacting courses@portchestersc.com

Another fabulous weekend dinghy sailing for the second and final SuperCup weekend of 2010. Force 3-4 winds and sunshine arrived for both days (as promised) and some excellent courses laid off the castle offered great racing and fun sailing for all those who took part. With approximately 25 boats taking part and a healthy showing from Juniors and Seniors alike, the racing series was completed with another 4 closely contested races.

The weekend finished with 1st and 2nd position having equal points and John Powell winning the weekends event on the points count back system. Weekend results as follows.

1st John Powell - RS600
2nd Doug Powell and Richard Adams - RS400
3rd Brian and David Beavis - RS400

The overall winner of the dinghy SuperCup series was Brian and David Beavis with a very consistent set of results gained across both weekends. A very well done to them both for an excellent result. The prize giving recognized a number of great performances across both weekends from a Portchester fleet totalling 38 boats, with spot prizes and Junior achievement medals for some great "stand out" performances.

A raffle for each start of each boat that entered a race was drawn by our new SuperCup champion Brian and David Beavis with the following result -

Bruce Humphries wins the family Dockyard ticket and the free meal at the Watermark restaurant in Port Solent and Gerald Anderson wins the runner up prize of Marine Superstore vouchers. Many other welcome prizes were distributed across the fleet.

Special thanks to our sponsors -
Crewsaver Gosport
Force 4 Chandlery Swanwick
Water Mark Restaurant Port Solent
Portsmouth Heritage Dockyard
Portchester Castle
Marine Superstore Port Solent

With further thanks to all those who helped and made the weekend another wonderful success for the dinghy sailors and also to all those competitors who sailed and made the weekends so enjoyable

Saturday 31st August dawned with light winds and rain, great conditions for a sail to the Nab Tower.

11 boats arrived at the line and were greeted with a tight spinnaker leg in light winds to the first mark of Horsesands Fort. 

By the second leg the wind remained light and the fleet ran with the tide to  Winner .  On arrival at Winner J109 Squibs had pulled out a resonable lead on the rest of the fleet followed by Nimrod, Sitting pretty and Merlin in that order.

As the fleet progressed towards the Nab Tower the wind died to almost nothing and shifted to the south filling to around 15 knots.  By the Nab Tower Squibs continued to lead, followed by Nimrod and then Merlin who had managed to overtake Sitting Pretty.

The wind remained fairly consistent for the sail back via Warner and by the end of the race Squibs finished first over the water followed by Nimrod, then Sitting Pretty, Merlin, Beltana and Temeraire.

On corrected time first place went to Temeraire followed by Nimrod in 2nd and Merlin in 3rd.

The Nab Tower race was also the second race of the 2010 Cruiser Super Cup series.  Merlin's 3rd place accompanied by their win in the Solstice race was enough for them to secure the 2010 Cruiser Super Cup with 4 points followed by Beltana and Temeraire with 6 points each.

Full results for the Nab Tower race and the 2010 Cruiser Super Cup can be found within the results section of this website.

Portchester Boats Dominate top 3 for combined Harbour Regatta

Lots of Sun, Lots of Water and a Little patchy wind was the order of the day for this year Cruiser Combined harbour regatta race.

9 Portchester boats arrived at Hardway SC's start line to join an overall fleet of 26 boats.  After just under an hour and a quarter of  racing new Portchester Cruiser Squibs took line honours followed by Hardway's Pink Lime and Portchesters Merlin.

On Corrected time victory went to Pink Lime with Merlin in 2nd place and Temeraire of Lawling 3rd overall.

An overall smaller dinghy fleet took part in the racing joined by Gerald Anderson in his laser and Ivan Burden and Jamie Pidduck in their RS400.

Full Cruiser and Dinghy results will follow soon.

Photo's Courtesey of Woozle Photography can be found within the links section of this website.

There is a superb array of photos available from the SuperCup weekend.

Please click on the THIS LINK

Low resolution images can be downloaded by right-clicking on the thumbnail of the photo, and opening in a new tab or browser. Then you can right click on the image and save to your computer.

If the original (high res) is required please use the "Contact Us" option within the website and provide the picture number and this can be arranged. If professional printing is required it can also be arranged for a fee to cover costs.

With very many thanks to Eve Trojan and Ivan Burden who have produced and managed this magnificent gallery of photos, and to the Simmonds Family and Denis Sutherland who took the photos.

A sublime weekend of weather reigned for the first SuperCup weekend of 2010.  33 dinghies and 8 cruisers joined in the racing, with some new faces joining in the fun with the usual suspects.

In the cruisers, Russell Peace skippering Merlin edged out Hugh Crothers in Beltana to win the Solstice Race. 

In the Dinghies Paul and Mariea Oakey just edged out lightweight flyers Paul and Charlie Bayliss both sailing RS400s after Charlie (6) fell out of the boat in the last race.  Special mention should go to Billy Weaver who came 18th overall in his first SuperCup event.

The second and final SuperCup weekend is on July 31st / Aug 1st.  Don't miss it.

Dinghy Results HERE

Cruiser Results HERE

Great Round the Island Race for Portchester SC

With 13 boats from Portchester SC taking part in the race this year, a great days sailing was had by all.

Of particular note was the excellent performance from Hugh Crothers and his crew sailing Beltana who won the Nicholson 32 class beating 5 other Nicholson 32's to cross the line in 8hrs 45 minutes.

Mike Bell and crew on Footloose continued their record of good results in the race with a 2nd place in their class completing the course in 8hrs 16 minutes. 

George Simmons sailing Katy and Russell Peace sailing Merlin also had good results in their respective classes taking 2nd and 4th place respectively.

Watch this space for the results of the club trophy  for  race.

See you on the water for the Solstice race on 26th June.

Cruiser Vice Captain

Less than two weeks to go until the first SuperCup event.

Far from a weekend solely for the racing fraternity, it's a chance for the whole club to get out there and have some fun!

   - If you're a junior (or adult) just starting out, it's a perfect opportunity to get involved with high tide courses, committee boat starts, plenty of safety cover and prizes for the best improver!

   - If you haven't had your dinghy out all year, clear out the leaves, dust off that lifejacket and come and get sailing. Do it now or you never will! Two races each day, with perfect wind and hot sunny weather (we hope!), what more can you ask for?

   - For the dinghy fleet we have an enviable selection of prizes, and to encourage as many people to the start line as possible, the grand prize will be by raffle, with a chance to win for every race started. So if you do every race, you have eight chances to win over the two SuperCup weekends!

   - Cruiser sailors have their in-harbour Solstice Race on the Saturday (but they always drink too much in the bar to race Sundays...). Contact the Cruiser Captain if you want to get involved with this one.

The club will be open all day with food available, bar open day and a fantastic live band to entertain you in the evening.

Some of our young Topper sailors have been really achieving in the early part of this season.

First off, Chris Cowan has not only been selected for the RYA South Zone Squad, but he helped the Squad to win the Eric Twiname Championships at Rutland Sailing Club.  This prestigious event is a celebration of Junior class sailing and Chris managed a very creditable 28th out of a quality, selected field of 72 Topper sailors helping the squad to regain their crown as best Zone in the country.

More locally, but no less importantly, Joe Simmonds won the Bosham Topper Southern Travellers Open Meeting, overcoming a disappointing ninth place in the first race to win the following two races and take second position in race four.

Something tells me that this won't be the last you hear from this pair....

Beaulieu Rally May 22-23

The glorious summer sun encouraged 15 boats to congregate on the pontoons in the Beaulieu River for the weekend despite the light winds. The boats included Mollyhawk, Eponine, Blue Moon and Warrior Boy, all new members to the club this year, with their families. The traditional Saturday evening barbecue on the green at Bucklers Hard was equally well attended with ‘extras’ dropping in by car and rib to swell the numbers.

A steady breeze on Sunday made a reasonable sail back for some, others provided the dramatic entertainment for visitors to the Beaulieu River. Overall, a surprisingly epic voyage but everyone arrived home safely. 
photos:

THE PASSAGE RACE    28-31 May 2010 

The passage race will be from the Solent to The Owers (Selsey Bill) over the bank holiday weekend.  Notice of race and sailing instructions are available in downloads. 

All competitors must notify Alan Sayle on 0771 5822135 or email cruiser@portchestersc.com prior to starting the race.

Get down and dapper with the new range of PSC clothing.

A new arrangement with market leaders in club embroidered clothing, Ocean World, allows you to choose from a huge selection of apparel displaying the club emblem with pride.

Ordering is simple, just goto the Ocean World Website, choose your garments and then you can either download an order form or call them up on 01983 291744.  Don't forget to quote the PSC logo code of "POR 3984".

You can even add your boat name, or even your own name (just in case you forget!)

Now just don't wear your new gear for the antifouling....

This weekend saw the first training weekend of the season, with 16 students participating in the youth RYA Stage 1 & 2 and adult Level 1 courses.

Basking in the sunshine, Saturday started with light shifty winds off Horsea shore, causing more than a little confusion with wind awareness for the students as they set off with a reach to reach course. As we moved through the morning, the wind built to puffy 10+ kts, remaining shifty, giving rise to an early swim for one of the light weight students in her topper.
With the rising westerly breeze, the afternoon was spent in the lee of the castle, protecting us from most of the breeze, but not from the occasional puff which found its way through, giving us another topper swimmer ... not wanting to be out down by her sisters morning swim! Whilst the puffs put some over, Andrew Shrimpton revelled in the conditions, racing around the short course with glee.

Sunday brought a change in weather, starting with F3 westerly and freshening by the minute, was too much a challenge for the youth groups who struggled in the conditions and we were forced to cut short the sailing, finishing the day with an afternoon of fun & games off the club. Whilst the youth group struggled, the adult course continued through the day in the lee of the castle using the new Visions. With instructors onboard, reefed main's and furled jibs, the students still had a challenging time in the puffy conditions, but coped admirably.
At the end of the afternoon with the instructor a the helm, we nosed one of the Visions out from the lee of the castle, under reefed main and with the jib set, we took a brisk reach down Horsea shore. With the wind recorded onboard at 22 kts and three on board, the boat moved well through the short chop with the rig humming and spray flying, and we came back with beaming smiles .... It’s what sailings all about!

Having lost most of Sunday, although many students completed much of their Stage 1 & 2 / Level 1 we will need to use the spare day to sign off on the remaining items.
However, even with the conditions, we have one budding Ben Ainsley, who took the breeze in his stride and performed well through out the weekend, to achieve his RYA Stage 2, well done Andrew Shrimpton.

I'd like to thank all those who participated in and supported the event; from students, parents, helpers, coordinators and instructors, as without their help we would not be able to run these events. Thank you all. 
The Training Team.

Sunday 9th May saw the first Mothball Day at Portchester, with seven club members signed up for a fun day on the water, in the brisk F3 / 4 NE wind. The groups' experience varied with several having done dinghy RYA level 1 & 2 some time ago and wanting a refresher, to cruiser sailors who had not been in a dinghy for some 15 years and some who had never been in a dinghy at all. The small group of two Visions, a Wayfarer and Topper spent some time on basic boat handling manoeuvres in the Horsea Shore training area before heading off down the harbour, anchoring and rafting up for lunch afloat. After lunch, moving further down the channel and up into lower Fareham Creek area before turning to beat back up channel toward the club, which claimed the second swim of the day.
Feedback from the group was that a great time was had by all, even the swimmers who delighted in viewing the underside of the hull from within the water! Overall a great day which we will aim to run again, please contact courses@portchestersc.com to express your interest.
Pictures posted on the gallery.
Thanks to the Training Team for supporting the event.
Brian Beavis – PSC Chief Dinghy instructor

An excellent turnout of 27 boats turned out fot the racing this weekend, with a healthy mix of cruisers and dinghies.  The cruisers were sent on a round-harbour course and it was quickly apparent that three boats had the jump on the rest of the fleet.  Merlin, Gher-kin (from Hardway) and Nimrod extended a lead that even the handicaps couldn't redress and the results showed them in that order even on corrected time.

The dinghies were due to do the same course, but a last minute drop in windspeed saw the RO chicken out and resorted to several laps of a triangle-sausage course in Portchester Lake.  Unusually, the slow boats almost without exception skinned the fast boats as the wind picked up in the last 20 mins of the race.  Roger Cole won in an OK, with Chris Davies and Bruce Humphries following up in theie Solos.

Afternoon drew into evening with a Hog Roast and music by Shabeeen.  A generous array of prizes donated by Kemp Sails were handed out, many thanks to Matt Atkins of Kemp Sails for his involvement once again.

Cruiser Results Here

Dinghy  Results Here

The clubhouse will be open at the usual times Saturday and Sunday this weekend. 

And don't forget the club will be open through Saturday afternoon and into the Evening with a Hog Roast and live entertainment in support of the Kemp Sails / Hamond Half Century Races.  Allcomers welcome.

On Bank Holiday Monday the club will be open from 12.00 - 16.00, but no food will be available.

At low water today (1730) the water was so low there was a significant stretch of mud between the end of the slipway and the navigable channel.  Low water on Friday (1850) is likely to be similar, with no significant change in the tide or wind/pressure conditions.

We have therefore decided to cancel this Friday evening racing in line with the agreed decision at the Dinghy AGM 2009.

We look forward to seeing a good turnout of dinghies at the weekend for the Hamond Half Century Race (Sat - 1330) and the Portchester Castle Cup race (BH Mon - 1500), both on the high water.

CHANGE OF DATES FOR LYMINGTON AND YARMOUTH RALLIES AND INTERCLUB RACES.

The date in the calendar for the Yarmouth Rally is 5 June 2010 with the Interclub Race on 6 June. Members may have spotted that this clashes with the Yarmouth Old Gaffers Festival on 4 - 6 June. Those of you who have attended the festival previously will know that there is no chance of getting a berth in Yarmouth during the festival. For this reason the Interclub Committee have swapped the Yarmouth and Lymington dates to avoid the clash and to enable Members to berth in Yarmouth for our event. The new dates are now:

Yarmouth Rally   8 May 2010

Yarmouth Interclub Race   9 May 2010

Lymington Rally   5 June 2010

Lymington Interclub Race    6 June 2010

Please amend your Club Books and diaries accordingly. I hope that this does not cause any inconvenience.

Alan Sayle
Cruiser Captain
28 April 2010

Sixteen boats enjoyed bright sunshine and a gentle warm breeze for the Portchester Duck Race - the first race of the Dinghy Season.

Paul and Mariea Oakey picked up where they left off last year to blitz the fleet. 

Full results HERE.

Many of you will have already received the notice informing you of the
General Meeting to be held on Sunday 18th April. Additional copies of
the two documents are available on the Club website

Notice of meeting - http://www.portchestersc.com/downloads/2915.pdf
Proposed rule changes - http://www.portchestersc.com/downloads/2916.pdf

The final proposed change refers to the Boat Park Storage Policy.
Pending the outcome of the vote at the EGM this is still a draft
document and you can download this draft here
http://www.portchestersc.com/downloads/2914.pdf

On the last page I added a note to let you know where you could find
the Boat Park Storage Policy. I should have made it clear that this
was a just a note and is not part of the wording for the proposed
condition 21.

The current version of the Club rules can also be downloaded from the
Club website http://www.portchestersc.com/downloads/2606.pdf

Copies of these documents will also be available on the main Club notice board.

I have reserved a table at the Folly Inn for the second sitting (8pm) with the table available for the rest of the night for 40 diners. I have also provisionally booked for 15 boats on the pontoons.

If you would like a berth or dining space reserved either:
1. add your name and details to the list displayed on the Notice Board in the foyer at the club. This is the MASTER LIST.
2. email me at cruiser@portchestersc.com
3. telephone me on 01329 232318

I will add to the Master List at the Club any requests that I receive by email or telephone in the order that I receive them.  If you are unable to attend having made a reservation PLEASE LET ME KNOW by striking your name off the list at the Club, or by emailing or telephoning me.

Adam Bowers will be at the Sailing Club on 29th April 2010 to inspire club sailors (Upper bar, 8.00 for 8.15pm). This year his talk is entitled \' Race Tips - Part 1\' and is based around tactical and strategic racing techniques eg starting, low speed skills and thinking differently about the race course. Further details on the evening will be available nearer the time.

Paul Oakey will once again be unravelling the intricacies of the racing rules on 18th March, 8pm for 8.15 start, in upper bar, refreshments available. Come early to ensure you get a good seat, as it was a very popular event last year.

Enrolment for all RYA Dinghy Courses is happening NOW. All enrolment forms are available from the Members download section of the website. Courses are available for Children and Adults. Full information can be found on Training Noticeboard at the Club or via the following link (which you will need to copy and paste into your browser). All courses commence on 6th March 2010 at 16.30 hours.  http://www.portchestersc.com/downloads/2848.pdf 

Peter Spreadborough of the Southampton Calor Gas Centre Ltd and David Stopard of Marine Systems Engineering demystified gas installations on boats at their talk on 25th February at the Club. They covered pitfalls, things to check for, what to avoid at all costs and what to do if it all goes wrong. Members were able to look at various pipes, tubes, valves and fittings that had been rejected by the experts. One or two of us had to confess we had similar items on our boats! The Club would like to thank Peter and David for their very professional presentation. If you would like a copy of the presentation, or have any gas queries, Peter and David would be pleased to hear from you. Their business cards have been left at the Club or via email - Peter peter@socal.co.uk and David info@msel.co.uk Kath once again provided superb sandwiches - thank you Kath.

John Passmore of Seldén Masts, with help from Martin Leaning, of Martin Leaning Rigging Ltd, provided an excellent evening at the Club on 11th February 2010, on their specialist subjects. The Club is very grateful for their time and efforts. A vote of thanks to Alan Sayle who kindly hosted the evening (at very short notice), together with thanks to Steve Freeman and Hugh Crothers for sorting out the audio visual equipment. The evening talks would not be so enjoyable without the refreshments provided by Kath Douglas, a very big thank you to Kath.

The Club would like to thank the Hampshire Police Marine Unit who took the time to visit the Club in late January to talk about their work in the area. Our grateful thanks too, to Gerry Anderson of Mobilarm, who brought along a range of security products for members to see. The Training Section would also like to thank Phil Dickinson for arranging the evening, on their behalf.

ANNUAL INVOICES have been posted out to all members.

Your membership expires on 31st January and renewal is due on 1st February.

Please read your account and the attached information carefully and return the invoice and boat insurance confirmation with your remittance promptly - and by 15th February at the very latest. Accounts can be posted back to the Club address or delivered personally to the special box in the Foyer by the upper bar entrance.

Cheques should be made payable to Portchester Sailing Club or cash can be accepted over the bar at the club, please ensure you get a receipt if paying cash.