Rob Prentice - Past Commodore at Burghfield Sailing Club

Many long term members of Burghfield Sailing Club will be saddened to hear that former Commodore Rob Prentice died earlier this week.

Rob was a great Laser sailor and also sailed with his Father Mike Prentice in a Fireball at National level and had many successes at Poole Week when the Fireball Class was a significant part of Club sailing.

He was also a Fleet Captain and Rear Commodore for many years leading to his appointment as Commodore. His committee achievements were many and have had considerable effect on the succesful running of the club. Rob took a lead role in the design of the Clubhouse and directed the move from its former Portacabin to the current facility. A move that greatly changed and expanded the club as we know it today.

He was well known and a friend at BSC.

Our thoughts are with his wife,family and parents.

RS Aero Demo Day - Wednesday 21st May

Come the try the latest single hander from RS Sailing on Wednesday 21st May. It's been called the 21st century Laser. Boats will be available from 10AM to 7PM.

The RS Aero weighs just 48KG all up. It should be much easier to pull up the beach than most other single handers we have at the club. There will be 3 rigs to try - 5, 7 and 9 SQM rigs. The 5 SQM rig is reputedly faster than a standard Laser.

The RS Aero costs just £4,870 - the same price as a Laser but twice as fast. If club members buy 5 boats before the end of the year, each boat will cost just £4,570.

BSC and BSTC Open Day 2014
Saturday 17th May from 11am until 4pm

Saturday 17th 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 300 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.

Download the Poster (A4, PDF).

OK, Solo & Comet Open - 26th April

A shifty, gusty southerly wind greeted the 36 boats who attended the OK Solo & Comet open meeting on Saturday.

OK Results
Solo Results
Comet Results

Club member Mike Proven kindly took some photos of the proceedings:

OK Photos
Solo Photos
Comet Photos

Saturday 3rd May: Treasure Hunt

Mark your calendars - on Saturday 3rd May we have the traditional start of season Treasure Hunt, starting at 1:30. It's a lighthearted event, where you have to sail around the lake to find clues to a location within the club, then solve the puzzles you find there.

All welcome, be ready to sail at 1:30. Meet under the balcony for a briefing. It's not a race and there's no time limit, but there will be a prizegiving at the end of the afternoon.

OK Youth and Junior Championships at Burghfield

The OK class are holding their Youth and Junior championships on 24th of May.

This is open to helms under 20 years of age on 1st January 2014.

There are at least 4 boats available to borrow for suitably competent sailors. Anyone interested in having a go in this remarkable single hander should contact Deryck Lovegrove on 07721 674 028.
for more info on the OK go to OKDIA

Burghfield Blaze Open

25 Blazes hit the water this weekend at the BSC Blaze Open.

The event was convincingly won by Ben Pickering - at 17 the youngest member of the Blaze CA. He was presented with the prize by CA 'chair'man Paul Taylor, who at 71 is the oldest member of the CA.

Many thanks to Rob Jones & Myles Mence for helping out with training on Saturday, and Ian Bullock who did an excellent job as race officer.

Results

Report

Photos

Introduction to Wednesday Evening Racing 9th April

Ever thought of trying racing? The Burghfield Wednesday evening race is the ideal way of getting started with pursuit racing using personal handicaps which gives an advantage for slower sailors.

The first race is on Wednesday 16th April, and on the Wednesday 9th April there is a talk giving an introduction of what you need to know and do.

Food will be served from 6:30, with the talk from 7:30

Blaze Open - 5th & 6th April 2014

The 2014 BSC Blaze Open is this weekend. Saturday will consist of training in the morning with a couple of races in the afternoon.

On Sunday, the Blaze races will be interleaved with club racing - one race before the morning club race and two more while club racers enjoy lunch.

More details here.

If you want to know more about the Blaze, please pop along on Saturday morning or

Rules talk Wednesday 26th March 7.30pm

With the waters receding and the sun finally coming out it is time to start dusting off the sailing boots and getting on the water. Former match racer Ally Martin and PRO Chris Martin will be running a rules talk in the evening on Wednesday the 26th of March to help identify those tricky situations that come up in club racing and explain the rules behind them.

The talk will comprise of two sessions with dinner available from Kris in the galley in between. The first session will focus on specific rules that frequently come up in club racing with case studies. The second session will cover further case studies or questions from the audience. The talk will cover the rules in the situations:
.

• Rounding the windward mark
• Before the start
• Running and reaching boats rounding the same downwind mark
• Approaching obstructions (islands)

If you have any rules that you would like to be included please e-mail Chris: we will try to cover as many questions as possible.

The talk starts at 7.30pm. Entry is £5.
Please register HERE and give the caterers an idea of numbers for supper.

Icon Training & 'Try a Boat' Day - 29th March

Regular sailors at Burghfield will have seen Icons sailing over the last couple of years. For those of you that haven't, it's a new boat that was designed and developed by Cirrus Raceboats, current builder of the Blaze, and run by BSC member Mike Lyons. It differs from almost any other 2 person 'one design' developed in the last 20 years in that it only has two sails - the idea is it offers a modern alternative to such classics as the Enterprise.

The newly formed Icon Class Association is holding a training day on March 29th. It's open to both existing Icon sailors and anyone who is interested in trying the boat.

In order to have an idea of numbers, we'd be grateful if you could register here

For more information please email or visit their website.

Prizegiving Sunday 9th March

We plan to give out all awards due including the Autumn series and introduce the new management team at lunch time on 9th March. Charles will present the James Acton Memorial Shield as well.

Winter Talk Wednesday 26th February 2014

DINGHY DESIGN WITH A BURGHFIELD HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Guest speaker- Paul Handley C.Eng MRINA

Paul started his career with a degree in Ship Science at Southampton University, then worked at the Wolfson Marine Unit at the University, then for MotorBoats and Yachting magazine, next ISAF (then IYRU) and then on European boat safety standards as well as designing the following award winning boats: Mustang 30 cruiser/racer, RS Terra, Feva and QBA, RS100, RS K6 and the K1 and K2 keeled dinghies.

"I probably first set foot in a boat at Burghfield SC when my family were members of the club from around 1960 to 67. We went through my parent’s cine from that time and have plenty of film from the early 60’s at Burghfield".

The talk starts at 7.30pm. Entry is £5. Please register HERE and give the caterers an idea of numbers for supper.

Club Activities

The club is open for activity provided people travel via Theale please while Hangar Road towards Sheffield Bottom remains flooded.

The lake is very full and care must be taken about potential underwater hazards around the shore line.

There is a Working Party on Saturday. Many people have yet to check their boats. Given good weather and time, the Working Party will take photos and put boats back on their trailers.

Update on the flooding situation

We regret to say that there will be no club racing this Sunday 16th February. We all hope that next Sunday will be OK.

The river remains full and the road past the lake flooded, although work done by WBCC in cutting drains from the road to our lake has limited the extent of the flood towards Sheffield Bottom. The access from Theale remains dry (Friday pm) but adjacent water is very high.

The water in the lake is also very high and one-third of the lower boat park is flooded. Access to the Club via Theale is permitted for essential purposes only and members may wish to check their boats after this period of wind and rain. Where possible, a few boats in the most perilous situations have already been moved, so look around the boat park before looking across the lake. Please also be aware that there are inevitably many underwater trip hazards and obstructions in that section of the boat park.

Easter Sailing Course 2014

We are pleased to announce that the annual Optimist Easter course will take place on Monday April 7th to Thursday April 10th from 9.30 to 4.30 each day.

The fee will be £100 for members and £120 for non members. For RS Fevas the fee will be £150 per boat for members and £170 for non members

There will be three groups :

1. Novice (those who have spent last year in start but who are ready to move to group 1, plus any just in to group 1)

2. Start Racing (those moving from group 1 to 2 and those still in group 2)

3. Racers (group 3 and above)

If there is a demand there will be separate 4.7 and RS Feva groups.

Sailors will need a full wetsuit or drysuit and suitable footwear as the water can still be very cold at Easter.

We will run a house parent rota if sufficient volunteers come forward.

To register interest please email Fiona Baddeley or call on 07766447255

More information about access to the club

Further to the note below cancelling racing on Sunday, in view of the abnormally high river and groundwater levels West Berkshire Emergency Operations Centre has asked us to limit access to the club to that for essential purposes only and to cancel any events until further notice.

Essential access does not include driving through the flood water that is the reason for closing the road, which could be an offence. At present access via Theale is dry. We will let you know when we are aware of the position changing.

This evening (Friday) the Environment Agency website has the water level of the River Kennet only 2 cm off the highest recorded - with more rain forecast overnight.

Sunday racing cancelled

Formal racing on Sunday (9th February) is cancelled again due to flooding in the area and road closures. There is now a police road closed sign at the Arrowhead road junction (on the approach from the canal side).

We are trying to negotiate access with the authorities but they are fully committed reacting to extensive flooding around the area as groundwater levels are rising and causing flooding. More rain is expected.

Disability Awareness course - 1st March

BSC Sailability is running a one day course to provide the opportunity for club volunteers to receive practical advice and understanding of what is involved in working alongside disabled sailors. There will be a small charge of £5 to cover resources and refreshments.

For application form, please email before 20 February or after 21 February

Laser 4.7 Race Coaching

On the 17th and 18th February we will be running two days of Laser 4.7 Race Coaching at Burghfield SC. The coaching is aimed at sailors who have already been racing in other classes and have recently moved into the Laser 4.7. The focus will be on boat setup, handling and speed, although others aspects of racing will also be covered.

This coaching is limited to 6 sailors and at the moment we have one place remaining. If you are interested please e-mail . Cost is £50 for the two days.

The coaching will be led by Lottie Harland, an experienced and successful single-handed racer and qualified RYA Racing Coach. Lottie started her racing in Optimists in our own Oppie Club before moving to Toppers, then through Laser 4.7 and for the past three years she has been racing nationally and internationally in the Laser Radial.

More details...

BSPS (Burghfield Sailing Photographic Society)

The new Burghfield Sailing Photographic Society. Beginners and experienced snappers welcome!

Meet second Tuesday of Every Month

£2 for members
£3 for Non Members

The Mission is to get everyone from beginners to those with loads of experience using their cameras as much as possible!

We have created a camera club where members can share their photos and also can get advice and feed back on anything photography related.

Come along and share your love for Photography!

Click here to take you to the Facebook Page to get updates on when BSPS is next meeting

An update on access to the Club

Roads to the Club re-opened this week and the drive is clear. The water level in the lake is still high, covering the concrete between the jetties but is slowly going down.

Following the recent rains, the road between Hose Hill and the Burghfield Road closed again yesterday - this section of road is particularly prone to flooding.

To sum up, the situation remains "fluid"!

Skittles Evening: 22nd Feb

All are welcome to come to the Skittles evening on the 22nd Feb starting at 7:30 pm.

This was a VERY successful evening last year and tickets go fast. There will be a limit of 50 spaces, so please book on the website to secure your space and order your food.


Book your spaces using the booking form. Entry is £5 per person


Food will be £6 for a two course meal and must be booked in advance on the form.

Book here.

Bloody Mary Winners

Congratulations to Graham and Zoe for winning the Bloody Mary.

Some more pictures here, courtesy of Alex Irwin, Sportography.tv

Sailing cancelled this Sunday 12th January

The club has just spoken to the Environment Agency who have told us that the road outside the club is still not passable to normal cars without risk of damage and so it will remain closed over the weekend as water levels are expected to rise further over the next couple of days.

Furthermore, due to problems being caused by wash to houses at the Fox and Hounds public house end of the road by the traffic that is still using the road, the Agency is considering opening the canal bridge at Theale so no traffic will be able to use the road past that point.

Unfortunately this means we have no choice but to cancel sailing this Sunday and keep our fingers crossed that next week brings some drier weather.

Water, water everywhere!

Roads to the Club remain closed but the lake is filling up nicely via the drive!

Burghfield Sailor Wins Oxford Blue

A number of Burghfield boats battled through torrential rain today to get to the inaugural 'Oxford Blue' race, which is part of the 'Sailjuice' series. Congratulations to Mike Lyons who won the event sailing a Blaze.

Series Results

A Blaze sailor's report