Budworth Sailing Club

Four Budworth GP14s entered the National Championships this year. A 6-day event hosted by South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club (SCYC), and sailed some 3-4km offshore in Cardigan Bay. 60 boats entered in total from Sailing Clubs across the UK, and even Sri Lanka. Fleets from Budworth, Bolton and South Staff were particularly well represented.With light winds early in the week fortunes were mixed. After a storming start in the practice race on Day 1 Craig & Gemma Hewett posted a 20th place, only to be over the line in the first proper race receiving a depressing DSQ that set the standard for the rest of the week. However John Waind with crew Jean Shaw and Ray & Jackie Bailey kept Budworth honours high with 13th and 16th respectively in the first race, finishing ahead of Bill Kenyon & Ben Ditchburn.

Budworth Sailors’ fortunes improved dramatically over days 2 & 3 as they got used to the light winds, choppy waters and underlying tides. In the 5th Race Bill and Ben were first to the windward mark and led the race for the first lap before eventually being overhauled by Simon Potts crewed by Budworth’s own Luke Shaw. John Waind and Jean Shaw finished 13th in the same race, and Ray & Jackie also posted a very creditable 17th in the following Race 6.

Later in the week, the breeze picked up, as did the swell and chop, and tidal flow became more pronounced presenting further challenges to an already tiring Budworth Team. Capsizes and occasional penalties tempered the good results, but the Budworth fleet returned home tired but satisfied with a valiant campaign and memories of a great social and sailing event.

1st 14021 Ian Dobson & Andy Tunnicliffe Burwain & RWYC
4th 14057 Simon Potts & Luke Shaw Chase & Budworth
16th 13900 Bill Kenyon & Ben Ditchburn Budworth
29th 13721 John Waind & Jean Shaw Budworth
38th 13874 Ray & Jackie Bailey Budworth
46th 13760 Craig & Gemma Hewett Budworth

Full results and commentary on each days sailing are available at the GP14 website www.gp14.co.uk

Dear All

The Wednesday and Sunday series results have been updated, its great to see the number qualifiers increase. You only need eight results to qualify and you earn a discard for every race above qualification. With four weeks to go and four races a day , there is still every oportunity to qualify.

The racing was certainly tigtht today with both Rod and Steve, both having more than their fair share of luck and a bit of bad luck in the last race.

For the Wednesday evening sailors dont forget the last night pursuit race followed by a curry buffet at the club. Its ticket only, ticket are available from Bill Kenyon details below:

Wednesday Night End Of Season Event

Wednesday 1st September 2010

1 Hour Pursuit Race - Start 7.00 pm sharp

followed by

Handicap and Laser Prize Giving

followed by

Indian Curry Buffet - start 8.30 pm (in the clubhouse)

Ticket Only Event - £9.00 per person

Contact - Bill Kenyon

Mob - 07831272122

Email - bill kenyon

Cheers

Hugh

An eventful evening with, in the first race, the sun and light F2 giving way to a thunderstorm, torrential rain, and gusty F4. Needless to say, half the fleet retired. For race 2 the sun returned, but not the wind, so a depleted fleet went out for a drift. So far 24 races have been sailed (with 2 lost due to no wind), but with 10 races left over the remaining 5 weeks it’s still easy to sail the 8 races are required to qualify.

Wednesday Night Handicap Series runs through to the end of August and takes place EVERY Wednesday Night: FIRST RACE 7.00pm START

END OF SEASON SOCIAL - WED 1^st Sept

A Wednesday Night Finale is planned for Wed 1^st Sept. This event will include:

• A 1-hour Pursuit race, non-qualifying, but good fun
• The Wed Night Series and LASER prize giving
• A Curry Buffet evening

Please reserve this date now. Ticket sales and prices to be announced soon.

The 24-Hour race takes place over the weekend of Sat 11th and Sun 12th September on the Marine Lake at West Lancs Yacht Club, Southport. I am seeking interest from all Budworth SC members in participating in a ‘B-team’. (The A-team has already been formed and entered).

Each team entering has just one boat (GP14) continuously on the water, swapping crews approx every 2 hours. It can be a demanding event, especially if the wind is above force 3, and given that sailing takes place continuously from 12 noon Sat to 12 noon Sun. ie: throughout the night.

The event is suitable for those with considerable Main Points sailing experience and confidence with symmetric spinnaker sailing. The minimum requirement is for a team of 12 (6 helm/crew pairs). This would represent 2 x 2-hour shifts per pair. If more people wish to participate then the shifts could be shorter, which would be a benefit if the wind was strong for the duration of the event. When not on the water, we have a small marquee to rest and socialise in, and there is plenty of food and drink available continuously from West Lancs Yacht Club. Camping is available a short walk away for those wanting sleep!

We already have 6 people interested in taking part, but need at least another 6-8. The cost is £20 per person, which will cover the entry fee, insurance and small repairs to the boat, with any surplus going to refreshments in our marquee. If you are interested in taking part please email craighewett@tesco.net by FRIDAY 13th AUGUST.

What a good turnout this Wednesday with 9 boats on the water. Quite a challenging breeze (force 3-4), but still some very competative racing and some excelent reaches. If only I could have stayed upright (incompetence on my part, attempting to go the wrong way around F after leading the fleet around the wrong windward mark - there were two dan buoys in my defence). Anyway everyone sailed the same course so the results stand.

Race 2 was good fun aswell, well done Ted. Hopefully an RS wont park on the finish line next time.

On a more serious note, dont forget commodores weekend, on Saturday 18th  I would really like to get at least two teams entered for the Okells cup.

I will be press ganging volunteers for the slipway nearer the time.

Cheers

Hugh

Dear All

Great turn out wednesday night for two short races. Harry disapeared into the distance of the first race, but there was plenty of place changing further down the fleet. Second race ended up with an upwind downwind course, which ended up a very close race with tony and Dave taking first and second.

Please see updated results, please note you must sign on for the correct race otherwise I will have to discard your result for the race - you have been warned.

This weekend is the commodores weekend and it would be great to see you out; racing starts at 13:00 on the saturday and I would like to enter as many teams as we can (3 boats to make up each team). There is racing planned for Sunday afternoon also.

Work on the slip will start Tuesday 29th June and will render the slip out of action for at least three weeks.

Cheers

Hugh

EVENT INFO

Last year, Budworth Sailing Club enjoyed one of the best attended GP14 inland meetings in the UK. Hopefully with your support we will have another well attended meeting this year, and we can celebrate 60 years of GP14 sailing with a special prize for the oldest GP14 competing.

Three races will be sailed during the day. Assuming all three races are completed, one discard will be allowed in determining the final results. As in previous years Gold, Silver and Bronze fleet prizes will be awarded in order to stimulate competition throughout the fleet.

APRÈS SAIL
A Buffet Curry at the Bengal Dynasty is planned for the early evening after the event. Just £8.95 per head excluding drinks. Pay on the night. All welcome.

Budworth SC hosted the sixth round of the GP14 Northern Bell Championship with its Open Meeting on Sunday 6th June. The well attended meeting of 22 boats included 14 visitors with many travelling from the Midlands and across the North West to enjoy the quality racing and stable water of Budworth Mere. 

After a brief delay waiting for the wind to fill, Race 1 got underway. Simon Potts (Shustoke SC) led from the start, but the light shifty conditions suited Budworth Septuagenarian John Booth who closely followed Potts across the line. Whilst the fleet enjoyed an excellent light lunch, the wind increased and an excellent NW F3-4 set in for the afternoon.

In Race 2 Gary Dewhurst & Thomas Bennett (Burwain SC) chased the leaders hard with Simon Potts with crew Luke Shaw (Budworth SC) eventually crossing the line first. Late arrivals Mike Senior with crew Liz Pugh (both South Staffs SC) used Race 2 as the warm up and showed their form in the final race duelling with Potts and Shaw throughout to emerge as race victors.  

With two bullets, Potts and Shaw were overall winners. In the home fleet, Bill Kenyon was fifth overall but as a result Bill now leads in the 2010 GP14 Northern Bell Championship, which is generously sponsored by Omega Sails. Competition was also very close in the other fleets, with clean, close racing by all competitors. 

As ever, the quality racing and close competition was aided by the skill of PRO Graham Tinsley and his team who ensured good beats, clean starts and no protests in all 3 races. 

Results:  

Overall:

1^st Simon Potts & Luke Shaw (Shustoke SC & Budworth SC)

2^nd Mike Senior & Liz Pugh (S. Staffs SC)

3^rd Peter Jacques & Adam Froggat (Chase SC) 

Silver Fleet:

1^st John Booth & Gill Kenyon (Budworth SC)

2^nd Fred Ardern & Andy White (Budworth SC)

3^rd Greg Thomas & Emily Cole-Evans (Southport SC & S. Staffs SC) 

Bronze Fleet:

1^st Alan Roberts & Alex Pilkington (Royal Navy SC)

2^nd Dave Burrows & Kate Billinge (Winsford Flash SC)

3^rd Alex Donnachie & Lesley Bayliss (Budworth SC)