Bolton Sailing Club

The West Zone sailors had a fantastic day of racing today to round up their series. A steady 5-8 knots of breeze meant that conditions were great for fitting in the four scheduled races for the day.

Racing was highly competitive across all fleets with lots of place changing to keep it exciting.

Well fought championship trophies went to the following sailors:

4.5 Techno: First Sarah Labourne with Harry Davis in second and Jordan Howram in third.

5.5 Open: First John Davis with Cameron Coghill in second and Scott Collins in third.

6.8 Techno: First Oliver Bradley-Baker with Robert York in second and Max Bushell in third.

7.8 Techno: First Adam Purcell with Kieran Burley in second and Luke Patrick in third

Optimist: In first place Martin Wrigley with Haydn Griffiths in second and Boby Hewitt in third.

Topper: In first Matt Venables with brother Dan Venables in second and Curtis Mearns in third.

Feva: In first, Robert and Emma Loveridge, with Robert and Rebecca Morris in second and George and Ed Shelley in third.

WELL DONE CURTIS!

Big thanks to all who came to Southport over the weekend, whether sailing or supporting! Especially huge thanks to the Courtneys for the ‘B’ team boat and Pete Burton for the ‘C’ ‘A’ team boat.

Well done also to those who had never sailed in the 24 hour race before! Maybe we should introduce initiation ceremonies like they have when you sail across the equator for the first time.

Bolton ‘B’ came 36th and Bolton ‘A’ came 60th. Well done to South Staffs for coming 1st and 2nd (and Mike Senior, ex-Boltonian and their captain).

There were no prizes for oldest pairing but I think the Bolton ‘A’ team would have won that when Dennis Shevelan and Geoff Benson donned buoyancy aids for an hour on Saturday night. We think the combined age was around 143 years!

Photos: here, here and here

This weekend is the Annual West Lancashire Yacht Club 24 Hour Race.

It starts at noon on Saturday and finishes noon on Sunday and takes place on the marine lake in Southport.

If you don’t know what it’s all about, WLYC website says…

“The 24 Hour Race is the premiere opportunity for Sailing Club teams to compete for serious trophies (and status), whilst also enjoying the unique hospitality provided by one of the best social events in the dinghy racing calendar (The social event lasts for 48 hours – Friday, through to Sunday).”

Thanks to the Courtneys for lending their boat to the ‘B’ team and Pete Burton for the ‘C’ team speed machine.

Who can sail?

This year we haven’t got our usual crack ‘A’ team to challenge for the win, I believe they’re taking a well deserved break. That doesn’t mean we don’t mean business! I believe the ‘B’ team is all sorted for sailors as Warren has hassled and hounded the top club sailors who will be available over the weekend.

The ‘C’ team is more of a ‘anyone who wants to sail can sail’ team. There are some conditions though…you must be competent at sailing a GP14, either helm or crew and as a crew must be able to fly a spinnaker.

Friday night?

Yep, the event starts on Friday with a party in the beer tent. I’ll be there and I believe Andy Bury has already reserved his spot at the bar so come over Friday to start the event early!

Support

Even if you’re not sailing, the marine lake is a great place to come and watch some close racing and it’s always good to see familiar faces (with cakes). There’s also plenty of shopping opportunities in Southport if your other half ain’t interested in sailing.

Getting there

Here’s a link to Google Maps. It’s on the marine lake near the pier.

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UPDATE

There’s now a menu item at the top of this site titled “24 Hour Race 2009” where you’ll be able to see photos taken live at the event and uploaded to the website!

Two sailors who started sailing at Bolton finished inside the top 10 at the 2009 Fireball World Championships in La Rochelle held 15th to 20th August.

Chips Howarth who now sails at Emsworth won (for the third time), with Mike Senior, now at South Staff finishing in seventh.

Both started out in cadets at Bolton, and moved away due to university and work. It’s a great testimony to the training that Bolton has provided for many years, supported by a strong racing fleet. It just goes to show that getting out there and competing is the best way to progress your skills.

Well done chaps!

Full results are here, with pictures here and here

Richard Craig
Commodore