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UK Contender Sailing Today is brought to you by

Issue 2

UK Contender Sailing Breaking News...

• First meeting of the season at Datchet on the 15th & 16th March!

• Magic Marine & craftinsure.com sponsor the 2008 Nationals!

• Boat-Bits,  North Sails, and HDS sponsor the 2008 travellers series!

Welcome to the second edition of UK Contender Sailing Today...

Welcome to the 2nd edition of UK Contender Sailing Today.

Thanks to the contributors of this issue and to fotoboat.com for allowing us to use many of the images for this eNewsletter.

Since the last eNewsletter we have a new UK Inland Champion in the shape of Matt Aston and 2007 Travellers Trophy winner Gary Langdown. Both winners have contributed to this issue.

Click the bookmarks below to go directly to the article you want to browse.

The Dinghy Sailing Show 2008
2008 Travellers Trophy
Fixtures for 2008
Training weekends
National Championship information
Europeans in Tuscany
Worlds in Canada
Gosling update
North Sails
Chris Somner Dinghy Services
Matt Aston tells us how he became Inland Champ 2007!
Datchet
The yellow flag rule from guest writer Gary Langdown!
News from Wavelength
 

The Dinghy Sailing Show 2008 cover competition which was run by Yachts and Yachting  was won by Kevin Lucas of Aussies in Action.

Kevin's shot of a Contender sailed by Danish sailor Soren Andreasen was a clear winner from the 10 short listed entries put forward to a readers' poll.

The winning shot was used on the cover for the guide for the 2008 RYA Dinghy Sailing Show.

Thanks to Y&Y for allowing us to use the image above!

Enjoy the read!

Duncan Ellis
GBR718
duncan.ellis@progressivetechnology.co.uk

The Dinghy Sailing Show 2008

The dinghy show too place last weekend(1st-2nd March) at Alexandra Palace in London.

This year the association had 2 boats on display. The first being Gary Langdowns Chris Somner boat and the second being Simon Mussells brand new Bonezzi.

Thanks to all those who helped man the stand over the weekend!

© www.progressivetechnology.co.uk

The 2008 travellers trophy programme and dates have been confirmed by Mr Ross with 13 rounds starting on the 15th March 2008 @ Datchet Water SC and finishing on the 26th October 2008 @ Rutland SC. This year’s main sponsor for this years programme is Boat-Bits of Huddersfield, as well as North Sails, HDS and other companies.
 

The scoring and prize system has been revised for the 2008 season


13 rounds of events with best 6 results to count for series –in the result of points tied, a count back system on positions will apply No 1st & 2nds Etc

TT event points - 1st Place = 50 points, 2nd Place = 45 points, 3rd Place = 44 points etc

Inland, Northern & Southern Championships - 1st Place = 60 points, 2nd Place = 55 points, 3rd Place = 54 points

© www.fotoboat.com

Sailors to be split in to Gold, Silver & Bronze on final standings of 2007 TT results and to the agreement of BCA committee

Traveller Trophy to be awarded to overall winner

1st to 5th place to be entered into prize draw for major prize

6th to 10th place to be entered into prize draw for minor prize

Silver fleet 1st, 2nd & 3rd place prizes

Bronze fleet 1st, 2nd & 3rd place prizes

See below for the split of sailors in the Bronze, Silver and Gold fleets for 2008. Please note that the BCA committee have the power to move a sailor to a different group if they feel a sailor has been grouped incorrectly.
 

British Contender Association Fixtures 2008

TT R 1 15th & 16th March — Datchet SC
TT R 2 5th & 6th April — Oxford SC
TT R 3 26th & 27th April — Carsington SC
TT R 4 17th & 18th May — Castle Cove SC
TT R 5 21st & 22nd June — Brightlingsea SC
TT R 6 28th & 29th June — Sandwich Bay SC
TT R 7 12th & 13th July — Hayling Island SC
TT R 8 & Southern Championship 2nd &3rd Aug — Porthpean SC
TT R 9 & Northern Championship 6th & 7th Sept — Burton SC
TT R 10 20th & 21st Sept — Gurnard SC
TT R 11 4th & 5th Sept — Halifax SC
TT R 12 18th & 19th Oct — Weston SC
TT R 13 & Inland Championship 25th & 26th Oct— Rutland SC

National Championship 10th to 13th May — Pwllheli SC
European Championship 31st to 7th June — Tuscany, ITA
World Championship 16th to 24th Aug — Kingston, Canada
National Training Event 19th & 20th April — Porthpean SC,Weston SC & Burton SC

Click here to view and print a PDF of the 2008 Fixture List for 2008.

AND DON'T FORGET....

If you come 4th at an event overall or 4th British boat at an overseas event don't forget your prize of writing the report for the various publications!

FREE TO ALL BCA MEMBERS

After an absence last year the Contender training event is back, but with a different format.

This year we are holding 3 separate 2 day events across the country on the same weekend of 19/20 April 2008.

These events are being run by Contender Sailors for Contender Sailors and all Current BCA Members are welcome. The format will include both off the water sessions where boat handing and set up will be discussed and on the water sessions where you can practice what you have just been told!

If you have never attended a training event before don’t be put off. The sessions will be very informal with sailors of all ages and abilities in attendance. Also, the benefits of spending a couple of days concentrating just on your boat handling and race craft skills cannot be overstressed. What have you got to lose!

The venues are as follows:

Weston: Run by Keith Paul
Burton: Run by Ben & Tim Holden
Porthpean: Run by Stacy Bray (with Special Guest Graham Scott on the Saturday)

Start Time on the Saturday will be 12.00 but this will be confirmed nearer the time.

Don’t miss this great opportunity to improve your results and book now to avoid disappointment.

Send you name and boat number to Nick Grace on nick.grace@virgin.net  or call him on 07768 933706

STOP PRESS – Don’t forget the “Tune Up Session” before racing at the Datchet TT event (15/16 March). This is a chance to pick the brains of some of the UK’s top Contender Sailors. Just turn up in the Morning, rig your boat then seek out anyone who is holding a tape measure and rig gauge and ask away!

The 2008 UK International Contender National Championships takes place between the 10th-13th May 2008.

10 races are planned over the 4 days with a Barbecue on the Sunday evening and the Championship dinner on the Monday night.

Magic Marine and craftinsure.com have both kindly offered to sponsor the event

To view the notice of race pdf document click here. To view and print the PDF entry form click here.
 

The impressive new marina is now one of the best in Wales, with 24 hour access and all the services boaters need. The marina berths over 400 boats and there is space for visitors to moor up overnight. The marina has brought many more boaters to Pwllheli and helped other aspects of tourism in the area.

Pwllheli has two beaches. South Beach, which is mainly shingle, has been awarded the Blue Flag Award for clean sands and waters. South Beach stretches from Gimblet Rock, across the promenade, and around towards Llanbedrog.

Glan-y-mor is the other beach at Pwllheli and is located at the rear of the marina workshops and compounds. This beach, near the harbour mouth is quite muddy at low tide, however, a little further along the beach, the sand is much better. The beach runs for 3 miles towards Pen-y-chain headland, which is the site of the Haven Holiday Camp.

Abersoch, 7 miles away is one of Wales’ top sailing venues. About 7 miles in the opposite direction brings you to Llanystumdwy, just outside Criccieth, the childhood home and burial place of Lloyd George. Porthmadog is 14 miles to the east of Pwllheli and is truly the gateway to Llyn, and has a picturesque harbour and lots of shops.

The Llyn Peninsula is very different to the rest of Wales, the weather is often different (usually better!) and so is the landscape. Much of Llyn is rolling countryside, rising up to the occasional volcanic peak – needless to say that these are all now extinct. The highest of which is Yr Eifl, on the north coast of Llyn. There are also other hills on Llyn, all worth a climb, like Carn Fadryn, Mynydd Rhiw and Garn Boduan, to name a few. All the hills give excellent views over Llyn and on a clear day, Snowdonia, all of Cardigan Bay and Anglesey up to Holyhead Mountain.

You are always sure of a warm welcome in Pwllheli and we hope to be welcoming you soon!
Reproduced with thanks to Martyn Croydon visit http://www.llyn.info/ 

This months Dinghy sailing magazine (April 2008 edition) has a 3 page article written by Mark Rushall offering some race-winning pointers at Pwllheli

2008 European Championships - 31st May - 7th June 2008

Check out the new 2008 European Championship website which can be found at www.contender.it/euro2008 .

You will find the latest entry list, notice of race, regatta schedule, and various other useful links including webcams.


Don't forget to get your entry in by the 31st march before the price is increased for late entries.

To enter just send your name and sail number to marialuisa.cionini@campingpuntala.it or by fax at 00390564920379.

The entry fee can be paid at the sailing club when you’ll arrive in Punta Ala from May 31st to June 2nd following the schedule of the Sailing Club Secretariat.

Go and check out the 2008 Worlds website at http://contenderworlds2008.blogspot.com/ to find out all you need to know about this years worlds in Canada in August.

We are in the process of finalising the details for sending a UK container to the worlds in Canada this summer. This promises to be a great event and from what I can make out, Canada is a fantastic place to visit as well. The Canadians sure get 10/10 for effort so far and I know they will make all visitors very welcome.
If you are keen to go (or just interested and want a bit more info) please make yourself known to either Tony White ( anton_blanc@hotmail.com ) or myself nick.grace@virgin.net) ASAP.

Cheers
Nick Grace
BCA Chairman
GBR 700

Gosling Dinghy Craft Limited are NEW licensed builders in the UK, with over 32 years of boatbuilding experience. Kevin Gosling (proprietor and principal builder) has built for numerous classes including OK, Fireball, Merlin Rocket, Scorpion and Solo, with the most recent being the Contender.

With the NEW Contender, the composite construction has been proven to be very strong with the more conventional sapele looking deck, thus maintaining the Contender Classic look. To achieve this Kevin has worked along side one of the best Dinghy Designers in the country, Phil Morrison to produce a quality product. For further details contact:

Kevin Gosling at
Gosling Dinghy Craft Ltd.
01395 597603
email: gdcltd@tiscali.co.uk

@Kevin Gosling

@Kevin Gosling

North Sails is looking forward to 2008, another year of ongoing involvement in the Contender Class. The North CM-3 model is going strong, and for 2008 we will be moving onto a new cloth style.

Following two seasons of hard use in the proving grounds of classes like the Finn and 505’s, from 2008 we will be using a laminate cloth with Technora fibres to carry the loads.

The fibres are black in appearance, rather than the golden yellow of the Kevlar fibres used previously. They have plenty in common though, with good longevity and a high modulus to retain the designed racing shape as long as possible. Our experience suggests the cloth is slightly more supple to the touch, the films stay visually clearer for longer and the fibres are fractionally less prone to UV degradation than the Kevlar fibres.

With this change in fabric we have taken the opportunity to update the panel layout of the sail.

The cut now has vertical radial panels in the tack area, specifically to manage the cunningham loads even more effectively. The clew patch layout is also modified, and a panel along the foot (which sees relatively low loads) is cut partially from sailcloth with less fibre passes, for increased visibility on the race course.

The World Championships are being held in Canada this year, and North Sails’ Ethan Bixby will be in attendance. In his new boat he’s looking forward to a great regatta.


Wishing you all the best for your racing in 2008.

 

Kind regards Joel McDonald

© www.progressivetechnology.co.uk

News from Chris Somner Dinghy Services...

Chris has been busy over the winter building various boats including a couple of Contenders for home completion.

Hull Shell for composite completion at home are available from £1,800 inc vat

GRP Hull and deck including ISAF plaque, sail number allocation, mast step and chain plates measured and ready for home completion start at £4,150 inc vat.

If you are looking for a new Contender for the 2008 season give Chris a call to discuss your requirements on 01202 736704 or visit his website at www.cserve.co.uk

© cserve.co.uk

The Inlands in 1997 was my first ever Contender event. I think it was safe to say I drank more of Rutland’s water than I did their beer that year. Thankfully, the endless swimming, physical and mental battery induced from sailing a contender does subside eventually, allowing you to enjoy sailing the boat to its full potential – some would say my mental scares and x-rated language will never be cured!

Others would say ‘its about time you won as you’ve had enough pond sailing practice!’

I was asked to write a piece on ‘How I won the Inlands’ – other than trying to get the opposition more drunk than me the night before, I’m not sure what I can say.

The truth of it all is that the Contender fleet in Britain has a strong and experienced core, with the likes of Stuart, Graham, Neil and Tim, all of whom are as difficult to beat today as they ever were. It means that there is a bench mark for others to aspire to and best way to get there is to race against them. You would be surprised how much you can learn from watching their boat handling and observing their tactics whilst competing with them.

The great thing about the Contender is it’s a boat that wants to be driven hard, pushing it to the limit is almost impossible, but in trying to do so your own confidence and abilities increase dramatically.

Sailing in fairly extreme conditions is what a Contender thrives on – when most other classes are worried about ripping sails and snapping masts, the Contender class just gets on with it.

Rutland last year was a bit like that – the first day was medium to light conditions and on the second day it honked with really only the Contender fleet fancying it.

I not sure how much my ‘drinking only wine’ assisted my win but the cheeky little red certainly went down well with the curry!

© www.fotoboat.com

Starting is so important in the Contender; you must get clear air off the start line. If you’re buried on the line, tack off as soon as possible. Flat water sailing in strong winds is great; rake the mast back, loads of kicker, board up slightly, flatten the main and stand behind the tower. Off wind you need to keep it upright, percentage sailing! – don’t try 2 footing it if it becomes really gusty, you’re better off dumping the main a bit. Dump some kicker before the top mark. Try to minimise rudder movement, particularly on the run as you’ll get into a nasty rolling cycle, which will end in a swim. Sudden body movements will also seal your fate. Be aggressive with the boat – you must maintain a focus of being in control. If you start to doubt yourself it will be game over.

If you do go for a swim, let the kicker off before doing anything else, and go for the ‘Eskimo role’ for a speedy recovery and minimal energy use.
At the end of the day its mainly time in the boat that will see you succeed, and as I’ve said don’t be afraid to push yourself and the boat, as it’s the only way to master the best single hander in the world.

Matt Aston

As last year we intend to have an informal tuning session beforehand from 10:00 onwards on Saturday, therefore turn up early and have your boat given the once over by resident Champions Stuart Jones & Matt Aston amongst others who will be only too pleased to help you set your boat up and provide tips on how to sail the boat fast.

Event details:

Venue: Datchet Water SC, Queen Mother Reservoir, Horton
Rd, Horton, Berkshire. SL3 9NT
Date: 15/16 March 2008
Racing Format: 3 races back to back each day
Saturday start: 1400
Sunday start: 1030
Entry fee: £20

 

Club website: www.dwsc.co.uk
Accommodation: see club website or www.uktouristinfo.co.uk  plus Stuart
and Matt can provide limited accommodation but please contact them
beforehand as it will be on a first come first served basis
Stuart Jones: stoojones@fsmail.net
Matt Aston: matt.aston@costain.com
Club Contact: Secretary
Tel: 01753683872
Email: sailing@dwsc.co.uk
Directions: M25 junction 15 (M4), then M4 junction 5 (Datchet/Slough), at roundabout under M4 head for Horton/A4 London, at weird roundabout past BP garage on left and Holiday Inn on right take exit for Horton (you can see reservoir to your right through houses), follow this road past another BP garage on a sharp right hand bend and the road leads you round to the Reservoir entrance on your right (approx. 500m from the BP garage)

See you there

Paul Ross GBR 716

Yellow Flag Rule

Why has a member of the UK fleet not won a worlds since Stuart Jones in 1998? We have one of the largest fleets and probably spend more on our boats than any other nationality. The obvious answers are we aren’t good enough, to old, not dedicated enough etc etc. These no doubt are valid but having been to a number of championships over the years the one area the Brits can’t compete is off wind, we are all just too slow. In various wind conditions a Brit will pop out at the front at the top mark but by the end of the two reaches he will either have been passed or be under considerable pressure.

The Australians and Europeans are a lot quicker particularly if the reaches are trapezing, then the difference is even greater.

Why is this?

Well there is no doubt that they are generally younger and fitter but I do not believe this is the main reason. For a number of years now at championships the yellow flag rule has been in place. In essence when this flag is flown pumping rocking and ouching is allowed, the flag is generally flown when the wind is in excess of 12 knots, and there is no doubt once this flag is up the better foreign sailors disappear. They have obviously practiced this considerably and for their own national regattas fly the flag regularly to aid this process.

© www.fotoboat.com

We in the UK until the vote at this years AGM have adopted the moral high ground, suggesting that its not proper sailing and why would we want to do that. We have sailed our opens pretending that we aren’t breaking rule 42 when in fact 90% of the fleet patently are. We now find ourselves in the situation where we can’t pump effectively and worse when the flag is down we don’t know how to make the boat go because we have all developed the “semi legal” techniques which can’t be used with a jury present.

At this years AGM there was a vote to allow the pumping rule at all sea opens and championships. A major step forward in my opinion. However I sailed in most the opens after that and the flag was not used. I would urge anyone involved in organising an open event to lobby the club to have the rule in the SI’s and explain to the OOD how and why to use it. I firmly believe that over time this will benefit the fleet at international events. I also believe that in situations when the wind is below 12 knots rule 42 observance should be encouraged.

I should say that the above views are not the editors but please direct any letters of abuse to him because he asked me to write something.

See you on the water

Gary Langdown

Things are now getting very busy in the sail loft due to the main championships being particularly early this year. The Italians are obviously preparing well in advance for their hosting of the Europeans in June going by the number of new sails we are sending out there. With the Worlds in Canada it looks like most Contender sailors will focus on Italy as the main event so a large entry is anticipated. At least the British Nationals in Pwllheli are in May so we will get some practice beforehand .

Over the winter Wavelength sails had some success at the Australian Nationals with three out of the top five using our standard dacron version. Best of these was World title holder Marcus Hamilton finishing second just behind Tim Hill.

All the sails made since December 2007 now have the slightly wider head and larger headboard as allowed by the latest rule change.
 

© www.fotoboat.com

At this time of year there tends to be a flurry of orders for slot gasket strips and queries about fitting them so it may be worth outlining here the basic method.( applies only to folded sailcloth gaskets held by keelband and screws)

1) Check and repair any defects on trailing edge of centreboard. These could snag the new gasket .

2) Turn boat upside down or on side.

3) First check that your new gaskets will give an overlap of 10 – 12mm when fitted. We supply them at 37.5mm which gives an overlap of about 11mm in a recess of 65mm.

4) Remove screws and keel bands including short band at the front. Remove and discard old gaskets and clean any sealant from holes.

5) Apply silicone sealant into all holes and remove any surplus.

6) Place one new gasket with non-loop end to front and place keelband on top.

7) Using a small spike or bradawl, pierce a guide hole through the sailcloth into the first screw hole. Insert and tighten this first screw taking care to keep the gasket and keelband in line with the case recess.

8) Now attach a line to the loop in the rear end of the gasket and stretch it by about 10mm and tie off to a transom fitting to maintain tension .

9) Working from the front to the back fit the rest of the screws while the gasket is still under tension.

10) Release the tension line and cut square across the gasket at the rear of the keelband.

11) Repeat for other side.

12) Fit small front piece of band across front overlap of gaskets.

13) If possible apply silicone spray or polish to inside of gasket lips to reduce chances of centreboard snagging.

14) Carefully lower and raise centreboard to check that gaskets do not snag or invert.

See you on the water,

Graham Scott

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