© www.fotoboat.com

UK Contender Sailing Today is brought to you by

Issue 3

UK Contender Sailing Breaking News...

• Round 10 of the travellers trophy this weekend at Gurnard!

• Just over a month until the Inland Championships at Rutland - Put it in your diary now!

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

Welcome to the 3rd edition of UK Contender Sailing Today.

Thanks to the contributors of this issue and to the various photographers for allowing us to use their images for this eNewsletter.

Its been a busy year with the Nationals, Europeans and World Championships having already taken place. On top of this the UK circuit has already visited 9 venues and its only September!

We still have regattas at Gurnard, Halifax, Weston and Rutland so if they are not in your diary yet put them in now!

Contents for this issue...

Chairman's chat
2008 Nationals
21 Brits head for Italy
Untold Stories
Worlds report
Travellers Trophy 2008
Remaining fixtures 2008
Results from the big events
News from Chris Somner
Wavelength Update
Steve Cockerill gives a chemistry lesson!

Enjoy!

Cheers

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

Pictures opposite: Action from the Europeans

©Dianthe Chirino

©Dianthe Chirino


©Dianthe Chirino

Chairman's chat...

As I write this I look out the window at yet another overcast and drizzly day – what a crap summer it’s been. Still, we at the BCA are doing our best to keep your spirits up with another information packed instalment of our e newsletter – hope you enjoy.

Thanks to our Events Coordinator Paul Ross we are working our way through another great year of open events. The next one up is at Gurnard on the IOW which is well worth a visit. The guys on the IOW have worked hard to make this an attractive event and, as in previous years, have struck a good deal with the ferry companies. More details on our web site www.sailcontender.org.uk

Congratulation to Vanessa Weedon-Jones, Roger White and Alan Mollett for flying the GBR flag at this years World Championships in Canada. From the pictures it looked like a lovely pace to sail – maybe I’ll get there next time!

Already the planning for next years season is well advanced and first up is the Dinghy Exhibition at Alexandra Palace. For many years Contender stalwart Bernard Shapley has stored the stand materials, delivered them to the exhibition, helped set up and break down the stand and then taken the gear away again. This year will however be his last so we desperately need someone to take over his role. If you think you may be able to help here please get in touch. This is an ideal way of doing your bit for the BCA in a once a year hit – you wouldn’t be responsible for arranging or manning the stand (unless you want to take that on as well!) - just looking after the hardware. With none of the current committee local to London we will have a real problem if no-one comes forward SO PLEASE HELP.

Next years Nationals are at Highcliffe, home of current National Champion Gary Langdown (no pressure then Gaz!). Taking heed of comments from the BCA membership this event will be held in September, much later in the season than has become the norm. Highcliffe is a fantastic venue; the sailing can be awesome in a breeze and with a play area and nice sandy beach right next to the club, it is ideal for a family break. As soon as the date is confirmed get it in your diary.

© Paul Walker

I will be standing down as BCA Chairman at the 2009 Nationals AGM and my replacement has yet to be identified (for want of a better word !). If you fancy a go at the job please give me a call (in confidence and with no obligation) and we can talk through what’s involved. You have a great team working on the BCA committee who all look after their areas without fuss, so really I have nothing to do…………….!

As many of you will be aware, the 2011 Worlds will be held at the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy, venue for the 2012 Olympic sailing events. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to get on the back of what should be A1 facilities and race management, but to make the most of this we really need to start organising things now. I am looking at putting a small team together to run with this so if you are interested in getting involved please let me know.

That’s about it for now. Enjoy the rest of the season

See you on the water

Nick
BCA Chairman
GBR 700

07768 933706
Nick.grace@virgin.net

2008 Nationals...

Around forty optimistic Contender sailors gathered on the picturesque Lleyn Peninsular for their National Championships hosted by Pwllheli Sailing Club.

The slightly smaller than usual entry was probably partly due to the forecast of very light winds for the weekend. For once the weather gurus were on the ball and the hottest start to May since records began was to become the dominant feature of the regatta.

With absolutely no wind available to the competitors or Race Officer for the first three days spirits were definitely starting to flag.

The last day however finally produced some easterly breeze and the scheduled two morning races were extended to three shortened courses to constitute a National Championship.

Lord Sebastian Coe on a pre-Olympic trip to PSC was on hand to watch the fleet launch, shaking hands with some and marvelling at the young athletic Contender sailors in action.

©progressivetechnology.co.uk

With no discard, consistency was the key and going into the final race, Bray held a slender one point lead over Holden who in turn was one point ahead of Langdown. However the lack of discard also meant that Scott, Mussell and Duncan Ellis still had an outside chance of overall victory.

Another clean start with just two called OCS, Frary collecting his second of the day, saw Bray at the pin with Langdown nearer the middle. A slight Starboard lift put Langdown into a controlling position and he led at the first mark from Jones, Peter Dives , Mussell and Scott. Bray and Holden were back down the fleet a little and unable to put any pressure on Langdown. The reaches allowed very little place changing but the second beat favoured the right hand side allowing Dives and Scott to move up closer behind Langdown. However he held on easily to the downwind finish to take the race win and with it his first Contender Nationals.

Thanks need to go to Pwllheli Sailing Club and to our sponsors Craftinsure and Magic Marine for the great prizes.

The 2008 International Contender European Championships took place at Punta Alta, Tuscany in Italy from the 31st May through to the 7th June.

The regatta was held at the PuntAla Camping Resort who catered for the 92 competitors from all over the world including Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.
With measurement over, the practise race was held on the Monday to acclimatize the sailors and the race team to the championship ahead.

Because of the size of the fleet, the competitors were split into 4 groups who all sailed against each other in the initial qualifying rounds of the regatta.

Monday and Tuesday saw perfect sailing conditions but as the week progressed the wind eased making it harder for both the competitors and the race officer!

In the early qualifying races Simon Mussell was going well in the breeze, along with Andrea Bonezzi, Marcus Hamilton, Christoph Homeier, Ben Holden and Soren Andreasen.

The breeze then dropped for the remaining qualifying races and saw some different sailors move to the front. Sailors of note included Matt Aston, Peter Dives, Keith Paul, Gernot Goetz, Jan Kuhlman, Giovanni Bonzio and Luca Polenta.

At the end of this series a Gold and Silver fleet were generated with Andrea Bonezzi leading the regatta with the final 2 days racing left to crown the 2008 European Champion!

The final series racing kicked off on Thursday in light conditions with eventually only one race being sailed. This was won by Martin Muerner followed by Marcus Hamilton with Stuart Jones in third.

The final days sailing saw Gernot Goetz win what turned out to be the final race of the series, followed by Versari with Bonzio in third being enough for Bonzio to lift the title.

With only 3 points separating the top 3 overall, it proves just how close this championship was. In the end Giovanni Bonzio from Italy was crowned 2008 International Contender European Champion with current World Champion Marcus Hamilton finishing in Silver and ex World Champion Andrea Bonezzi in bronze.

Gear wise, Bonezzi hulls took up the majority of the top 10 places with a couple of Bob Hoare fibreglass Hulls (now built by Chris Somner) in the mix. Various masts were used within the fleet with Avant Garde appearing the most popular at the top. Wavelength sails took 70% of the top ten places with Elvstrom/Sobstad as the next most popular.

The International Contender Association would like to thank PuntAla Camping Resort for running the event so smoothly, Opel auto-motive (F.lli Vivarelli - Grosseto official dealer) and Latte Maremma for sponsoring the championship.

We would also like to thank the Comitato Circoli Velici Costa Etrusca, who gathered all the sailing clubs belonging to the Etruscan Coast and finally the Comune di Castiglione della Pescaia who are the local municipality for supporting the regatta.

The International Contender fleet now heads onto the 2008 World Championships in Canada in August.

The International Contender circuit will take sailors to Denmark in 2009 for the World Championships followed by Brisbane Australia in 2010 and Weymouth in the UK in 2011 at the 2012 Olympic venue. The next European Championships will be held in La Rochelle, France in 2010.

There has never been a better time to jump into a Contender!

The boat park - ©progressivetechnology.co.uk

A fine Pose! - ©progressivetechnology.co.uk

The race area - ©progressivetechnology.co.uk

Prize giving - ©progressivetechnology.co.uk

Untold stories...

When you have 21 British Contender sailors away from home there are bound to be amusing stories untold...

For example the sailor who forgot his wife was at the airport trying to get to the resort while he was out having a pleasant sail...

Then their was a particular British sailor who required mobile technology to gain directions to his penthouse suite on his return from the local hostelry without realising he was less than 2 metres from his door.

We then heard a story of a slight misunderstanding over the price of steak!

Two finely tuned athletes - ©progressivetechnology.co.uk

It was then learnt that a group of highly tuned and educated athletes, who when approaching a toll on their way to the regatta managed to go through without a ticket. After exiting the toll a few miles later and discussing how reasonable the toll charge was, one of the athletes who could read noticed the paperwork returned from the cashier at the exit barrier included a rather large fine to be paid on the return journey!

And finally the sailor who on arrival, late at night went to let himself in to his accommodation, only to realise that although he had the right numbered caravan he was on the wrong campsite!

Is their a link between this sailor and any of the stories? ©Dianthe Chirino

The Kingston Worlds – a Brit’s Eye View by Vanessa Weedon

The rule change that might allow masts to come in sections for ease of transport came a bit too late for the two alloy masts bound for Kingston as part of the British bid to boost the North American contender population. While Mol happily hacked away at his carbon spar, shortening it by more than enough for it to fit into the angle our mistaken mathematics had allowed for all the masts, and the Simon Mussell contribution to the export was reshaped to allow it to enjoy the journey (under some stress), the two Wavelength alloys were never going to fit and had to make their own way to the Worlds.

It must have been some kind of omen that things would not be as they had been portrayed. “It’ll all fit, no worries” someone, somewhere had said. Wrong. “Come to Kingston, enjoy the thermal – 25 knots of breeze”, someone else said, albeit in a slightly different accent. Also wrong.

I must have been the only woman in England on a ‘get fat for summer diet’, (and the photos show it worked) anticipating with some nervousness the famous Kingston breeze and big waves, and to start with, that was what we had. Rodger White, in ye olde GBR 473 was the only Brit with the grit to endure the Canadian Nationals. The wind grew in strength all day on Saturday, boats came ashore with various breakages and there were the usual stories of waves bigger than houses – was this a taste of things to come? Much to my amazement 473 held together, as did Rodger, finishing 19th overall.

The wind kept up on the Sunday, building itself up into a frenzy for Monday, measurement day, and we were all grateful not to be able to go out as waves broke over the wall of the famous Olympic harbour and the sails of many of the youth regatta competitors came back in tatters. Instead we were able to relax into boat bumbling, dismantling and rebuilding as Ron kept a wise eye on all proceedings in the measurement hall.

It’s probably a measure of the development of sailing as an Olympic sport that whilst Portsmouth Harbour in Kingston was able to host the 1976 Olympic regatta, there’s no way it would be able to do so now. I wasn’t the only one struck by the smallness of the harbour itself, the changing facilities were non existent (were there any women sailing in the ‘76 Games?) and while the sail room was more than adequate for the measurement of our fleet of 34 contenders, had there been more boats it would have been jam packed.

For the Contender Worlds, however, it was a great venue – once the Youth Regatta competitors had gone; sharing just one narrow slipway with over 100 laser sailors was no joke, and many of the guys resorted to mooring up to the jetties and waiting it out.

Rodger White heading out for action - © Nikky Evans

The boat park - © Nikky Evans

Tuesday saw the start of the Worlds proper. It was cold, shifty with hateful marginal trapezing conditions interspersed with a few welcome opportunities to flat wire. Mol and Rodger tussled it out in the early twenties, with Mol finishing just slightly ahead after two races. I had spent the day practising falling around the boat and making the usual hash of my boat handling. Things got a little better when I remembered that I could use my legs and hips to raise myself to the trapeze hook rather than feeling it should lower itself to meet me….

On Wednesday there was little wind from the start. We lolled around the dinghy park looking gloomily at the postponement flag and then the race committee decided to lure us out to the course area with the promise of the tow. Once we got outside the harbour the offer of a tow turned out to be a bluff…. Did I mention that it was an hour and a quarter sail out to Foxtrot course….and the same back again….? By this time the temperature had returned to a more typical 30 degrees – as shown by the lovely zebra stripes on Rodger’s legs shaped by the intermittent exposure of his flesh to the sun, broken by his very fetching kneepads… Clearly the light winds suited him as he scored a 9th, pulling him clear of Mol who scored a 15th. I was nearly last, a position I am well used to. Only one race today – the mythical thermal failed to show up and we drifted home.

Thursday was no better, though clearly the light stuff suited Rodger who scored an outstanding 6th then marred by a 22nd - a result of being over the line at the gun. Mol was Mr Consistency with a 14th and 15th and I continued true to my tail ender form. The wind stayed very light for Friday and Rodger kept up the good stuff with an 8th, Mol stayed consistent with a 13th and I got my best result of the week with a 25th, probably because I was sweating off the weight in the blazing Kingston heat, plus the added benefit of a wetsuit….

The light conditions certainly favoured those who were clearly excellent sailors albeit new to the contender – Ethan Bixby (an extremely thin man), Oliver Brandt (an extremely quiet man) and Arthur Anosov (an extremely fit man) all did incredibly well, with Ethan scoring two bullets in the light stuff and Oliver also featuring consistently in the top ten. Arthur was getting his head round trapezing and seemed to have forgiven Simon forgetting to put a tiller extension in the boat….at least I hope so, for Simon’s sake….

Me sailing GBR621 - © Nikky Evans

On Saturday it looked as if we might finally get the big winds we’d been promised and the day started out with white horses on the waves and plenty of breeze. Just as well, because we had three races to fit in….and we managed it – just. The wind died throughout the course of the day, with the final race of the Championship reverting true to type – we were sitting firmly in the boats with our trap wires taunting us as they swung about in the slop.

Unfortunately Rodger seemed to lose his grip a little, scoring only two 20ths and a 19th, allowing Mol to pass him with a 28th, 11th and 13th. This meant Rodger finished the week 20th – not a true reflection of his form – and Mol 18th. For my part, I sailed all three races with no top batten yet finished better than I had done all week. However, despite beating Stephanie in 6 out of the 9 races and drawing equal with her on points, she beat me for the women’s title on count back. Oh well.

© Nikky Evans

It may seem that given the lack of wind the Kingston Worlds were a disappointment; not so. We had nine great races with plenty of boat to boat tussling at every level of the fleet, the races were exceptionally well run – not a single general recall, and the social side of the sailing – organised by Mrs ICA, Andrea Smith, was outstanding and very much appreciated. We had a superb welcome dinner within the CORK complex itself, an excellent evening’s entertainment at the historic Fort Henry and a never to be bettered Championship Dinner during a cruise round Lake Ontario’s famous Thousand Islands (and yes, it is where the salad dressing comes from).

For those of you who didn’t go – you missed a treat. For those of you thinking of taking a container to Brisbane – do your sums carefully!

The 2008 travellers trophy programme  is well under way. So far we have sailed at 9 different venues and 68 sailors have taken part to date. We still have 4 events to go! Don't forget the grand finale will be on the 26th October 2008 @ Rutland SC - Make sure your there! Thanks must go to this years sponsors Boat-Bits of Huddersfield, as well as North Sails, HDS and other companies.

Current standings after 9 events as follows...

1st 2314 Rodger White King George Gold 256 points
2nd 713 John Browett Datchet Water Gold 239 points
3rd 2421 Gary Langdown Highcliffe Gold 224 points
4th 2373 Mike Murley Weston Gold 210 points
5th  673 Robert Angus Weston Silver 210 points

Remember 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

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

Click here for full positions to date
 

British Contender Association Fixtures 2008


TT R 10 20th & 21st Sept — Gurnard SC
TT R 11 4th & 5th October — Halifax SC
TT R 12 18th & 19th Oct — Weston SC
TT R 13 & Inland Championship 25th & 26th Oct— Rutland 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!

News from Chris Somner Dinghy Services...

Chris has been building a variety of boats over the last few months as well as continuing with boat repairs. If he  is not in the yard he is more than likely out sailing in his refurbished Albacore!

The chandlery is now fully stocked for all those spares you need in your toolbox.

If you are looking for a new Contender for the 2009 season give Chris a call to discuss your requirements so that he can fit you in the building plan over the winter months. The number is 01202 736704 or visit his website at www.cserve.co.uk

Graham Scott of Wavelength Designs gives us an update...

Looking back on the 2008 championship season one thing will stand in the memory – light winds! All three major regattas were dominated by a lack of breeze .
However Wavelength Sails had excellent results with Marcus Hamilton retaining his Worlds title in Canada closely pushed by rising Italian star Marco Versari (also Wavelength sail) in second place.
The European Championships in Punta Ala, Italy started with some decent wind but soon returned to fickle sea breezes. Wavelength had seven sails in the top ten .
The British Nationals were held in May on the warmest , sunniest weekend of the year ( seems a long time ago ) and was virtually windless until the last day when three races were sailed. Congratulations to Wavelength sail user Gary Langdown who took his first Nationals win.
The latest 2008 Dacron version of the sail is now being used to win regattas on all the current masts – CST (Marcus Hamilton, Christoph Homeier), Avantgarde ( Andrea Bonezzi, Marco Versari, Gary Langdown) , and Wavelength (John Browett, Graham Scott).

On the subject of masts, it is likely that owners of Wavelengths will be able to remove the tip weights in their masts early next year assuming the rule change goes through. To do this just remove the screw that holds the masthead fitting in place and twist the fitting out of the mast. The lead corrector is a tube of rolled lead sheet and this should slide out . Un-roll the sheet from around the halyard and replace the head unit. The self tapping screw that the weight sits on should also be removed in case it catches the halyard. The mast should be weighed in case some of the lead needs to be added lower down to keep the all-up weight at 7 KG.

Also of newsworthy note is the fact that high energy prices have resulted in two hefty price increases in sailcloth recently. The upshot of this is that the price of a Contender sail will also have to go up. At the moment the plan is to hold off passing on these increased costs until the end of the year to enable customers to place orders for sails during the autumn at the old price. There are no plans to make any changes to the current 08 version of the sail so if you think you will want a new one next season why not order this year and save some money?

Finally as the Autumn is approaching please remember mast maintenance! The spreaders should be removed and the adjusters lubricated with grease or petroleum jelly and the gooseneck checked for wear. If your carbon mast is going grey you should consider giving it a coat of two-pack varnish to protect it from the suns uv rays.

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Graham Scott
Wavelength Designs

When an Oxygen atom combines with two hydrogen atoms to produce a molecule of water (H20) it pinches the single electrons from each of the hydrogen atoms - a process called covalent bonding which is very strong. You could think of the Oxygen atom as having 8 'electron' places set for dinner and there are 2 spaces free - and the two hydrogen electrons are just desperate to join the party. Unfortunately the two single hydrogen nuclei are now left without an electron friend - feeling a little unloved, grumpy and positively charged. This also sets up a dipole across the water molecule; the Oxygen part of the molecule is negatively charged (as the electrons are around for tea) and the hydrogen part of the molecule is positively charged. The two grumpy hydrogen positively charged nuclei are always on the look out for any other attractive electrons to pout over even if they can't join up covalently (no tea party for them!) This pouting style of boding is called hydrogen bonding and is not as strong as covalent bonding (about a 10th of the strength of the covalent bond). When water comes across Lycra - those (positively charged) hydrogen atoms in the water find lots of 'loan pairs' of electrons to pout over - a sort of diet coke break moment. This is because Lycra is made of OH and NH groups which creates lots of loan pairs of electrons. Water's bond with Lycra's loan pairs is called Hydrogen bonding and it makes the water stick to the fabric - making it feel cooler, even more so, the wetter and windier it becomes.

Similar hydrogen bonding occurs with many other materials such as nylon - typically used in spray tops etc which is why many spray tops can feel cold to the touch.

However Poly Propylene does not have any OH groups and hence no loan pairs and so it is not attractive to water - no pouting moments, making the garment feel dry and cosy even in the wettest conditions. Ideally worn next to the skin for a comfortable dry layer and developed by Rooster Sailing to provide you with a warm anti rash guard layer - ideal for a typical UK summer. We have made them into Long Sleeved tops and Leggings. Oddly I also found it ideal for sailing in Australia in their summer as it offered enough protection from the sun on lighter wind days whilst at the same time I did not get that horrible water shock when I got splashed.

So end of Chemistry Lesson- -What does it all mean - wear Poly Pro Rooster Tops and Legs and you will be discouraging water from sticking around - and you will be wearing a warm cosy base layer.

Next - a physics lesson - metal is a thermal reflector. Titanium oxide is a particularly good reflector and is contained in the glue
layer between the nylon and neoprene layer in our top quality fabric. Wear this layer next and you have cosy warmth that is now trapped. The garments with titanium neoprene layer is our Hot top garment. We will soon have hot legs, hot feet, hot shorts, and hot hands to join our highly successful hot top.
Next layer is a thermal insulator - for me that is the aquafleece. It not only is a wind break, but the fleece layer inside traps any
moisture and allows it to be heated up. The final layer for the  ultimate winter layer is a semi dry top - the complete wind break that also traps even more air. Well that was just the top layers...

These layers are all thin enough and slippery enough to move over each other so the wearer does not feel like a Michelin man - so you can maintain flexibility.

The most amazing other garment you will wear in the cold is a hat - my father used to say that 3/4 of your body heat goes out of your head - watch out for our Aquafleece Beanie coming back into stock in October if you want a dry warm head.

A rooster Poly Pro Top - © roostersailing.com

UK Contender Sailing Today is brought to you by Progressive Technology Systems Limited