by Tom Whittingham

Once again we have had a busy weekend with our youth events and a training course on the Saturday and then the racing on Sunday.  It was also a salutary occasion where the vigilance and coordination between the race officers and the safety boat crews managed a very serious occurrence with speed and efficiency, recovering a dazed young sailor from the water in what could have been a potential drowning accident.  I commend everyone involved.  As a race officer, you need to monitor what is going on all over the course and not just the start/finish line, and direct your safety crews to capsizes, expediting where the sailor cannot be seen actively reacting. 

The Lake represents the biggest safety threat we face in our sports.  That is why we have a simple rule:  If you go on or in the water you must have a buoyancy aid (there are exceptions for windsurfing and elite swimming).   This is highlighted in the rules summary everyone was sent  on 2023 renewals and joining during the year.   Accepting the rules is implicit to accepting your membership; it is not optional.   I was thus extremely disappointed to  deal with a swimming member on Sunday, first aiming to swim during sail racing and when stopped, then taking a child out on a paddle board with neither wearing a buoyancy aid.  For pointing out this flagrant breach of rules, I was informed that the Club was  mean to swimmers!   

To take this a little furtherdraw out other points: 

• Swimming memberships are a discounted rate because it limits the use of the lake to swimming only.  It does not include use of paddle craft be that a canoe or SUP.  

• Family memberships are not multigenerational; it includes parents and their children up to the end of tertiary education.  

• If you don’t think the rules and terms of membership apply to you, you are at the wrong Club. 

Next week will see 50 sailors camping at the club for our annual youth camp between Wednesday 31st May and Friday 2nd June. There will be a range of events taking place throughout camp, including Wills Pizza visiting on Thursday evening, a party on Friday evening, and racing from 3pm each day (see below for more). Evening activities and racing is open to all members. 

Camp Racing

This year we are introducing a 3 day racing series at Youth camp, open to all sailors. There will be two races each day, starting at 3pm. There will be edible prizes every day, and the overall winners (and any spectacular capsizes!) after the Friday races. There will be separate prizes for camp participants, but all sailors are welcome to join in.

Swimming

The lake will be exceptionally busy during youth camp. We ask that swimmers only swim in the swimming area to the west of the lake, even during the morning session. There will be powerboats on the lake from 8:30 every morning, so please respect this. Anyone seen entering the water near the jetty will be asked to move to the end of the boat park, where the swimming shed is located

We are delighted to be able to run our annual YOO Youth regatta again on Saturday 3rd June.  This is aimed at all sailors of school and Sixth form age from Bowmoor and visiting clubs. 

We are delighted to have generous sponsorship from YOO to make this event a success, keep entry low, (discounted to £5 for camp sailors and only £10 for other members and visitors). Generous Prizes across the fleets to reward success and encourage participation. For some of our newer sailors this is a chance to give it racing a go. 

The Bowmoor Youth team would like to encourage all sailors with RYA Level 2 plus who can sail around a course to take part if they wish to gain some experience on a race with other youth sailors. 

There will be one main handicapped start with an option for a Regatta (beginner) 2nd start for those wishing to participate with more support. Parent helpers and volunteers will be on hand to help those newer to getting around a larger Bowmoor course. (Please contact the youth team to offer your support)

If not already signed up through the camp, please register your interest in attending  https://bowmoor.com/product/yoo-youth-2023/  Further questions to youth@bowmoor.co.uk    See you there!

Entry is now open for the 2023 edition of the Bowmoor Sailing Club 5 Hour Race. The 5 Hour Race will be held on Sunday 2nd July 2023.  To enter you need to have a team of at least two helms or crews racing the single boat.   There is a change-over gate established just in front of the Clubhouse which makes for entertaining viewing and crews must change over at least once.     Visitors are welcome to compete.  Enter here.

There will be a party on the evening of Saturday 1st July to make sure you are feeling fresh and relaxed for the race!

The Lakes Trust is staging a fundraising swim on Saturday 27th May between 10:00am and 14:00pm on Cleveland Lake near Aston Keynes.  Full details are at the link.   Olympian Cassandra Patten will be there to give coaching tips.

Bowmoor ILCA/laser sailors attended two different open meetings this weekend.  In the Wessex Grand Prix region, Mike Dyer, Geoff Brown and Graham Royle went to the Bristol Corinthians open on Saturday.  All three races saw challenging shifty winds that freshened during the day which made for interesting decisions on which way to go on the beats. The final results were that Mike came sixth, Graham tenth and Geoff twelfth.  Graham is now leading the series with Geoff in 2nd place and Mike in 4th.

The first Spring sprint series finished with sunshine, smiles, medals and a party tea. The event aims to encourage young sailors to develop their boat handling skills with three very short races over an afternoon. 

The Sun came out on Saturday for the best conditions so far this year. Scarlet lady was in use with the northerly conditions with the race team comprising club volunteers and parents provided competent and fast thinking rescue support with the help of the beachmaster. The team pulled together to provide much needed rescue support much to the reassurance and gratitude of the sailors parents.   

It was wonderful to see an age range of 10 years between the youngest and oldest sailors and these events see young sailor’s confidence grow. The event couldn’t have been run without the administrative prowess of Maria Hinningan. 

Club boats are available to get children without a boat onto the water. However, boat ownership is encouraged once the right boat has been selected and your child has shown the interest needed for the initial outlay.  There is so much benefit to owning your own boat and as we head into the Summer some of the boats may be in high demand, especially when training courses run and the club prioritise the boats for training courses first (The Club still has two Teras to sell).

Three races were completed on Saturday to finish the series and the first handicap winners were GOLD Esther Heathcote in Areo 7, SILVER to Alex Davies, Byte C2 and BRONZE Will Hinnigan, Byte C2. In the slow handicap, GOLD, Josh Pickard, Tera Pro, SILVER Zak Ryder, Tera Pro and BRONZE Josh O’Mahony, Topper. 

The next event is the Youth Camp followed by the YOO Youth Regatta 3rd June. Those yet to get out on the water are welcome to join the Summer Sprint Series. Dates on the Youth tab of the website.

Wednesday 24th May

19:00 - Handicap Racing

Sunday 28th May

 11:30 - Handicap Races 
13:30 - Handicap Races

15:15 - Personal Handicap Race

Monday 29th May

11:30 - Allied Dunbar Cup

13:30 - Allied Dunbar Cup

15:15 - Allied Dunbar Cup

Wednesday 31st May

19:00 - Handicap Racing

Saturday 3rd June

11:00 - YOO Youth Regatta

Sunday 4th June

09:30 - Club Induction Brief

 11:30 - Handicap Races 
13:30 - Handicap Races

15:15 - Personal Handicap Race

Wednesday 7th June

19:00 - Handicap Racing

Saturday 10th June

09:00 - Safety Boat Course

Sunday 11th June

11:30 - Handicap Races 
13:30 - Handicap Races

15:15 - Personal Handicap Race