Bowmoor Sailing Club
Bowsprit - 3rd January 2024

by Simon Hinnigan
Commodore's Note

Happy New Year!

 

I hope that you had a relaxing Christmas and New Year with family and friends.  As this is New Year and my first Bowsprit it is an opportunity to look backwards on 2023 and share some 2024 plans.

 

As a leading UK sailing club being Bowmoor’s Commodore is no small task.  Fortunately, I’m supported by the efforts of past Commodore’s such as Tom, John Banbrook, Doug Roberts and members who contribute so much.  I feel very protective of that legacy, the special place that Bowmoor holds for many people, and the strength of our sailing and swimming community.

 

Our AGM was held on November 26th, several topics were discussed and I’ve added a short update and member survey below.  Most importantly, we closed the meeting with a vote of thanks for Tom Whittingham’s hard work and unfailing support of the club in all areas over the last 5 years.  As John Banbrook said, “Tom has completed a tough job through extraordinary times and the club has continued to grow from strength to strength with Tom’s hand on the helm.”  The membership thoroughly agreed.  Past Commodores continue to be a cornerstone of the Bowmoor Community, Tom will take responsibility for all the on-water activities at the club and run the Sailing Committee.  Thank you, Tom!

 

As can be seen, Bowmoor’s success is entirely down to members who volunteer and deliver for the club; from Safety Boat Crew, AOOD, OOD’s, to those that run 5 hr races, organize family events or week-long training camps, thank you for everything you do for Bowmoor.

 

I think we have a great year ahead of us, indeed Bowmoor is currently 7th out of 109 clubs in the Selden Sailjuice Winter Series.  More from Matt on the Sailjuice series and Bowmoor competitors below.

 

Boat Owners: Please check your boats as a matter of urgency, the soft saturated ground and strong winds resulted in boat damage yesterday.  We believe all owners of damaged boats have been informed, but please do not be complacent. Check your boat park berth at the next opportunity, and plan for the rest of the winter.

 

Congratulations to Richard Lymposs, Richard Leftley and Jacky Stagg for results in the New Years Day Pursuit races, write up from Tom below.

 

Finally, I’m still looking at the best direction for Bowsprit, it has been suggested that we move to twice monthly rather than weekly.  I’d also be keen to publish more member content.  Please do give me your Bowsprit feedback via commodore@bowmoor.com

 

Many thanks and best wishes for 2024, see you at the club!

 

Simon
David Nunn RS600
News and Events
Gill Grafham Grand Prix
From Matthew Banbrook:

Last Saturday, 8 Bowmoor sailors attended the Grafham GP which is part of the Seldon Sailjuice Winter Series. There were 122 entries across 46 different classes that were split across three different fleets for the weekend, fast medium and slow. It was a windy weekend and with an 10:55 first signal all 8 of us completed 3 back to back races before heading in to get some free pasta! We all enjoyed some nice and long courses with some very well behaved racing and a very exciting breeze.
 
In the Fast Fleet with 30 entries, Charlie Sansom and Esther Heathcote sailed their RS400 into 16th place with two 13ths and a 14th, a very respectable result given the fact they were one of very few hiking boats in their fleet and it was only their second race in the boat together! 
 
In the medium fleet with 55 entries, Bowmoor was represented by Chris Hatton in his aero 7, Toby Banbrook and Samantha Fewings in their 200, Mike Tustin in his Phantom and Matt Banbrook and David Nunn in their RS 600s. Chris Hatton was top Bowmoor boat with 15th overall, closely followed by the boys in the 200 who made it to 17th. Mike Tustin finished 23rd overall despite being beaten by 1 second on handicap by Matt Banbrook in his 600 in the last race. Both Matt and David were able to spend the day practicing their swimming and capsizing techniques which were perfected by the end of 3 soggy races. Matt finished 35th overall and David finished 40th (despite an incorrect result where he supposedly beat Matt). This was only Matt and David’s second ever race in their new boats, so surviving all 3 races in strong winds was quite the achievement. 
 
So far in the Seldon Series, there have been 4 events, with 4 more to come. Our participation in the previous races, including other Bowmoor appearances from Andy Sharp and Ellie Pickard, has bought Bowmoor up to 7th place out of 109 clubs. With 4 more events to go, Matt, David, and Chris plan to attend most of the remaining events. If we can get more Bowmoor appearances we can easily bump our way a bit further up the leaderboard! The final event is the Oxford Blue on Saturday the 17th of February which really isn’t that far down the road, and the more sailors that turn up, the more points we get! Hopefully we will see some more of you there! 
2023 & 2024 Bowmoor Highlights

To pick just a few of the 2023 highlights:

  • We restarted the Bowmoor Camp in Spring half-term after COVID’s interruption.  A very successful week of Youth/Adult member training & racing organised and led by Charlie Sansom and Tash Tustin.
  • The annual Lions Challenge Open Swimming event raised £8,000 and is now a major annual event on the national swimming calendar.
  • Matt Banbrook (RS300 Fleet Captain) continued to lead our Tera and Byte Squad training.  Squads are designed for our youth sailors who participate in club and national racing and train through the winter.  The format works: In 2023 our squads produced national champion sailors with fifteen squad members representing Bowmoor across several events to great success.
  • Bowmoor sent 24 boats to Chichester Federation Week and gained 10 top ten places, another huge success in tough conditions for our sailors.
  • Success continued locally and nationally for our ILCA, Supernova, H2, and RS Aero sailors though the year’s events.
  • In total more than forty sailors represented Bowmoor across the country.
  • We started Otters and Sprint Series Racing for our Youth and Family members resulting in thirty six sailors being introduced to sailing and racing at Bowmoor.  Thank you to Sarah Pickard and Sarah Davies for their leadership in organising this.
  • We continue with and strong numbers and participation in weekly club racing.

2024 looks equally exciting as we continue activities designed and delivered by our members.  

  • We are expanding our member training program for youth and adults with structured training monthly from March.  The plan is to fill the gap between RYA Level 1&2 and Squad/Fleet training with subsidised member training.  Reach out to membertraining@bowmoor.com
  • Otters and Sprints will continue, contact via youth@bowmoor.com
  • The number of open meetings is increasing in 2024 with plans to include RS 200 and RS 300 events in the calendar in addition to the current program of events for ILCA, Supernova, Byte, Comet and Phantom, plus the CVRDA rally.
  • We will run Camp again at the end of May.
  • In July we will host the new format 10-hour race which will also be an open event.
  • In August we’ll again host the Lions Challenge Open Swimming.
  • We’ll host youth and family events monthly. 

If you have an activity to bring forward in 2024 then please reach out to me and I’ll connect you with others in the club for mutual support.
AGM update & Actions

Forty five members attended the AGM on November 26th with updates from each of the exec committee, full details are available via Bowmoor.com.  I’d highlight a couple of the main actions:

Clubhouse Renovations: The members asked for an EGM (Date TBC) so that they could review options and agree a course of action.  As a follow up, the first requirements meeting was held in December.  We are looking for further input, so if the club reaches out please do participate in the requirements gathering exercise.  Many thanks to those who have fed back so far and to John Manterfield for coordinating the exercise.

 

Dogs in the Clubhouse:  Members asked if the club could re-consider dog access to the club house and a membership survey was agreed.  Your perspective is important so please complete the short survey here: https://forms.office.com/r/C50tCtwDWa
Club Racing

From Tom Whittingham:

On January 1st, 22 boats launched for the pursuit races although the fleet thinned out to 13 for the second race.  The participants ranged from youth, relative novices and hardened veterans.  With 2 races to count, Richard Lymposs took top honours on countback from Richard Leftley on the same total, and just ahead of Jacky Stagg.    
 
Race One:  Charlie Sansom shot through the fleet like a man possessed and with about 15 mins to go was well clear of everyone.  Jacky Stagg was only overtaken in the last 5 minutes with first Richard Leftley and then Richard Lymposs easing past.  It was also very close in the middle and tail end of the fleet.  
 
In Race 2 Jacky Stagg and Caroline Doran both in Comet Extras held the fleet at bay until the last five minutes.  First Richard Lymposs shot past on the last beat to lead with Richard Leafley closing up quickly put just failing to overtake for the win, the final gap being about half a boat length.   The Race Two win sealed the overall victory for Richard Lymposs on countback. 
Club Calendar

Sunday 7th January
11:30 - Icicle (J) Series Start

13:30 - Frostbite (K) Series Start
Saturday 13th January
Winter Squad Training

Sunday 14th January

11:30 - Icicle

13:30 - Frostbite

Sunday 21st January

11:30 - Icicle

13:30 - Frostbite

Sunday 28th January

11:30 - Icicle

13:30 - Frostbite

Saturday 3rd February
Winter Squad Training

 

The full calendar is published on bowmoor.com
View past editions of Bowsprit
Bowmoor Sailing Club
Coln Park Lake Fairford Road, Lechlade, GL7 3DT