Last week, I had the opportunity to take part in the 2000 Nationals at Brightlingsea SC.
I had booked our caravan into the camping site right next to the sailing club, and although the distance between MSC and BSC is about 10 miles, as the crow flies, the driving distance is around 50 miles – so I needed some help with the logistics. Gary Jackson helped ensure the boat was sufficiently tied down to the trailer (I don’t trust my knots!) and Jenny Ball kindly towed the boat, whilst I towed the caravan. David then brought John Ball, my crew, up on the following afternoon. During Saturday, my boat was scrutineered- correct sail and sheets for the jib and kite, etc. The boat also benefitted from some upgrades to include a continuous kicker system and and adjustable bridal.
The format for the week was 2 races back-to-back on Sunday-Tuesday, a lay day on Wednesday, then the same again on Thursday and Friday. 50 boats had entered, and as some of you will know, launching at low tide can take some time, due to there only being one slipway at the club. The race course itself was set near to ‘The Molliette’, and took about 40 minutes to sail to, and from, each day. We were sailing for up to 4 hours each day, with each race lasting about an hour. The courses were windward/leeward and consisted of 3 laps – by all accounts, the back end of the fleet have got faster over the years, so that there was only about 15 minutes between the first and last boats finishing each race – this typically allowed a fast turnaround between races.
The 2000’s slogan is ‘Fast, Family, Fun’ and the demographics of the fleet from 5 years old (as ‘crew’) to over 70 years old back this up. Each day, the fleet could make nominations for a ‘champagne moment’, or a ‘malteser moment’ and these were presented just after the excellent evening meals. Entertainment through the week consisted of ‘Crewing tips’ discussion, a live band, a kids ‘boat drive’, and a very entertaining quiz on Thursday.
This was only my second Nationals experience (previously Gary and I went to the Lark Nationals in Lyme Regis where much ice cream was consumed!), and John had kindly volunteered to be my crew for the week. Frankly, without John’s guidance and outstanding crew work, we wouldn’t have achieved the results we did – 48,38,50,48,38,38,DNC,DNC,42,40. The 2 DNCs were on Thursday when conditions were a little spicier.
John also kept the wider community updated through his regular Youtube short videos, with over 3,000 views, in total, for the week.
On the lay day, John and I took the foot ferry from Brightlingsea to Point Clear and then onto East Mersea, where we had an excellent lunch at the Dog and Pheasant.
On Friday, David joined us for the prize giving and took John home. Jenny and I then towed the boat and caravan back home on Saturday…after a leisurely brunch, of course!
