Author: Peter Ward

Race Officer Richard Collis sent 18 boats off on a windward start in the 2016 BJRC Marconi Cruiser Race. With 20 knots of wind at the start most selected reefed mains and their smaller jibs as they made their final preparations for the long beat out of the river. Ned Kelly made a perfect start as they reached down the line, but unsure of whether they had infact been over, returned to find themselves rejoining the race towards the back of the fleet. The conditions clearly suited Caroline,  (one of 5 Marconi boats that had scrubbed, launching just less than…

Last weekend, Woozle Hunter headed out to an EAORA start line off Felixstowe, in winds in excess of 25 knots gusting 35. All around the east coast racing had been abandoned, but the Haven Series race organisers allowed the skippers to decide whether their crew and boats were capable of racing the 40 miles up the coast to Lowestoft. On exiting beyond the Harwich breakwater, a number of boats decided the conditions weren’t to their liking, and dashed back for shelter. Unbeknown to Ian & Laura Ivermee owners of Woozle Hunter, one such boat heading back, ApeX, was the only…

At 1030hrs 27th August the BJRC fleet will set off from the Marconi line in the Marconi cruiser race under orders of Richard Collis, cruiser race officer for the day. For many years this race has been known as the Marconi Cup race as a silver cup is awarded to the winning boat on corrected time, calculated using the BJRC local handicapping system. In recent years the BJRC introduced a second result for the increasing number of boats racing in the fleet with an internationally recognised IRC rating number. In support of this, the Marconi sailing club will be awarding…

Lydia Coffey and her crew of new members were rewarded for their efforts this season by finishing as 1st Marconi boat, in 6th place overall in BJRC race 6 last Saturday. Ned Kelly, regularly seen training on none race weekends, have gradually moved up towards the fleet as the crews skills and teamwork have developed throughout the season, and on Saturday they made their mark. The teams day of success began by beating both McGregor 3 (Steve Purdue) and Caroline (Andy Ellis) to the first mark off Tollesbury, (WMYC No3) after kedging right on the start line. Then as the…

Woozle Hunter finished 2nd in the EAORA Harwich to Ramsgate race last weekend, in a light wind passage race that saw many competitors, resorting to motor and a d.n.f. In typical ‘never say die’ attitude, Ian & Laura Ivermee and their crew which included Lydia Coffey (Ned Kelly Skipper), completed the race in 12.5 hours, in company with much higher rated boats,  and just missed out on first place by 3 minutes on corrected time from Eclipse sailing out of the Haven Ports YC. With just 2 races left in the EAORA series, Woozle Hunter sits on top of the…

19 cruisers passed the club on Saturday lunchtime, in what turned out to be a thrilling and close Brown Cup race between the Marconi representatives. Crazy Suzy and Monkey Business were at the head of the fleet with Blue Moon and McGregor 3 in hot pursuit. Sailing the longest course on the card, Ned Kelly had a close boat race towards the back of the fleet, whilst Caroline swapped positions throughout. After the turn at Wallet No3, Crazy Suzy took the lead all the way home on the windward leg, whilst McGregor 3 got ahead of all the other IRC…

A new summer chartlet has been produced to show the race and navigation marks that are used by cruiser racers on the Blackwater & Colne. The chartlet includes all the race marks used by the BJRC, Mersea Fleet, and Colne YC fleet and should prove useful to both new racers and old hands, who even now still find it difficult to identify some of the marks. Download a copy of the chartlet by clicking on the image below.

The Club Cruiser Ned Kelly is now available for members to book for sailing. Download the details by clicking on the image below. Currently the following dates are still available: 23 – 29th July 8 – 12th August 15 – 26th August 30th Aug – 9th Sept Wed & Fri nights in June & July To book the boat contact Peter Ward 07841014366 To sail the boat during Cadet Week contact Tom Clayton. T

New Marconi members Steve Purdue and Monica Wolff made their mark in their very first BJRC race on 12th June, finishing 2nd in the local handicap result, sailing McGregor 3. Like our new members sailing Ned Kelly, Steve and Monica spent many winter hours bringing back to life the cruiser racer that had been laid up in the field for far too long . After a shakedown race in the clubs spring series, which merely served to highlight that one or two jobs were still outstanding on their boat, they slowly worked their way back through the 16 boat BJRC…

The Cruiser Spring Series continues on the 4th and 5th June when we welcome cruisers to join us from other clubs. As this is a midday high water weekend, it should be easier for boats from the up river clubs to join us and we’ve set a 12 noon start to enable the visiting race fleet from the Colne YC, time to join us on the flood tide. We will of course have a short postponement if needed. You can find the Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions here. And the Course Card here. If you intend to race and…