The Latest Chapter

News from the National Twelve Owners Association

The Latest Chapter is a new monthly electronic newsletter to those on the N12 e-mail list which is run by the National Twelve Owners Association. Membership of the NTOA is £17.50 a year. NTOA membership offers great benefits including having the right to vote on the Class Rules, obtain generous insurance discounts as well as discounted entry to our principal events.

End of Season

Since 2007 Burton Week at Brixham, Graham Camm & Zoe Ballantyne have added the Gill Series to their list of 2007 achievements. The 3 remaining Gill Series events were won by John Meadowcroft

&Caroline Martin (Thorpe Bay), Graham & Zoe (Grafham) and Tom Stewart & Liz Ross (Northampton). Northampton was also the Inlands. Steve & Joanne Sallis won the Family prize ahead of Gavin & Sabrina Willis after a particularly closely fought battle. Phil David and Nathan Harding with an assortment of crews assisting them won the Admirals Cup and Junior prizes respectively. Full results click here. Further congratulations are due to the winners of the various 2007 area series.

Next Postal Mailing

This will be with NTOA members in mid January containing

∙Annual Newsletter – thanks to all contributors and the Editor Sophie Mackley

∙Burton Week Notice of Race – thanks to Janet & Kevan Bloor

∙2008 Fixture Card – thanks to Kevin Iles and the area reps – click here

∙Subscription Form – Click here if you cannot wait – thanks to Michael Brookman

Subscriptions are due on 1 January

For those of you (most NTOA members) with standing orders there is no need to worry. For those of you who are not NTOA members or who don’t pay by direct debit, here is a link to the form. All you now need is a pen, an envelope and a stamp. DO IT NOW!

Burton Week

The dates of Burton Week are 16 – 23 August 2008

The Notice of Race can be found by clicking here.

After Christmas we will have a dedicated area of the website

Enter early for 2008 – Entries are constrained to 55 boats.

The format of Burton Week is different from 2007. Notably;

There will be 10 races over 6 days

Races will (apart from the Burton Cup) last for 60 minutes

There will be no more than 2 races a day – only one on Burton Cup Day

There will be no practice race, instead a Coaching afternoon on the starting Saturday There will be further Coaching Seminars during the week

Normal daily start time will be 13:30

We will introduce prizes within the fleet for ‘Gold, Silver & Bronze’ fleets

The objective of the revised format is to make the event more popular. I am sure it will be! Existing devotees of the week will be pleased that we have retained the six day format; those determined to enjoy some holiday away from the sailing will find the later starts popular; those wanting to learn more will enjoy the Coaching. WATCH OUT FOR THE 55 BOAT ENTRY LIMIT!!! Click here for an entry form...

The Gill Series programme is as follows – Notice of Race to follow in the New Year

Sunday 6 April – Bristol Corinthian YC

3 races. Try a Boat Day and Coaching on Saturday

Saturday 3 to Monday 5 May – Salcombe YC

4 races, 1 Saturday, 2 Sunday, 1 Bank Holiday Monday

Saturday 31 & Sunday 1 June – Summer Event – Hykeham SC, Lincoln

Including Coaching and All in Pursuit Race

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 June – Royal Harwich YC

Joint event with Larks and Fireflies

Saturday 26 & Sunday 27 July – Hunstanton SC

4 races over 2 days. First weekend of North West Norfolk Week, so stay longer if you can!

Saturday 13 September – Grafham Water SC 3 races

Saturday 4 October – Ripon SC

3 races – Open Meeting at Yeadon SC on the Sunday

Saturday 1 November – Northampton SC

3 races – Followed by Series Prize Giving, then Guy Fawkes Party. 2 further races on the Sunday to add to the Saturday scores for the Inland Championships.

There are 8 events, 4 needed to Qualify. All qualifiers go into the draw for Gill Vouchers. Overall prizes, Family prizes, Older boats prizes and Junior prizes.

RYA Conference

I also went to the RYA Racing Classes Conference in early December. This was very interesting. The scope of the Youth Race Training Schemes that are now being run is amazing. There is however little trickle down of this benefit to our Class. We have to get the graduates of these schemes sailing National 12s in the future. Very few of them get the opportunity to graduate beyond the RYA Youth scheme and sail professionally, and we need to find them.

Volunteers Please

The following volunteers are needed

Someone to run NTOA merchandising – Design, procure and market N12 fashions.

Volunteers to man our stand at the Alexandra Palace Dinghy Show on 1,2 March 2008

Youth sailing liaison representatives are wanted for the following RYA Youth Classes: Optimist, Cadet, Mirror, 29er, 420, Laser, Topper. Maybe your children are sailing in these Classes, or you know someone involved in their organisation. We need to have better links with these Classes than we do so that our Class has increased awareness with those sailing these boats.

Applications (in strictest confidence!) to chairman@national12.org Think about what you can do for your Class.

New Year sailing

The following events should be in your diaries:

December

30 – Grafham Grand Prix (two races, multi class handicap)

January

6 – Yorkshire Ouse SC Winter Sail. Contact Ian Purkis

6 – Royal Thames YC Trophy (one race, N12 only), at Ranelagh SC. Contact Mike Day

6 – Thames Area Prizegiving lunch (3 courses????), Ranelagh SC, Putney. Contact Mike Day 12 – Bloody Mary (one race, multi class pursuit style), Queen Mary SC

20 – Excel Battle of the Classes (entry by invitation only), London Docklands

26 – Steve Nicholson Memorial Race (two races, multi class handicap), Northampton SC. Contact Tom Stewart

February

9 – Eastern Area Prize Giving Dinner, Royal Harwich YC. Contact Bruce Johnson

10 – Mid Winter Championships (Lots of short races), Royal Harwich YC. Contact Antony Gifford 17 – Blaydon Race, (one race) Tynemouth YC. Contact Howard Steavenson

For further details of fixtures click here for 2008 Fixture List

Try a Boat Day

On 5 April we will be running a try a boat day from 11:00 until 16:00 at Bristol Corinthian YC. We will separately be running some coaching at the same venue alongside this event. Come along and have a go in Tom Stewart’s brand new Feeling Foolish, John Meadowcroft’s brand new Paradigm or Graham Camm’s multi Championship winning Numinous. Throw in a Final Chapter, a Big Issue, a Design 8, a Crusader, a Tigress and a Baggy too, there will be lots of boats for you to try. We will

have a short course set up and there will be a prize for the fastest lap. Stay for Sunday’s Gill Series racing. Come and have a go.

Coaching

National Champion, Graham Camm is co-ordinating Coaching in 2008. There will be a Coaching Days at Burghfield SC on 29 March and Bristol Corinthian YC on 5 April, the day before the first Gill Series meeting of the year. To find out more contact coaching@national12.org There will be further coaching events in 2008 – consult the Fixture list.

The secondhand list currently includes....

2 Feeling Foolish, a Design 8, a Baggy Trousers and a Holt 500, among many others. To find out more, click here

The Next Chapter

In future the Latest Chapter will be e-mailed to you on the 20th of the month. All contributions to be mailed to latestchapter@national12.org by 15th of the month.

Finally may I wish a Prosperous New Year to you all.

John Meadowcroft

N3515 Email: chairman@national12.org