12s @ Carnac

As you can probably tell this was a brilliant event. But don't just listen to me; here's what the other 12 sailors thought...


"Weather was as perfect as we can expect. Sun, wind ( maybe to much wind the first day for me ) but that was very cool and I really enjoyed it . It was my first real regatta with the National 12, and I really wouldn't like it to be the last."

"It was hard to leave the sun of Carnac and find the rain of Paris as soon as Wednesday!"

"We had a great time at Carnac - no-one wanted to come home yesterday! The sailing conditions were pretty much perfect  - lovely breeze and sunshine. Racing was well organised and thoughtful courses kept the fleets largely separated on the water. The miles of white sand beaches kept the kids (and grannies) happy building sandcastles or exploring the rock pools while we were out on the water. With almost everyone staying on the same camp site, it made it a very sociable event, and the crews' union lived up to its reputation - wish I hadn't drunk the third mojito though!"

"One of the social events was the challenging three legged race which was funny because adults would get a glass of wine at every stop and children would get lemonade (5 stops in total)."

"Most of people who were not at the regatta will regret it :-)"


Special mentions go to Pauline and Jean-Marie, sailing their 12 on the sea for the first time and not letting a capsize on the first day (and whatever was supposed to be holding the mast up, not holding the mast up) put them off! 

It was also noticeable that the 2 youngest crews out of all 100 boats were 12 sailors. So well done to Ollie Meadowcroft and Freya Lillywhite

You can check out the full write up including the crew's view from Freya in the Yachts and Yachting website article and look out for an overall event write up in the magazine.

There are some more great photos by John Murrell on fotoboat and on the YC Carnac website.

There is already talk of another joint event abroad in a couple of years time, so if you weren't in Carnac make sure you don't miss the next one!
 

GUL Series 2014 - next up Shoreham

A message from Shoreham (keep a look out on the website for more info):

We're getting super-excited to be hosting our first Gul event and welcoming the 12's to Shoreham. There's a post on the forum so please let us know if you're coming as it would be good to have an idea of the numbers.

For those that haven't been before the club is located in the harbour with safe launching and a short sail out to some of the best sea sailing on the south coast - a great chance to get in some practice for the Championships.

The galley wil be open all weekend, with a BBQ planned for Saturday evening. Camping is available at the club.

http://www.shorehamsailing.org/

Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions: sophiemackley@hotmail.com

Looking forward to seeing lots of you soon.
 

Lairwell Trophy - Cramond Boat Club

The first of the three events scheduled in 2014 to compete for the Lairwell Trophy was held at Cramond Boat Club on Sunday 25th May. After spending Saturday night in the Cramond Inn and in the Boat Club clubhouse where there was a live music event, a tribute to Burt Bacharach, the competitors arrived on Sunday morning to weather slightly different from that forecast. Whilst the wind direction…..a North Easterly blowing straight
up the River Almond, was correct, the strength appeared considerably underestimated….the forecast Force 3 to 4, was at the low end of reality with 25mph winds being recorded out in the race area.
 
Nevertheless all five competitors set off for the race area…after a tricky launching exercise off of a lee shore, the competitors found conditions out in the race area not much easier with a difficult quartering swell making the reaches more than exciting!

Angus Beyts and Andrew Harris sailing N2153, the last to leave the shore, decided that discretion was the better part of valour and were the first to also return ashore! As the OOD Drew Pratt attempted to finalise the start line and starting sequence the rescue crews were called in to action as Will Mitchell and Lois Spooner sailing N3479 fell in shortly followed by Piotr Wojtczuk and Anna Basista sailing N2620. Whilst Will and Lois managed repeat the trick several times and also attempted to dredge the Firth of Forth with their mainsail, covering themselves in dollops of mud; Piotr and Anna were not so lucky as their buoyancy bags decided to detach from their hull. Thankfully the rescue team of Euan, Lawrie and Reginaldo were more than up to the challenge and successfully recovered them and their boat to the safety of the shore. Whilst this was going on Alex and Denise Tulloch in N3223 and Ed Willett and Sarah Smith in N1833 planed up and down awaiting the commencement of proceedings. However with the wind showing no signs of decreasing, the rescue teams fully occupied and with only two boats remaining it was decided to abandon the race.
 
Once all safely ashore the competitors concluded that discretion was indeed the better part of valour and decided to abandon any further racing for the day. A lunch of soup and rolls was enjoyed by all amidst some the post race chat and craic! The bottles of wine which were to be handed out at prize giving were distributed to all entrants…for turning up! It is hoped to re-schedule the event to later in the year. Watch this space.
 
Sincere thanks to all Cramond Boat Club volunteers who did an excellent job in difficult conditions….and to Will and Lois for making the journey north and showing the local sailors with their wooden boats what a modern Carbon fibre National 12 looks like…although poor old N3479 went home with more holes than she arrived with!

 

12 feet, 13 miles, the ultimate endurance race

Sitting in a bar in Carnac, watching sailing on TV, I decided the Burton Cup might just be the ultimate endurance race. At least a test of skill, concentration and packing enough chocolate to be worthy of one of those extreme sports videos. Not sure what the guy who was paddling between every island in Hawaii and starting at 4am would have to say about this though!

Anyway, on 25th August we'll be racing over 13 miles round the classic Burton Cup course. If you can survive this then you're up with the 12 sailing greats...previous Burton Cup winners at Pevensey Bay include Chris Edwards, Graham Bailey, Will Henderson, Steve Norbury and Tom Stewart.

So it's a classic 12 venue for the classic 12 race. If you can't make the whole weekend, don't worry, you can enter for Burton Cup (bank holiday Monday) only. And don't forget the chocolate! 
 

Salcombe Week - Top 5 Tips

It’s that time of year when others are packing their buckets and spades and we are packing our rash vests and spare shackles. Salcombe week this year, 3-8 August, promises to be as good as ever. Here are our top tips for enjoying the week.

Number 1. Always wear sun cream (preferably factor 50)

No matter how drizzly it looks or how cold you feel you can and will get sunburnt at Salcombe if you do not dowse yourself in suntan lotion, especially if you’re going to be around for some beach games after sailing

Number 2. It’s never over until it’s over!

Be it the game of bowls, beach volleyball or indeed sailing up the beat anything can happen at Salcombe. There are always shifts and gusts to negotiate throughout the course, along with some lovely reaches. That is why the racing is so close at Salcombe with the event not being won until the final races in previous years.

Number 3. It’s all about family fun.

Over the last few years some of the fleets younger sailors have taken the trophy for the week with lots of young crews also taking part. There is also the Blinkhorn trophy sailed mid-week after racing which is for under 18 helms.

Off the water Salcombe has a huge amount to offer families, including beautiful beaches and walks and stylish shops and cafés. Children are welcome in the Yacht Club with food available throughout the event.

Number 4. Despite The Bag you can never tire of mark seven.

The Bag is an arm of the Salcombe estuary where you’re never entirely sure where the winds coming from and can be the place of great gains. Once you have made it through The Bag though you are greeted with the pathway up to number seven! Invariably no matter what the wind is doing it is a reach up here, it involves flat water and consistent gusts  - super sailing!

Number 5. You can never eat too much ice cream in Salcombe.

Enough said.

 

Upcoming Events

The Vintage Championships take place at Burton SC on 28th/29th June. To make sure you turn up in style you can order your event T-shirt, sweater or hoody from class clothing partner Wave. You don't even need to own a Vintage boat to join in the fun - get in touch with Paul Turner and borrow one of the 'Turner Collection'. There's more info on the forum.

The Midland Area heads to Midland SC on 22nd June. 

In the Eastern Area, the Royal Harwich YC open meeting is on 28th/29th June. This is a joint event with the Larks and Fireflys - more info on the forum post.

Next up for the Thames Area series is Shoreham SC (21st/22nd June), followed by Ranelagh SC on 13th July.

The Northern Area, visits Yorkshire Ouse SC (8th June) with the chance to do some team racing on the day before (7th June). The NoRs for both days can be found here.  The Leigh & Lowton SC Regatta is on 12th/13th July. You can find all the details and enter online here before 5th July for the early entry discount and a free event t-shirt. 

Also look out for the new Four Plank series kicking off at Ely SC on 5th July. All the series details can be found here.

Dates for your diary

• Shoreham SC 21st-22nd June - GUL Series #4
• Burton SC 28th-29th June - Vintage Championships
• Pevensey Bay 23rd-26th August - Burton Week 2014 including Burton Cup and National Championships and GUL Series #5
• King George SC 27th-28th September - Inland Champs & GUL Series #6
• Ripon SC 4th October - GUL Series #7
• Northampton SC 15th-16th November - GUL Series Finale and Winter Championships (joint with the Larks)
   

A full list of fixtures for 2014 can be found on the N12 website.

Welcome to New Members

Finally, we'd like to give a warm welcome to all the recent new members of the NTOA. We hope you enjoy your 12 sailing as much as we do.

Peter Robinson, Burley in Wharfedale, N2358
Jonathan Elmes, Bristol, N3381
William Mitchell, Sunderland, N3479 John Munns, Layer-de-la-Haye, Colchester, N1859
Paul Farmery, Kegworth, Leicestershire, N2760
You may have seen yourself on this list already as not everyone was on the mailing list last time we did this but it's probably better to be welcomed twice than not at all!
 

If you get any good pics to include in The Latest Chapter, or if there's anything you'd like me to include, please drop me a line at latestchapter@national12.org

Chris Day
N3526