Public Forum

The 2019 VPRS Nationals were organised by Chichester Cruiser Racing Club on Sunday 26th May. Competitors converged on Cowes with the contingent from Poole and the contingent from Chichester each holding passage races on their way to take part. The VPRS handicap system is now used by some seventeen clubs and six of these clubs were represented – though this is complicated by some being members of multiple clubs. Competitors had handicaps varying from 1.16 to 0.773 so the fleet was divided into two classes.
The night before the races the crews came together for a dinner attended by over 70 people at Island Sailing Club and this was concluded by a briefing for the next day.
Sunday morning came with the promise of some fresh breezes but nearly all those booked headed out to a start line east of Bramble Bank. Here the two classes had three races each with those in class 2 having slightly shorter courses. For class 1 the first race was some 7.6 miles rounding 5 marks plus the start and finish; class 2 had a shorter version of this course and started 5 minutes later. The second race was a simpler windward/leeward course with class 1 repeating it three times to make a distance of 8 miles; class 2 completed this only twice. The third race, but which time the wind had strengthened to be frequently 25 knots, for class 1 was more varied again and 5.3 miles long; with class 2 again having a slightly shorter variation.
By 4:15pm all had finished racing and were returning to Cowes.
All competitors then gathered in Cowes Corinthian Sailing Club for the prize giving with the whole list of positions announced and prizes going to the first three boats in each class of the series (single race discarded).
Full results are published here but notable (for CCRC) were Intrepid coming second in class 1 and Folkdance coming third in class 2.
Next day the Poole and Chichester contingents each had passage races to return home.
Our thanks to Pam and Richard for organising the event.
Pictures from Anne Bonwit and there are more on the web site https://www.ccrc.co.uk/vprs-nationals-2019-report/

Saturday’s race to Cowes was a race of three distinct parts. The start was supposed to be directly into the gently breeze but this soon turned into a fetch and after the first mark the downwind sails came out as we headed towards Gilkicker Point. Once through the forts we entered a “wind hole” so sails hung limp and some dropped anchor to avoid being swept back. After a while (it seemed a very long while but we were patient) a gentle breeze started from the west and gradually reached each boat. Soon we had 15-20 knots of wind for the last stage towards Cowes.

Photos from the weekend races, courtesy of Pam.

The long weekend saw CCRC’s Spring Mini-Series of races over the three days. Each day was different weather-wise, in participants, the races and the other events.
Saturday saw a blustery day with winds topping around 30 knots for a short race across to Wootton Creek for lunch at the Royal Victoria YC. Unfortunately one member broke his boom even before the race start – probably due to an unseen fault that had probably been there a while. With the fresh northerly breeze the pontoons in Wootton were “lively” to say the least.
After lunch some members headed back with other commitments while the rest continued on to Gosport where another member joined them as night fell to join the post-dinner party. It was a chilly night.
Next day the wind was less strong but still northerly and still a bit chilly. More members had rushed from Chichester Harbour to join in the next race. This race was from outside Portsmouth harbour up to The Hamble with an assortment of upwind, downwind and reaching legs. The wind was exceptionally changeable in strength and direction which led to many changes in the order of competitors. Then it was a champagne boat party before a roast dinner at the Royal Southern YC.
Next morning there was even less wind so the start was moved from Southampton Water to outside Portsmouth by which time there was sufficient breeze to hold the race. After a short upwind leg the fleet raced back towards Chi and then did a quick loop before finishing in time to enter the harbour just after high water.

Sunday saw the first CCRC event of 2019: the Members’ Winter Social. We had illustrated talks from members on their racing successes beyond CCRC in the Round The Island race and the Solo Offshore Racing Club, a presentation on cruising the Costa Verde and descriptions of handicapping and results processes for 2019. Then it was all “social” with drinks in the bar and a splendid roast lunch at Bosham Sailing Club.