Frensham Pond Sailing Club - Sailing

Model Yacht Group Newsletter

nospam@example.com (Iain Soars) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:28:45 +0100

The monthly newsletters for the Frensham Model Yacht Group are now available on the model yacht group page.

BBC Radio Five Live comes to Frensham Model Yacht Group

nospam@example.com (Iain Soars) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:21:47 +0100

If you listened to BBC Radio Five Live's Drive programme at around 4.40pm on Tuesday 10 August, you would have heard the BBC reporter Lesley Ashmall talking about her trip to Frensham on that day to try Radio Controlled sailing.

The weather was not great but she interviewed a number of the MYG members about how to get into Radio Sailing, how inexpensive it can be and she then tried sailing a boat for the first time herself. This was a great opportunity to show the beauties of the Pond and the pleasures and ease of sailing small radio boats and the turnout at the waterside was good - and enthusiastic!

After an initial meeting over coffee with the members and recording a number of interviews, she departed to edit her piece and then returned later to enjoy tea and cakes in the Clubhouse before the programme was aired that same afternoon. Altogether a superb advertisement for radio sailing, Frensham Pond SC and the sport of sailing in general.

The programme is still available on BBC iPlayer in the Radio Five Live section - until 7pm on 16 August.

Training Course Photographs

nospam@example.com (Iain Soars) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 20:38:04 +0100

The 2010 Training Week took place this week with Optimist, Topper, Pico and GP14 courses running for both junior and adult courses.

Photos of these courses are now on the website in the Picture Gallery.

The Summer Picnic (13 July 2010)

nospam@example.com (Iain Soars) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:54:45 +0100

You have to say the Frensham SC Model Yacht Group do it in style - with our lunchtime music entertainment - Keith Parrott played the banjo and was accompanied by a friend on guitar. They set the scene for an excellent picnic that we all contributed too - the chaps carrying out maintenance on the club outboard's that day thought we had a CD playing until told otherwise - thank you to Keith and his musical colleague. Despite being overcast, fourteen (yes 14!) model yachts took to the water to complete a six race event after the picnic lunch. This reinforced the view that the success of our group is that, whatever you sail, you are welcome to come and join us to either free sail or race - and this was proved again when friends from Southwater Dabblers came with a selection of model yachts.

Between 14:00 & 16:00hrs we managed six one lap races with a range of model yachts from Footy, Bottle Boat, One Metre (IOM), Six Metre and 10 Rater. The winner was Ian Garner (10 Rater), second was Paul Brooks (IOM), third Roger Pearce (Marblehead) and this proves that our handicapping system works well.

After racing it was time for tea and biscuits in the clubhouse. It was good to see our chairman Charles Smith returning to the fold after his knee operation also there was another founder member Pat Cushing plus the three Shelties who, for a change, were remarkably quiet!

We shall most certainly be holding this type of mid-week invited event again.

Model Yachts at the 10 Hour Race

nospam@example.com (Iain Soars) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:51:21 +0100

The Frensham Model Yacht group were kindly invited to participate - for the chosen charity (Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research).

The model classes chosen for joining the 10hr marathon were mainly the bigger 10 Rater and 'A' class yachts, as they were considered to be the best option for sharing the water with the full sized boats. This event happily proved that model yacht skippers and dinghy sailors can share the same water in the same conditions! The race was run on the same lines as for the dinghies by changing skippers every 50 mins - the only concession being that at some point we would need to change our boats for either maintenance or a battery change. There were 5 boats - namely two 10 Rater Bentleys skippered by Pat Reed and Peter Wallis, a Starlet (designed by Vic Smeed in the 50' s) that Keith Parrott built last year and the 'A' class and 10 Rater of Ann & Ian Garner. This was not actually a race but a marathon sail counting the number of laps within the hour. We were blessed with excellent weather but, as ever, wind shifts were a problem. However, not only did all boats complete the 10 hour marathon but for most of the time we had all five yachts on the water and there were no breakdowns, which is a true credit to the preparation of all skippers. All boats were still sailing at the end of the 10 hours with Ian Garner completing 117 laps, Peter Wallis just behind on 102, Pat Reed 66, Keith Parrott 54 and Anne Garner 28 (allowing for her many other duties on the day). Ian Garner provided his very flexible charging station, that saved the walk back to the car when it was necessary to recharge batteries - but in relatively light conditions forced battery changes were minimal.

The event started at 09:00hrs and throughout the day we were kept busy answering questions from visitors and sailors of all ages - it most certainly has raised the awareness of RC sailing and shown how a model sailing group can integrate within a sailing club.

The marathon sail finished at 19:00hrs after a very enjoyable day. We thank Frensham Pond SC for inviting us to sail with them and look forward to future events.

2.4mR Open

nospam@example.com (Iain Soars) — Mon, 17 May 2010 12:20:04 +0100

Frensham’s 2.4 keelboat Open is one of the longest standing events for this class. Although numbers entering were slightly down on 2009 it was a good competition for the fifteen helms, including three visitors. Among these was five times previous winner and top UK Paralympic helm, Megan Pascoe. While trailing her boat to the event a mishap on road broke Megan’s mast. A quick scurry around the boat park produced a replacement.

The two days were a contrast. Saturday came with warm sunshine and a typical Frensham shifting north westerly breeze. This set the tone for the whole meeting to be a duel between Pascoe and Frensham’s Bruce Hill. Hill took Race One and Pascoe limited by the replacement mast only managed a third. The position was reversed at once in Race Two with Pascoe winning, Hill second with Frensham Sailability’s Paul Holzheer third.

Sunday 16th saw a change of conditions with cloud, some rain and a few good gusts of wind from the West. Four races were sailed and it was soon clear that this was to be a two helm contest. Both morning races went to Bruce Hill and at this point it seemed the trophy would go to the home club man. All changed in the afternoon when Pascoe took the series with two straight wins. This having removed her third place discard gave her the cup for the sixth year running.

Frensham Commodore Judith Young thanked the competitors and presented each visitor with a bottle of local Priors Dean white wine. Credit must go to Dan Shaw who ran the six committee boat starts under difficult conditions and to Carol Clibborn and her kitchen team who served a fine Saturday evening dinner.

Overall Results:

1st Megan Pascoe (Poole)
2nd Bruce Hill (Frensham)
3rd Paul Holzheer (Frensham)
4th Keith Gordon (2.4 Association)

Footy Open for the Videlo Globe

nospam@example.com (Iain Soars) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:56:25 +0100

Frensham Pond Sailing Club - Model Yacht Group, 10 April 2010

The FPSC Model Yacht Group hosted the third 2010 UK Footy Class open meeting on Saturday 10th April. Footy radio sailing boats are very light and only one foot long, but are great fun to race and sail amazingly well. They are the starter radio sailing class with simple designs able to be made by DIY enthusiasts for just £50 including the radio control gear.

Sixteen skippers of both sexes, all ages and from as far away as Gloucester enjoyed 16 races in fantastic sunny weather and a good breeze. Big waves built up near the lee shore control area, but the Footys sliced through these impressively going into the wind and surfed down the waves on the run back.

Six young people took part and the best placings were those sharing the sailing with a parent or grandparent in 5th and 7th places. A special junior race was sailed after lunch and the early lead was taken by 10 year old Charlotte Broszek, but 11 year old CJ Vice clawed his way back on the second beat to win the prize; a box of Heroes.

In the main event Cotswold member, David Wilkinson with a narrow American design won the early races in 6-8mph winds, but later his balanced una rigged RAZOR 3 struggled with nose diving and suffered structural and leak problems. Reducing rig area to prevent this as the wind increased to an average of 8-10 mph with 14mph gusts, did not help as the wind also dropped in between the gusts leaving this boat underpowered. It was very interesting to compare this narrow hard chine Footy that fits diagonally across the measuring box with the more stable Stollery designs that made upmost of the fleet. In the afternoon the wind was very variable in strength with some boats in their lowest rigs whilst those who didn't bring small rigs were overpowered both up wind and down. Most skippers opted for Swing Rigs just under 400mm high with their low centre of effort, which coped well with both the gusts and lulls.

National champion, Rob Vice from Clapham MYC dominated the remaining races with his powerful ICE Footy, winning all except Races 12,13 and 14, which were won by local skippers, Alan Viney and Paul Brooks, with ICE and ANT designs respectively. Lots of the finishes were close and in Race 12 the finish was very close indeed with Paul's ANT just holding off Rob's chasing ICE, by a couple of inches!

A beautiful new trophy, the Videlo Globe, created by Chiddingfold woodturner Fred Shepherd, was presented to the winner by Mona Videlo in memory of her husband Don. Apart from being a past commodore of the Frensham Pond Sailing Club, he had played a key role in setting up the Model Yacht Group over the last 3 years.

FPSC Commodore, Judith Young welcomed this new aspect of the sailing club's activities, thanked the organisers and gave away the prizes to the winners. She said afterwards Model yachting is becoming an important part of FPSC's activities and we hope to introduce lots of young people to the sport.

The FPSC Model Yacht Group meets every Tuesday afternoon and welcomes new members to sail Footys, International One Metres, and fast, elegant 10 Raters with their massive seven foot rigs. Come and have a go by contacting Pat Cushing on 01420 835 55 or join us for a trial sail any Tuesday afternoon.

Fitting Out Day

nospam@example.com (Iain Soars) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:48:46 +0100

Sunday 25^th April is 2010 fitting out day - with an extra. Please bring your unwanted sails, clothing fittings whatever and you cheque book – we have added a boat jumble into the mix. For more details see the poster

Frensham Footy Open - April 10th

nospam@example.com (Iain Soars) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:12:58 +0100

The 2010 Frensham Footy Model Yacht Open will take place on Saturday 10th April with registration and measurement starting at 08.30 and racing starting at around 10.00.

For more details see the open meetings page

RS200 Open Report

nospam@example.com (Iain Soars) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:52:28 +0000

Isn't it ironic that whatever date is set for the dinghy show you could almost be guaranteed a perfect sunny sailing day and this was no exception for the RS 200 open held at Frensham. A bitterly cold crisp wind greeted the small but elite fleet of 12 competitors with a North Easterly blowing at 18-22 knots.

The racing was close with regularly changing places, especially downwind. Correct angles, combined with catching one of the many gusts and shifts secured many place gains and good crew work was vital. The youngest crew on the day, 8 year old Nathan Allen, was very pleased to be in 2^nd place at the first windward mark in race one, but his dad Mo lost out on the downwind leg. There were some very entertaining manoeuvres especially at the leeward gate just metres from the nice warm clubhouse.

Roger Gilbert/Jane Willan soon established their dominance though with two bullets followed by another in the third race. Second place was close though between Katrina Gilbert/Jenny Rust and David Royce/ Nicola Russell. The latter had to complete a 720 at the spreader mark in the third race dropping from 2^nd place to 2^nd from the back and made a remarkable recovery back to third with frequent downwind gybing and planing.

The final race saw a slightly depleted fleet and notably longer laps as tiredness set in and Katrina Gilbert/Jenny Rust secured the win giving them 2^nd overall leaving a close 3rd to the first visitors David Royce/Nicola Russell.

It's a Knockout

nospam@example.com (Iain Soars) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:00:58 +0000

Starting on the 1st May 2010 there will be new format of Handicap racing open for all Frensham sailors to sail in a knockout competition for a cash prize, whilst raising money to go to the winner’s choice of charity.

For more details, see the racing section of the website

Frensham Frenzy

nospam@example.com (Iain Soars) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:04:51 +0000

The 2010 Frensham Frenzy will take place on Sunday 14th March and will consist of two pursuit races (1 1/4 hour for PY approx 1116) for monohulls under 16 feet.

The event starts with a briefing at 1000 and the first starts will be for Cadets at 1040 and 1340.

The entry fee is:

£4 under 18’s
£6 singlehanders
£7 doublehanders

For more information click here

Frensham Sailors Fly The Flag At World Championships

nospam@example.com (Iain Soars) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 08:52:10 +0000

Congratulations to Roger Gilbert who came 2^nd in the International 14 World Championships in Sydney, Australia. This is an outstanding achievement and follows his previous Int.14 success in winning the Prince of Wales Cup.

Congratulations too to our Cadet sailors Abigail Croft and Matthew Shorrock who came a very creditable 18^th out of 35 boats from six nations in the Cadet Worlds held in Argentina. Well done to both for flying the flag for Team GB and for Frensham Pond.

Sailability Highlights 2009

nospam@example.com (Iain Soars) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:27:41 +0000

Read all about what has been happening in Frensham Pond Sailability in 2009 here.

Frensham Cadets win selection at all levels

nospam@example.com (Iain Soars) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:08:17 +0000

Frensham Pond Cadet sailors have had an incredible year and the club now has representatives in every Cadet team and training squad.

2009 GBR Cadet Class Sailing Team

Abigail Croft and Matthew Shorrock have won a place in the team that will represent GB at the 2009 World Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They follow a long line of Frensham sailors who have achieved this ultimate honour to represent GB. A 20 race series sailed at 3 different venues was used to select the top 7 GB Cadets to compete against the best Cadet sailors from around the world at this pinnacle event.

UK Cadet Class National Training Squad

Once again Frensham is very well represented in the UK Cadet Class National Squad which will train at venues around the country with coach Mike McNamara. Selection was based on racing performance in 2009 and places were gained by Caroline Croft, Ben Hazeldine and George Bridge, Adam Hopwood and Abigail Williams, Andrew Smith and Rory Burdock, Marcus Young and Alex Phillpott, Michael Horne and Ben Crane.

RYA National Junior Squad

The RYA selects a squad of talented sailors between 11 and 16 years of age to train with National Class Coach Adam Bowyers. The training aims to support the potential of this age group so that they can progress into the demanding RYA Volvo Transition Training Programme and RYA Volvo National Youth Squad. The 3 Frensham cadet teams to join this elite group this winter are Abigail Croft, Ed Cummings and Louis Mellor, Jack Wilson and Jim Brooker.

RYA Zone Squad

Three young Frensham teams take their first step on the RYA training ladder by gaining selection to the RYA Zone Squad. They will join other cadet sailors from other clubs in the South Zone to train with the goal of progressing to the RYA National Junior Squad. Well done Olly and Toby Fitzgerald, Jack Hardie and Olivia Bates, Matthew and Ben Shorrock on making selection.

Thanks to Katie Shorrock for this report and

Congratulations

to all the Cadet sailors, their coaches and helpers, and Neil Hardie, Class Captain, on this considerable success. We wish Abigail and Matthew all the best in the World Championships.

John Townsley