2019 National Championship - Short Report Day 1, 2 & 3

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Category: 2019 UK National Championship

Published: 06 August 2019

Last Updated: 08 August 2019

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Reports by Kevin Francis

Photograph courtesy and copyright (c) Tim Olin

Day 03

Tired bodies!. Cannot comment too much as we didn't have the best of days as we joined the broken boat list. The wind again built to a fairly steady 20-25 knots leading to high speed action and big gains if you went the right way....which we didn't. Lots of talk about the last run of the day which was more over the edge than on it. Usual suspects continue to dominate this brutal event. Tonight we visit the Mount and Lord and Lady St Levan.

Day 02

Another day of action! More breakages with Colin Stephens and Steve George breaking a boom, Matt Burge rebuilding the boat whilst afloat and Emma Stephenson and Peter Lloyd losing the rudder to name a few incidents. It was a VERY long day on the water today with the race team dealing with multiple issues. Lots of tired faces tonight but DJ Edwards and Mikey Greig are still going strong. Wind finally settled quite strong with lots of downwind surfing. A final note. If anyone has a spare Osprey launching trolley then Adam Bowers needs one for Blue Moon as his is now in 2 bits!

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2019 National Championship - Runners & Riders

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Category: 2019 UK National Championship

Published: 02 August 2019

Last Updated: 02 August 2019

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Preview by Kevin Francis

This event is going to be ultra-competitive. Everyone wants to win, but of course there can be only one winner of the 2019 Osprey National Championship so, with a line-up that includes the who's who of Osprey fame, picking that winner is nearly impossible.

Returning to Mount's Bay from Sunday 4th to Wednesday 7th August following after an absence of 10 years, this venue lives long in the memory of Osprey sailors for its ability to produce decent big sea conditions for a proper sea boat, there is no question that by the end of the event all crews will be eager to get back to the office for a well-earned rest. This year the Ospreys share the venue with our friends from the Enterprise fleet and with both classes offering up good numbers the dinghy park, on water and social events are going to be lively for sure.

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Weymouth Regatta Report

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Category: Past Event Reports

Published: 19 July 2019

Last Updated: 19 July 2019

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Weymouth Regatta hosted by Castle Cove Sailing Club on 13th and 14th July

A very good turn out of eighteen Ospreys enjoyed some very close and competitive racing at Castle Cove Sailing Club as part of the Weymouth Dinghy Regatta. As this was the last event before the Osprey National Championships at Mounts Bay on the 3rd to 7th August it was an opportunity for several teams to get some practice in before the big event.

The forecast for the weekend was for predominantly light winds and warm sunshine. Saturday’s racing was held out in Weymouth Bay and the fleet sailed out through Portland Harbour in a gentle breeze that faded to nothing once they reached the race area. Eventually the forecast Northerly breeze manifested itself and the fleet got away sailing a trapezoid course followed by a sausage and a windward finish.

Emma Stephenson and Pete Lloyd from Weymouth Sailing Club won the first race in very light winds while Terry Curtis and Peter Greig also from Weymouth won the following two races in slightly more wind. DJ Edwards and Mike Grieg from Tata SC and Mounts Bay SC had three second places to give them the overnight lead. First blood in the battle of the Greig brothers had gone to Mike but there was all to play for on the next day.

Sunday’s racing was held inside Portland Harbour with the wind passing around Portland heights making for some interesting wind bends. There was a bit more wind in the harbour than there had been out at sea allowing trapezing on the beats and some occasionally fast reaches. The tricky conditions made it quite difficult to put a consistent set of results together.The fourth race was won by Ben (Nemo) Hawkes and his crew with Emma and Pete close behind.

The fifth race and sixth races were both won by Andy Barker and Stuart Maunder.

DJ and Mike put in a consistent series without winning a race they were able to discard a sixth and count a run of second and third places to win the event by one point from Terry and Pete who themselves beat Andy and Stuart only on countback.

There was close racing throughout the fleet. Ros and David Downs having loaned “Just Pogo” to Fireball sailers Keith McDonald and Andy Brittain for the Nationals turned up in Osprey 73 built by Bell Woodworking in 1956 and probably the oldest Osprey still in working condition. They did not finish last in any race and in race five rounded the windward mark in 3rd place which they held onto throughout the first lap. It really is true that old Ospreys do not become obsolete.

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