Burghfield Blaze Training and Open Report

Burghfield Blaze Training and Open Report.

Blaze Training - Friday 27^th March

After a cuppa, a welcome and a morning briefing by coach, Ben Harden, 16 Blazes took to the water in a shifty but mostly manageable wind at the upper end of ideal (shifts notwithstanding). Starting with speed-varying drills in follow-the-leader got us all focussed and in control. Then followed a windward/leeward exercise peppered with tacks and gybes to change the direction of flow at the whim of the coach. An ever-decreasing time gap between whistles highlighted why this ‘gut-buster’ was so named. The morning session’s final exercise was a ww/lw course with a chaotic roundabout mark in the middle, tackled mostly without incident. Refuelled by an expansive pizza lunch and quick briefing we returned to the water for a series of race starts which began with much room for improvement and ended with the fleet hitting the line in much better racing shape.

Off the water and with tea in hand, we enjoyed a relaxed video debrief and Q&A which was informative, helpful and with plenty of improvements to take into the racing.

Another enjoyable and productive day with many thanks to Ben for his time and insightful coaching. We’re grateful to Burghfield’s generously volunteered RIB driver Paul, and Burghfield's Pete Barlow for organising the class pizza lunch.

In the evening 12 tired sailors met at the local pub for decent homemade pies and burgers washed down with a modest intake of ale. Early to bed for all with the prospect of an elevated wind for the racing weighing on both our minds and achy bodies.

Burghfield Blaze Open – Saturday 28^th March

The fine morning sun accompanied a wind looking similar to Fridays and it was forecast to build. 7 of the 21 race entries had opted to hoist Fire sails. As an anomaly for Blaze Traveller events (Burghfield being just an Open organised wholly by BSC), Fires had a separate start one minute behind the Blaze fleet.

Race 1

A zig-zaggy course was set making the most of the numerous club marks and an extra inflatable mark at the west clubhouse end for good measure. A shifty, gusty wind interspersed with infrequent but frustrating holes had made manoeuvring between the islands and tack timings on the beat tricky.

The racing started cleanly into a 20knot wind. Chris Smart (884) had faltered early on, finding himself entrenched in a fairly tightly bunched fleet. Doug Clow (777) took a tentative lead with local Mike Bell (840) and Andy Wilson (811) chasing closely. After pulling his socks up, Chris set about closing-in on the front trio. By lap 2, Doug had opened-up a more sizeable lead over Mike and Andy. Chris had been held off until early in lap 3 and on the final long run/reach Chris reached touching distance of Doug. At the final leeward mark Chris had rounded ahead, spinning up onto the short beat to take the finish in 1^st place. Mike had closed the gap on Doug but could do no more than follow him across the line. Andy came through a handful of lengths later in 4^th.

Race 2

The wind remained similarly awkward and by now the Blazes had got the measure of the task, although choosing the best routes remained a moving target. Changes in race positions were frequent and racing was tight – mid fleet particularly.

At the front, Chris had always been favourite to go through first, but Mike, having once again pulled out his customary port flyer off the start had stayed solid to take 2^nd. Tom Twist (806) who’d taken delivery of his first Blaze on Friday, had been making his presence felt around the fleet and, working out how to get the most from his unfettled boat on the fly, had earned his place at the front end with youthful skill. A tense tussle between Tom and Doug played out for 3^rd with some aggressive, but well-fought manoeuvres in the final reach. But Doug’s experience and a grand-masterly flair of his own prevailed taking him through the finish fractionally ahead.

Behind them the battle raged and even the three-boat-wide final leeward rounding hadn’t been decisive. It took the short beat to the line to establish final positions and places 4^th to 7^th were decided within 2 boat lengths. Tom, Tim Morgan (761), John Oldham (757) and Andy finished respectively.

A tiring and relieved fleet headed back to the clubhouse. Lunch was served while through the windows we could see the wind taking a turn upwards.

Race 3 A decision not to relaunch for some sailors had depleted the numbers – these were not conditions to take lightly. A course change was announced before a chilly fleet set off into mid-20’s knots and gusting higher. The chill was soon forgotten as bodies and minds worked harder to keep masts from the mud. Another course change afloat drew some groans from the fleet, but with a wind dancing chaotically, a forgivable tweak from Mark, the BSC RO.

A conservative approach to the line by most delivered another clean start and the new course meant a whole new learning curve. The first windward mark fell under the trees of Burghfield’s northern edge which compounded the directional challenge. Few boats were able to find the mark on their nose whichever layline they’d pinpointed. Leaving the trees on the stern and heading toward the next mark on a notionally beam reach, the direct line kissed the shallows of the island and it was an exciting, fast leg with the wind unsympathetic to finding a steady groove. Heading up the second beat of the lap in more open water the best route to the windward mark remained elusive and there appeared no clear advantage either way. A starboard rounding swung in to a slack reach back toward the committee boat bisecting the islands neatly. The leg fizzed with action as gusts from behind took their casualties. 50-yard gains and losses were frequent and making the most of the gusts required attention and staying loose. Once again Chris took the bullet – his third of the day. Doug came through in a solid 2^nd followed by Tom who fought well to deny Mike his third race podium finish. Race 4

The wind continued to blow and bodies were tiring. A huge gust rammed through the fleet on the start of race 4 creating an ugly mess of exposed hulls. After a gradual repatriation of masts to the air the race finally started for half of the fleet.The battle against the wind hardened and capsizes came frequently with few sailors showing immunity. The long reach back to committee boat was sketchy and every gust carried a genuine threat. By lap 2 Doug had taken charge followed by the bunched trio of Mike, Tom and Andy. Chris was further back, once again in chase mode and catching quickly. Riding a gust well Chris closed the final gap to the trio and while overtaking with considerable speed, an extra puff had overloaded his sail. Having run out of mainsheet and with no room to bare away he accepted the capsize honourably. Approaching the penultimate leeward mark, Doug wiped out in his own devastating gust leaving Mike, Tom and Andy to survive the final lap. After splitting up on the beats they’d reconvened at the windward mark to skirmish the final reach. Mike had pulled slightly ahead and Andy had harnessed a gust to overhaul Tom through the islands. Mike remained ahead to take the win. Tom rounded the leeward on Andy’s stern and took an early tack. This was the decisive move which took his bow scant inches ahead of Andy’s for 2^nd across the line. Tim had remained tidy enough to clinch 4^th place, rewarding him for a persistent and consistent performance throughout the day.

Chris Smart wins the Burghfield Blaze Open with three wins and a discard on his race 4 DNF. Blaze Fleet final results:

Full Blaze Fleet results here.

Fire Report by Richard Platt

With the winds increasing above what we’d ‘enjoyed’ for the training, the numbers in the Fire fleet for the racing were bolstered by several Blaze sailors choosing the smaller Fire sail. Even so, the conditions found many of the fleet had capsized on the adventure down to the start line.

Race 1 started with the fleet spread wide and there were early retirements due to the increasingly intense gusts. Pete Barlow (875) took an early lead with Richard Platt (666) regularly close but not able to pass. Mike Said, sporting one of the class Fire sails (402), and Ian Jackson (463) soldiered through and were the only others to compete the race.

For Race 2 Mark Cuthbert (878) and Peter McFarlane (763) joined the Fire fleet. This time there was a much closer start with all sailors up near the line. Richard, Pete and Peter took an early lead jostling for position, with Mark close behind. On lap 2 after rounding the windward mark a rather energetic gust took out Pete and shortly after Peter (who after a long battle in the water retired the race), this left Richard to take a lead and gave Mark the opportunity to take 2nd.

After lunch the wind had shifted giving a larger swing between the gusts and calms. David Shafto (864) joined the fleet following rig issues in the morning. Within the final minute before the start both David and Mark found themselves with upturned boats and in the water, Mark with his mast stuck and David was quickly drifting towards the shore. This left Richard and Ian a clear start line. Richard made it to the line first but slightly premature and in his hasty bearing away managed to capsize. Incredibly both Mark and David managed to reappear at that point and both were right on the line for the horn with Ian close behind. Despite the poor start, Richard took the lead by the first mark as both David and Mark capsized in the shifting wind. Strong work through lap 2 ultimately pulled Richard back in to the mix but it was David who took the win with Mark close behind in second.

The 4th and final race of the day saw the same battle for position with the conditions favouring different sailors at different times. As an exhausting day nearly done, Richard took a healthy lead to win with David second and Mark sitting right on his stern.

The conditions through the day had been a challenge for even the most experienced, with any sailor braving the water facing a struggle. Every sailor that took part deserve congratulations. There were small wins for all (even if at times it felt like just staying upright for a minute was the win).

Through consistency, Richard Platt took the Fire Open win with Mark Cuthbert in second and Ian Jackson came a well-deserved third. Fire Fleet final results:

Full Fire results here

Harsh conditions for all sailors and a bit too much to chew on for many. But some fantastically close-quarters racing in both fleets raising the excitement of an already high energy day.

Many thanks go to Mark, the RO, who delivered excellent racing under tough conditions, and the safety team who’d been kept busy and performed flawlessly.

Andy Maw had foregone his racing (however easy a decision that may have been) to take charge of the camera which in itself was a challenge on a bouncing RIB.

BCA wish to extend thanks also to Pete Barlow for his dedication to the Blaze and Fire classes and for pulling the training and racing together at the Burghfield end.

Burghfield SC has always been a friend to the Blaze class and seems to save its biggest winds especially for us. Thanks for that…I guess! We look forward to coming back for more next year.