Congratulations to Paul Hemsworth and Rachel Meddick, winners of the 2023 BCYC Pursuit Race, on Dart18, “Soggy Moggy”.
The Race took place on a gloriously sunny day in May – the 29th to be precise. Calm seas, blue skies and a gentle breeze, gradually building throughout the race, made for some champagne sailing. 20 boats took part including 3 yachts, 5 Dart 18 catamarans and 6 Lasers providing plenty of opportunity for in-fleet racing as well as chasing down those in front. Of particular note was a father and young son on a National 12 and a battle of the Picos with the Dads (Meurig and Marc) on one desperately trying to out-do the “kids” on another – let’s just say, that on this occasion, youth won out over experience!
With 5 minutes to go, the race was very much in the balance with Paul and Rachel hunting down Cathie Blakemore on her Byte, eventually passing her on the final leg to take the honours.
Thank you to MYC for their continued support, providing marks and safety boats. Thanks also to those BCYC volunteers who helped run the event: Alyson Nicholson, Race Officer, Paul Nicholson, Assistant Race Officer and Simon Brooks, safety and finish boat.
Well we did it! The Pursuit Race was held on 17th September after a break of two years. A pleasantly sunny day with very a very light breeze at the start growing to an enjoyable force 3 for the last 40 minutes providing some enjoyable sailing.
16 boats entered including 2 yachts, 6 catamarans and 8 monohull dinghies. It was great to families on the water too – mixing it with the “big boys and girls”. Achilles 24, Spicy Lady, had a family on board including 2 young children; the Laser Vision was sailed by Richard Woffinden, rear commodore of MYC, with his young daughter Seren, who also shared the helm duties and flew the spinnaker; and a Dart 16 catamaran sailed by Charlie Cole and his young son Isaac, who also shared the helm duties.
Winner Mark Pressedee holding the Lee cup
The winner was Marc Pressdee on an Aero, closely followed by Tony Rees on a Laser and in third place the intrepid father and daughter, Richard and Seren on the Vision. After 2 and a half hours of sailing, there was only two minutes between the first three, all of which were on the same leg of the course.
The calm conditions didn’t quite suit the cats nor Va Va Voom an Elan 37. However, those aboard the Elan said the enjoyed a 3-course meal while returning to the marina!
Huge thank you to Tony Pettican and Anchem for being the event sponsor and to Alistair Ramsden for providing a number of great additional prizes.
Thanks too to Mumbles YC for their invaluable support, and to those Club members who provided safety cover and race management.
Photos taken on the water can be viewed here Jo Mullett | Flickr. Presentation photos will be available soon.
Well, after a postponement due to Mumbles having the highest winds in the UK on 10th August, the Pursuit Race eventually took place in glorious conditions on 25th August. Sailors (and race management team) were treated to blue skies, a flat sea and around 13 knots of wind – ideal conditions for the chase!
15 boats took place this year led off by, possibly, the oldest boat in the field, “Myhtos”, an Achilles 24 and, allegedly, the oldest combined age of the crew (if you exclude the boats with big crews) Paul Nicholson and Chris Osborne, hotly pursued by another Achilles 24 “Athene” crewed by Paul Knight and Emelye Trew.
An hour and 10 minutes later the fastest boat on the water, a Formula 18 catamaran helmed by Dave Charles, was the final boat to join the pursuit – and boy did he fly on some of the reaches!
The variety of boats on the water provided quite a spectacle especially when last year’s third placed sailor, Harry Pressdee, on an Aero7 was chasing down Independent Bear, a Corby 41.5.
The chase was keen with the lead changing frequently. However, once Oscar Chess and Will, on a Dart 18, took the lead, they looked invincible, quickly gaining and retaining a half leg lead over their nearest competitor. At the 15:00 finish Oscar and Will were the overall winners with Tim and Sue just holding off Colin and Alex, all Dart 18s, for 2nd place.
Harry Pressdee took the prize for 1st youth, finishing an impressive 5th overall and Independent Bear taking the honors for 1st cruiser.
The race was followed by the presentation in the BCYC clubhouse where sailors and volunteers were treated to a buffet and the chance to exchange tall tales.
This year’s event was very different to previous pursuit races. Thanks to some kind sponsorship there were cash prizes for the fleet winners. The race was also carried out in conjunction with Mumbles YC’s Gower Challenge regatta, with a race to Oxwich and back on the Saturday and Sunday’s pursuit results counting towards the competitors’ overall weekend ranking. The regatta winner was our very own Colin Jenkins ably supported by Alex and Chris.
Race officer, Alyson Nicholson said “Many thanks to all who helped in the success of this race: Karen and Guy on mark 1, Mike and Carl on mark 2, Mark and Carl on mark 3 with Anne and Martin joining me and doing a sterling job on the committee boat. And especially to sponsor for his kind support of this event”
The 2018 BCYC Pursuit Race ranks among one of the most successful for the club. 22 boats participated comprising 10 cruisers and 12 dinghies (8 monohulls and 4 catamarans) providing quite a spectacle – especially when a youth Topper is being chased by a 40-plus foot international racing machine!
Conditions made for competitive and enjoyable racing with glorious sunshine and wind at around 8 – 9 knots. However a lull towards the end favored the early starters.
Showing exceptional boat handling, the winners were Chris and Pippa on an RS200 from MYC, followed in 2nd place by Rhian Chase on a laser (intermediate race) and in 3rd (and hero of the day), young Harry Pressdee on a Topper. Harry was the only sailor who sailed for the full 2.5 hours and was still leading with less than 5 mins to go. He also beat his Dad who came 4th on an Aero. The handicap worked well with the first 3 boats changing places in the last couple of minutes and all 5 leading boats on the same leg!
First BCYC boat home, despite the race officer checking and checking and checking, oh, and checking again, was Paul Nicholson with Paul Hemsworth on the F18 catamaran.
The committee boat demonstrated girl power for the third year in succession with Rachel Ace and Anne Rees supporting Race Officer Alyson Nichoson. We had a plenty of safety support from club members and MYC, without whom the event couldn’t have taken place.
After the race we were treated to nibbles in the BCYC clubhouse and were joined by the crews of at least 3 yachts who made it over from SYSAC despite Saturday traffic. Congratulations, tall tales, banter and the woes of insufficient sunscreen were regaled alongside some enthusiastic re-hydration!
