Bartley Sailing Club Blog

Calm before the storm...

Bartley sent a strong team of Junior and Youth competitors to the penultimate RYA Midland Youth Series at Rutland, the 3 Laser 4.7s of Josh, Harrison, and Megan stood alongside the Laser, Topper, and RS Tera of Tom, Cecily, and Millie. The wind was forecast at 16 to 17 mph but as the team took to the water they found it was stronger than that on the race course with boats obliterated on the start line as the gusts blew in. Unfortunately Cecily was one of the early casualties but after a tow back to shore she defeated her demons and took to the water in the calmer area close to the shore to show the conditions would not beat her. Out in the middle of the lake the race started with the tightest competition between the fleet of 7 laser 4.7s who sailed as a 6 boat clump with Jamie Tylecote from Rutland out in front of the mini fleet for most of the race allowing a laser 3000, radial, and Tom in his full rig to pull away. At the other end of the fleet the RS Teras battled bravely through the waves with a sole Topper in between.

Harrison and Josh sailed fantastically to be the 2nd and 4th Laser 4.7s in race 1 with Megan never recovering from a poor start to take the 6th. Millie took a while to settle in and focussed on finishing the race in the safest way possible rather than taking risks, and Tom took a 10th on handicap despite the Laser looking like it would take off.

Race 2 was a similar story but this time Tom took 4th on handicap and Harrison and Megan 3rd and 4th laser 4.7s. Millie's 'safe but sure' approach continued to work for her as one of the other Teras went into an unexpected gybe on the run providing the helm with a nasty bang to the head and ultimately retirement from the competition - not a day to be caught unawares!

The sailors returned to shore with stories to tell over lunch before returning to the water to find how strong the wind really could blow!

Lunch - the usual refined affair...

Race 3 overpowered nearly the whole fleet with multiple capsizes and retirements. Those that could hold onto their boats had the ride of their lives, others had a rather wet race with a few heading nearer to shore to wait for the squalls to pass. Millie continued her steady approach to the race and ended up winning it as the other boats had so many 'events'

The final race was a little (but not much) calmer with the fleet now down to 12. Unfortunately Harrison was taken out on the run leading to a new experience in the protest room which let Megan take 3rd laser 4.7 in the Race. Local knowledge seemed to prevail once again as the Rutland sailors took the top spots overall.

The prizes were awarded on the provisional results so Tom got a second place trophy, however the final results were posted later on the website and are somewhat different (and do look to be more in line with what was expected!). 

So we ended up with Harrison in 6th, Megan 7th, Tom 8th, Millie 10th, Josh 11th, and Cecily 15th, we had a protest awarded in Harrison's favour, Megan's first experience of being a witness, Millie's last sail in her Tera before moving to a Topper, and a lesson in resilience: When the wind throws everything at you then strength of character shows through - you have to solve problems, work out how to get through, sail the boat right on the edge of control and get back in the saddle after a fall. Our team all experienced that on Saturday, and you know what? They all came through that little bit stronger...

The next, and final event in the series is at Bartley on Sunday 15th September. Lets hope it is a little bit calmer!!!

Please be aware that the Galley will be closed this weekend so please bring your own refreshments along to the club. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Service will resume as normal on 7th Sept.

Less than a month to the RYA Junior Regatta at Bartley on 15th September. We encourage all junior level 3 and above to come along to get some experience of racing so put the date in the diary and support the club and junior sailing in the Midlands. K2O members can use the Fevas, Teras, Picos - just let me know in advance so we can make sure we have enough boats allocated to sailors ()

If you know other juniors at Midlands clubs please invite them and their fellow sailors so we get a great turnout. Those on social media please share with as many midland junior sailors as possible.

Lots of prizes for participants but you have to be in it to win it!

I have managed to get another Topper up and running so if you are a junior member at Bartley without a boat of your own and want to take advantage of this then let me know on

The conditions are simple - just pay for a boat park space, use and look after the boat, hand it back when you have outgrown it or are no longer using it.

It is insured on the club insurance so no need to pay any more.

Toppers are usually suitable for ages 12 to 16 depending on size / weight and are a great junior class.

First come first served so let me know a.s.a.p. if you are interested. I plan to get one more back on the water over the winter period so don't worry if you miss out this time around.

Offer is only open to Bartley members.

Looking to take your sailing to the next level and inspire the next generation?

Join us this October half term 28th October to 1st November at Rockley Watersports Bartley for an RYA Dinghy Instructor Course

Dates: Monday 28th October to Friday 1st November 2019

Cost: ONLY £250!

Pre entry assessment is on Sunday 6th October for £110 with training available on Saturday 5th October

Pre requisite courses available: RYA Powerboat Level 2, RYA First Aid, RYA Safe and Fun.

Talk to Benn, visit the website or call the team to book your place on 07398 564 615

I may have to cancel my holidays next year as after 2 weeks away in sunny Cornwall I have returned to lots of news to catch up on!

So where to start? Lets go with the Supernovas. The Bowmoor S.C. and Girton S.C. events took place in July with a strong turnout from Bartley. At Bowmoor Chris Hawley took 3rd, Mike Gibson 5th, Steve Hawley 6th, Garry Butterfield 8th and Andy Bownes 9th in a fleet of over 30. At Girton Garry won the event outright. 

In the Lasers John Ling took the win at Clevedon in a much reduced fleet due to the strong winds - some great photos of the event on the Yachts and Yachting website.

Now to the RS Aeros. For those who are unfamiliar with the class it has 3 different rigs - the 5m sail for those who nibble lettuce leaves, the 7m sail for those who munch broccoli, and the 9m sail for the full Popeye Spinnach can-poppers.Jeremy Higson decided that he was clearly in the latter category and ready for anything that the Scottish weather could throw at him. Well sort of - the 20 knot winds coupled with 6 foot waves on day 1 resulted in a steep learning curve but by the end of the event he had mastered the Aero to come 7th in the 9m rig and first Master.

The Aeros take off...

The 20 knots of wind were also a feature in the Anglesea Offshore race with Steve Ward and Mike Acaster taking on the 16 mile race in the Menai Straits - not for the faint hearted. They survived as did their trusty GP14 and managed 1st GP, 5th overall, and 2nd in the slow fleet. The final challenge was the 3 hour drive home!

The Anglesea Offshore race gets going

In the Junior / Youth sailing competitions Josh and Harrison represented Worcestershire in the National Schools Sailing Association National Championships in Weymouth. There were 22 sailors in the Laser 4.7 fleet making for a great competition. Josh sailed consistently to take 10th place with his highest result a 5th and Harrison finished in 5th place overall with a couple of 2nd places in his series results - great sailing from both our 4.7 boys.

Harrison powers to the finish line.

Here come the girls... Megan and Millie participated in Junior Camel Week in Rock (opposite Padstow). This was Megan's third JCW and she wanted to get into the top 5 this year. However a 2nd place in the practice race gave her the confidence to set her sights higer winning the Cornish Holidays Cup on day 1, the Tranquility Cup on day 2 (which was sailed in a tranquil Force 2), the Beaufort Cup on day 3 (this time in force 5 to 6), and then the Vicuna Cup on the 2nd race of the final day resulting in her winning the overall event and the Highest placed Laser with 4 first places and a discarded 3rd - the training in Weymouth a couple of weekends before clearly paid off. Sister Millie managed 16th place out of a 37 strong fleet with 12th her highest placing.

Waiting to launch at Junior Camel Week.

Now enough of all this sailing away from the club - what is happening closer to home? Wednesday evening continues to progress our developing sailors, K2O now has a new group of RYA level 1 sailors who are  working towards level 2, Tuesday evenings are into their final month with the trophies now being polished ready for the series winners, Rockley has been running school holiday camps alongside their powerboat and sailing courses, and we now have lockers for club members! These are located behind the door in the OOD hut and are for the use of Club Members only. You just sign out a key, put your valuables in the locker and lock it, then return the key to the correct locker after use. The locker keys are on floats should you manage to drop them in the reservoir. Thanks to Jennifer Foort for taking the initiative on this.

Nowhere to store your car keys? You have now...

And finally... The Gents refurb is progressing well, soon be time for the grand opening :)

With the wind foreacast at force 5 (fresh breeze) gusting 8 (fresh gale) tomorrow 10th August the K2O team have decided that it will be too windy to safely sail at K2O and have cancelled the session. The next session will be the 17th August after which there is no session on 24th due to the August Bank Holiday. Usual service will resume on 31st August until the end of the season.

Again - sorry about tomorrow and hope you can find something equally fun to do whilst the storm rattles through.

The K2O Instructor team.

The athletes assemble in Weymouth ready for a week of sailing with the National Schools Sailing Association. Reports from Harrison indicate day 1 was a challenge with variable conditions (including jellyfish and dolphins!). Josh is currently in 10th place and Harrison in 9th but they reckon a top 5 is feasible - keep the pressure on guys - trigger starts, flat boats and surf the waves, we know you can do it!

On Saturday Megan and Millie continued the RYA Midlands Youth Series at Staunton Harold. Maybe it was the holidays or the force 4 to 5 winds that kept the numbers down but those that sailed had a blast. Megan was pipped on countback into second place however her 3 seconds and 2 firsts were quite an achievement in a strong fleet of junior sailors. Millie battled some early demons to overcome the gusts and pull herself up to 5th with improving results over the day.

Megan decides to race a fireball upwind whilst Millie sets her sights on the Topper...

On Sunday the lasers travelled to Midland S.C. with a fleet of 25 and 12 different clubs represented. Whilst the standard fleet had very strong competition, the 4.7s had their own match racing competition with all 3 races tightly contested.

At the end of the day John got 4th, I managed a 6th closely followed by Ollie in 7th. In the 4.7s Megan came 2nd Laser 4.7 and 10th overall - we all need to start watching out for these juniors...

How to strengthen your stomach muscles... #philbase

The RYA Level 2 powerboat course is internationally recognised giving you access to boat hire around the globe as well as on home shores. 

The course is charged at £200 to £300 when purchased from a provider but only £30 - yes £30 for Bartley members.

For our club it is a requirement of membership that you hold this qualification so that our members receive a high standard of safety cover with competent powerboat drivers. 

Any one of these reasons should be sufficient for those who have not yet obtained their qualification to book onto one of the 3 remaining dates this year.

The course is 2 days covering powerboat checks, the importance of kill cords, man overboard, launch and retrieval, gear and steer, driving at speed and much more. Learn the theory in the classroom first and then get out on the water for some practice.

The remaining dates for this year are:

Sept 22nd and 29th

Nov 3rd and 10th

Dec 7th and 8th

If you are not yet qualified please sign up a.s.a.p.

To book on please contact Dave Jones on  or call 07887 406 585

For those wishing to pay their respects to Dave Watton his funeral is at 10.45 a.m. Wednesday 31st July at Worcester Crematorium.