SeavetsN ewsletter

October 2013 No 5 www.seavets.co.uk

FOR THE SENIOR & VETERAN WINDSURFERS ASSOCIATION

Seavets ShopAfter many years of running the Seavets Shop, buying and selling our mercha-ndise, Jean Fettes has decided to stand down. We are indebted to her effortsover the years and she has helped to ensure that the Seavets name is on displaywherever we go windsurfing. A very big thank you.Thanks also to Stuart Cazaly who has kindly volunteered to take on runningthe shop.

Overall series winner MikePlayle

Summer has flown byand Seavets have beenas active as ever. Onthe racing scene it hasbeen great to havenew faces and theadditional challengesprovided.Social sailing both bythe south coasters andat our other organisedevents provides anopportunity for all tomix and share adviceor just a good laugh.

Chairman Ruth TraceyEmail: seavets@supanet.comGangbridge CottageSt Mary Bourne, Andover.SP11 6EP01264 738285

Secretary Steve FletcherEmail: steve.m.fletcher@btinternet.com14 Rutland PlaceMaidenheadBerks SL64JA01628 624401

Membership Secretary / TreasurerPaul FettesEmail: Paulfet@aol.com63 Mitchley Hill, Sanderstead,Surrey CR2 9HJ0208 657 7628

Editor Tony ChandlerEmail: tonychandler7975@btinternet.com7 Lea Road, Sonning Common,Reading,Berks RG4 9LH0118 9723976

Newsletter Deadline1st December 2013

Weymouth WeekOn Monday morning, we gathered as usual at the boat yard. A modest parking feeof £5 had been arranged. With light to moderate easterly winds it was a goodopportunity to get out the raceboards and 7.5m sails. On Tuesday the windremained easterly and had increased so it was time for the short boards. The windhad veered south-easterly on Wednesday and dropped so another chance for therace boards and 7.5m and for some 8.5m sails.On Wednesday evening, twenty-six of us gathered at the Marques of Gransby forthe customer meal which as last year was enjoyed by all.Thursday started windy but dry but by 10am the black clouds rolled in and strongwinds and squalls were enjoyed for an hour. The weather gradually improvedthroughout the day and by 3pm the sun made an appearance and all seemed well.It was nevertheless a good opportunity for a rest. Just before midnight, thepromised thunderstorm arrived with driving winds and rain, calming back downby 3am. For Friday the winds had veered south-westerly which meant they wereoff shore providing flat water. As this was a neap tide time providing shallowwater, we were bound to be joined by lots of kite surfers. An excellently warmand sunny day provided hours of fun.The Weymouth week could not happen with a lot of organisation and we areindebted to the efforts of Pat and John Terry for organising and sorting out all thedetails, making it a very memorable week.

Tony Chandler

MIDWEEK SOCIAL SAILING 2013These are informal gatherings giving members an opportunity to sail in company.If the wind forecast casts doubt on the suitability of the planned venue (e.g. too much, too little orbad direction), members should consult one of the following contacts to see if there has been achange of plan. The main contact for each week is indicted by the letter in the right hand columnof the table. A Dudley Hunt – 01202-428699 B Mary Maunsell-Thomas – 01252-617728C Ruth Lewis – 01483-415700 D Geoff Hook – 01202-604732

All sailing dates are Wednesdays Changes to original list in redDate Venue 1st High 2nd High Low Contact

13 March Mudeford 9.35 13.00 A20 March Calshot 10.39 B27 March Sandbanks 8.59 13.16 D03 April Hayling 11.05 C10 April Mudeford 9.35 13.05 A17 April Calshot 9.56 B24 April Sandbanks 8.46 13.02 D01 May Sandbanks 14.09 19.18 D08 May Sandbanks 9.01 13.10 D15 May Calshot 8.41 B22 May Sandbanks 7.01 11.29 D29 May Mudeford 13.00 16.10 A05 June Sandbanks 6.34 11.42 D12 June Mudeford 12.30 15.40 A19 June Hayling 13.42 B26 June Poole Week03 July Calshot 14.09 B10 July Mudeford 11.20 14.55 A17 July Hayling 12.02 C24 July Mudeford 10.35 14.10 A31 July Calshot 12.20 B07 August Mudeford 10.20 14.10 A14 August Hayling 10.28 C21 August Mudeford 9.45 13.30 A28 August Calshot 9.25 B04 September Calshot Week11 September Sandbanks 13.02 18.02 D18 September Sandbanks 9.16 13.08 D25 September Mudeford 11.30 13.40 A02 October Weymouth Week09 October Mudeford 12.45 16.05 A16 October Sandbanks 8.18 11.41 D23 October Mudeford 12.20 15.30 A30 October Hayling 13.39 C

Poole Cruise

On Thursday 22nd August ten Seavets, namely Richard Mustoe, Joe Coulson,Hugh Norris, David Rabbetts, Andy Lacy, Chris Rowland, Nigel Tailyour, thetwo Johns, Chubb and Ellis plus myself set off from Ham Common to sail roundall six islands in Poole Harbour.Launching in bright sunshine and a 10mph SE wind we sailed westward towardsGiggers Island, rounding this with no sign of the normal shallow water. We thenhad a fairly rapid return to base, arriving there to regroup in just under an hour.After a short stop to pick up our picnic lunches, we headed south to Shipstal Pointwhere we had a very pleasant lunch on this almost deserted beach.

Setting sail again everyone was under strict orders to follow the leader through theshallows between Long and Round Island which they did, and luckily I managedto lead them through unscathed, we then passed Green and Fursey Islands beforecrossing Brands Bay for the Tea and Cake stop at The Shell Bay Café, in truththose of us who arrived first had the last of the delicious cake, the others had tomake do with just tea.

The last legtook us dow-nwind roundB r o w n s e athe sixth andfinal Islandand acrossthe wideexpanse ofPoole Harb-our back toour base atH a mC o m m o nhaving cove-red 20.5miles at ana v e r a g espeed of5.8mph acc-ording toJohn Chubb'strusty GPS.Those who

missed the cake at Shell Bay then rushed off to buy an ice cream and missed theteam photo with the Jolly Roger being waved in triumph.

Richard Williams

Grafham

Name R 1 R2 R3 R4 Total Senior Veteran Supervet Megavet

Andy Lacy 1 1 1 (13 DNC) 3 1

Tony Goodwin -10 2 2 2 6 2

Tony Chandler -3 3 3 1 7 3

Derrick Hall 6 4 -8 4 14 4

John Ellis 4 -11 7 5 16 5

Roger Marsh -7 5 5 6 16 6

Mike Playle 2 (13 DNC) 4 13 DNC 19 7

Nick Harris 9 7 -10 3 19 8

Steve Fletcher 8 6 6 (13 DNC) 20 9

Joe Coulson 5 8 9 (13 DNC) 22 10

Julian Barnes (13 DNC) 10 11 13 DNC 34 11

Keith Williams (13 DNC) 9 13 DNC 13 DNC 35 12

DatchetA moderate south-westerly wind ensured a sizable course being set with optionson the up wind leg for gains and loses. Andy Lacy dominated the two morningraces with Alan Jackson and Tony Chandler neck and neck for second place.In the afternoon, the first race was halted when it was realised that the secondmark had either drifted away or had been moved. Its part of the fun. Andycontinued his dominance with Alan taking second spot.Prizes were awarded in the club house afterwards.

Tony Chandler

Old hands know that it is a lot windier on the water at Grafham than at the riggingarea. Most settled for 7.5m sails in the morning. Andy Lacy took the first twomorning races with the two Tonys lining up for an afternoon tussle for secondspot. With an increase in wind several chose to change down. Andy, havingbagged the third race decided not to complete the fourth race. Consistent sailingby Tony Goodwin ensured overall second spot with the other Tony coming third.The results show consistent sailing from all competitors despite the windy condit-ions. Thanks as usual to Grafham and the committee boat persons.

Tony Chandler

Name R1 R2 R3 R4 Total Senior Supervet Megavet Ladies

Andy Lacy -1 1 1 1 3 1

Alan Jackson -4 2 2 2 6 2

Tony Chandler 3 3 -4 3 9 3

John Ellis -15 4 3 4 11 4

Adrian Rippington 2 8 -15 5 15 5

David Kinnerley 5 7 5 -9 17 6

Adrian Brearley -7 6 6 6 18 7

Julian Barnes 6 5 10 -13 21 8

John Chubb 8 -10 8 7 23 9

Richard Williams 10 -11 7 8 25 10

Joe Coulson -14 9 9 10 28 11

Russell Polden 9 13 11 -15 33 12

Derrick Hall 11 -14 12 11 34 13

Steve Fletcher 13 -15 14 12 39 14

Ruth Tracey 12 12 (18 DNS) 18 DNS 42 15

Richard Mustoe -17 16 13 14 43 16

Roger Marsh 16 (18 DNS) 18 DNS 18 DNS 52 17

Datchet Medal winners, Joe Coulson 1st Megavet, TonyChandler 3rd, Andy Lacy 1st and Alan Jackson 2nd Supervets.

Buddies and BuoyancyThese days I make a point of wearing buoyancy when sailing on the sea and wehave no rescue service and in that situation I like the practice of buddying, with 2or 3 sailors keeping an eye on each other. This July at Quiberon Keith Williams and I sailed together quite a lot. Onemorning we were sailing to a nearby harbour at St Pierre, maybe 3 miles south, forcoffee. We had a fresh northerly breeze which strengthened as we went. Gybingto sail into the harbour I caught a gust that snatched the sail away from me. Thesail fell partly onto the board so that the rig was driven downwind at a pace. Mypathetic efforts to swim in pursuit were no match for it.Keith saw what had happened, sailed across to my board and stopped it. I am nogreat swimmer but all I had to do then was keep going and in due course I arrived.Having buoyancy was a security and having Keith there was even better. Irecommend belt and braces.

Hugh Norris

Farmoor1st Supervet Mike Playle 2nd Supervet Andy Lacy

3rd Supervet Russ Canning 2nd Megavet Hugh Norris

Name R 1 R 2 R 3 R 4 Total Senior Supervet Megavet Ladies

Mike Playle -2 2 1 1 4 1

Andy Lacy 1 1 2 -15 4 2

Russ Canning 3 -5 3 2 8 3

Alan Jackson 4 3 (DNF) 5 12 4

John Ellis 6 -7 4 3 13 5

Tony Chandler 5 4 -7 4 13 6

Neil Garland (OCS) 6 6 6 18 7

Tony Goodwin -8 8 5 7 20 8

Derrick Hall 7 -9 9 9 25 9

Dave Kinnerley 9 10 8 -12 27 10

Steve Fletcher 10 -11 11 11 32 11

Julian Barnes 11 -13 10 13 34 12

Joe Coulson -15 15 12 8 35 13

Hugh Norris -16 16 14 10 40 14

Ruth Tracey 13 -17 13 14 40 15

Roger Marsh 14 12 15 -16 41 16

John Chubb 12 14 (DNS) DNS 44 17

Northerly winds greeted us andthese we likely to veer during theday. Our usual "M" course was setusing giant buoys likely to be visi-ble from space. In the morning,Andy Lacy managed to use the stro-nger winds to hold off a determinedchallenge from Mike playle. Afteran excellent lunch, the wind haddropped a little allowing MikePlayle to take the two remainingraces. With equal points and anequal number of first and secondplaces it come down to the last raceboth competitors took part in ignor-

ing discards. They do not come closer than that. Prizes were given in the club house afterwards by Ruth. A big thanks to Farmoorand the course setters and committee boat persons.

Tony Chandler

1st Senior Neil Garland

Ashlett CreekOn the 4th of September during Seavets Calshot week six of us including JohnEllis, Keith Williams, Russell Polden,Hugh Norris and myself were joined byDavid Rabbetts, Steve Fletcher and John Chubb who had travelled down for theday to do the Calshot - Lepe- Ashlett cruise, it was a lovely sunny morning as wegathered on the beach for the early 9.30 start.Unfortunately the wind hadn't got up quite as early as the rest of us, so we had todelay the start which meant there was not enough time to sail to Lepe for coffee asplaned, so we sailed to the beach café at Calshot instead, while we were there thewind picked up enough to make the return to the Lagoon an enjoyable one,especially the lumpy bit by the Castle.Once in the Lagoon we stopped to regroup and were joined for the trip to Ashlettby Ruth Tracey, the two Tony's, Chandler and Goodwin plus Jon Popkiss on hisSUP, there was now a fleet of 12 making it's way downwind in a fresheningbreeze, we then an easy passage along the creek before landing outside the AshlettClub, where we were joined by 4 non sailors who had cycled from the campsite,making a group of 16 visiting sailor's and cyclist's, which the club dealt withwithout any problem, serving up 16 delicious and very reasonably priced meals inrecord time.After lunch a small group of locals who had not seemed happy with such a largegroup invading their space, took great delight in watching us flap around in theswirling wind on our departure, but once clear of the trees and buildings we madeour way easily back along the creek and upwind still in a fairly fresh wind back tobase at the campsite on Calshot Spit.Not a very long or challenging cruise to round off the season, but a very enjoyablesocial day sailing, We have managed to complete 7 of the 8 trips this year withonly the mighty Sheppy eluding us, perhaps we can make an effort to get a fullhouse next season.Richard Williams

National Watersports Festival - Shock And RollThe crowd at the water’s edge yelled “Loop! Loop! LOOP! LOOP!” A jet skirocketed out of the pitch blackness and roared across the floodlit shoreline; a towline released as a brightly-coloured board and sail shot into view, feet from theshore. A shock of blond hair was briefly visible, arcing through the air instroboscopic freeze frames of camera flashes; a hail of spray spread like a showerof sparks in the floodlights as the board left the water; a crescendo of cheers roseinto the night sky, merging with a hail of fireworks…A forward loop; in the shallows; in the dark; using momentum from a jet ski tow-in means only one thing –the NWF Night Windsurf! The crowd-pleasing shock ofblond hair belonged to Max Rowe, just one of the incredible cast of some of THEmost talented Professional Freestyle Windsurfers in the world; a line-up whichincluded a 5x World Champion; 24 year old Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo from Venezu-ela. The best of the best demonstrated perfectly a single Loop, Vulcan or Flaka.Impressive! But Gollito casually, beautifully affirmed his status as World No 1 bypulling off triple combination manoeuvres using only apparent wind. In thesemulti-media days, few things can wow a crowd like this. We were left in no doubtthat we were in the presence of the sort of natural genius that comes along only

once in a generation - and is anabsolute joy to watch!But the NWF is about intermedia-tes. Top windsurfers, past and pres-ent, were there, but what else didthe NWF have to offer? As windsu-rfing’s national treasure Peter Hartsaid “NWF is like the Cirque duSoleil – there is always somethinggoing on!” Friday had seen a steadysea breeze for on-the-water-actionfollowed by a big beach party andW4CR (Watersports for CancerResearch) Charity Auction, but that

was just the warm-up. Saturdayshifted up a gear. After a full dayof racing, technique clinics, tastersessions, trade show and the NightWindsurf came the second Shockand Roll – a full Horror- themedfancy dress beach party, with livesounds from ‘Hot Betty’. Thisproduced some truly gruesomeresults - including PWA WorldTitle holder Robby Swift in somesort of slime outfit.

Launch

Shock and Roll

Allan Cross has funded and delivered NWF single-handedly for the last 7 years. Tocontinue and expand this wonderful and unique event, NWF is looking for sponsorswho may be interested in a cost-effective way to promote their business to 1.5 millionUK Windsurfers, Kite Surfers, SUPers and Kayakers in the high-income, professionaldemographic, via the NWF community, which is backed by Watersports superstars. Ifyou have any suggestions or know of anyone who may be interested, please e mail thedetails to Allan at Email :- allan@nwfevents.co.uk web:- www.nationalwatersportsfestival.com

There were further gruesome results onSunday morning; the turnout for the 10amrace was distinctly sparse…Those who man-aged to make it to the start line immediatelyupped their rankings overall, simply by turn-ing up! The weather played ball throughout the wee-kend – the winds were light but the skiesremained flawlessly blue. The light windswere perfect for the novice and intermediateparticipants, at whom the event is aimed -

and kept the emphasis on fun rather than fast and furious competition. NWF was50% bigger in 2013; rebranded as the National Watersports Festival, complement-ary sports were included alongside Windsurfing. While not the best for Kites, thelight airs were ideal for the SUP and Kayak community - and wall to wallsunshine made for a happy spectator!The Sea Vets certainly had a presence there and, in the light conditions, longboards ruled the day! Brendan O’Connor managed to find time to do very nicelyin a race, in between helping to raise over £5000 over the weekend for W4CR.Dudley, Gina and Stuart were spotted in the crowd and I have to thank DavidMontgomery most sincerely for getting me over an attack of nerves and persuad-ing me to enter my first EVER windsurf race. It was a truly amazing weekend. My aim had been to finish lower than my age(and in a field of 200, that's nowhere near last, thank you!) – I shaved off nearly adecade! I helped to uphold the honour of Team ‘Ladies who Launch’ (we came4th in the Team rankings), achieved my objectives (dry hair at the end of a raceand a photo with Gollito) - and to cap it all, I didn't smell as bad as I thought Imight after two days in neoprene and a night in the back of the van, whosewashing facilities constituted a kind of beach bed bath, using a flask of hot waterthat I had brought to make tea…!Ian and Carole, who own the Inn on the Beach at Hayling Island, around whichthe NWF action is centred said “It’s great to have a bunch of people focused onenjoying themselves... The Watersports community are a great bunch and it wasnice to have the kite, kayak and SUP people alongside the windsurfing guys.Really enjoyed this year, best yet!”? The NWF seems to surpass itself every year, so the challenge for NWF OrganiserAllan Cross in 2014 is – TOP THAT.

Jackie Lambert

Simon Bornoff crowd surfing

Burghfield ChampionshipSeavets 2013 racing series came to a conclusion at Burghfield with anotherexcellent turnout of 19. Supervets reigned supreme, as usual, but for once all agecategories were represented, and we welcomed David Rabbets, one of our socialsailors, to the racing scene. The wind blew from the east at a little less than thepredicted 8 – 10 knots, and Tony Chandler set an ‘M’ course at the far end of thelake from the clubhouse, in anticipation of the closer end being used by a clubchildren’s event in the afternoon. Peter was Race Officer, aided by Fran andLewis Barnes (Lewis has quite a few years to go before he will be eligible to joinSeavets, but we like to catch them young, if possible).The light winds were just what Mike Playle had ordered, and he proved unbeata-ble in the rather fickle conditions. The windward mark was placed a little tooclose for comfort to the trees which made rounding it successfully a challenge,and the fleet quickly spread out. Andy Lacy, Neil Garland and Alan Jackson cameclosest and swapped places behind the leader all day. Everyone, Neil most of all,was startled when his mast broke just after finishing the first race, and he had togo ashore during the second race to re-rig.Tony Chandler spent most of his lunch time break re-setting some of the buoys totake them out of the wind shadow, and Fran and Lewis let Peter have theafternoon off from Committee boat duties. The pattern was repeated in theafternoon’s 2 races, with Mike ending the day with 4 wins, followed by Andy andNeil separated by 1 point.The event prize giving was followed by the presentation of the trophies for theoverall series. Mike just pipped Andy to top spot by 3 points to take the Supervetstrophy; Joe won the Megavets trophy, and Julian the Senior/Veteran cup. TheChairman’s Cup, awarded at the Chairman’s whim (last year to Tony Chandler forbeing the sole competitor to attend every single event) was awarded to TonyGoodwin – 3rd yet again. Close examination of the results shows that he beateveryone by a mile before any discards were applied. Perhaps we should be lessgenerous with our discard ration? There was also a belated presentation of themagnificent Dee Caldwell Trophy to the winner at Grafham, Andy Lacy.

2nd Megavet Russell Polden 1st Megavet Joe Coulson

Name R1 R2 R3 R4 Total Senior Veteran Supervet Megavet LadiesMike Playle -1 1 1 1 3 1

Andy Lacy 2 -4 3 2 7 2

Neil Garland 3 (20 DNS) 2 3 8 3

Alan Jackson 4 2 -5 4 10 4

Tony Chandler -6 5 4 5 14 5

John Ellis 5 3 -8 8 16 6

David Kinnerley -8 7 7 6 20 7

Tony Goodwin -11 8 6 7 21 8

Adrian Brearley 9 6 -10 10 25 9

Julian Barnes 7 9 9 -12 25 10Richard Williams -12 10 11 9 30 11

Joe Coulson 10 13 -14 13 36 12

Derrick Hall -13 12 13 11 36 13

Steve Fletcher -14 11 12 14 37 14

Roger Marsh -16 16 15 15 46 15

Russell Polden (20 DNF) 15 17 16 48 16

Nick Harris 15 -17 16 17 48 17

Ruth Tracey 17 14 18 (20 DNS) 49 18

David Rabbetts 18 18 (20 DNS) 20 DNS 56 19

1st Senior Neil Garland 2nd Senior Julian Barnes

1st Supervet Mike Playle Dee Caldwell Cup Andy Lacy

Members News & ViewsArticles to Jean Fettes

Paulfet@aol.com or 0208 657 7628

We welcome Guy Spreckley, Kevin Clark, Barbara Humberstone,Adrian Brearley, Myriam and Tony Brearley and Adrian Ripping-ton who are our latest recruit to Seavets . We hope you enjoyyourselves with us and look forward to meeting you on and offthe water.We look forward to meeting up with them soon.

Quiberon 2014JUNE 28th ---- JULY 12th

For the short stay visitors the second week is probably the best with high wateraround 11am on Saturday July 5th, however the tides are pretty good for the whole2 weeks. Details to follow.For further information contact Jean and Paul paulfet@aol.com ot telephone 0208 657 7628

A little group of Minorca Sailing regulars made it back there in late Septemberand early October. Those who went for a fortnight, as most did, had the benefit ofquite a good Seavets’ deal. Terry and I managed just a week, going with sonAdam and his family. We overlapped there with Joyce, Geoff & Helen, Betty andBob Lee and Jenny Lissaman. Jane and David went the first fortnight of October. Our little family group enjoyed a lovely villa with a good pool. The boys wereseldom out of it and even I enjoyed it, as the water is a decent temperature inSeptember. We had lovely weather all week, warm and sunny, with good breezesevery day except the race morning, with a couple of good short board planingdays. With the great range of boards and sails available one can always have theright kit. They even have a brand new Starboard 377 raceboard. With a car Terryand Adam’s wife Jelena took off exploring the island and the lovely south coastbeaches. The 3 year-old was secure in the crèche and 7 year old enjoying beingtaken out sailing. Joyce and I had a rendezvous at our favourite restaurant, being greeted, as usuallike visiting royalty. Although Joyce can no longer sail she just enjoys it there andput the rest of us to shame swimming lengths up and down the pool. We had agreat week and some splendid sailing.

Hugh Norris

Autumn In Menorca

Division Sail No Name Total NettSupervet 15A Mike Playle 774 27Supervet 938 Andy Lacy 354 30Supervet 985 Tony Goodwin 333 59Supervet 7975 Tony Chandler 411 60Supervet 337 John Ellis 588 102Senior 897 Julian Barnes 577 146Supervet 1205 Roger Marsh 767 161Supervet 972 Derrick Hall 459 161Megavet 226 Joe Coulson 760 195Supervet 7940 Steve Fletcher 1066 247Supervet 416 Alan Jackson 1177 358Ladies 929 Ruth Tracey 1188 369Supervet 1311 David Kinnerley 1278 459Veteran 364 Nick Harris 1283 464Supervet 3101 Ray Neal 1300 481Supervet 623 Richard Williams 1368 549Megavet 264 Keith Williams 1385 566Megavet 7574 Russell Polden 1415 596Megavet 893 Ron Clark 1455 636Megavet 216 Russ Towns 1458 639Supervet 2146 Adrian Brearley 1464 645Supervet 1981 Mick Steer 1471 652Senior 2 Laurence Sim 1488 669Supervet 101 Barry Lyons 1500 681Senior 757 Neil Garland 1508 689Supervet 88 John Chubb 1544 725Supervet 367 Guy Spreckley 1565 746Megavet 53 Hugh Norris 1570 751Supervet 580 Russ Canning 1573 754Veteran 9674 Chris Pack 1579 760Veteran 401 Kevin Clark 1583 764Supervet 537 Adrian Rippington 1590 771Supervet 1933 Robin Brown 1600 781Megavet 7986 Richard Mustoe 1620 801Supervet 3104 Geoff Fowles 1662 843Supervet 26 Paul Cross 1667 848Supervet 676 David Rabbetts 1674 855Supervet 22 Alan Chick 1677 858

Series Results

Sailed: 44, Discards: 21, To count: 23, Entries: 38

Mersey CruiseDuring Mersea week we warmed up for the round island cruise with a 20 mile sail to the StoneInn, Ramsey Island. Having enjoyed a downwind blast in force 4 conditions we were then told thepub was not serving food. Luckily a friendly local boat owner directed us to the brand new marinaat Bradwell-On-Sea where we had a very good and reasonably priced lunch on the deckoverlooking the marina, we then continued our beat back upwind to Mersea with the tide nowhelping us.The next day dawned with bright sunshine but little wind, but ever optimistic we set off to sailanticlockwise round the island. Fortunately a northerly wind kicked in and we sailed on port tackall the way to Brightlingsea, arriving there in just over an hour having threaded our way through alarge fleet of sailing boats.

After a short walk to the local chippy we sat on the harbour wall eating our credit crunch lunch fishand chips costing a very reasonable £3.80.Setting sail again we expected to be on starboard tack for the next leg along the inside of the Islandtowards the Strood. The wind had in fact swung round to the south and increasing in strengthduring lunch, giving us a fairly rapid sail in close formation still on port all the way to thecauseway, just before we landed three seals were spotted by some of the fleet.On arrival we were met by some of the wivess and girlfriends who then used their femininecharms to stop the traffic, allowing us to cross the road safely.Having sailed two thirds of the way round on one tack we then experienced about half a dozenchanges in wind direction, making it very difficult negotiating our way through the moorings atWest Mersea. Luckily the wind settled down to a steady southerly again as we exited the harbour,and had an easy sail back along the beach to base.A total of 15.9 miles had been covered in 2hrs 40mins.

Richard Williams

SEAVET members are still entitled to a 8% discount (2% is kept for Seavets funds). If we canget a group of 12 together Neilson offer a total of 15% discount.

Booking Procedure:

Contact Neilson directly on 0870 909 9099.

Advise Neilson at beginning of conversation you are a SEAVET making the booking andthat a SEAVET is the lead name on the booking form, so the booking can be made correctly,failure to do this may mean your discount /commission may be lost.

Pay in full, then confirm the booking detail (name, dates of holiday, cost and referencenumber) and discount claim in writing to the Treasurer.

The crucial thing is that you make sure to look at the top left of the booking form, under theaddress details, a box which should say “SVETS”. If it does not say SVETS then there willbe no commission.

Details from Paul Fettes0208 657 7628 email: PaulFet@aol.com

SEAVETS SHOP

New Stock - Sail Stickers £5.00 each

SWEATSHIRTS £15.00POLO SHIRTS £12.00HATS £ 8.00

NAVY BLUE ONLY, ALL SIZES

AVAILABLE AT EVENTS OR BY POST(IF YOU ARE ORDERING BY POST A £3.00 POSTAGE CHARGE WILL APPLY)

Stuart Cazaly Email stuart.cazaly@sky.com

24-7 BOARDSPORTSFriendly advice on Calshot BeachLongboards, Large Demo Fleet

Club Membership £52(including parking, hot showers and toilets)

Sailing in any wind directionSpares and Repairs

10% Seavets discount (current)Part Exchange welcome

Call 02380 894000 www.24-7boardsports.com

Blue Chip Express RepairsThe Real Force in Windsurfing Repairs since 1980

The UK’s most experienced One-Stop shop Repair and Retail Centre for Windsurfing.

> Boards, Sails and Accessories always in stock – Like New repairs, fully guaranteed.> 24 Hour sail collection & delivery service available.> We are recommended by all the windsurfing insurance companies> We repair Pryde, Naish, Ezzy, JP, Mistral, Fanatic, Gun, Gaastra, Severn, Tabou, F2, Starboard, Tushingham, Quatro, Thommen, Goya etc.> We stock loads of DIY repair products for boards and sails

Blue Chip, 94 Church Hill Road, Cheam, Surrey, SM3 8LJ(15 minutes from J8 M25)repairs@windsurfer.co.uk

Tel: 0208 715 0040 - www.windsurfer.co.uk

Rem em ber ! Members

get a discountvoucher !

March 29 Hayling Island SC Round Hayling MarathonApril 6 Burghfield AGM 10.30am

Social Sailing and informal racing13 * Brogborough Racing

May 11 Bewl Valley London WA18 Whitwell UKWA Inland 2

June 1 * Barnt Green Racing, joint with Midlands Region WA15 * Hollowell Racing22 * Notts County Racing, joint with Midland Region WA25 - 28 Poole Week Social Sailing. HT Wed 11.5429 – 13 July Quiberon, Brittany Holiday

July 13 - 14 * Whitwell Social Sailing, Racing on Saturday27 - 28 * Bala Lake, N Wales Social Sailing, Racing on Saturday

Aug 3 - 4 * Carsington Racing Social Sailing on Sunday6 – 9 Mersea Island Social Sailing17 * Grafham Racing31 – 1 Sept Hayling Island National Watersports Festival

Sept 2 – 5 Calshot Social Sailing HT Mon 10.40am HT Thurs 12.41pm

7 * Datchet Racing14 * Farmoor Racing28 * Burghfield Racing - Seavets Championships30 – 3 Oct Weymouth Social Sailing

Oct 5 - 6 Weymouth Academy UKWA / RYA Youth and Masters

SAILING PROGRAMME 2013* Prime Racing Series Events

t some venues buoyancy aids are compulsory - always bring one with you.It is also wise to wear protective headgear in strong winds.

Events in green italics are run by other organisationsEvents in Blue have yet to be confirmed

Any changes to this programme will appear on the website and in red here