The joy of sea

What a pleasure to be out sailing on the open sea again. We've been incredibly lucky this past winter with the weather - both with temperature and wind strength - but after spending the past six months sailing on inland waters, a Force 4 on a sunny day out in a wavy Hayling Bay was a real bonus. As anyone who has sailed a fast, skiff-type boat knows, waves offer their own set of challenges and in the 49er it is a matter of knowing how fast you can push the boat downwind before it pitchpoles.

Pitchpoling, let me tell you, is not funny at the time but it is great fun in immediate retrospect, when you realise that the crew and boat have emerged largely unscathed, albeit with somewhat battered egos. The key to avoiding pitchpoling lies with the crew, who has the choice either of flapping the gennaker sheet or massively oversheeting it. This is not a lesson you want to be discussing as you are staring down the face of a steep wave that has your name written on it. Fortunately, my crew Nick Murphy made up for his lack of 49er experience by using his 29er instincts to ease sheets at the right time. At least he did, on all but one occasion - but then again you don't know how far to push until you've pushed it too far.

Propping up the Bar

It happened on the infamous Hayling Bar, the stretch of turbulent, shallow water that marks the passage from Chichester Harbour into open sea. Over the years, the Bar must have accounted for more broken masts than any other piece of water in the UK. I believe there was one Fireball Nationals held there some 20 years ago, which accounted for about 30 masts in one day. It surely also holds the record for breaking more Laser 5000, 49er and other skiff-type rigs than anywhere else. But bear in mind that's probably because more dinghies sail in and out of Chichester Harbour than anywhere else in the country.

Now with the revamped clubhouse at Hayling Island Sailing Club, this is set to become even more of a Mecca for dinghy sailing. The new club is certainly very impressive, and the views from the verandah out across the Harbour are spectacular. I pity the cleaners though; they must be cursing whoever decided to lay a royal blue carpet throughout the upstairs of the club.

Dirty carpet

Not for nothing is Sandy Point given its name. Within 15 minutes of being vacuumed, the blue carpet begins to resemble the Sahara Desert as sailors drag the sand upstairs from the boat park. I think they should have done with it and just have sand and palm trees as the decor of choice, rather than trying to defy nature. Alternatively, there is a hi-tech solution. I've just been reading about this vacuum robot that you can buy for about a thousand pounds. It just trundles round the room, going about its business until the carpet is clean, and even goes back to its recharging unit when it's running out of power.

No doubt club commodore Tim Hancock has already considered a solution to the problem. He and his committee have masterminded the rebuilding of the club and like everything that the mega-organised Hancock gets involved in, it has been an impressively run project. The new club house has already been put to good use, hosting a wedding reception over the May bank holiday weekend at the same time as running racing for over 60 420s doing a world qualifier.

Hancock certainly presides over a busy club, and yet he still finds time to campaign his new purple Bieker 4 International 14 with helmsman Zeb Elliott in preparation for the 14 Europeans at Hayling in June. Having finished runner-up at the last World Championships, Elliott and Hancock would be a good tip for lifting the European title, which would leave Hancock having to shake hands with himself and presenting himself with the trophy.

Hello, and welcome

There is certainly a good buzz about the place at the moment. I must admit, I was never a fan of the old Hayling Island as there was always a feeling of 'them and us' about the place. Maybe it's the new architecture, but I suspect it's also the mark of Hancock that it seems to have shed the old ‘get off our land' attitude in favour of a more inclusive atmosphere. Long may the ‘entente cordiale' continue, especially in light of the threatened shelving of plans to build a national sailing centre at Weymouth, a sad story that was widely reported in the national media. If that happens, then Hayling Island will become even more important to British dinghy sailing.

Sailing down there over the May bank holiday, it was good to see the 420s out in force, along with a very strong fleet of Flying Fifteens, and of course the 14s. The proliferation of new boats down at HISC is phenomenal. Many of them are still waiting for their T-foils to arrive but are getting to grips with their new vessels using conventional rudders. But while the T-foils rudders are the most eye-catching pieces of technology - with underwater wings measuring almost as much as the width of the boat itself - the sight of a rope forestay is also pretty unusual. The Fourteeners are now employing Vectran to replace good old wire rigging in their bid for ever lighter weight.

Debt to development

Although we use Spectra trapeze wires and halyards on the 49er, I still can't quite get my head round how strong these new fibres are. But when you think the 60-foot trimarans in France have been experimenting with this type of technology for their standing rigging, then we really shouldn't have too much to worry about on our little boats. Seeing the 14s and all the pioneering they are doing reminds me of how thankful we should be to the development classes in this country. The UK is one of the few places in the world where I can really think of things being moved along in small boat technology, and ultimately a lot of this stuff trickles down to regular one-design sailing.

One of the obvious beneficiaries is the RS800, which draws heavily on the 49er and 14 for its inspiration. What impresses me most about this boat, though, is that it seems to travel at 90-95 per cent of 49er pace for a fraction of the hassle or difficulty. It is a very fast but very easy boat to sail, by all accounts. I've not had the pleasure of sailing one, but I hear the sheet loads are light and that gybing is easier than in most single-trapeze boats, including the Laser 4000.

Gone AWOL

That is the hallmark of a good design, and I suppose accounts for why there are 40 of the things stacked in a row along the seafront at Hayling. The question is, though, why do you only see three or four out on an idyllic bank holiday weekend? Mike Lennon of Hyde Sails is one of the more regular attendees and he is equally baffled. He says there is one RS800 owner who comes along in March to put his mast up and then drives off again, until he comes back in October to take the mast down again, with the boat never sailed on any occasion in between. What's all that about?

You would have thought that with all the excitement of a new sailing club to play with, and the potential to have 15 or 20 boats on the start line every weekend - as they did a year ago - would have been enough to entice people out a little more regularly. To borrow from an RSPCA car sticker, an RS800 is not just for Christmas, and nor is it for life, but two or three seasons wouldn't be much to ask, would it? It's not as though being a member of Hayling Island is cheap either. These people are spending significant money to keep a depreciating asset in the boat park, and that's such a shame. Maybe with the prospect of a National Championship at Hayling - yes, yet another championship there - later in the summer will be enough to entice them out again. Otherwise, they should be press-ganged into sailing, like they did in Nelson's day.

A Master plan

But seriously, how do you convince somebody that's spent seven or eight thousand pounds on a nice boat to come sailing more regularly? Do you have a special series with the emphasis on one weekend of every month, with some special prizes and some training tips on offer from the best sailors in the fleet? If this problem of non-attendance  is one you've successfully addressed with your club sailing, it would be interesting to hear about it.

Talking of ways of building interest, I'm going to mention the Lark class again, because Emma Harris is doing such an excellent job of breathing life into an ageing boat. I briefly mentioned the Lark Masters initiative in a recent column, and she kindly followed up with a fuller explanation, which includes plenty of useful tips for other associations looking for promotional ideas.

Emma says: "The event originally came about because of a raft of requests from past Lark sailors who have very fond memories of the boat (and the infamous socials!) and who'd like to have a sort of reunion at the same time as pitching their wits against each other on the race track again. We thought it was a great idea so we've taken it further than that.

"Our current ‘average' Lark sailor is no longer the student or early 20s ‘youth' that it used to be (or at least was perceived to be). We recognise that a lot of people now sailing the boat are actually much older than that - with many families buying Larks as good boats to sail with their sons and daughters and many more getting into the fleet for a ‘bit of excitement' without having to spend a great deal of money on a boat or keeping up with an arms race.

Leave your zimmer frame ashore
"I should think the average age of a circuit sailor is now around 30 and the club sailor 35-40, but the range is enormous. For example, a few weeks ago, David Marlow, age 15, crewed by his Dad, aged over 15(!) finished 3rd at the South Staffs open meeting. At the same meeting were more under-20s and several over-50s, both helming and crewing. So, instead of aiming the Masters event just at past Lark sailors (who are obviously very welcome), we're also targeting all those who are already in the age group, who may or may not have their own Lark but who may fancy ‘picking on someone their own age' for once. The aim? To encourage other ‘older' sailors who may feel threatened or put off by the Lark's youthful image of old, to get in a Lark and give it a go.

"To add a little more kudos to the event, I'm planning to send personal invitations out to the past National Champions and we'll award a ‘first ex-National Champions' prize at the event. To do this, I could do with a bit of help as it's quite difficult tracking a lot of them down. Perhaps if you mentioned it, they might get in touch with me?

"Our current sailors are all very keen on the idea and many who don't qualify have offered the use of their boats for the event and, in some cases, crew in their boats, meaning there will undoubtedly be lots of new design Rondar boats around to attract the crowds. Other current Larkies have been tasked with managing the racing and organising the event, so it'll be a bit of role reversal - the ‘young'uns' organising the ‘old'uns' for once."

Entry is open to any helm over 35 (no minimum age limit on crews) with prize
categories: 35-44 Apprentice Masters, 45-54 Grand Masters, 55+ Great Grand Masters. The venue is Stewartby Watersports Club near Bedford, and it takes place on18/19 October. Emma says there is also dinner dance on the Saturday night at a nearby hotel, and she promises the music won't get any more contemporary than the 80s. Sounds right up my street. So if you're over 35 and fancy your chances against some other ‘oldies', why not find out more from Emma on 01249 750540, or email her at: marketing@larkclass.org.