Civil ServiCe SailingC i v i l S e r v i c e S a i l i n g A s s o c i a t i o n

July 2015

Dinghy clubs celebrate Open Day success

Fastnet campaign: the story so far

IDOR 2015: pages 8-10

The sailing season is now in full swing and many members are under way to various destinations in the UK and further afield. A recent highlight for CSSA members was the Inter-departmental Offshore Regatta (IDOR) 2017, which saw some excellent winds weather and good competitive sailing. Later this month, the Dinghy Championships at Netley Cliff Sailng Club are sure to generate some equally exciting competition and the next edition will carry full details. Meanwhile, do send your news to: civilservicesailing@yahoo.co.uk.

Deborah Ward, Editor

COnTenTSCommodore’s Corner ..................................................................3CSSA Annual General Meeting ............................................4-5Littleton Sailing Club Open Day .........................................6-7IDOR 2015 ...................................................................................8-10Jumbles Sailing Club Open Day .............................................11Channel Sailing Division ......................................................12-13Civil Service Sailing Offshore Racing Club ...............14-15East Coast Yacht Division ...........................................................16

• Dinghy Championships, Netley Cliff Sailing Club, 19th-20th July• Plymouth Classic Boat Rally, 24th-27th July • Fastnet Race, 16th August• Skippers Day, Littleton Sailing Club, 2nd November

... diary dates .... diary dates .... diary dates .... diary dates ....

Change to the mileage rates for volunteers

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CSSA follows the miileage rates published by CSSC and, with effect from 1 April 2015, the rates are as follows:

• Petrol Rate - 21p per mile• Diesel Rate - 20p per mile

The rate of 5p per passenger up to a maximum of £15.00 may be claimed for other volunteers travelling in the same car.

n Front page shows visitors to Littleton Sailing Club’s Open Day and yachts in the IDOR

Have you had a close encounter with a commercial vessel?Have you seen a commercial vessel do something that concerned you?

I’m sure many members have had close calls with the commercial ships while sailing our coastal waters or going further afield. But did you know that you can highlight these incidents using CHIRP?

CHIRP, or the Confidential Hazardous-Incident Reporting Program to give its full name, is an online system that allows sailors and yachtsmen to report hazardous incidents at sea. CHIRP can be accessed here at www.chirp.co.uk

A quarterly newsletters is published that highlights some of the incidents that have been reported and there are often examples quoted of poor adherence to the International Collision Regs when yachts and ships meet in close-quarters situations.

The organisation will often follow-up incident reports by contacting the parties involved, especially shipping compa-nies, and some of the feedback makes interesting reading! All of the back copies of the newsletter are also available on the website. Something to consider the next time you are bemused by the behaviour of a commercial ship as you cross the Channel?

Steve Whitting,CSSA H&S Officer

Close encounters of the watery kind?

ChandleryRectangular CSSA House FlagsTriangular CSSA burgees

Sizes Large (30cm x 45cm approx) £16.00

Small (20cm x 30cm approx) £13.00 CSSA ties (polyester) £10.00

P&P included. Please send your requests and cheques (payable to Civil Service Sailing Association) to:

Brian Grubb64 Cross RoadWinchesterHants SO23 9PS

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C O M M O D O R E ’ SC O r n E r

As I embark on my second two-year stint as Rear Commodore (Dinghy Sailing) I find myself reflecting on the differences between our various clubs, and some of the challenges these present. When I attended the CSSC Conference in May 2014 with Rob Stephens, we hosted a “table” where were expected to explain to delegates from any part of the CSSC how to engage in sailing via the CSSA. It was, I have to admit, not until we started talking that I realised one of the fundamental truths: that while CSSA members with an interest in cruising have options for joining a yacht almost any-where round the UK and even beyond, sailing for some days and then hopping on a train home, for dinghy sailors it’s rather different. It is pretty much the case that, unless a CSSA club with a dinghy programme is within reasonable daily reach of where you live, you are unlikely to look to the CSSA even if you are a CSSC member and want to go sailing. I haven’t yet figured out the solution to that, since establishing a sailing club is something of an undertaking when you have first to find somewhere to put it. So it came as a particular blow to me when, for reasons that make perfect sense to them, Fisher’s Green Sailing Club changed its status and we lost one of our small supply of dinghy clubs, although they retain the right to enter our Dinghy Championships under the Memorandum of Understanding that established our new relation-ship. FGSC was one of only two CSSA clubs (other than the host club) that regularly sent a substantial entry to the annual Dinghy Championships, and last year we welcomed only one of their boats to the event. For this reason, I am particularly keen to promote the Champion-ships this year to those clubs and individual members who would not normally consider making the trip. The event has been run for many years by Netley Cliff SC, and presents an opportunity for CSSA members to get together on tidal water and engage in some expertly managed racing as well as soaking up the NCSC hospitality at the evening barbeque. It would be well worth the trip for those who decide to travel. My own campaign to tackle the Championships is once again hampered by the lack of a crew. Perhaps the prospect of sailing in a 1963 Fireball that has limited competitiveness, even before I take the helm, is not as enticing as it may seem to me. While last year I managed something of a coup in getting my ex-NCSC friend Greg Byrom to fly in from New Zealand and crew for me, it appears

he’s not likely to make this an annual event. I am still scanning the horizon. At least my boat has made it through another winter hoisted above the car in the garage, been coaxed back into shape with the usual last-minute application of quantities of epoxy resin (there’s always something…) and has participated in its first race of the season. So we are good to go! The other major event that needs my attention each year is field-ing a team to contest the Victory Trophy. For those unfamiliar with this regatta, it is a Team Racing event between teams from each of the Armed Services and the Civil Service. In recent years we have had some remarkable successes, having won the trophy in 2012 and, after an unfortunate situation in 2013 when the event had to be cancelled, again we came 1st equal in 2014. The team, led by Ellen Milner, was at a serious disadvantage be-cause the racing had to be moved at the last moment to Ports-mouth Harbour owing to low water levels in the lake at Littleton, where it is normally held. Not only that, but the teams had to race Bosun dinghies because the sudden change of venue made it too difficult to arrange the transport of the usual Laser 2000 fleet. To end up as joint winners in these circumstances was a true achievement, and I shall be hoping fervently that substantially the same team can race again this year. Team racing is an art form in which most of us dinghy sailors have no track record and little un-derstanding, so finding a team of competitive CSSA members each year is a nerve-racking task until it all falls into place. I am going to finish this piece with a plea to all the dinghy sailing members. For reasons that I have partially rehearsed already, din-ghy clubs tend just to get on with running events on their “patch” and seem to find it difficult to identify matters of common interest for the wider CSSA membership. Perhaps this is just how it has to be, but I do wonder whether there are more issues where a com-mon approach and the pooling of knowledge could bring rewards. Nikki Brown has just taken on the role of General Secretary from John Figgures, and it is one of John’s oft-repeated pleas that I now take up: “Tell us what you want!”. The CSSA has a considerable store of expertise as well as a well-managed funding base, and it has been my observation that our dinghy clubs are a bit slow across the start line when it comes to tapping into either. I look forward to hearing from you.

Iain Mackay, rear-Commodore, Dinghy Sailing

n The annual dinghy championships at Netley Cliff Sailing Club are worth the trip

Dinghy sailors, do join us!

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AnnUAL GEnErAL MEETInG

A few words from the new General Secretary

n Left, Commodore Graham Dalton (centre) presents the Armada Trophy to Mike and Pat Finch for their outstanding work in support of the Portsmouth Offshore Group

n Right, Richard Palmer and Trevor Drew are awarded the Armstrong Vase following their success in the Two-Handed Round Britain and Ireland race

n New General Secretary Nikki Brown

n John Figgures - a hard act to follow

quiet anchorage off the West Coast, or tucked in snug amongst the Orkney Islands. Artful Dodger, Freyja and Sea Essays old and new have carried me on a multitude of adventures, always in the warm company of CSSA friends, either those of long standing or those newly made.

But much as I feel my roots in cruising, no sailing season would be complete without the sociable fun and excitement of IDOR! [This year was no exception, as you will read elsewhere in this edition of Civil Service Sailing.] A move back to the South Coast has given me a taste of dinghy sailing at Netley Cliff Sailing Club, and I’m sure that I shall be back for more.

After all the enjoyment CSSA sailing has given me, it is a privi-lege for me to join the General Committee to help make similar opportunities available to as many members as possible.

In John Figgures, who has served the Association as General Secretary both tirelessly and very efficiently for a number of years, I have a hard act to follow; please bear with me as I learn the ropes!

nikki Brown

I first set sail with the Army in the early 90s, venturing along the South Coast and into the Baltic, but it was a move to Scotland that really brought alive my love of cruising. Many of my most memorable evenings have been spent in some

The Commodore mentioned the Dinghy Championships and the Victory Trophy; the sale by MoD of land at Plymouth to a yacht company which was working well with Hooe Point Sailing Club; and plans for replacement yachts for the CSSA Offshore Clubs. He also spoke about the support he had received from the other Flag Officers, the Treasurer, and the General Secretary.

The Commodore advised that the Highways Agency was no longer part of the Department of Transport and, since 1st April 2015, was known as Highways England, a Government-owned company. While he had enjoyed his time as CSSA Commodore, he had decided that it would be more appropriate that the CSSA Commodore was a serving civil servant. Accordingly, he would be relinquishing the post once a suitable new Commodore had been agreed by the CSSA General Committee.

The Commodore recorded the Association’s thanks for the work of retiring General Secretary, John Figgures, who was relinquishing the post after eight years.

The nominations for Officers and Committee Members had been published in CS-Sailing in March 2015 and on the CSSA website. As the nominations matched the vacancies, the Officers and Com-mittee members were declared elected.

The Commodore welcomed Nikki Brown as the new General Secretary; she would be co-opted to the General Committee. The

Commodore also mentioned that a new CSSA web-master was sought. He encouraged CSSA members to offer their services to the General Committee as replacement Flag Officers would be re-quired in coming years. (Sec’s Note: Nick Bowles had volunteered to redesign the website; however, a volunteer is sought to provide day-to-day updating of the website).

Golden Jubilee Plate To mark the Association’s Golden Jubilee, Lord Turnbull, a past Commodore of the CSSA, had presented to the Association an Armada Plate to be awarded to the CSSA Volunteer of the Year. The Commodore presented the Trophy to Mike and Pat Finch for outstanding work in support of the Portsmouth Offshore Group.

Armstrong Vase The Armstrong Vase is awarded for the best performance in outside competition in the past year. It was awarded to Richard Palmer and Trevor Drew for their podium finish in the Two- Handed Round Britain and Ireland Race.

Barge Trophy The Barge Trophy is awarded for craftsmanship, in its widest sense. For his leadership of the East Coast Yacht Division Yacht Husband team that maintains their 10-year-old yacht, Freyja, the Trophy is awarded to Vic Crawshaw. Unfortunately, Vic was unable to attend the AGM; the Trophy will be presented to Vic at a future date.

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AnnUAL GEnErAL MEETInG AnnUAL GEnErAL MEETInG

Commodore will be relinquishing post

Meet the Flag Officers

Queen’s Honour for Vice-Commodore

n Commodore Graham Dalton

n Vice-Commodore Trevor Drew, OBE

n Rear-Commodore (O) Paul Brereton

n Rear-Commodore (D) Iain Mackay

The 57th AGM was held at the Civil Service Club in London at the end of April. Commodore Graham Dalton’s report to the meeting noted:

Congratulations toTrevor, who was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, although not for sailing. Away from boats, Prof Drew is the Lead Scientist, Viral Diseases, at the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, and was honoured for his services to animal health and welfare. Trevor and his co-skipper richard Palmer won the round Britain and Ireland race in 2014. They recently had to retire from this years Azores and Back (AZAB) 2015 race due to equipment failure.

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HOOE POInT SC

Membership grows along with popularity of racing yachts and dinghies

Champagne sailing conditions greeted visitors to Littleton Sail-ing Club’s Open Day on 16th May. About 40 people in all got out on the water to give dinghy sailing a try, while a good number more had a go at stand-up paddleboarding in the relative calm of a sheltered lagoon area next to the clubhouse.

Windsurfing, in the form of a dry land simulator, was also on offer, showing participants the basics of how to balance and steer the board.

The event was part of the Royal Yachting Association’s national Push The Boat Out week, which aims to introduce the sports of sailing and windsurfing to adults and children across the country.

At Littleton the message that the event was on had certainly got out, and by early afternoon the car park was overflowing with members of the public keen to have a go, and volunteer club members delighted to show them the ropes.

Off the water, club members showed visitors around the facilities, talked about training courses on offer, and took those wanting to join through the membership process.

The day was rounded off by a topping-out ceremony to mark the opening of the club’s new junior equipment storage and the naming and launching of a safety boat donated to the junior section of the club, and which is to be used, among other things, to give youngsters experience of handling a motor boat.

Event organiser Vanda Jowett was delighted with how the day went: “It’s wonderful to have had so many people come along to try sailing, and even better that a number of them joined the club on the day and will be learning to sail on our beginner courses this summer.

“Stand-up paddleboarding is a new activity on offer at the lake this year, so we were pleased to have Blue Chip Boards along for the day to show us what paddleboarding is all about.”

Littleton was delighted to welcome 31 new members as a result of the day’s activities.

Further opportunities to try sailing at Littleton this summer take place on four evening taster sessions which are being run over the summer months.

For more information:

www.littletonsc.co.uk/pages/tasterdays.html

Car park overflows as enthusiastic visitors try sailing

Hooe Point members have enjoyed a good start to the season with some reasonable weather and growing membership. Craning in went well at the end of March with the site cleared in two days thanks to the hard work of all those involved.

Cruiser and dinghy racing have seen a bit of an upsurge, with the dinghy fleet in particular going from strength to strength. With three Phantoms and up to seven Lasers on the water along with several other classes the racing is keenly contested but still retains the good humour th,at we all enjoy.

Two dinghy race days have been held enabling members to race in the freedom of Plymouth Sound without the need to avoid moor-ings, mud banks, swans, jetskis etc. Mind you, five hours in a sailing dinghy does take its toll on the joints of some of the more mature sailors (I include myself in that!).

Members have made the most of the reasonable weather to cruise as much as possible with the usual trips taking place to the far west and across the channel to the Islands and Brittany.

Our link with the Cattewater Cruising Club has seen more mem-bers taking part in organised cruises with the added safety net of cruising in company.

Our regatta took place on 11th July and we again hosted an Open Day in conjunction with the Plymouth Area Association, aiming to encourage more local civil servants to come along and see what we offer.

Finally, my usual plug at this time of year for any CS Sailing mem-bers who may be heading west during the summer. Please do get in touch if you need some shore-side dinghy or trailer-sailor storage or would like to visit us whilst you are in the area.

We have also arranged preferential visitor rates at Yachthaven Marina adjacent to the Hooe Point site if you are coming this way in a bigger boat.

Forthcoming dates

Plymouth Regatta week for yachts: from 17th July.

Plymouth Classic Boat Rally: from the 24th-27th July.

British Fireworks Championships: 18th-19th August.

Steve Whitting, Secretary, Hooe Point SailingClub

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OPEn DAY: LITTLETON SAILING CLUB

n Visitors of all ages took to the water during Littleton Sailing Club’s Open Day.

It’s wonderful to have had so many people come along to try sailing, and even

better that a number of them joined

,

,

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InTEr-DEPArTMEnTAL OFFSHOrE rEGATTA (IDOR) 2015

Another great year of racing, for 2015 and last year’s runners-up – Diamond Light Source/Rutherford Appleton Laboratory – on Crème de la Crème are the 2015 winners of the Eric Seal Trophy after several years of trying. Skipper Nick Rees managed to do it on top of his responsibilities as chairman of the regatta organising committee, so a great show all round.

Runners-up were NCA 3, with IDOR old hand Gary Bowers’ CUSTOMS/UKBF entry in third.

The Eric Seal Trophy will be awarded at the CSSA AGM next year.

The racing this year took place in generally windy conditions with three days when the wind hardly dropped below 14 knots and was often above 20, yet we still lost Friday to racing when a flat calm descended on the Solent and forced the Island Sailing Club to abandon.

Monday also saw all but one boat timed out due to failing breezes and some powerful tidal streams leaving boats unable to get round critical marks.

Every competitor completed the race around the Isle of Wight on Tuesday in between seven and eight hours – a hugely impressive time thanks to strong winds and favourable tides. And great sailing, of course. The ‘long’ race to North Head and back was also done and dusted in a couple of hours, while the inshore races were “no spinnakers”.

Next year’s event takes place from Sunday, 12th June to Friday 17th June 2016. For more details, see www.idor.org.uk

n Photos above and below show crews in competitive action

Fantastic sailing in (mostly) fine winds

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InTEr-DEPArTMEnTAL OFFSHOrE rEGATTA (IDOR) 2015

n Boats and more boats ....

Photos by

Dave Purcell

The Inter-Departmental Offshore Regatta ( IDOR) is an annual event held at Cowes, open to all civil service departments, ministries, agencies, sailing clubs and other public bodies. Crews range from complete novices to seriously competitive sailors, with a range of trophies to compete for over five days of sailing. The boats are Beneteau Oceanis 37 cruisers, chartered from Fairview Sailing, based in Port Hamble, near Southampton.

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RESULTS

1st place:DLS

2nd place: NCA 3 3rd place: CUSTOMS/UKBF

InTEr-DEPArTMEnTAL OFFSHOrE rEGATTA (IDOR) 2015

The Eric Seal Memorial TrophyAwarded to the overall winner combined “Inshore” and “Offshore”. This is the main prize for the overall result and is awarded at the CSSA AGM in April. The 2015 top three were:

DLS: 13 pointsNCA 3: 28 pointsCUSTOMS/UKBF: 32 points

The rutherford Appleton TrophyAwarded for the “Offshore” races. No discards. The 2015 top three were:

DLS: 21 pointsNCA 3: 27 pointsCUSTOMS/UKBF: 29 points

The City of Plymouth TrophyAwarded for the “Inshore” races. No discards. The 2015 top three were:

DLS: 9 pointsNCA 1: 15 points5KSC 2: 16 points

The Amaranthe SalverFor combined inshore and offshore, for departmental entries only. No discards. The 2015 top three were:

DLS: 30 pointsNCA 3: 45 pointsCUSTOMS/UKBF: 49 points

The CSOrC ShieldFor combined inshore and offshore, for club entries only. No discards. The 2015 top three were:

5KSC 2: 142 points.CSORC 1: 152 pointsCSORC 2: 208 points

The Elite CupFor the most improved boat:

5KSC 2: Improved, on average, 2.0 places/race.NCA 1: Improved, on average, 1.8 places/race.DLS: Improved, on average, 1.7 places/race.

The Silver Jubilee TrophyFor the highest placed new skipper to the IDOR:

Met Office 1: 60 points, best race result 1st.CCSSC 1: 130 points, best race result 13th.UKHO 2: 147 points, best race result 14th.

The Class A Shield and Cariad CupFor the highest placed pairs team:

DLS and DSTL: 119 pointsCUSTOMS/UKBF and CSORC 1: 125 pointsNCA2 and Met Office: 133 points

The round the Island TrophyFor the Round the Island race:

DLSNCA 3Met Office

The CSSA Charity CupFor the crew that raises the most for charity for the event:

UKHO: £4,300 for Taunton Sea CadetsCCSSC: £1,000 for Lifeboats, SARA and Toe in the water (from CCSSC)

CSSA Cowes rally Passage TrophyFor passage race to Hamble on Friday:

Not awarded – race cancelled due to lack of wind.

nab Tower Memorial Trophy (For biggest screw-up or most impressive boat damage):

Awarded to UKHO 2

OPEn DAY: JUMBLES SAILING CLUB

Vacancy for CSSA General Secretary

Jumbles is enjoying another successful year so far starting with another record turnout of more than 250 people to the Push the Boat Out/Open Day on the 18th April. It was the perfect sailing day and we recruited seven families on the day but there have been several more since then. The Sailability Access boat, bought recently, was put to good use as was the North West RYA’s RS Venture which was borrowed for the day. It was rigged for Sailability but proved popular with all sailors. Thanks to a scheme run by the North West Ambulance Service and the generosity of United Utilities we have installed a Public Ac-cess Defibrillator outside the gates to the club. We are on a very busy walking route in a beautiful part of the country and as such it was felt we could benefit the community as well as ourselves by having a defib the public could use as well if required. It is accessed by dialling 999 and and a keypad code provided by NWAS if the defib is required. Maintenance and a battery change after 4 years is the responsibility of the club and we are putting funds aside each year to cover those items. We have had extremely well attended training sessions for Level 1s and 2s so far this year. We are maxed out in terms of instructor/student ratio but I am pleased to say we passed our annual inspec-tion on the last one with flying colours. A very successful Junior Club has been started on Saturday morn-ings which has proved a great hit with the youngsters. This was combined with our annual “Pirate Day” this year and despite some early heavy weather the kids had a great time and finished with a barbecue in the sunshine. As a result of the popularity it was decid-ed to enter a Junior Team in the Southport 12-Hour Race which will be a first for the club. A visit to Tower Wood on Windermere is planned for the Juniors in July. This successful period we are enjoying is entirely down to the efforts of the members themselves in setting up the initiatives and running them. I am extremely grateful to all those leading the way and to all those members who support them be they committee members or otherwise.

Brian Hoy, Commodore

InTEr-DEPArTMEnTAL OFFSHOrE rEGATTA (IDOR) 2015

n Above and below, visitors enjoy a taster sail with Jumbles members Barbara Harris and Doug Neil

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Let’s all push the boat out!

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CHAnnEL SAILInG DIVISIOn

Ceremony to launch the new Sea EssayNo doubt you’ll recall from the April edition that CSD introduced a new yacht, a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 409, for the 2015 season. After receiving it from the agents in February, the yacht husband team worked miracles to get the yacht coded and into operation at the end of March. The first task was to formally name her.

The naming ceremony took place at her home port at Mercury Yacht Harbour on the River Hamble. The marina staff are always helpful and gave us a prime berth in front of the harbour office for the ceremony. This actually made for some careful timing to ensure the 2.1m keel of the new yacht didn’t get stuck in the mud of this inner berth.

We had a great turn-out despite the short notice. Our thanks go to all who attended, including several new members and old hands, with representatives from many CSSA clubs and CSSA. We are also grateful for the best wishes sent by many who couldn’t attend.

There was a fairly early start for the CSD Committee to ensure the yacht was well presented and moved to her berth for the day. For those attending, the day started with coffee in the Water’s Edge conservatory before the CSSA Commodore, Graham Dal-ton, and other dignitaries were given a private viewing of the yacht.

With that, it was midday and time to start the formal ceremony. Trevor Drew, the CSSA Vice-Commodore, made a short speech in which he described the operations of the Association. Trevor reminded everyone that CSSA operates three ocean-going yachts, kept and operated by offshore sailing clubs on the North West Coast, East Coast, and South Coast together with an Offshore Racing Club which charters yachts for offshore racing.

CSSA includes the Portsmouth Offshore Group providing yacht moorings for members’ yachts and a number of dinghy clubs throughout the country.

After the speech, the Commodore’s wife Fiona took on the duty of naming the yacht. This wasn’t her first naming, but it was the largest yacht she had named at 12.4 metres. Champagne was poured elegantly over the bow with Fiona announcing: “I name this yacht Sea Essay of Hamble, may God bless her and all who sail in her.” After the naming, members were invited to view the yacht and then after to take a buffet lunch in the Water’s Edge.

This is, we believe, the 12th CSD yacht of this name, the first seven being simply called Sea Essay while the last five have had of Hamble added. Of course Sea Essay is a play on the initials of the CSSA. CSD tries to replace its yachts approximately every five years, in part reflecting the high usage. The decommissioned yacht covered some 30,000 nautical miles from new in the five years CSD operated her.

As for 2015, we are really looking forward to the season ahead. Sea Essay has already left on its 11-week summer cruise to Brit-tany and the West Country. Over the summer CSD is running a series of introductory day sails and sea time cruises, interspersed with training and private charters.

I would like to take this opportunity to again thank the many peo-ple involved in the purchase and commissioning of the new yacht, in particular the CSD yacht husband team and CSSA and CSSC for their help and support.

Andy SmithCSD Club Captain

n Guests gathered for the formal naming ceremony at Mercury Yacht Harbour on the River Hamble

Website & CommunicationsThe CSD website (channelsailing.org) has been updated by our Webmaster James Savage (including information on the new boat) and we welcome feedback from members on this whether the content meets their needs. We are also considering whether social media platforms such as Facebook would be a beneficial addition to email, which is the principle mechanism for communicating with members. Your opinions will again be welcome as would a volun-teer to run any account we might choose operate.

Sailing OpportunitiesSea Essay of Hamble is presently in the middle of the Summer Cruise (to La Rochelle and back) stretching from the beginning of June, through July and August. On its return there are further local charters programmed in but also a number of Sea Times and Train-ing courses many of which have berths available (see below).

For the latest information please visit our website channelsailing.org or contact the relevant organiser:

Charters and Training Colin Hurd: csdcharters@btinternet.com

Crew Bureau & Sea TimesDavid Hartland: csdseatime@yahoo.co.uk

Individual or Group Day SailsColin Smith: csddaysails@btinternet.com

CSSC Taster DaysJenny Yarrow: jennifer.yarrow@cssc.co.uk

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n The Commodore’s wife Fiona took on the duty of naming the new yacht, seen above in action

CIVIL SErVICE OFFSHOrE rACInG CLUB: Fastnet Campaign

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Mixed fortunes and plates of curry in warm-up training for Fastnet campaign

Training WeekendIn order that we didn’t go into the first race cold, and to enable the Skipper to make an appraisal of the relative strengths of the crew to help determine the make-up of the watches, we held a training weekend at the end of April. This saw the first meeting and get together of the selected crew, all nine members (Simon, Gerry, Neil, Andy, Alan, Jason, Rich, Claire and Heidi ) met up at Ocean Village, Southampton for a shakedown on Blue Juice, a Beneteau First 40.7 from MECSail.

Sun and moderate winds saw us out in the Solent on the Saturday morning using the different headsails, trisail and at times two reefs in the main. With an easing and sympathetic wind direction we then got the spinnaker out, put in a few gybes, taking it in turns to practice the different roles and getting our first glimpse of the Needles. Low cloud and drizzle later in the day helped Simon our trusty skipper to decide to take us in to Yarmouth for the night and continue our team-building efforts over a few beers and a curry. Sunday we were back out in the Solent and enjoying better weather than the forecast had offered. Lots of MOB drills, tacking and gybing got us back to Osborne Bay for a late lunch and then back to Southampton before everybody departed looking forward to the first race.

Cervantes Trophy raceThe first of our Royal Offshore Racing Club (RORC) qualifiers to notch up some of the 300 nm required was the Cervantes Trophy race over the May Day weekend. Keen to get racing, we made a great start on the Saturday morning, being the second yacht in class to cross the Royal Yacht Squadron line at Cowes. With the spinnaker up immediately and with a 20-25 knot easterly wind pushing us, we made great progress down the Solent towards the first mark near Anvil Point (not far from Swanage), where we then planned to head in South Easterly across the Channel to Le Havre.

On the approach to the mark we raised the number 3 headsail and went to drop the kite, but it wouldn’t lower no matter what we tried. The decision was made to drop all sail and head down

wind in order that a volunteer (the Skipper) could climb to the top of the mast to investigate. He found a halyard sheath that was completely worn out and jammed in the block, the only way for-ward was to release the spinnaker and cut the halyard! Once the boat was sorted, we then got the headsail and mainsail back up and continued on our way, but this whole process had taken over an hour, during which time tides and wind had pushed us closer to Weymouth than the mark and the rest of the racing fleet had disappeared over the horizon!

Now heading South West, with a big swell and a long way still to go, a couple of us were feeding the fishes (including the ex-RN crew member!). We had a discussion on whether to retire and return to Ocean Village but quickly decided that we needed the qualifying miles, and heck, wasn’t this what we had signed up to? With a hot dinner and lessening seas, morale improved as we went into a two watch system for the night hours, each of us taking a turn helming. The wind swung around to help us and, come mid-morning, we were pleased to make the approach into Le Havre, only to see the Committee boat give up and motor back just 10 minutes before our arrival! We self-declared a time of just under 25 hours and got ourselves into harbour for hot showers and a quick meal at the yacht club.

The sail home started with a beautiful spring afternoon and sunset and ended up as quite a raucous affair, requiring a headsail change to the number 3 as the wind freshened at 1am. Screaming home at 10 knots+ boat speed, we reached the East Solent at 5am, then headed for Cowes for a big breakfast, debrief and tidy up. In summary, a tough first race for the crew but notwithstanding a poor result due an equipment breakage, we now knew that we had the skills and capability to get the most out of the boat and were optimistic about the future races.

By Simon Zavad and Gerry Talbert

The Civil Service Offshore Racing Club (CSORC) has entered a team into this year’s Fastnet Race. The race is one of the most popular events in sailing – in January all 340 places were filled within just 24 minutes! The race starts from Cowes, Isle of Wight, on 16th August 2015 and covers more than 600 nautical miles to finish in Plymouth (via the Celtic Sea, Fastnet Rock and Scilly Isles). Conditions during the race can range from the benign and summery to the vicious and stormy. In the interests of connecting and promoting the wider Civil Service, the CSORC team attempting to tackle the challenge is made up of 5 MOD Civilians, from DIO, Defence School of Transport, DE&S and DSTL, and four civil servants from across other Departments, including the Science and Technology Facilities Council, the Prison Service and HMRC (he is a nice chap really!). The team has a range of sailing experiences, from a majority of novice and cruising amateur sailors, to experienced offshore racers (the Skipper and Mate). The team will be embarking on what for them will be a combined Everest – the culmination of a season’s training that will have included more than 300 nautical miles of offshore racing (the mandatory requirement to qualify for the Fastnet) and sea survival and offshore safety training.

CIVIL SErVICE OFFSHOrE rACInG CLUB: Fastnet Campaign

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Myth of Malham raceFriday 22nd May the crew met up again at Blue Juice on the Friday evening, apart from the Skipper who had some Wedding Organisation to do (e.g. his!) and therefore joined us first thing Saturday morning and Andy Lapsley who couldn’t make this trip. Once everybody arrived, the first task was some important team bonding especially as Tim Scott had agreed to stand in for Andy and had never met the rest of the crew before.

Luggage was stowed to the sounds of Bellowhead and other Sea Shanties brought by Gerry Talbert and then it was off to that well known chain of team bonding venues – Wetherspoons!

The Skipper joined us about 9am and shortly after we slipped the berth and headed down to Cowes. After investigating the wind conditions on the southern end of the start line we decided to start at the northern end as, apparently, did everybody else. Simon got us away (once again) to a great start, crossing the start line to perfection and so started the race. With a steady NNW wind, it was a reach all down the Solent and out through Hurst Narrows when the first major decision needed to be taken: Go for the Inshore route close to Portland or head out away from shore? As the forecast was for light disturbed winds inshore we took the decision to head out, which pretty much meant a direct course. For the rest of Saturday we made pretty good ground, holding our position in the fleet until the evening when we ended up in an area of light winds, along with the other yachts in our area.This continued for most of the evening until early morning when the wind picked up again.

The task was now to get to Eddystone as soon as possible after having been becalmed overnight. In this we were reasonably successful and finally rounded Eddystone at 17.15, following which the order was “head East with alacrity and make all possible sail!”.The spinnaker was raised an hour or so after rounding Eddystone and quite an exhilarating time was had doing 9 to 10 knots with the spinnaker flying. Sadly that rate of progress was not sustain-able as the wind picked up towards midnight and the sail plan was reduced to the #1 Genoa and Main for the rest of the night.

6am found us abeam Poole with the wind sadly going light and variable – one small element of success was getting one over an X55 which was in our vicinity – not sure what they were doing at all! We then had a challenging period trying to make best use of the available winds. The wind did pick up a bit during the re-mainder of the morning such that an 9am we were making good speed and eventually crossed the line just after 11am, giving us mid table finish, the second First 40.7 to finish and managing to take a couple of scalps, notably British Soldier, a new J111.

Our optimism at the end of the Cervantes Race that we could get a respectable finish was therefore fully justified, of course hav-ing achieved a mid-table result the pressure is now on to do even better. Having looked at our performance, we know that there are areas in which we can still improve and gain a better finishing position in the next qualifying race, the Channel Race and finally the Fastnet Race itself.

n The crew, from left to right: Neil O’Leary (Mate), Rich Bickerton, Alan Voysey, Simon Zavad (Skipper), Claire Durkin, Andy Lapsley and Gerry Talbert.

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Commodore Graham Dalton General Secretary Nikki Brown csgensec@yahoo.co.ukMembership Secretary Ken Pavitt kenwpavitt@aol.com Editor Deborah Ward civilservicesailing@yahoo.co.uk

CSSA is affiliated to the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC)

and the Royal Yachting Association.

n Freyja’s crew may have the opportunity to visit the duty-free island of Helgoland in August, depending on the weather

EAST COAST YACHT DIVISIOn

Freyja started her 2015 ‘long trip’ at the end of May and by the time this magazine goes into print she should be well on her way to the Baltic to visit Denmark and Sweden before returning to her home waters in September.

There is still a crewing opportunity to take part in this year’s long trip from 28th August to 6th September, starting at Rendsburg on the Kiel canal and finishing at Delfzil on the eastern coast of the Netherlands.

There are varied aspects of sailing on this leg from the relative calm of the Canal to the river Elbe with its strong ebb tide, the open sea and navigational skills around the northern Fresian Islands.

The skipper says that depending on the weather, there may be the opportunity to visit the duty-free island of Helgoland. The cost of the berth is £453, to book your place contact John Miller at cruising@ecyd.org.uk

The autumn programme is now in place and there are plenty of opportunities for training, chartering or sea-time.

Date from Date to Type Days Cost18.00 27th September 18.00 29th September RYA Start Yachting 2 £140

18.00 29th September 18.00 1st October Yacht available for charter or sea time, please enquire to: yacht_sec@ecyd.org.uk

2 £368

18.00 1st October 18.00 4th October Rally 3 £11118.00 4th October 18.00 9th October RYA Competent Crew

RYA Day Skipper5 £350

18.00 9th October 18.00 11th October RYA Start Yachting 2 £14018.00 11th October 18.00 17th October East Coast - Local Sea time 6 £21017th October 27th November Various according to demand, please

enquire to: yacht_sec@ecyd.org.ukTBA per day rate

Berth available as Baltic beckons for summer cruising