Vol. 21 Spring 2019 Issue 1
Total Page:16
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Challenger News Vol. 21 Spring 2019 Issue 1 1 - Cover : The Grafham Grand Prix 2 - Editor’s Page by Richard Johnson 3 - Club Newslines 4 - Executive Matters 5 - Burghfield 6 - The Story of the New Rig 7 - The New Sail 8 - The New Mast and Boom 9 - The Bosun Talks Maintenance 10- Notices of Race 11- Challenger National Rankings 12- Back : 2019 Regatta Programme 2019 could be a life-changing year for the and help it to maintain its shape and longevity. Challenger because, like it or not, we are going Materials have also been revolutionised by the to have a new rig. As you will read on Pages 6-8, development of “film” materials such as Mylar, that current manufacturers have stopped production will hold their shape without sag and are lighter and - worse - nobody is taking over from them. than the traditional white Dacron. This is both a threat and an opportunity because All of this needs to be considered and it’s not the current rig was designed before 1980, when easy to find suitable suppliers that will serve us for the first Challenger was delivered, At the time, the the long term. We had very short notice of both the mast and boom looked very modern and did the job sailmaker and mast maker stopping production, well. The same goes for the sail which, unusually both at almost the same time, so it takes a while for the time, was fully battened and had a sloping to formulate a new policy, do the research, narrow foot to miss the sailor’s head but it also gives us it down to a core of suitable contenders and then more control than boats with horizontal booms and talk to them about the needs of our Members. it looks a bit like the Hi-Tech Musto Skiff rig, which All this has been done and, with their advice, was designed in 1999 for a fierce single-hander, new designs have been produced and are being launched in 2000 with trapeze and asymmetric tested. It is very important to make sure the new spinnaker (....No, we’re not planning to add one!!) equipment is reliable and will be equally as good that is still considered to be a very modern design. on the National Racing Stage and on any Weekday We now have a great opportunity to apply some Group sailing session. We have to bear in mind modern thinking to our rig and, If (when) we get it that, unlike boats owned by private owners, who right, the Challenger will be a better boat. are prepared to spend time and money looking Since the Challenger was launched, as the after delicate equipment, a lot of our masts, booms first purpose-designed dinghy for people with and sails are handled and serviced by people with disabilities, a lot has happened. Materials have little knowledge about their maintenance, so exotic become stronger and lighter, so that now our mast materials like Carbon Fibre are best avoided and and boom are relatively heavy compared to the routine maintenance kept as simple as possible. carbon fibre rigs used on the OK and Finn, which We are currently at the stage of having proved is where our rig came from in the first place. the ideas and are confident that they work. The Sail design has also moved on, with the sail programme is almost complete and the Mast conventional horizontal crosscut panels of most Maker is putting the finishing touches to our new sails being replaced by a variety of different radial design specification. This won’t be completed patterns that exploit the stress paths in a sail overnight but it will definitely be worth it! Page2 Club Newslines Banbury sailing club: Brett Cokayne, RYA Disability part of the country, with plenty of accessible local Development Officer, recently paid a visit to discuss accommodation so a visit is very worthwhile. For starting a group and they expressed an interest in those who haven’t been, the lake is a large “C” Challengers so the Chairman and Special Projects shaped reservoir, so there is a stretch for every wind Rep. took a Demo Boat along to their open day. direction but racing can be tricky in light weather if It turned out that the Organiser, a Musto Skiff sailing near the trees around the dam, therefor a sailor, had seen Val, Graham and Jack racing in win is a great achievement. Why not come and try? the Sailjuice winter series and thought what a great The club is run entirely by the members and is boat the Challenger was....for Banbury’s Senior noted for its friendly welcome and particularly for Racers, who are getting a bit long in the tooth and its excellent home cooking, which must be the finding that creaking knees don’t win races. best in England! Also, they allow camping and There were no visitors with disabilities but plenty motorhomes on-site (by prior arrangement) and of the club sailors - both old and young - tried the they have a room in the clubhouse that could be Challenger and everyone came back with a big grin used as a dormitory for those who enjoy late night saying what a great boat the Challenger is. sessions at the well-stocked bar. Staunton Harold near Melbourne, Derby, have All in all an experience not to be missed and, if taken over the AeroRig lease Challenger from you want more information, the Notice of Race is on Covenham and should soon get a sister ship that is Page 11, with contact details for David Driffill who being donated by Northampton Sailability will be very pleased to receive your entry and help Weston Sailing club have a monthly Open Handicap with any queries or searches for accommodation. Weekend, which this year is on June 1st-2nd. There Chew Valley Sailability are located near Bristol on a are plenty of Travelodges and Premier Inns around large lake - the West Country equivalent of Grafham Southampton and, for more mobile people, the or Oxford. They meet on saturdays from April to Prince Consort pub is just down the road. This is October and their fleet includes four Challengers. the first event at Weston so please support it They are not connected to us but the do have a Mk3 Ogston are organising the Challenger English Challenger for sale. If you are interested, go to the Championships this year. They last organised it on Challenger website and click on “Buy Challengers” 2000 and that was a memorable occasion so 2019 to see details of the boat, including a picture, plus is likely to be very special. The lake is in a beautiful contact details for Ken Elliott their Treasurer. Page3 Executive Report Chairman/Secretary/Treasurer Richard Johnson 01733 265468 [email protected] Racing - Alex Hovden 07540 659188 [email protected] Special Projects - David Newton 01865 552466 [email protected] Technical - Graham Hall 01283 221608 [email protected] Racing: Alex Hovden is a recent addition to the (....The job of telling the unlucky Demotees then Committee because of his special interest in racing. falls to the Chairman....No Thanks!). Doing it this Alex has already come up with several new way avoids any extra work or calculation and ideas and you may remember the survey that positions can change at each event. he arranged in January, which threw up some Because the idea depends on a minimum number interesting statistics: It showed that, at the start of of entries, it has to be flexible and Alex’s survey the year, the two events that people look forward to showed that an average of 10-15 boats usually take most are Grafham and the UK Championships at part in Events. If we have over 10 we can split the Rutland so our policy of keeping English regattas in final session into two fleets but, if there were lots of central venues is probably correct. Also, everyone Bronze buddied boats in the fleet, it may not work likes the traditional Trapezoid race track more than so please support Events if you like this new idea other configurations and the Jury is still out on the and please email the Chairman if you don’t! Medal Race idea. New Mast and Sail: This problem was sprung We hope to develop this idea in 2019 because it upon us with no warning and there are a number of follows a trend amongst other sports, plus most of options to consider: the popular Game Shows, to stage a series of heats Sourcing the sail is straight forward, it’s just a that culminate in the top teams slugging it out in a question of finding the right type of company and it Winner-Takes-All dramatic final showdown. seems sensible, for long term continuity, to choose Obviously we don’t want to eliminate anyone one that does not depend for its existence on a along the way but there are several advantages in single person and has a good name in the Dinghy this type of system: First, it adds another layer of market for quality and performance. interest to the Event - in this case by having the Sourcing the mast and boom is more difficult first part of the regatta as a qualifying stage for the because there are few manufacturers and masts final. Second, it eliminates the awkward business of are very technical products. Options are; for the boat deciding who is Gold Fleet and who is Silver Fleet builder to take over manufacture of the Needlespar because the qualifiers are Self Seeding.