Horning Regatta 2015

[TheQ]

With reference to the inconsiderate sailing thread going on. I thought I had better put out our annual plea and warning of chaos, to those not involved. It's the first time I think I've put it out here, I've placed it in the other place for several years.

 

 I'll be motoring around the regatta as usual, trying to rescue boats (more often than not, tourists).

Anyway here we go HORNING SAILNG CLUB REGATTA 2015

 

There will, if previous years are anything to go by, be up to 150 competitors this could include up to 50 or 60 children, some of which are on their first regatta and will be in the smallest boats. Please do not, as happened a couple of years ago, berate a small 8 year old child who happens to get it wrong in front of you from the top of your 3 storey gin palace, it just reduces them to tears and they take longer to get out of your way!

 

 This years Regatta starts on Saturday 1st of August 2015 which will be in the afternoon on Black horse Broad, so there will be a fleet of boats sailing up there around 1 till 2PM and returning around 4 depending on wind etc.

 On Sunday the 2nd of August, we will sail up to the broad at around 9  till 10 AM returning for lunch about 12 and back to the broad before 2pm

So if your timid about being around sailing boats those are the times to avoid, you are welcome to come and watch the sailing on the Broad, we ASK that you keep to the edges as it's safer for you not to have up to 100 boats sailing all around you!.

 

And now the real Chaos,

 From Monday the 3rd of August until and including Friday the 7th of August, we will be sailing from Horning Sailing Club up as far as Dydlers Mill for the majority of boats, but the big cruisers, will, if the wind is right, go as far as Woodcutters dyke.

 

 The First race starts at 09:30 at the club house and the last race each day will finish at anything up till 18:00.

For the timid ones who wish to pass through with no sailing boats around then you would need to go through outside of those, hours though there is a lull between 1 and 2 pm when the majority stop for lunch. That is the numbers will drop from around 100+ to about 20 boats.

 

There about 5 or 6  Race starts at five minute intervals, if you see a large group of up to 20 boats milling around at the start line outside the club we ask that you hold on till it goes, and then slip through before the next start. Each race lasts about an hour so there are lulls in traffic

 

ALL COMPETITORS ARE TOLD THAT IF A NON-COMPETITOR IS ON THE BANK, THEY ARE TO TREAT THAT BOAT AS THE BANK AND TURN WAY. Swearing by competitors to anyone is ungentlemanly / womanly conduct and will cause disqualification from that race.

 

 Now by being on the Bank We mean with 6ft of the Bank. Why 6ft? Well about that is about the width of most sailing boats and therefore you won't get sailing boats down both sides of you. We'd prefer it if you were a bit closer maybe 3 or 4 ft of the bank as it makes it more definite there is not room between the bank and you.

 

Please remember sailing craft have a 3ft keel hanging down below, and we sail within a couple of feet  of the bank from the club to the Mill and it's rare there is a problem with draft.

 

Now we are used to sailing on the broads, sailing within a couple of inches of each other is not unusual. So if a boat come what seems to be very close to you,  DO NOT PANIC, DO NOT PUT YOURSELF IN THE BUSHES, they are sailing their pride and joy, that's their hard earned money that is expensive to repair and they can't compete for the trophy if their boat is broken. Unless there is some mistake (very rare) you will not be hit, they can turn on a sixpence.  This does not mean you may not have to slow down or stop, IF there is open water in front of you, they will use it..

 

It is a common mistake of those new to the broads, that they move in to the bank correctly when they see a sailing boat, which when  it gets close they move in more, so the sailing boat uses more river, and repeat,,,,, Don't do it, once you are less than 6ft preferable 3 or 4ft from the bank that all we ask.

 

SO WE RESPECTFULLY ASK,  that if you are going through the regatta,  go slowly and keep to the bank, if there is a gap in front of you keep motoring slowly, if not please slow or stop till the obstruction has cleared, always pass behind sailing boat just after it has just tacked away from your bank. If they Are running away from you just follow until they turn at their next buoy, if they are running towards you please slow and when they get to you they will move over eventually (they can't go through you!).

 

Please enjoy your view of the chaos it's all part of the broads.

[BroadScot]

Sounds like a great time for you Grace to go on the Broads through Horning!!!    

 

 

Iain

 

 

p.s Welcome to the NBN friendly Forum  TheQ

 

Thank you for all the information, also. All very interesting, I must say!

[TheQ]

Looking at your location you should have been at HSC / Snowflake sailing club for 25th Jan we had a very good Burns night and we have a ceilidh next weekend!

I'll be heading up the M74 To Boness in a couple of weeks to be at my parents for my mothers eightieth birthday party.

[Hockham Admiral]

A very warm Welcome Aboard, TheQ and many thanks for such an informative post.

It is just such posts from experienced sailors that help us to understand how you look at things.

[BroadScot]

Looking at your location you should have been at HSC / Snowflake sailing club for 25th Jan we had a very good Burns night and we have a ceilidh next weekend!

I'll be heading up the M74 To Boness in a couple of weeks to be at my parents for my mothers eightieth birthday party.

Nice to know The Bard is celebrated on the Broads. I do hope the Beastie was enjoyed by all lol   Boness, I have been to many times, my sister in law lives in Linlithgow. Have a safe trip up the road.

 

 

Iain.

[JawsOrca]

and from me! 

 

Thanks too for the post. Sadly I think we will miss this although hopefully we will at least see one year. Good luck to all participants! Hope you have a brilliant day!

 

[ranworthbreeze]

Hello TheQ,
 
Welcome to the forum and your post regarding the Horning Sailing Club Regatta this year.

 

I do hope that the webcams will be fully functional and that you have a great event.

 

Regards

Alan 

[ExMemberBobdog]

Thing with Horning Regatta is they don't have too much trouble with motorboats cruising through close to the bank.  What really pi**e* them off is when 50 of them are on a run downriver, and a non racing sailie tries to tack up the other way

Sorry, I'll make a note of the dates and try not to do it again.

[riyadhcrew]

I'm sorry guys, but I just got a picture of Bob in my head and I can't stop laughing. Absolutely brilliant.

[TheQ]

Do as I do in that situation, time your tacks so that when they arrive you are on close hauled Starboard tack then they have to and will give way.

Remember to hail them with "close hauled Starboard". Then they know, you know what you are doing.

 I've used that trick many times during racing when faced with a wall of running boats, and if you are in a motor boat just slow down to a crawl on / close to the bank and as they arrive a window will mysteriously open in front of you as they go around.

[Hockham Admiral]

Do as I do in that situation, time your tacks so that when they arrive you are on close hauled Starboard tack then they have to and will give way.

Remember to hail them with "close hauled Starboard". Then they know, you know what you are doing.

 

 

When I was racing in the early 70's my helm, who was the National 470 champion, would even hail "Cardboard" when we were on port tack................  

[quo vadis]

Pork and Cardboard well known nautical terms

[TheQ]

To Expand on the above, Some people have heard that competitors are supposed to give way to non- competitors. The RYA advises that competitors do not impede non-competitors, this is fine in open waters but in confined waters there is no way of safely sailing around to two sets of rules . So all Broads clubs I know of apply the Collision regs / Broads Authority Regs (They are almost the same) which make no distinction between  competitors and non- competitors. if we didn't we'd meet in the middle!

 

:SailingThe worst cases are for sailing indecisiveness, is making a tentative decision in the middle of a fleet . Know and apply the rules,

 For instance if you were to arrive at a Starboard running fleet while  on port tack, close hauled, your only official route would be to turn and run away!  though most go to the bank and stall head to wind, this we are used to and sail around, following the official course would please no one, as swamped by a wall of sail behind you, you would be rapidly enveloped.

 

:StinkySimilarly for motor boats I have had Private motor boats say to me "we know what to do", and then set off to weave down the middle of a few boats, then of course they round the corner to find themselves in the middle of 100 Boats, halving the effective width of the river with boats have to tack away both sides.

 

I am normally, for regatta week, at the Dydlers Mill end of the course in the rescue boat, Advising Day boats (and anyone else) of the chaos Ahead  

The Lady I used to sail with also didn't like the crowds of regatta week and took her boat out for maintenance during it. 

 

 I've sailed at Horning for most of the last 40 years, however I have found that when I have sailed in open waters well away from the broads ( Saudi, Falklands, Somerset, Northumberland and several  places between, they are very concerned at how close I sail to other boats but this is a (legal) habit from the broads you use all the space you can!

This has the opposite effect when an experienced sailor from elsewhere comes on a broads sailing /or motor  boat holiday and they get extremely upset when we sail by :Stinkyleaving only a couple of inches!

 

:SailingBy the way the Monday to Friday of regatta week is an open event, if you wish to compete, entry is race by race, at the club and you can launch at the club.  race details are on the club web site and we have a Social event every night!

 Come and experience real close sailing!!!

[TheQ]

just a little bump to keep this I sight until the chaos arrives

[TheQ]

I meant to add we are only one regatta on the broads, please see www.thegreenbook.org.uk for details of the excitement all over the Broads.

 this and every year.

 

[TheQ]

:SailingJust another little bump to keep this above the waterline until the regatta

[ExMemberBobdog]

Sailing regattas are a long standing feature of the Broads, but there are other - more recently introduced - opportunities for complete carnage.  

May I draw attention to an event taking place on the afternoon of Saturday 18th July.  Anything up to 100 Stand Up Paddleboards will be racing from How Hill (start time 2.00pm), down the Ant, through Ludham Bridge, down the Bure, turning left at Thurne Mouth and up the Thurne (where a second, shorter, race for novices starts from Thurne Dyke and will join the main race), under Potter Heigham bridge and finishing at Martham.

[Hockham Admiral]

Sailing regattas are a long standing feature of the Broads, but there are other - more recently introduced - opportunities for complete carnage.  

May I draw attention to an event taking place on the afternoon of Saturday 18th July.  Anything up to 100 Stand Up Paddleboards will be racing from How Hill (start time 2.00pm), down the Ant, through Ludham Bridge, down the Bure, turning left at Thurne Mouth and up the Thurne (where a second, shorter, race for novices starts from Thurne Dyke and will join the main race), under Potter Heigham bridge and finishing at Martham.

 

They're a damn sight braver than me, Bobdog! 

 

In fact the mind boggles!   :shocked

[riyadhcrew]

Bob, do these boards come with an outboard bracket??? 

[ExMemberBobdog]

I don't know a huge amount about it (it's certainly not something I want to try - I do my paddling sitting down in my kayak) I just know it's happening.  I believe the racers who are starting at How Hill are semi-professionals (there are cash prizes involved) and the amateurs/beginners (fun racers) join them at Thurne.  I'm certainly planning to find a good vantage point to watch the chaos!  

[Warp]

Bump

This years Regatta starts on Saturday 1st of August 2015 which will be in the afternoon on Black horse Broad, so there will be a fleet of boats sailing up there around 1 till 2PM and returning around 4 depending on wind etc.

On Sunday the 2nd of August, we will sail up to the broad at around 9 till 10 AM returning for lunch about 12 and back to the broad before 2pm

Edited by Alan

[TheQ]

I think I said that,

Anyway, from up here in Scotland,

Bump!!

[Warp]

I think I said that,

Anyway, from up here in Scotland,

Bump!!

 

Yes no idea what happened there perhaps modded to repeat the main info?

[ranworthbreeze]

Hi Warp,

 

Yes edited to include the details in the repeated/bumped message.

 

Regards

Alan 

[TheQ]

One week to go, I hope the weather is better,

☺

Bump.