CVRDA open meeting and Mark Collyer memorial trophy 2026 at Bowmoor Sailing Club

CVRDA open meeting and Mark Collyer memorial trophy at Bowmoor © Pat Jones

An eclectic mix of Classic and vintage boats gathered at Bowmoor Sailing club over the weekend of 8th and 9th August for this year's CVRDA Open meeting. The usual suspects began to arrive as early as Friday afternoon to take advantage of the free camping on site and allow more time for rigging boats, general boat bimbling and catching up with friends.

With a few newcomers being welcomed to the CVRDA for the first time together with four local boats from the home club and some of the usual stalwarts entered we saw a total of 13 boats gathered together including a rather nice wooden Gull and Enterprise number 15.

Saturday morning dawned with a somewhat fitful Southerly breeze with frequent puffy shifts and patches of glassy calm making life difficult for Race Officer Tom Whittingham and his crew. Tom drew a couple of course options using a combination of fixed and moveable marks on the white board during the pre- race briefing. He made a point of stressing that competitors would need to pay close attention to the course boards displayed on the stern of the committee boat in case the variable conditions necessitated a course change.

The first Race on Saturday morning got under way after a short delay to allow the last few boats (you know who you are) to leave the shore and head to the start line. The short line made finding space a bit tricky, but the usual suspects emerged at the front of the pack towards the end of the first beat as the boats approached the first mark with Lyndon and Ian in their Moths closely followed by Peter in the Finn and Tim and Pat in Merlin 1066.

After a short fetch to the spreader mark the boats turned downwind towards number 12 in what seemed like a dying wind, but then halfway down the leg the wind picked up from behind causing the boats behind to catch and blanket the leaders resulting in five boats almost line abreast approaching the mark. Multiple calls for mark room were heard and was duly given where possible, however, some boats were forced to bail out and go the wrong side of the mark before spinning round to make a fresh approach losing touch with the leaders in the process.

Unfortunately, the crew of the RIB carrying a large yellow flag that was acting as lead boat hadn't heard the Race Officer's warning about possible course changes and started to lead the fleet the wrong way round V heading towards mark 2 which was no longer included in the course. Luckily the leaders had paid proper attention to the course board and decided to ignore the antics of the lead RIB. Things settled down as the race progressed with the two Moths enjoying their usual tight battle with the Finn and Merlin in close contention.

At some point on the third lap the merlin suddenly lost contact with the leaders due to a lack of directional control when the tiller parted company with the rudder stock (again!) and although Tim was able to put things back together after a short unplanned off-piste excursion they never managed to recovered the lost ground. Towards the end of the race on the short beat to mark V there was a big wind shift which brought the Albacore of Sandy and Pat back into the frame. Although they managed to hold the lead for a while Ian broke through on the final reach and crossed the line first with the Albacore finishing a mere three seconds behind followed by Lyndon a further fifteen seconds later.

Next across the line was Peter in the Finn with a long gap before Tim and Pat with steering restored made it across with Dave and Debbie close behind in the original March Hare. As lunch was the next order of the day Tom took pity on the slower boats and gave them a finish one lap short of the leaders and their results were worked out using average lap times. After working out the handicaps during the lunch break the top four were Ian, Sandy and Pat, Lyndon and Peter. The Merlin and Nat 12 couldn't be separated on handicap so were declared joint fifth.

Race positions: 1st Moth 2883, 2nd Alb 8063, 3rd Moth 3222, 4th Finn 197, 5th equal Merlin 1066 & Nat 12 2074

The course remained the same for the second Race and with seconds remaining before the start there was a big shift and more pressure from the left which caught a few people out at the previously favoured starboard end.

Meanwhile Lyndon together with Roger in his Mirror had clearly spotted what was coming and executed perfect Port tack flyers and crossed the fleet comfortably in the new patch of breeze. Lyndon's excellent start helped him round the first mark with a comfortable lead over the chasing pack and after some place changing on the first lap similar faces appeared towards the front with Peter, Tim and Ian all trying in vain to catch Lyndon who was building a commanding lead that he held all the way to the finish.

There were a few more mark rounding incidents as the race continued due to the constantly changing wind bringing the fleet back together with at least one resulting in penalty turns which were performed without too much complaint. Peter crossed the finish line behind Lyndon with enough in hand over Ian and Tim to take second on handicap and although those two ended up in a tense battle to the line Ian took third on handicap with Tim and Pat in fourth having kept the tiller firmly attached this time.

Mike Marsh sailing his beautiful and very original wooden Gull clearly hadn't done much racing for a few years and managed to get himself confused as to where the finish line was and it took several strong hints from Tom, Wendy and Roger on the Committee boat to persuade him to go the right way and finally make it across the line to take a well- deserved eighth place which turned out to be his best result of the weekend.

Race positions: 1st Moth 3222, 2nd Finn 197, 3rd Moth 2883, 4th Merlin 1066, 5th Nat 12 2074

The 5-minute signal for Race 3 was sounded as soon as all boats had finished the previous race and as the countdown progressed into the last minute there was much jockeying for position at the committee boat end of the line. Peter had positioned himself in prime position ready to block anyone trying to get inside him at the gun. Realising this, Ian was circling next to the committee boat with the aim of following Peter across the line at the start with greater speed and the freedom to tack off to the right once clear of the committee boat.

Well you know what they say about the best laid plans and this didn't quite work out as Ian had hoped so the boats further down the line made better starts and a gaggle of boats arrived close together at the first mark with the Merlin of Tim and Pat taking an early lead. Down the first run the Merlin pulled away and the two Moths and the Finn emerged from the chasing pack to try and close the gap.

As usual Ian and Lyndon engaged in their own private battle with the Finn following close behind. The two Moths were neck and neck approaching number 12, but Ian was trying a bit too hard and glanced off the mark during the rounding and had to do a penalty turn which let Peter through into third. Up the next beat to V Ian split tacks with Peter and made a big gain in a favourable shift on the right which brought him back within sight of Lyndon.

The Merlin continued to sail away into an unassailable race winning lead with Lyndon finishing over a minute and a half later and Ian a further twenty seconds back. Peter's Finn held on comfortably to finish fourth with the National 12 of Dave and Debra taking another fifth place.

The handicap results worked out to be the same as the finishing positions down as far as eighth place which went to the consistent "Glamour Girls" sailing Paula's recently restored Albacore 6512.

Race positions: 1st Merlin 1066, 2nd Moth 3222, 3rd Moth 2883, 4th Finn 197, 5th Nat 12 2074

With even lighter winds forecast for Sunday morning the Race officer suggested trying to get a fourth race in before pulling stumps for the day, but most competitors decided that it was already Beer o'clock and at least a couple of boats required some repair work to make them fit for battle on Sunday. On lowering his sail Peter's wooden Finn mast had split where the top of the boltrope had pulled out of the luff groove and the rudder stock on John's Enterprise number 15 needed gluing back together properly although the temporary repair he effected at lunchtime had survived intact for the afternoon races.

Having been relieved of his duties on the Committee boat Roger Devereux took the opportunity to have a quick sail in Ian 's Shelley and not only managed to keep it the right way up he also returned it safely to shore without breaking anything. Got to be a first on both counts? Mike and his wife went out for a gentle sail around the lake in their Gull and were clearly enjoying their first day on the water since joining the club.

The barbecue was duly lit and almost everybody had brought something to burn so a pleasant evening was enjoyed with everyone eating and drinking in the clubhouse while swapping stories about the day's events.

As predicted we all woke up on Sunday morning to be greeted by a beautifully serene looking Bowmoor Lake with a mirror like surface and not a breath of wind anywhere. Peter replaced the damaged wooden mast from the Finn with his trusty Needlespar and John had managed to epoxy the Enterprise rudderstock back together overnight so both boats were back ready for action should any take place?

Tom put the AP up to delay racing as the competitors were all content to wait ashore until it looked like there was enough breeze to set at least a short course. As the morning went on the wind came and went in fits and starts and things were looking a bit desperate until mere seconds after saying we might as well call it a day when the wind miraculously appeared and sails started to flap gently. Tom quickly decided to set a fairly compact square shaped course with the start line just off the shore in front of the clubhouse so that Race four could commence as soon as everyone was afloat.

Eight boats made it to the start of race four which finally got under way at quarter to twelve in the afternoon. Lyndon made another excellent start and led at the first mark from Peter and Tim with Ian back in the pack with Dave's National 12 and the Dayboat sailed by John Rawson and Steve Winter for company. The two leaders broke away and were never likely to be caught while Ian and Tim enjoyed a close tussle until the last lap when Ian broke clear and finished third across the line behind Lyndon and Peter.

The race was shortened after just three short laps so that people could start packing their boats up and get ready for the prize-giving. With all boats finishing within twenty-five minutes the gap between each boat was only about twenty seconds making things very tight on handicap, however, the results remained the same as the finishing order so with two firsts and a second to count Lyndon emerged as the clear winner overall with Ian second, Peter third and Tim and Pat in fourth place only one point behind.

If only the tiller hadn't come adrift in the first race it might have been a different story? John and Steve achieved their best result in the final race scoring a fifth in the Dayboat and pushing the National 12 down to sixth spoiling Dave and Debbie's otherwise perfect run of fifth places.

Race positions: 1st Moth 3222, 2nd Finn 197, 3rd Moth 2883, 4th Merlin 1066, 5th Dayboat 463

With the breeze freshening slightly several boats elected to stay out so they could sail another race with a separate start 3 minutes after the club race. Roger Devereux borrowed Roger Oliva-Knight's Mirror and joined Tim and Pat in the Merlin and Dave and Debra in the 12 for a few more laps around the lake just because they could even though it didn't count as part of the series.

The prize-giving took place in the clubhouse as soon as possible after the gluttons for punishment returned to the shore with everyone tucking into the cakes provided by Pat J and Wendy. The conditions had clearly favoured the Moths this time with Lyndon taking a richly deserved first place overall in his Stockholm Sprite and also winning the Mark Collyer memorial trophy for first single-hander.

Ian took runner up spot in his Shelley Mk 1 just one point ahead of Peter in his Fairey Finn in third place overall. Tim and Pat in their trusty Mk 12 Merlin finished a further point behind in fourth and received the prize for being the first double-handed boat. Paula and crew were awarded a special prize as highest placed newcomers sailing the composite Albacore that was recently restored by Paula's father.

I have to say that It was really encouraging to see a number of new faces taking part and even more pleasing to have some youngsters getting involved although there was some mention of a crew mutiny occurring during the first race which resulted in one boat returning to the shore slightly earlier than planned.

A big thank you to everyone for coming and helping to make this year's Bowmoor event both successful and enjoyable. A special thank you to Race Officer Tom who was ably assisted by Roger and Wendy for their sterling efforts on the committee boat in what can only be described as fickle conditions. Lastly but not least I would like to thank Nigel and the rest of the Safety Boat team for their hard work with mark laying and keeping watch over the fleet during the weekend even though for once there was little requirement for them to demonstrate their Rescue skills.

See you all again next year!

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