SATURDAY-SUNDAY, MARCH 15-16, 2003

Brean - Gosh, what an absolute pleasure the weekend was. Brilliant sunshine, blue skies, a dry beach free from debris, a fitful easterly blowing from off the land, and smiles everywhere.

Since August 17 last year we have not really had the chance to meet up and have a sail. This was supposed to have been the Brean Club's annual regatta, but the Fed still isn't insured so can't hold any formal events, so this was an Open Sailing Weekend, and it was lovely to see everyone again.

The attendance wasn't particularly good, but those who bothered to attend enjoyed sunburn and some good sailing. Brean is known for it's mucky sailing conditions, but this was a treat... the beach was bone dry, with no opportunites for getting everything coated with crud.

The fleet comprised six Class 3s, five Standarts, seven Class 5s, five minis and six Seagull MC2 Brean Clubyachts, and a couple of others, ish. That might not sound like much of a fleet, especially when four of those sailing minis were also sailing Class 5s, and the local involvement was restricted to Standarts or MC2s, but it was a goodly crowd none the less.

The Brean Club is the sport's jewel in the crown, and is rightly a thriving success. Sixty or so members and no parakarts whatsoever, but the fact is that Brean have seen the future. Six or seven marshalls every day, each with smart "dayglo" yellow vests with BLYC Marshall on the back, lots of beach vehicles to keep the public off the course, and an extensive array of signs, flags and cones to stop folk driving cars on the course.

It may have seemed like a minor sailing jolly for those of us sailing, but blimey the organisation involved was a military operation... and wasn't it impressive. Anyone visiting the beach to check out the sport in an official capacity could not fail to have been mightily impressed.

I think all classes got three races in each on Saturday, and the c3s and c5s got one more each on Sunday when the wind was tantalisingly too light and the public hit the beach en masse, but the beach organisation was impeccable and the hordes were kept at bay.

Len Warren did the Sailing Master's duties as before, and it was lovely to see him back in action, but no one else attended from Lytham. They're still keeping off the beach pending the outcome of the coroner's inquiry.

Everyone who attended the Brean Regatta, or whatever it was called, had a damn good weekend tho' I daresay the lovely sunshine helped. Many folk reckoned they'd never seen the beach in such good condition before, but if there was a cloud hovering over the event then it was Insurance and the finer points thereof.

The Fed's at last got a quote for new Insurance, the old policy having expired on 31.12.02, but the main clubs and some individuals have already arranged alternative cover so the prospect of paying twice for insurance isn't going down well.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend in the sunshine. It's been a long winter but spring was in the air and even the racing had its moments, but above all it was just lovely to meet up with everyone again.

Results? No idea, but Steve Borrill and Richard Austin battled it out for 1st place in the c3s with Derek Nixon enjoying the odd moment in sight of the leaders. In the c5s Chris Wright and Mark Lloyd scored two 1sts each. Martin Leach was top Standart and the Minis were merry mayhem as ever. The icing on the cake for me was Mark Lloyd lending me the tapes of Ellen MacArthur's book, which ended exactly a mile from my doorstep... the journey home was a joy, and an excellent end to a lovely weekend.

Cheers etc
Andy