When the Club was formed in 1947 there were very few sailing dinghies around, and enthusiasts sailed whatever was available.  In Bexhill these craft were usually either 12ft or 14ft in length, heavily wooden constructed, usually clinker built. There was little speed difference between boats of similar length, the ‘classes’ were separated by their waterline length.  A glance at the trophy book will show that when regular racing became established, the trophies were either for 12ft or 14ft boats.

There were speed differences however, and gradually owners tended towards, not faster and faster craft within their classification, but towards similar boats.  The first to evolve at Bexhill was the Firefly, originally a single-handed 12ft dinghy designed by Uffa Fox for the 1948 Olympic Games.  This class was chosen because, as a one-design, races were decided on the skill of the helmsmen.

The 14ft ‘class’ remained a motley collection of boats of different although approximately similar speeds.  The owners were keen to change to a common class but were undecided which to select.  G.P.14’s were making a showing, but the Club members were reluctant to commit.  

Eastbourne Sailing Club held their annual Royal Sovereign Race each July, the course being from the Club westwards to Beachy Head, then south east to the Royal Sovereign Light Vessel before a northerly leg to Pevensey Bay, before returning to the Eastbourne Club.  A course of some 24 miles, and the only offshore dinghy race in the country.

Around this time, a rather boisterous race was held, and although many craft decided discretion was the better part of valour and retired, the course was completed by an Albacore being sailed “three-up”.  One of the crew was Ken Hancock, and the performance of this boat was such that the ‘14ft section’ of the Bexhill Club decided that this was the craft to ‘go for’.  It seemed ideal for the sailing conditions that prevailed at Bexhill. 

The Albacore had the advantage of being a restricted class which allowed for individual layout while retaining the racing advantages of a one-design.

 Not everyone chose Fireflies or Albacores, and a nucleus of other craft remained to sail in the “handicap class”, notably a few G.P. 14’s, one 12ft National, one or two Merlin Rockets and an Enterprise.  The “open” designs of both 12ft Nationals and Merlin Rockets did not gain favour with our members as they were considered to be still in their development stage.  It was felt that as each year seemed to bring forward new designs within their respective classes, then previous models would become “out-of-date”

The cadets, meanwhile, were encouraged into the Cadet Class, and several of our current members “cut their teeth” sailing Cadets.   However, the design and convenient construction of the Mirror eventually lead to this class taking over from the Cadet.  This also had the advantage of allowing adults to sail with their offspring, and soon the Mirror was probably the strongest class numerically within the Club.

An interesting point which no doubt will give rise to discussions around the bar is that sometime in the early 60’s the general feeling was that multi-hulls would not blend well with the then current craft sailed within the Club and at an A.G.M. it was agreed that catamarans would not be accepted within the Club.   As far as I can recall, this decision was never officially rescinded……………..! 

A good number of the elder cadets and younger adults wanted something a bit more “exciting”, and by the mid to late 60’s the Scorpion Class made its appearance.  At the height of its popularity at Bexhill we probably boasted one of the best Scorpion fleets in the country.

Gradually, however, tastes changed, and a number of sailors preferred single handed sailing, and the National Solo became quite popular.  It wasn’t long, however, that the Laser became the chosen single handed class, and has remained popular ever since.

Towards the end of the 60’s the Albacore Class declined, with a move by several of the more regular sailors changing to 5o5’s.  This move had been prompted by the great depth and proficiency of the Hastings fleet.  There were never enough 5o5’s to achieve adopted class status at Bexhill, but with about five craft “on the books”, together with the keen contingent from Hastings, supported by a growing fleet from Eastbourne, the 5o5 became a regular class at Bexhill Sailing Regattas.

In those days, Bexhill Regattas almost always consisted of eight classes, which included both Handicap and Cats.  The starting line(s) were inner and outer, allowing two classes to start at the same time.  All local Regattas were well supported, and total fleets at Bexhill of over 120 boats were not unknown !  On one occasion at least, this was followed by Sea Week with over 90 entries for the first race !! 

By the end of the 70’s however, the Albacore class made a comeback, and by the end of the 80’s it was probably the strongest it had ever been.

Catamarans had emerged, and while no individual class prevailed, we enjoyed a mixture of Swifts, Condors, at least one Tornado, one Lynx and an increasing number of Darts.   Eventually, the Darts predominated, but even here variations prevailed between 15s,  16s and 18s. 

Miracles made a showing, and for a time appeared to have prospects of becoming and established class.  However, popularity waned and only a steadfast few remained as regular participants. 

The mid to late 90’s and early 00’s saw a tremendous growth in new designs, often with only little variations between them.  Each new design had its enthusiasts, which in turn seemed to prevent an established growth of any one class.  With greater efficiencies in glass fibre/ plastic boat building, relative costs made many of these designs available to sailors.

The outcome was that within the Bexhill Club many of the established classes – Albacore, Firefly, Scorpion, Mirror gave way to the RS series, Europes, Comets, Topazes, Toppers and so on.  Each had its devotees, but gradually certain classes such as the RS 200, RS 400 and Toppers predominated.

By this time, however, the enforced pattern of handicap racing – necessary with such a variation of classes – seemed to have been accepted as the norm, unfortunately, in my opinion.  There will always be a place for a Handicap fleet as it provides a “breeding ground” for new classes, together with a “retirement home” for those losing favour.  But it should never replace class racing in its entirety.  For races to be decided on a calculated formula rather than boat-to-boat tactics and boat handling seems totally alien to seamanship, whilst allowing class results to be extracted from handicap racing defeats its object, and can never be totally satisfactory.

In past years, the policy of the Sailing Committee was that for any one class to become adopted, five or more boats were required to race regularly.  This generally required eight or nine to be on the beach.  No class was forced into adopted status, but requests were always favourably considered. 

A study of the current boat list within the Club together with the racing figures suggests that while there might be sufficient Comets, Lasers, RS 200, maybe RS 400, Toppers and Dart 16 to form separate classes, only Lasers take to the water in sufficient numbers at any one time to be considered for a separate class, while Dart 16s seem to come in so many variables – one-man, two man, with and without gennikers etc – that would prevent acceptable class racing.

I don’t think there is any argument but that class racing provides the required circumstances for improvements in sailing proficiency.  I am sure that the likes of Colin Goodman or Mike Adams would not have progressed to their current levels without the stimulus and competitiveness of class racing, whether it be in Cadets, Mirrors, Scorpions or whatever, where its boat against boat rather that just sailing round a course and the result depending on a mathematical calculation afterwards.  Nothing promotes boat handling and tactical skills like class racing, whether it is in the Mirrors, Super-fast dinghies or Catamarans.

Sailing is probably the only sport which can be both competitive and can also be enjoyed on one’s own.  Rambling and bird-watching can never be competitive, and, conversely, try playing tennis or cricket on you own !.  I appreciate that for some sailors, racing is not the “be-all and end-all” of sailing, and I would be the last to discourage sailing for sailing’s sake.  The joy of just being on the water is absolutely fantastic, and as far as I am concerned must be considered as amongst the most pleasurable of pastimes.  If, however, anyone wishes to improve their racing standards, boat handling, starting, and tactics, there can be no replacement for class racing.

The main thing, however, is ENJOY YOUR SAILING !!

Malcolm Viner

This is my second year as Sailing Secretary and rather than writing about the racing and other sailing matters over the past year, which I hope you know went reasonably well, given the weather, I thought I’d write about Open meetings and try and encourage more of us to attend them.

As a late comer to dinghy sailing it has opened up a new world of interesting things to experience and a huge amount of new things to learn. We are lucky at BSC that not only do we have an excellent training system but also friendly club members who encourage others to try new things.

This is what I’ve found with Open Meetings, which seemed both scary and out of reach to an inexperienced sailor like me.

 There are some very experienced club members who travel regularly to their Class Open meetings, but on the whole we more mature female single handed sailors tend not to leave the safety of what we know.

Of course, the first challenge is getting one’s dinghy to outside events, and although the Comet is car-toppable, it isn’t by me. Once I took the plunge and splashed out at the Dinghy Show on a new Comet with road trailer -a totally unexpected buy as I’d only intended to get a new sail – trying a Comet Open was the next step.

The first and nearest was at Bewl Water, and although I was worried about towing a trailer, it proved very easy (I just made sure I didn’t have to reverse; one knows one’s limitations). In my anxiety I arrived long before even the clubhouse was open so it was great to eventually see familiar faces both from BSC and others who had sailed in  Comet Opens at Bexhill.

I enjoyed the day immensely, even if the wind was either shifty or non-existent, and coming last in at least one race didn’t matter at all. The people from Bewl who ran the event were friendly and very laid-back, which helped a lot, as I didn’t know what to expect. The other competitors varied between deadly serious and competitive or just out to enjoy the experience, as I was, so it was a good mix. 

After this agreeable baptism, the next outing was with other BSC sailors to Chichester Regatta. Now that was really something special, and I’d encourage everyone to have a go. The weather was perfect, hot sun and reasonable wind, and as for the venue, all I can say is I can quite see why the Club fees are so high!

I’d never sailed on such an immense body of water, and with my eyesight, just finding the right starting point was quite a challenge. Eventually I made it and as there were about five fleets starting from the same committee boat all that charging up and down waiting for our turn and looking for the correct flag was very exciting. Lots of sailors seemed to be as inexperienced as I was, although they looked as if were mostly still at school, and we managed not to bump into each other. The course was huge and finding the right buoys in that vast expanse of water quite puzzling, as I was very near the back of the fleet by then with no one to follow, but it really was great fun. I had a terrific sense of achievement in just getting there and competing.

There was only one race and I understood why after we’d finished and were safely back ashore watching the tide go out.  Most of what we’d been sailing over was shingle banks with deep water channels between; quite a revelation.

I really would encourage hesitant sailors to give Open meetings a go. It’s such a positive experience, even if things don’t always go to plan. When I originally wrote this in January I was hopeful we could get a contingent together for the 2011 Comet Nationals, to be held Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy over August Bank Holiday, but this is looking unlikely due to difficulties with accommodation.

The Hayling Island Regatta is on 14 August, just before our Sea Week. That’s open to all dinghies, of course.

If anyone wants to know more, let me know; it would be fun to have a BSC contingent. 

BSC hosted the RS200/Asymmetric Open on Sunday 5 June and the Federation will be on Sunday 17 July. The RS Open went well, and we are hoping for a good turn out for the Federation. The more we travel the more likely it is that sailors will come to us, which makes for more interesting Opens and all the effort involved in hosting them worthwhile.

Let’s hope the rest of the sailing season gives us fair winds, sunshine and enjoyable sailing, whatever our capabilities. 

Wendy Morton

Sailing Secretary

24 June 2011

Hayling Island Regatta August 2010