Cruiser Racing

11 May 2008
	There seems to have been quite a lot of dissatisfaction at today race, but at least you went out for a sail (which is more than I did). Volunteers for next week please form an orderley queue. The race programme for the Club Regatta on the 6th, 7th and 8th June is announced. Contact your Regatta race management team here


10 May 2008	Tuesday Evening racing Sponsor
	We are delighted to announce that Tueday Evening Racing this year is sponsored by Crofts Daies & Co


18 April 2008	Spring Series Sponsorship
	We are delighted to announce that the current Spring Series is being sponsored by our local chandler Marinescene.


18 April 2008	Tuesday Evening Racing
	The time is fast approaching for the start of the Tuesday evening racing. See the details here. The racing will follow the same format as the last couple of years. Two series of eight races, all starts in the Bay at 7:00pm.


7 April 2008
	The fleet for the Spring Series has been decided with a Sportsboat fleet, an IRC fleet and a PY fleet. The series got underway yesterday with a pleasant low water race in a 15kt breeze with the wind going from NW to SE by the end of the race. Musketeer had a relatively straightforward win in the Sportsboat fleet with Zulu retiring after a few minutes. In the IRC fleet John Mead's Spirit of Tilman had an excellent start at out at Mid Cardiff and came in only about 11 minutes after Sleeper to win the race by the same margin. The PY fleet decided to spend the day in bed - was it something I said? There was some discussion last weekend about the exact location of the 'Diffuser' buoy. Well, I went out for a sail myself last week and there it was. 51° 27.50' N 3° 04.50' W ish just as I thought. Next Sunday it is an 11o'clock start from PYC and will see a welcome return for Syd Thomas will be in charge, so get yourselves down the start line on time.


2 April 2008
	The Spring Series race programme is announced. It all kicks off with a Low water Race at 1200 this coming Sunday. See the full programme here. Fleet allocation will be decided before the first race. If there are enough sportsboats to make a viable fleet, then they will have there own fleet. If not and there are a large number of IRC boats entered then a sports/classic split will be considered. Otherwise there may be a single IRC fleet. There will be a PY fleet. Click here to enter.


1 April 2008
	The Spring Starter Regatta provided two days of very mixed racing. On the Saturday a breezy Round the Cans was followed by a couple of short and sharp races in the Bay in quite blustery conditions. Sunday turned out to be a very pleasant sailing day with another Round the Cans in the morning and a Bay race in the afternoon. The Spring Series starts next Sunday. A full race program will be published here in the next couple of days. This may vary from previously published information so check here later.


23 March 2008
	Well, thats the Early Bird Series done. Congratulations to the winners and all competitors. Who would have thought Tail Patch was such a difficult place to get to! Some IRC competitors will have noticed that they seem to have been disqualified from their races in the Early Bird. This is because they either havent copied me their IRC certificate or they havent paid or in one case both. On a brighter note, next weekend we have the Spring Starter Regatta. We will have three fleets - Sportsboats, IRC and PY. The Sportsboat fleet will be racing with CBYC Sportsboat Handicaps and so there is no need for anyone to get a Sportsboat Certificate. Its only Ł10 to enter if you pay before the start otherwise its Ł20. It would be appreciated if competitors would enter online this week.


20 March 2008
	Last race of the series this Sunday. Its a low water race starting a couple of hours before low water, so I'd be expecting a race of about 3 hours. The presentation of prizes for this series will take place as soon as possible after racing in the Clubhouse.


10 March 2008
	Well, thats the last Bay race of the series, and just two more races in the series to go. Both start at 1200 from PYC - next week a normal RTC race and a low water race the week after. Thanks to Chris Pope for laying and picking up the course and to Starship for not running down the committee boat. Dont forget to enter the Spring Starter Regatta if you havent already. Click here to enter. We are expecting some large fleets for this event that will, hopefully, include a couple of boats from Swansea.


4 March 2008
	A bit of a disappointing course on Sunday as the wind went SW instead of the NW as I was expecting. I suppose thats RTC racing for you. A Bay race next week at 1400 - marvellous. I'll pump up my armbands now. If you were wondering what happens on Chill Out, then you need to look no further than here. I'm sure Mike would welcome suggestions on how he could improve his cinamatography. The Spring Starter Regatta will be on us soon. Its the weekend of 29th & 30th March - thats the weekend after Easter. See the race programme here. Free refreshments will be provided on the Saturday after racing, but as its the Club annual dinner that night there may be some disruption to the usual Club facilities. Please note that fleets will be decided on entries recieved by the Thursday evening and at present there are only a possible 3 sportsboats entered which is not enough for a fleet. There will definately be a PY fleet.


25 February 2008
	Yesterdays race over Low Water seemed to work out well for the majority of the fleet. A special thanks to 'Gatsby' for highlighting the shallow patch between the pier and Outer Wrach. Their afternoons activities attracted an impressive three 999 calls to the coastguard! Those of you who have seen the racing calendar either on the website or in the Cruiser Racing Handbook will have spotted that the Spring Series was missing a Race 9. This has been remedied by adding a race on 22nd June to make it up to 12 races. The weekend of 19th/20th April was shown as being on the Friday and Saturday with Race 3 of the Spring Series being held on the Saturday. This has now been changed so that the race is on the Sunday. The presentation of prizes for this Series will be held in the Clubhouse as soon as possible after the last race. Further details will be published as they become available..


18 February 2008
	Well, the fleet is growing! 23 boats out on Sunday as a number of boats join in the IRC fleet. Welcome to a new J80 to the fleet 'Chilli Jam'. The astute racer will have spotted that next Sundays race is to be held approximately 1 hour before low water. They will make sure that they lock out while there is a sufficient depth of water in the locks, harbour and approach channel. The use of a properly adjusted echo sounder might be prudent during the course of the race.


1 January 2008	Fleet allocation, Payment and IRC certificates
	What a good start to the new season. 20 boats have competed in the two fleets so far with at least two more poised to join later. Yesterdays low water race seemed to be a welcome alternative to thrashing up and down the Bay for an hour. It was good to see all the boats returned safely, especially our new 'King of the Castle'. With regard to fleet allocation I shall in future be basing it on the number of boats which are entered into the series before the start. For the current series only 5 non-PY boats were entered before the start of Race 1 (and one of those in the Car Park an hour before!) and so there will be a single IRC fleet for the series. Boats can enter online and pay at the office and should do both. The Office accept cheques, cash or cards in person, by post or on the phone, although having said that they dont take cash over the phone. The fees for the 2008 programme were published in the latest Bear Essentials, but for those who missed it here it is again. "The racing fee structure is very similar to last year with the basic prices unchanged although there are a few small changes to encourage the early entry of boats into each series and so that all competitors contribute to support the racing programme. The fees are as follows; Earlybird Series Ł20 Spring Starter Regatta Ł10 Spring Series Ł25 Tuesday Evening Spring Series Ł15 Tuesday Evening Summer Series Ł15 Frostbite Series Ł20 So, to enter all the series the cost is Ł105, but if you pay before 3rd February the cost is a mere Ł90. If you want to enter a series after it has started then the cost increases by Ł10. Boats may enter individual races at Ł5 a go by prior arrangement with the Race Officer. If a boat appears to start three or more races in a series, but does not pay an entry fee, then the fee for that series plus the Ł10 penalty will be required before they can pay for a subsequent series. Pay by cheque, payable to ‘Cardiff Bay Yacht Club’, Credit Card or Cash direct to the Club Office" My record keeping can be pretty shoddy at times so you can now check to see if I think you have paid. Click here to see a copy of my spreadsheet of whose paid what for 2008. If you have paid and you are not on the list then you need to do something - and fast. The club office will update me each week on payments they have recieved. You have a rather generous two weeks after your first race pay before you start being disqualified. I have seen very few IRC certificates so far this year. Please get me a copy of yours. You can email it, leave a copy behind the bar or in the office. Only boats with IRC current certificates will be included in the final results. Click hereto see if I have a copy of your certificate. If your handicap is in red then I havent got a copy.