Minisail Championships 2012 at the CVRDA Nationals, Bough Beech SC.
Six
Minisails got together at Bough Beech SC in Kent to hold the first
championships the class has seen since it faded 30 years ago. 2 sailors
came from
Belgium to take part, 2 from the south coast, one from Norfolk and one
from the Cotswolds. For some, the event was a chance to try out a new
boat, maybe pulled from the bushes at the back of a boat park and
brought back to life, for others it was a chance to try racing for the
1st time in the company of other Minisails. Standards of sailing ability
varied, but the enthusiasm for the boats was clear to all around.
Ronnie
from Belguim and Rupert from Whitefriars had brought along wooden
Sprite type MInisails, and Ronnie is in the process of building a new
Sprite back in Belguim. Dean (also from Belgium), Peter from Hickling
Broad and Tom from
Southampton were sailing GRP Monaco designs, Tom's with a sliding seat
attached. Hampshire based David was sailing a Minisprint, a GRP version
of the Minisail where the sliding seat carriage is moulded into the
deck. David is spending his retirement learning how to sail the Minisail
from a sliding seat, and came a very creditable 2nd overall to Rupert
in his Sprite.
Much
interest was shown in the boats whilst at BBSC, and we hope this event
will be the start of something bigger, maybe even in the re-start of
production of new GRP hulls. More information about MInisails can be
found at www.minisail.org.uk.
