Burghfield Sailing Club
Encyclopedia
Burghfield
Burghfield is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England, close to the boundary with Reading.-Location:Burghfield is about southwest of Reading...
Sailing Club (Burghfield SC or BSC) is an inland sailing club located close to the town of Theale
Theale, Berkshire
Theale is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. The village has many of the attributes of a small town, with a high street lined with shops, pubs and restaurants.- Location :...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
near Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
in the south of England. The club and lake are easily seen from the M4 motorway
M4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
as the westbound lane approaches Junction 12. BSC was one of the first Clubs in the UK to be awarded RYA
Royal Yachting Association
The Royal Yachting Association is the national governing body for certain watersports in the United Kingdom. Activities it covers include:* Sailing* Windsurfing* Motor cruising* Sportsboats* Personal watercraft* Powerboat racing...
Champion Club status.
History
The club was founded in 1956 as the AWREAtomic Weapons Establishment
The Atomic Weapons Establishment is responsible for the design, manufacture and support of warheads for the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent. AWE plc is responsible for the day-to-day operations of AWE...
SC (Atomic Weapons Research Establishment Sailing Club). The club was principally a sea cruising group with a few dinghy sailors. Having few dinghies and no sailing water, a deal was struck with Pangbourne College
Pangbourne College
Pangbourne College is a coeducational independent school located in the civil parish of Pangbourne, just South West of the village, in the English County of Berkshire....
, so that members were able to sail in Pangbourne's Firefly dinghies on the Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
.
In 1957 the club became recognised by the RYA and established itself on a small lake in the hamlet of Pingewood
Pingewood
Pingewood is a hamlet in the civil parish of Burghfield, to the south of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It lies to the Southwest of Burghfield Bridge...
in the parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of Burghfield.
During the infamous winter of 1963 ice yachting took place and later in the year, Peter Hemment became the club's first National Champion winning in the Zenith class.
During the mid - late 1960s inter club team racing became very popular with as many as 9 matches, home and away, being held a year.
In 1969 the club became one of the first in the country to hold a personal handicap regatta, the Cock o' Burghfield, with sponsorship being provided by the local Courage Brewery
Courage (brewery)
Courage is a former British brewery. The brands are now 100 per cent owned and brewed by Wells & Young's Brewery as part of a venture called Courage Brands Ltd.-History:...
.
In 1972 the club became independent of the AWRE and became Burghfield Lake Sailing Club.
In March 1977 the club moved to the nearby, and very much larger, Theale Lagoon. The club subsequently dropped 'Lake' from its name. The name Burghfield is pronounced 'Bur Field'.
Sailing
Laser (dinghy)
The International Laser Class sailboat, also called Laser Standard and the Laser One is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy. According the Laser Class Rules the boat may be sailed by either one or two people, though it is rarely sailed by two. The design, by Bruce Kirby, emphasizes...
, RS400s, RS200
RS200
The RS200 is a 4m, double handed, hiking, racing dinghy. Designed in 1995 by Phil Morrison and manufactured by RS Sailing. It has a lightweight polyester GRP with Coremat hull construction....
s, Enterprises
Enterprise (dinghy)
The Enterprise is a two-man sloop-rigged hiking sailing dinghy with distinctive blue sails. Despite being one of the older classes of dinghies, it remains popular in the United Kingdom and about a dozen other countries, and is used for both cruising and racing. It has a combination of size, weight,...
, Phantoms
Phantom (sailboat)
There are two designs of Phantom sailboats, one is a sloop design which is often raced, and the other is a lateen rig that was designed after the Sunfish model sailing dinghy....
, Blazes
Blaze (dinghy)
The Blaze was designed in the mid-90's by Ian Howlett, one time International 14 designer and associated with Americas Cup design work and John Caig, winner of Fireball Worlds. It is a powerful winged single-hander with well-developed 10 m sail...
. Racing is held every weekend of the year on Sundays and Wednesday evenings during the summer. The Burghfield Icicle is held on Boxing Day. The club hosts many local, regional and national open events throughout the year.
A model yachting group race 1 Metre boats on Saturday mornings
There is a successful Oppie Club which trains youngsters to sail and race Optimists
Optimist (dinghy)
The Optimist is a small, single-handed sailing dinghy intended for use by children up to the age of 15. Nowadays boats are usually made of fiber reinforced plastic, although wooden boats are still built....
and a strong junior Topper
Topper (dinghy)
The Topper is an 11 foot sailing dinghy designed by Ian Proctor. The Topper is a one-design boat sailed mostly in the British Isles. It was recognised as an International class by the International Sailing Federation...
fleet. Burghfield has an enviable record in developing junior and youth talent with sailors established in the various RYA squads and competing at the top level of junior and youth sailing.
Thursday evenings the Sailability group provides sailing for the club's disabled members.
For members not wishing to compete in the club racing there is the Admiral's Club providing social sailing.
During the week when there are no organised sailing events the club is popular with windsurfers.
Sailing Successes
Members have been extremely successful nationally and internationally. In 1963 Peter Hemment became our first National Champion winning in the Zenith class. Crispin Read-Wilson won the FireballFireball (dinghy)
Originally designed by Peter Milne in 1962, the Fireball is a one-design high-performance sailing dinghy. The Fireball is sailed by a crew of two, and sports a single trapeze, symmetric spinnaker and chined hull. The class is strictly controlled, but has adapted to advances in building techniques...
World Championship in 1979 in Holland . Ian and Chris Martin, have won the International 420
420 (dinghy)
The International 420 Class Dinghy is a double-handed monohull planing dinghy with centreboard, bermuda rig and centre sheeting. The name describes the overall length of the boat in centimetres . The hull is fibreglass with internal buoyancy tanks. The 420 is equipped with spinnaker and optional...
National Championships, the 29er
29er
The 29er is a two-man high performance skiff designed by Julian Bethwaite and first produced in 1998.-Background:It is targeted at youth, especially those training to sail the larger 49er. It has a single trapeze and a fractional asymmetric spinnaker. The Class is a more modern replacement to...
National and European Championships and are currently campaigning a 49er
49er (dinghy)
The 49er is a double handed twin trapeze skiff type sailing dinghy. The two crew work on different roles with the helm making many tactical decisions, as well as steering, and the crew doing most of the sail control. The design, by Julian Bethwaite, the son of Frank Bethwaite , is revolutionary...
on the Olympic Classes World Circuit.
Ian and Chris's cousin Alison Martin has also won championships in Optimists and 420s, including Bronze Medal at the World ISAF Youth Championships . Ally is currently campaigning as part of the GBR Match Race Girls team in the new Olympic Discipline of Women's Match Racing.
Mike Lyons who worked with Topper International in the development of the Blaze
Blaze (dinghy)
The Blaze was designed in the mid-90's by Ian Howlett, one time International 14 designer and associated with Americas Cup design work and John Caig, winner of Fireball Worlds. It is a powerful winged single-hander with well-developed 10 m sail...
dinghy has won the class National Championships on many occasions. Andrew Leigh has won the Phantom
Phantom (sailboat)
There are two designs of Phantom sailboats, one is a sloop design which is often raced, and the other is a lateen rig that was designed after the Sunfish model sailing dinghy....
National Championships. Graham Camm and Zoë Ballantine have won many National 12 National Championships . Steve Tylecote has won the Firefly National Championships and also skippered the World Team Racing Championships winning team.
Burnham's Royal Corinthian Yacht Club
Royal Corinthian Yacht Club
The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club was founded at Erith, Kent in 1872. Over the years, it has operated from a number of locations but now exists with a northern and southern branch at Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, and at Cowes, Isle of Wight respectively....
hosts the Endeavour Trophy annually. This is a unique and historic dinghy event which is always hotly contested with entrants limited to reigning National Champions of the classes sailed in the UK, the winners are crowned 'Champion of Champions'. Burghfield members have twice won this event. Nick and Caroline Martin and in 2007, Steve Tylecote..