The 2021 Catapult Racing Seasons started with a full programme over the May bank holiday hosted by Bassenthwaite SC.  

There were 12 entries for the 2021 Nationals, a good turnout. New member Eamonn Cotter joined the fleet with Chris Upton and Chris Crawley enjoying their first outing for a while. Nigel Harrison got back on the water after a layoff of a couple of years.

The forecast was for light to very light winds on all days with sunshine and warm weather. The light winds predicted arrived on the Saturday however two races were completed. The scond ending in a very frustrating 'drifter'.

Sunday was much improved with 3 races in light to moderate winds and warm sunny weather.

Monday opened to a fresh wind with some strong gusts. Some of the fleet went out to play and tested the conditions. No mishaps and the wind eased for the start of the final race of the event.

Gareth took the trophy with 3 firsts and 3 seconds. John T was second, also with 3 firsts and 3 seconds with Gareth taking the overall win on countback, both discarding a second place. A full report wil be available shortly. To see the full results look here

Bala Gala 16-18 July

An exciting finish to the Bala Long Distance event has resulted in some changes at the top of the leader boards, which are attached.

Eamonn Cotter's win at Bala pushes him up the Travellers Trophy leader board to 5th close behind Mike Gough. Meanwhile John Terry has overtaken Gareth Ede to take 2nd place. However, George Evans retains 1st place and will fly the Yellow Pennant at his next event at Yorkshire Dales.

In fact George will also be flying the Magenta Pennant as leading helm in the Personal Handicap Series. His string of first places at Tresaith (on both handicap and level rating) continue to give him a healthy lead. The biggest change is Eamonn's leap from 5th to 2nd as a result of winning Bala on handicap as well as on level rating, for which he will be flying the Blue and Mauve Pennants at YDSC. Eamonn counted a 1st and a 2nd place at Bala, and might have made it two firsts if Stuart Ede hadn't pipped him by half a second on corrected time in the last race (sorry, Eamonn!). On equal points with Eamonn is Mike Gough who is just edged from 2nd to 3rd place on tie break. John Terry is doing remarkably well in 4th place considering his low handicap. Meanwhile Syd Gage is still in contention for a potential podium place, lurking on equal points with Stuart who narrowly claims 5th place on tie break. To see the full results look here

Of course, there are many events still to come and plenty of opportunity to move up the leader boards, so be sure to get out on the water and start climbing the ladder of success! Next stop Stone!

CATAPULT END OF SEASON PRESENTATION LUNCH Will be back again in 2021 at the welcoming  Noel Inn, Whitwell, Rutland, for another successful end-of-season gathering on Sunday November 28th, again enlivened by Syd Gage's collation of his and George's on-board videos.


2020 SEASON ROUNDUP  For a summary of the substantially shortened Catapult season, here                                   2019 SEASON ROUNDUP For a summary of another successful Catapult season, look here

2021 SAILING PROGRAMME: After much hard work Stuart has now completed the much awaited 2021 Sailing Programme  with favourite venues confirmed at Bassenthwaite, Bala, Stone, Yorkshire Dales, RYYC Bridlington, Grafham water open with two new exciting venues at Kielder SC and Tresaith Mariners SC.  The Northerns will be at Yorkshire Dales SC and the Nationals will be our first event at Bassenthwaite. The committee look forward to meeting friends,old and new during this 2021 season.

 TRAMPOLINE DECKS John Peperell can no longer make new trampoline decks, he can however take on deck repairs for CCA members.  (Prices ex his home in Twickenham.) He can be contacted at johnpeperell83@gmail.com
Prices are as follows:-Renew 2x2mtr. bolt ropes - £50.00; Repair 2 x dagger board slots with new webbing -£40.00; Renew toestraps - £10.00; Other repairs on an add hoc basis. Member to pay postage bothe ways. John also has 4 unused grey bowboards @ £40.00 each.

(Below: Northerns 2019 winner John Terry gets a fast start at Carsington.) (Photo CSC Safety Rib with thanks.)

SPARES AVAILABLE  John Terry has updated the Association spares stocklist, seen here It was established hrough the generosity of past Catapult sailor Admiral Sir Robert Hill and previous Secretary John Peperell, to keep the fleet afloat in cases of breakage or damage. Guidelines on spares availablity are here

DIY CATAPULT HULLS! Germany-based Catapult owner Volker Lehleitner, faced with the challenges of getting new hulls, went ahead and made his own. He was able to get a job lot of Hypalon, and built the hulls to a high standard, as the photos here show. Volker's son has made this video of the boat successfully cruising in Bonn. 

 (Below: 2019 Jon Montgomery Travelling Trophy winner Gareth Ede at speed at Yorkshire Dales SC.)

 
HYPALON TUBE REPAIRS Puncture? Leaky tubes? Seams coming unstuck? End caps need replacing? Paul Stubbins offers a high quality professional repair service. Paul, now working as a sole trader (with therefore no VAT to pay!), has many years experience working for RIB manufacturers, and offers a nationwide service from his base in Hull.

Have a word with Class Secretary, Stuart Ede, to see if he can arrange for pick up and delivery through the membership network to save on transport costs. Contact Paul at paulstubbins23@gmail.com or on 07429 754392.

 REPAIR ADVICE Syd Gage has added to his stream of practical advice and detailed instructions with a new article on DIY Puncture-free PU-foam-filled Tyres The article here shows what to buy, and his excellent photos and instructions (and personal setbacks) show how to change the steel roller bearings to nylon ones (more suitable for water immersion).  Many more advice articles are  here, the latest on  Repairing frame bolts  beam repairs, mast buoyancy, and halyard options.  
 
 (Below: Syd Gage's camera mounting, picking up the opposition ahead as he concentrates on catching them.) (Photo Paul Hargreaves with thanks.)

CATAPULT CRUISING  Justin (below) uses Catapult's shroud adjustment to dip the mast and negotiate the New Cut bridge between the Waveney and Yare rivers on the Norfolk Broads: more ) Get in touch with Alastair (at alastairforrest@hotmail.com ) with cruising plans or reports to add to the Cruising write-ups (and see his recent tidal Thames cruise.)

   
Jon Montgomery: Designer of Catapult: 22nd February 1935 - 9th June 2009.

 A tribute to Jon here.