Author Archive: PCC Press Office

Latest Cruising News

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If you’re planning your bank holiday or summer cruise, the club has news to share from the recent BCYA meeting attended by PCC. The updates concern Lydney and Watchet harbours.

Lydney Harbour

Members are advised that Lydney Harbour is now managed by the Environment Agency following a £2.1m regeneration scheme that completed in June 2023.

Including a new cafe, visitor centre and public toilets, updated information for visitors can be found here.

Watchet Marina

The club has received reports that the approach lights to Watchet harbour are non-operational and water depths continue to be sub-optimal due to silting.

Any member considering a passage to Watchet should contact the Marina Manager at Watchet Marina to check the latest information.

If members are aware of any other updates to popular locations that are visited across the Bristol Channel or further afield, please contact us so we can share the information with the rest of the membership. Equally, if anything above changes, please let us know!

Bank Holiday Cruise

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As the sun has finally started to appear, and with a bank holiday weekend ahead, PCC are eager to get back out onto the waters of the Bristol Channel!

To celebrate the start of the season, the club extends an invitation to any boat moored in Portishead Marina to join us. We’re planning a cruise on Sunday 5th May around the bay, or perhaps up to the Prince of Wales Bridge and back, depending on the weather.

This is an ideal opportunity to get together over the bank holiday weekend for some fun sailing, provide an opportunity to meet some fellow Portishead-based sailors and discuss future cruises planned for the 2024 season.

If you haven’t been out beyond the lock recently, would like to join in but would also like to benefit from having someone aboard to help you with the navigation etc, please contact us as we may be able to connect you with a PCC member who can join you for the afternoon and impart some local sailing knowledge.

High water on Sunday 5th May is 17h00 so the plan is to lock-out at 15h00, muster just off the pier and lock back into the marina around 18h00. As is tradition, we’ll then round the afternoon off with a social drink at the Sirens Calling.

If you’d like to join us, just complete the form below and we’ll be in touch!

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Would You Like A PCC Member's Help With Navigation and Passage Planning?
I understand that joining this activity is entirely at my own risk, my vessel is seaworthy and that it will be my decision whether I proceed to sea on the day after considering weather and crew capability.

Shanghai Cup 2024

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In partnership with Cardiff Bay Yacht Club, PCC is happy to announce the dates for the Shanghai Cup 2024, Bristol Channel IRC Championships and Nimrod Cup.

The popular annual championship, held over two weekends, saw PCC boat Ctrl-J skippered by Andy Williams retain the Shanghai Cup in 2023 with Emma Peel and Checkmate XV coming in second and third places respectively. The 2023 Nimrod Cup was won by Hallucination with Pele and Glad Rags following in second and third place.

Back for another year, the Shanghai Cup will use IRC ratings and take place as follows:

  • Portishead weekend – 15th/ 16th June 2024
  • Cardiff weekend – 29th/ 30th June 2024

Social events at each location will be communicated at a later date. Note the Nimrod Cup will use NHC ratings and will run on the Cardiff weekend only.

The organising committee have now updated the event website at shanghai cup.co.uk and have posted the Conditions of Entry and the Notice of Race 2024 v0.1.

Further information including the entry form that has a £10 early bird discount for entries received before the end of April, can be found on the Shanghai and Nimrod Cup website. Members are also invited to spread the word and look forward to two weekends of competitive racing in June!

If you’re looking to join the action but aren’t a PCC member or don’t have a boat, contact us to find out about the latest crewing opportunities that may be available.

2024 Holms Race

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The 2024 edition of the Holms Race will be on Saturday 28th September.

This annual race is for many a highlight of the Bristol Channel sailing calendar. The course leaves Portishead, rounds Flat Holm to port, Steep Holm to port and then returns to Portishead. Featuring a choose your own start time, it pits skippers and crews against the wind and tides of the Bristol Channel with the aim of being between the islands at slack water ready to race back on the new flood tide.

To encourage participation from all Bristol Channel Yacht Clubs, once again in 2024 will be the special prize for the ‘Top Club’. 

Currently held by PCC, the amazing rose-bowl trophy will be awarded to the top club in the Holms Race. The top three results from each club will be amalgamated and the best placed club will be pronounced as the ‘Top Club’. As the BCYA said themselves, ‘you’ve got to be in it to win it!

The Notice of Race, Entry Form and Sailing Instructions will be available closer to the event. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact us.

Locks Reopen!

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The scheduled works on the locks have now been completed. The next race will be an up tide race to the Severn Bridges and back in competition for the Easter Cup. The race will take place on Easter Monday.

For all the race details see the Racing WhatsApp channel. It is expected that all other races will now follow the racing program published on the site racing page.

RNLI Safety at Sea Evening

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Club members recently attended the RNLI lifeboat station in Portishead to hear about the latest innovations in sea safety and survival equipment, tour the boathouse and receive an all-important lifejacket check.

Kicking off the event, Bernd Langheim, Water Safety Officer for the RNLI gave a short briefing on the work of Portishead RNLI, the area it covers and the types of callouts the team attend.

This was followed by a presentation from Dave Herbert, Deputy Duty Harbour Master at Royal Portbury Dock who shared some insight about the growth of the port as a gateway to the UK and the ships that regularly visit – many of which we see when we’re racing in King Road. Members noted that anyone stood on the bridge of a car carrier can only see 200m beyond the bow of the ship – creating a massive blind spot where small craft will not be seen.

After the presentations, members had a tour of the boathouse and learnt about the equipment carried aboard RNLI Portishead’s Atlantic 85, My Lady Anne. This was followed by an opportunity to have personal lifejackets checked. Of the 20 checked, 15 failed due to various faults – the RNLI message being to make sure you service your lifejacket before heading out for the new season!

The RNLI are happy to run further sessions for club members so if you’d like to be added to the waitlist for the next event, please contact us. In the meantime, thanks to the RNLI Portishead volunteers for hosting us!

Annual General Meeting

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The club’s annual general meeting, which all members are encourage to attend, will this year take place at Portishead Bowling Club on Wednesday 13th March at 20h00.

 AGENDA

  1. Apologies for Absence
  2. Approval of 2023 AGM minutes
  3. Matters arising from 2023 AGM
  4. Honorary Treasurers report and adoption of Annual Audited Accounts for year ending 31st December 2023
  5. Commodore’s report
  6. Election of Officers and Committee
  7. Appointment of Auditors
  8. Adoption of changes to the constitution
  9. Any other business

AGM will be formally closed

Following the AGM after a short break a period of half hour will be set aside for a general discussion of matters raised from the floor.

Notices and Reminders.

This notice of AGM together with additional information has been emailed to all members. if you didn’t receive it, please email the Club Secretary.

Copies of the minutes of the 2023 AGM and the ‘Audited Accounts’ will circulated electronically one week prior to the meeting to members. 

Nominations for the posts of Club Officers and for positions on the general committee are to be signed at least seven days before the AGM i.e. by 6th March. Nomination forms are available from the Club Secretary by emailing or at a Wednesday night meeting. 

Members are reminded that membership renewal is due on the 1st of January each year and that only fully paid-up members will be entitled to vote at the AGM.

RNLI Sea Safety Evening

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The RNLI have been in touch to offer members an evening focussed on lifejackets and the latest developments in safety at sea. Designed to be an informal event pitched at both novice and experienced sailors, we would encourage members to attend. Equally, if you’d like the RNLI to give your lifejacket a once over, bring it along!

The event will also feature a short presentation from the Deputy Duty Harbour Master from Royal Portbury Dock who will talk about the dangers associated with sailing in a busy shipping lane.

After the event, members are invited to retire to the nearby Royal Inn for drinks.

The event will take place on 14th March at 19h00 at the RNLI boathouse.

To reserve your spot, please register via the following link. Note that the event space has a capacity of 25 people so don’t delay, reserve your spot today!

Please contact Tim at PCC or Bernd at the RNLI if you have any questions.

Annual Awards Night

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The club wrapped up an extensive sailing season across both cruising and racing fleets at the annual awards night. With Vice Commodore Nick Duppa-Miller as host, it provided a lively, fun-filled review of the year’s racing and cruising activities.

2023 honours were awarded as follows:

Easter CupHullabaloo (Steve, Pete, Tim & Julia)
Regatta RaceCtrl-J (Andy Williams)
Gluhwein RaceCtrl-J (Andy Williams)
King of the RoadsCtrl-J (Andy Williams)
Cockburn CupCtrl-J (Andy Williams)
Autumn SeriesScrumpy-J (Tim, Ian & Nick)
Bristol Channel Cruising CupColin Brooks & Julie Sunderland (Lady Gwyneth)
Longest Cruise from PortisheadRod & Margaret Deacon (Teaselah)
Longest Single Handed CruiseGeoff McBroom (Fly)
Best LogJo Sutton (Molia)
Most Promising NewcomerPaul Sharpe (Khazuki)
Outstanding Services to the Club ShieldTim Pearson & Mark Sutton

Thanks to everyone for coming and congratulations to all the winners, some of which are pictured below! Here’s to another great year of racing and cruising in 2024. If you’d like to join in the fun, drop us a line or come and see us at our weekly club nights at The Old Mill pub from 20h00 on Wednesdays.

Autumn & Gluhwein Cup

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As everyone gears up for the start of a new year, the club has released a press release to local and yachting media announcing the results of the final racing series of 2023 together with the results of the annual Gluhwein Cup which traditionally concludes the club’s racing program for the year.

The Autumn Cup featured five races between September and December.   With individual races being won by Hullabaloo (J/92s), Scrumpy J (J/105), Ctrl-J (J/109) and Hero (One Tonner), it was a close fought series until Scrumpy J, skippered by Nick Duppa-Miller scored another win and took the series.  With a range of weather conditions from light airs at the start of the series to heavier seas towards the end, the Autumn Cup always provides for some tricky sailing conditions and this year was no different.  Crews found themselves using full sail wardrobes to gain the advantage – and in some cases, this happened during one race!

For the final race of the year, called the Gluhwein Cup given its proximity to the festive season, boats headed out for a final race in King Road.  With tight racing on the water with only two minutes between the first three boats, it was Ctrl-J (J/109), skippered by Andy Williams who won on corrected time with Scrumpy J, the J/105 and Hero, a One Tonner closely following in second and third places respectively.

After the race, some of the crews headed to the annual club Christmas lunch to refuel and warm-up after the morning’s race and dissect all of the on-water action.

If you’ve always hankered to be part of a racing yacht crew or want to get back into sailing then the team at PCC would love to hear from you!  The fleet races in a number of club series across the year in the waters of the Bristol Channel – including some evenings during the summer.   The 2024 racing calendar has now been published – contact Vice-Commodore, Nick Duppa-Miller to find out more and get involved – you don’t need a boat to join in the fun!