Well done to the 15 Trios that came to Brixham for 3 days of sea sailing in Torbay. We had 3 distinctly different days, a very light wind Friday, a full power F4 with 20 plus knot gusts on the Saturday and a perfect 7 -10 knot sea breeze on the Sunday. Full reports can be found on the Yachts and Yachting website https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/288939/Noble-Marine-Comet-Trio-Mark1-Nationals-overall. Suffice it to say that a great time was had by all, Caroline and Andrew McAusland added their name to the Trophy for the 9th time, proving that in the varied conditions of the weekend they are still the masters of the Comet Trio. Full results are on the Y&Y final day report. Next year’s Nationals will be at Exe SC at a date TBD.

We’ve lined up 3 great days of racing in glorious Torbay based at Brixham Yacht Club. We’ve been there before and had great racing in conjunction with their dinghy regatta. The racing is planned to be 2 races on Friday followed by 3 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. There will be a Trio fleet start on each day. On the Friday the Versas will have their own start and on the Saturday and Sunday they will join in with the Brixham Dinghy Regatta fleet. The Notice of Race for the Trio and Versa Nationals is available on the Brixham YC website. Please have a good read! Entry is via the Brixham YC website . You will be asked to create an account with Brixham YC. Early entry helps everyone plan for the event so please enter soon and don’t forget to book your accommodation!

There hasn’t been a Versa Nationals held for a few years, so if you ever race your Versa at club racing, give yourself a weekend away in sunny Devon and come and meet other Versa sailors and your CCCA committee.

We look forward to meeting both Trio and Versa sailors in a few weeks time.

Membership of the CCCA has for many years been both free and reliant on a single completion of a membership form. Over the years the data that we have on CCCA members has become out of date primarily because there has been no annual renewal of this data. This means that our membership register no longer enables us to effectively contact our membership. Having considered this issue your committee has decided to utilize a commercially available membership software package provided by membermojo.

This means that we ask anyone who wants to be a member of the CCCA to fill in the membership application form on the Join Us page of this website. The form is very simple and takes no more than a couple of minutes because we have reduced the information required to the minimum. Membership remains free!

Please do this soonest, after the end of August we will no longer use the old membership register and only those signed up via membermojo will be considered to be CCCA members.

Bob Horlock

Chairman CCCA

This is the first time we have run this event and we are very keen to have Versas, Duos and Zeros attend.   We are already expecting 15 Mk1 Trios at the event and we have Versa, Duo and Zero helms at Cotswold hoping that others will turn up.     We also have 4 Comet Races – most of you will never have seen a Comet Race.

The Festival is not just about racing.    There is cruising and training, camping, meals and the opportunity to meet and socialise. See Comet Festival 2 for more information.     

The Festival Entry Form is here and for those intending to race please see the NOR and SIs If you’d prefer this information e-mailed to you please contact Richard Salliss direct.   

Please encourage every Comet doublerhander that you know to come – it would be great to see them.    They can bring their supporters too, so if for instance Fred is going to turn up with his boat then he can bring friends or family to sail his boat over the Festival period as well.

Hope to see you there too

Regards

Richard Salliss

07938 235320

richardsalliss@gmail.com

The preparations for the Comet Festival have been going well and we are pleased to announce that the Notice of Race (NoR) and Sailing Instructions (SIs) for the Comet Inland Championships on the weekend of the Festival (7th and 8th June) are now available here.

Richard Salliss tells me that he is expecting 15 Comet Trios for the Trio Inlands, one of the biggest turnouts ever! If you’ve not yet let him know that you are hoping to attend please do so soon and remember that it’s not just Trios but all the all the Comet double handers that are invited to this event. Do go along and join in the fun!

What is a Comet Festival?     Well we don’t know really as we’ve never had one before so we are flexible but here is the basis of it – we would like YOU to come along and make it YOUR Festival!    See Comet Festival 5th – 10th June 25 – Schedules for details of our current plans.

There will be lots of Comet Chatter and Comet Camping as well as Comet Cruising and Comet Racing.      Nothing is compulsory of course; you choose.     Clearly there will also be the opportunity to Try a Different Comet.      And bring the family – there’s a walkable pub in the village and Bibury, Cricklade, Bourton on the Water, Cirencester, Lechlade and lots of really rather nice villages are nearby.

Craft Welcome – All Comet double handed dinghies.        This is a meeting for all double handed Comets – Trio, Versa, Duo, Zero and the not so well known Comet Race (only 8 ever made but we’ve got 4 of them at Cotswold!).      

Now at Cotswold we have 7 Mk1 Trio, and several Versa, Duo and Zero dinghies as well as the 4 Comet Race dinghies.     So already we have a few boats and owners attending and waiting to welcome you.      We would like you to come and also if you know of any other Comet owners bring them too!

Racing for each class will take place over the weekend for those interested and the Trio will be holding their Inland Championship over the weekend.      So something to gawk at for you gongoozlers and the land surrounding the lake is all accessible for close up viewing of the racing – none of those white dots on the horizon!    You might even get some bow wave spray from one or two viewing points…

Cruising.     Any time there is not racing taking place then you can cruise – so from Thursday through to Tuesday.      A substantial number of the Comet sailors are not racers and so their opportunities to meet other Comets is limited – but here at the Festival there should be lots of chances.                                 

With all the Comet Doublehanded boats in one place it would be good to have a ‘Try a Comet’ session.     I’ve designated the Friday and also the Saturday after racing but there will be opportunities at almost any time during the Festival.

Camping      Our surrounding land is flat and there’s plenty of it.    Everyone should get a bankside pitch.       Tents, caravans, campervans and motorhomes all welcome.    Plenty of B&B, pubs and hotels locally as well.

Comet Chatter      Well there will be plenty of that!       Not just around the campfire – we will also organise a get-together with an optional meal for the Saturday evening in the clubhouse.     Oh, have I mentioned the sandwiches and cake?     There will be both on the Saturday and Sunday – with chatter.

Cotswold is a family club and you are welcome and encouraged to bring your family in support.      Under 18s must have an adult with them.    Our grounds are fenced and secure.       Well behaved dogs are welcome.    We have easy slipways and the tide doesn’t go out.

You’ll be interested to know that the Comet Festival won’t break the bank.      Early bird bookings for the event are £35 per boat.     After the 15^th of May it’ll be £45.       Camping is £5 per adult (over 18) per night.     The Saturday evening meal will be £10 per person or you can bring your own food

Contact for queries      Richard Salliss   07938 235320      richardsalliss@gmail.com

Contact for Trio matters Chris Biglin    trio @cometcombinedclasses.co.uk

Contact for CCCA matters Bob Horlock   commodore @cometcombinedclasses.co.uk

CCCA Inland Championships – Cotswold SC 7/8 Jun 25

The CCCA is pleased to announce that the CCCA Inland Championships for 2025 will be held at Cotswold SC on 7/8 June 25. Cotswold is a great club and we will be sure of a warm welcome!  The event is open to Trios, Duos and Versas and Cotswold have a number of Trios and Versas so you can be sure of some local competition.   Cotswold can offer camping/caravaning/motorhoming from the Thursday to the Monday nights.     Fresh water and chemical toilet emptying facilities are on site.     Everyone should be able to get a water side pitch.

Trio National Championships – Brixham YC 8-10 Aug 25

The Trio Nationals will be held at Brixham YC on the 8^th to 10^th Aug 25.  We have been to Brixham before and we look forward to welcoming the Trio fleet again for more great sailing in Torbay!

Noble Marine Comet Trio National Championship at Exe Sailing Club

The Comet Trio National Championships (proud to be sponsored by Noble Marine Insurance) was held at the lovely Exe Sailing Club on 31st July – 1st August.

It was a good turnout with several visitors from Durleigh, Whitefriars, Cotswold and Hawley Lakes joining the local Exe boats.  Several new boats were making their debut nationals including Steve’s new white boat looking very pacey with a new MK1 North sails and Guy’s new boat with MK2 sails, both showed amazing speed with race wins throughout the event. Scarlett Lady also made a grand return with new owners and also new to the fleet Chris/Ben Biglin.

MK1 report

Saturday races were closely fought throughout fleet, with 3 different race winners including Richard Sallis/Carol Williams, Chris/Ben Biglin and Steve Ashford/Martin Yeomans. Closely followed by Symon/Lou Doliczny, Sue Morris/Debbie Woodcock, Jamie Gregor/Tim Farmer all with top 3 results, it was shaping up to be a close fought championships.

Sunday started in a light shifty easterly. Steve was seen up early studying the wind shifts and tidal patterns but a battle on the start line meant that both Steve and Richard were both OCS allowing Chris/Ben to get another 1st place. Anne/Mike Way had their best result finishing 2nd and Sam/Chris Mayne with a 3rd.

It came down to the final race to decide the MK1 championships and in a more steady 7 knots breeze, Richard/Carol won with Chris/Ben second Steve/Martin 3rd. These turned out to be the final overall results with 4th to Simon/Lou Doliczny and 5th to Jamie Grigor/Tim Farmer.

MK2 report

Saturday racing was a tight affair with 4 different race winners – Ade/Tracie Padro, Bob/Colette Horlock, Guy Farrant and Graham Skyes, and Andrew/Caroline McAusland. It was all to play for on Sunday with only 1 point separating the top 3 boats.

Sunday saw a delay whilst the wind settled however the AP flag came down and we were able to launch in a light breeze.

With favourable pond like conditions, it was Ade/Tracie who led in first place around the last mark with a final run to the finish however the wind became lighter/shifty and the lead boats were becalmed for a few minutes while the wind filled back in. 1st to spot the new breeze were Guy/Graham who took full advantage and finished in 1st place, the battle for 2nd was between Andrew/Caroline and Ade/Tracie and Bob/Colette who had to settle for 4th following A port/starboard incident. This enabled Ade/Tracie could sneak through to 3rd place.

With one race remaining, Ade/Tracie, Andrew/Caroline and Guy/Graham were on equal points, this was going to be the closest finish of the championships. Ade/Tracie reached the first mark first and then spent the rest of the race in close coverage of Andrew/Caroline. Bob/Colette split from the top 2 in search of new wind shifts, however Ade/Tracie managed to hold off the fleet to win the event overall on count-back. Andrew/Caroline finishing 2nd, Guy/Graham in 3rd place, 4th went to Bob/Colette and 5th to Simon Gregory/Veronique Hart.

Huge thanks to Exe Sailing Club for putting on a terrific three days including sailing, BBQ, Trio dinner, cream teas and for all the help / support needed to run a successful championship.

Tracie Padro 

Overall Results

On Saturday 17 July 2021, we welcomed 12 Comet Duos to the latest Cransley Worlds.  With one visitor (Nigel Ford from Solihull (93)), and five international club members from Wales, it had the feeling of a universal event.  

The wind was light – Force 0-2, with the occasional sudden summer gust catching 2 folk out (Jane and Ian).  The racing was very well organised and led to an enthralling first race, with young Tom Chapman and Georgie Hind (121) chasing and very nearly catching Nigel Austin and Polly Guyett (103).  Our visitor came in 3^rd, very happy chappy.   The remaining competitors were not that far behind but to be fair had paired up with crews to get as many out on the water as possible to enjoy this prestigious event, and certainly the trim of some could have been better!

After a lunch that slowed the fleet even more (but wouldn’t have been missed, thanks Claire/Niamh), the 2^nd race was more of the same with the leading exchanging hands a few times between 103 and 121, with Tom and Georgie just unable to hold on to the lead on the final leg.  Rhiain Bevan (4) was pursuing hard for a 3^rd and thus for the final race an intriguing prospect was set up for 2^nd and 3^rd place.  

The heat of the day, over 26 degrees on the water led some to go for impromptu swims off the back of the Duos, however there was certainly no cooling particularly on the last five minutes of race 3 where the lead changed hand 3 times between different boats and it looked as if Nigel in 93, would take the honours.  However the wind disappeared 50m from the line for him and Nigel and Polly managed to harness their own zephyr to achieve a clean sweep.

This event was designed to bring together as many of the 180 odd Comet Duos (ever built by Andy Simmons) in a fun and entertaining event and it achieved that again – although we would love to get more visitors, our water is perfect for them, so please if you have one get in touch for next year!  It was also the aim to give our youngsters and less confident adults a chance to race in an event that whilst competitive was also friendly and with lots of banter.  This year young Polly (8 years old) is able to go into school with the trophy on “Show and Tell” and tell her classmates of the day she won the “Worlds”! – creating memories like this is what sailing is all about in my mind!.  

Well done all 

Nigel 

Comet 103

Cransley Sailing Club

Entries are open for the Trio Nationals at Exe Sailing Club later this month.  3 days of racing in Lyme Bay with a social programme to match.  We are of course expecting the sun to shine and a nice breeze to blow!  The plan is for 2 races Friday, 3 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday, with a BBQ on Friday evening and the Trio Dinner on Saturday evening.   This year we are using outside caterers to deliver these meals and it would help us to know the numbers of people attending so please submit your entries to Caroline McAusland and if there will be others in your party who would like to come to the socials please her know.  The racing will be in separate fleets for the Mk1s and Mk2s. All the information is on the Exe SC website on the Open Events tab.  Here you will find the Notice of Race and the Sailing Instructions.  The entry form is part of the NoR.  There is also information on; accommodation, including local campsites and details of the car parks in Exmouth that allow overnight motorhome parking, tidal flows in Lyme Bay, and things to do in Exmouth when you’re not sailing. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible to celebrate the end of the lockdown restrictions (assuming all goes to plan!) Bob HorlockSec CCCA