Bosham Junior Week 2021
Published 16:38 on 17 Aug 2021
Bosham Junior Week 2021
Wow! What a week we have just had! I honestly don't know where to start with my round up of this year's Junior Week. Literally from start to finish everyone, both old and young, have been completely up for it with a broad smile on their face to take on whatever Junior Week has thrown at them with great gusto and style. It has been an absolute privilege to be part of this very special Junior Week which saw the most spectacular sailing conditions and awesome parties throughout the week.
Day 1 saw big rains and big winds which meant racing was abandoned. This didn't however stop the fun races taking place at Cobnor accompanied by the legendary bacon butties. Record numbers of cadets in the pouring rain took to the water for the popular 'paddle a topper' race and a new event for 2021, 'last one standing' the person who can stand up the longest on a BSC paddle board that is being wobbled. Thankfully by the evening the rains cleared and it was a beautiful sunny evening on the BSC terrace for the Family Supper. Due to covid, numbers attending were restricted, so to allow for as many people as possible to join the occasion, two sittings were expertly arranged.
Day 2 was the most challenging day for our sailors with winds at the upper level of our sailing range. The 39 oppies were tested with their sailing and bailing and generally with the windy conditions which have been few and far between so far this season. Around the corner, the stories of capsizes, nose dives, and sheer thrills from the days action could be heard all around Cobnor along with tales of a few bruises and breakages along the way too. One of our 27 topper sailors reliably informed me that she capsized at least 20 times! The 10 lasers had an absolute blast and our 12 crews in the 420's out on their trapeze, were literally flying down wind! The 24 Fevas on the other hand, had mixed success with their spinnaker. Many of which decided it wasn't worth it!
Needless to say, merit mats were aplenty the following morning at our briefing recognising the spirit, determination, resilience and true grit of our cadets on the water.
In the evening, separate fleet parties were held for the Oppies, Toppers, Fevas and the laser/420's were combined. I think the Oppie party still leads the way with the vast quantities of rose consumed, raucous laughter and general stamina of the younger parents and cadets! Huge thanks go to our amazing Fleet hosts the Bakers, Womersleys, Eastwoods and Langhornes.
Sailing wise, days 3-6 saw the most glorious champagne conditions. On each of these 4 days, we were incredibly fortunate to have brilliant blue skies and the perfect amount of wind for all cadets to enjoy and enhance their sailing skills over the 10 races that were completed. Huge credit has to be given to our BSC training instructors for getting our cadets race ready for Junior Week and for the Class Captains for nurturing and encouraging their fleets to participate. Many comments were made around the quality of the cadets sailing abilities this year. All the cadets should be very proud of what they have done this week and there were some exceptional personal achievements and results too. See link at the bottom of this report to see the full results.
The fantastic sailing conditions and the high tides, also enabled us to do a number of Fun Races in the afternoons. One highlight was the Feva27 race (the youngest sailor has to be age 11 or under and the combined age of the cadets cannot exceed 27) which saw over 30 boats entered! We therefore had to run 2 timed heats to determine the winners. One parent commented that they had been trying to explain to their 9 year old how to sail up wind with little/no success but sailing with an older cadet, he did it perfectly! I think this really does sum up how special Bosham Junior Week is and how lucky we are for all our cadets, both old and young, to have this joint experience. It was also an impressive and entertaining sight seeing 20 parents on the start line in 'parent in an oppie'. Unfortunately, not everyone made it to the end. A few paid the price of failed roll tacks or simply being rather too low in the water.
Each of the evening socials were a huge success too. The 14+ black tie was, according to the cadets, 'the best yet'! It was a stroke of genius to create an outdoor 'lounge style' vibe on the terrace complete with fire pits, bean bags, bar stools and sofas with the lovely twinkly lights above. It meant that whether the cadets were dancing or chatting, they were never far from the action.
It was certainly a sight to be remembered seeing the BSC terrace transformed into an Apres ski Folie Douce theme for the Adult Bop. To add to the occasion, the terrace was complete with a handmade 'chalet' and show bar, a very cool saxophonist and the Ashling Park airstream serving copious amounts of sparkling wine. Everyone attending certainly made up for the lack of apres ski this year and a good excuse to dust off their ski gear and goggles! This time the 'older' parents definitely beat the oppie parents in the dance off!
The last night karaoke for the younger cadets and 13+ disco did not disappoint either. It is safe to say that this year's Junior Week lived up to all our expectations of having some excellent sailing, making lots of friends, having lots of fun and creating lots of positive and long lasting memories that will last a life time.
The number of thank yous to mention could go on for ever and would be impossible to cover in this report. It was a massive team effort to get Junior Week underway so every parent, Flag Officer and member of the BSC Office staff should all be applauded for all that they have done to make it happen. The Bosham Spirit was shown at its best. Please click on the following links to see the week's action in pictures and the various sailing results and trophy winners.
By Katherine Rose, RC Cadets.
To see the week's action in pictures, please click here:
To see the full set of sailing results, please click here:
To see the winners of the special awards and fun races, please click here:
Last updated 11:51 on 12 March 2024
