With Looe only 4 months away I thought it might be interesting for people who have never had the privilege of attending a Scorpion Nationals but may be thinking of attending to get a feel for what they can expect.
Everybody will have their own memories of previous events and their expectations for this year. Whether these relate to the sailing or the après sail doesn’t really matter but I thought it might be of interest to anyone who is a “Scorpion National Virgin” to hear what the rest of us have to say.
As highlighted in the recent article in DSM magazine the Scorpion Fleet certainly know how to party and although not there myself at the last Nationals in Looe I have heard many of the stories of how those who were drank the place dry (John Mursell has more details for those who are interested).
My first Nationals were at Pwllheli in 2001 and the initial reaction was how the h*ll am I going to manage against so many boats which are obviously crewed by people far better than me, what if I get in the way, what if I finish miles behind everyone, I don’t know anybody, what happens when sailings over etc. etc.
Well I needn’t have worried, yes most were better but they were all friendly and they actually kept out of my way, they introduced themselves and even spoke to me in the dinghy park, some came and offered advice and later on even bought me a pint.
As for being miles behind – well I was behind most people but on the other hand I was pretty close to some others and even beat a few.
It’s been the same every year since, some years I do better than others but wherever I do end up its always close racing and it’s the same all over the fleet with personal little battles going on each day.
The social’s been good as well, who can forget Miss Bridlington, Peaches or the Angel Twins, the fancy dress, the Pimms Nights or even Andy Smith doing his own version of 60 minute makeover at Lyme (more like 60 seconds).
For those who may prefer a more sedate evening there is always the chance to sit down and bend the ear of one of the hot shots in the fleet and get a few pointers for the next days racing or have a chat with your closest rivals from the previous days racing (especially if you won that little battle). Meet old friends and make new ones.
Maybe we can’t all win overall but that’s not why most people go, yes it’s good to win something and with so many special prizes on offer there is always a chance but at the end of the day it’s also about enjoyment.
Well that’s my little bit so lets hear what tales everyone else has got – embarrassing or not!!!
hi colin this is my first post on here so,hello all
nice ad for the nationals, it makes me really want to come down to looe an play this summer.
jo and i sailed the lyme nationals last year in 1916 and it was briliant, loved it, but did find it a long week, 7 days sailing
i was talking to a mate in the pub this evening after sailing and he lives in cornwall and has just bought an old scorp and is enjoying sailing it down at falmouth we thought it would be great to have a go at the nationals again but both of us could only do 1 or 2 days i wonder is there an option to do 2 days say at a cost of £20 a day ish? i know its the 50th and the committee is hoping to get loads of boats there, maybe we could sneek in ?? i know we would be rock bottom in the series but it would be nice to get 2 or 3 results !
our next outing is the 2 dayer at chew in may, might see you there ?
Hi Rob Great that you are going to come alongh even for just a few days and I am sure we can sort something out for you - the more the merrier! I have just been chatting to a friend of mine, ex Castle Cove and scorpion sailor who said "everytime I open a sailing magazine there's the scorpion - it's brilliant" - it was really good to hear her say that (she hasn't sailed a scorp for years and did get very nostalgic) and just shows the publicity is worth it - and thanks to those who have been really key in getting that sorted out. Johnny M in particular...
Just to add to Colin's comments which made me smile as I'd forgotten one or two of those gems (the Angel twins - how could I forget?!), but my first championships were at Porthpean in the mid 80's which is a very scary thought! I've only missed about 2 or 3 since then, as the championships are very addictive! There are some people that only turn up for that week - eg Chrs Yates - and it's the highlight of their calendar (ok, well that might be stretching it as far as Chris is concerned!) and it was great to see some new faces last year too.
Looe is a fantastic venue for lots of reasons. Looe Sailing Club members have always made us so welcome and they really are old friends. They have always looked after us and offered us great hospitality as well as a brilliant race team - and they are all volunteers. The club has been revamped this year and so there willl be more space which is great. Don't be put off by having the boats on the prom, we always ensure there is night time security and as long as you are sensible with what you leave in the boat there shouldn't be a problem. The beach master is always around during the day keeping an eye on things.
As for the racing, I've been at the back, in the middle and once or twice we've found ourselves near the front but it really doesn't matter - there will always be somebody to race with, have a bit of banter with after racing and lots of "the waves were this big" type of stories! We have had all sorts of racing at Looe, windy, windless, something in between and the race team always give us what we ask for. This year we have made a couple of rule tweaks too which hopefully will help.
Tom had put in a lot of hard work in getting this organised, and so has Chris Massey who has managed to secure some amazing sponsorship deals so this year really is going to be great. I hate the cheesy line of "something for everyone" but it's really true.
Happy to chat to anybody that might be wavering - and if I can't persuade you, speak to any of the committee - and especially Tom. I did my first champs when I was 13 years old - I'm now nearly 40 and I still love it - although the bruises do take slightly longer to heal these days!
Rob, I have sent you an e-mail regarding the nationals stuff. If you haven't got it the best option is to call me on 07951 826769 and we can have a chat. If not I should be at Chew so will see you there. For everyone else, as with most things, the reason we haven't looked into daily rates for the nationals is the way all the finances are worked out. Hopefully we'll find a solution to get Rob there though.
On Colin and Kates comments I was lucky to avoid any first nationals apprehensions. I think my first nationals was technically 1988 or 1989 at the age of 5 / 6 so all I had to worry about was how much ice cream i could eat and what game to play next (before anyone says it no, not a lot has changed in 20 years). Since actually sailing for the first time in 1996 though i think i've been through every emotion from outright fear (after recovering from a very big nosedive on a reach at Pwllheli in 1998 i turned round to Andrew Walters who I was crewing for at the time and told him I didn't want to go down the next wave, only for him to pump the main hard shortly followed by the inevitable drop of the bow as we accelerated down it) to pure elation (thursday last year was ok). Either way I wouldn't change any of it now and despite the fact i regularly go off and sail other classes i keep coming back.
As kate has kindly volunteered for me feel free to send me any questions if you are not sure on anything...
Why did you have to mention Thursday last year. You might have been worried about the waves in 98 when you were 10 (ish) I was worried in 2009 aged 49!
All very different to Shotwick - we only get about 18" inch waves in an F6.
Mind you we never capsized during the race (only while having a bite to eat waiting for the second start - so it doesn't count).