Meet the new cruiser captain

Hello All,

mugshot-bcMy name is Brian Corrie, and despite having been a member for just a few years I am now Cruiser Captain, which shows that asking questions about the cruiser races and going to the AGM gets you into trouble.

I am a Man of Kent but am now resident in Leicester, working in industrial design and manufacturing when not messing about in boats in Essex. I am not eligible for the OAP membership rate.

People do ask if there isn’t somewhere closer to Leicester to keep a boat, and I say “Yes – Skegness: Have you ever been to Skegness?

I sail an Anderson 22 called Rum Run, which was originally built for a Lord Mayor of the City of London who was an accountant and allegedly keen on buying bonded stores in Ostend. The boat still has a couple of bottle racks as a result of this, but thankfully no longer has the junk rig that his acquaintance with Blondie Hasler influenced him to specify when new. She is quite comfortable for her size, having full (sitting) headroom and four berths, though as I usually sail single-handed three of them are usually full of kit. I have been experimenting with the rig to improve speed in light airs, so if you see a small blue boat with a large yellow asymmetric from masthead to bowsprit approaching, please bear in mind that I cannot see round it very well.

Prior to Rum Run I had a Hunter 19 – A Squib with a Lid – which lived at Rutland Water apart from a trip to Milford Haven (by road mostly) which is a great place to explore in a small boat, having both steep-to, rocky shores and areas of shallow mud. You can be sailing past green fields and sheep, then 90 minutes later seem be squeezed between an oil tanker unloading at the terminal and a vast gas carrier attended by tugs. Like the Anderson 22, the Hunter 19 was designed by Oliver Lee, so was quite fast and easy to sail but limited in accommodation, more like a two-man tent, rather than the Anderson’s four-man tent.

As well as the Anderson, I have the white and blue tent in the boat park with a Guy Thompson T31 poking out underneath. The plan with this boat being to re-sheath the deck and re-launch before the low headroom of the A22’s cabin turns me into a hunchback.

In 2017 we will offer the customary races and events as in previous years, but I am also keen to explore other possibilities, such as trips to the fabled Isle of Sheppey, and even the mysterious planet of Thanet. I would like to get suggestions from interested members over the next couple of months as well. Additionally we could use a social media site to notify fellow members of ad-hoc cruises at short notice, along the lines of “I’m off to Shotley on Friday night, anyone fancy coming too?” This would also let the anti-social know where not to go!

Regarding our races, I am proposing to use the National Handicap for Cruisers system for handicapping. This harmonises with the Cruising Club and should help to more accurately rate old boats (like mine) against the more modern ones. I aim to be able to let people know their NHC number before we start, so the earlier we have details of your boat the more transparent the handicapping will be.