The Haven Combined Club Series (called ‘the series’) is an independent series of yacht races organised by the Royal Harwich Yacht Club,  Waldringfield Sailing Club,  Walton and Frinton Yacht Club,  Orwell Yacht Club and  Haven Ports Yacht Club (called ‘the organising clubs’).

The series' exist to provide racing between yachts sailing under both IRC and Haven Handicap. Both classes hold equal status.

The series' are open to any single hull sailing yacht having a minimum water line length of 17 feet and meeting the series entry criteria, entered by a member of a sailing club situation between Lowerstoft and Burnham and skippered by the same or another such member. 

For the points series, there are two classes: The Experienced Fleet and the Relaxed Fleet, where the Relaxed Fleet is aimed at cruising skippers that fancy a go at racing!

Dear Competitor,
 

In the 2020 haven combined clubs series we have sought to continue and improve on what we offered in 2019. Our competitors are a broad church and we try to please as many as possible, whether you are sailing a fully kitted out racing machine, or looking to get the best out of your cruiser.

The 2019 format proved very successful, with 50 boats sailing in the 2 round the cans classes. Offshore/coastal racing was also well attended, most notably the brand new cork sand race. With that in mind, we have changed very little for 2020, the main thing being a slight increase in racing ‘in the bay’ versus ‘in the river’ racing – which was one of the key pieces of feedback from the October 2019 competitors survey.

Another thing we have to introduce, with great reluctance, is a small entry fee. We ran the series free of charge in 2019 knowing we would make a loss, but with the aspiration of attracting a major sponsor for 2020 so the series could stay free. Unfortunately we failed to attract one. We don’t take the decision to charge for entry lightly but the cost of administering a series for 50+ boats and purchasing prizes does all add up. I sincerely hope that nobody will feel that the token fee is disproportionate to what’s on offer, especially compared to the day-to-day costs of owning a boat. The entry fee is £20 to cover all of the races in the Points Series, and £50 per race for the Passage races.

Looking to the future, this will be my last season as chairman and as a committee member. The series has always been run by competitors on behalf of competitors, and the last year has shown there is still a big appetite for racing in the area. What is vital is that the format of racing continues to evolve to meet the needs of the next generation of sailors. For that, we need your input, whether that be as a new voice on the committee or just through regular feedback to your club rep. Ultimately this series is what we make of it, my final plea is to help your future committee to make it as good as possible for all!

Wishing you all fair winds and followings seas on the course in 2020.

 

Kind regards

Ed Harrison
Chairman
Haven Combined Clubs Committee

HCC point series events

No events

HCC passage series

No events

Tide times - Harwich

24 September 2021

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Pin Mill Sailing Club, The Club House, Pin Mill, Chelmondiston, Suffolk IP9 1JP

01473 780271

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