Buoy locations at Bridlington Lake

MPBA-FES Forums Members discussions Buoy locations at Bridlington Lake

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  • #1311
    admin
    Keymaster

    From original email 12 Dec 2019 16:18

    For those who weren’t at the NAD’s AGM this year, I am sure you will by now have read the minutes of the meeting. You will therefore be aware that Paul Heaton, George MacDonald and Andrew Fuller kindly agreed to set up a working party to sort out the buoys at the Carnaby Lake.

    This was not only to source and purchase some more rugged buoys, but also to sort out the pulley system by which we raise and lower them. This is to resolve the following issues :-

    • The pulley system isn’t working properly which requires someone (usually Andrew) to put on the waders at the start and end of a meeting to locate the buoys.
    • The weights are not heavy enough and can be dragged off position when a boat hits the buoy.
    • The rope back to the bank (to raise and lower them) can float to the surface causing potential damage to boats.

    It occurs to me that this would also be an ideal time to consider the “correct” location of the buoys. I put “correct” in inverted commas because you will be aware that we cannot put out an official Naviga course due to the width restriction of the lake. You can see the Naviga course dimensions here http://www.mpba-fes.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Race-Rules-Addendum_5.pdf

    Whilst we cannot have an official course, I believe that it would be desirable to have the length of the course (perimeter) be the same as the Naviga course (167.124 mts). This would mean that we can then compare our lap times and number of laps to our racing friends overseas.

    To this end, I have prepared some drawings for your appraisal which all have the same peripheral distance as the official Naviga course but which have different clearances from the outer buoys to the bank (9, 9.5 & 10mts). Obviously, the 9mt clearance gives the longer straights, but it may be felt that this is a little too “tight”.

    I have also included a drawing of the existing layout which is taken from Google maps .

    You will see that on the particular day that the satellite photo was taken, the outer buoys were about 13mts from the bank.

    You will also notice that the circuit doesn’t have semicircle ends. It is more like a rectangle with bulgy ends.

    It seems to me that the questions we need to ask ourselves are:-

    • Is it desirable to have the circuit length the same as a Naviga circuit?
    • Is it desirable that the ends of the circuit are semi-circular?

    If the answer to both those questions is yes then you will see the results in the diagrams. The further away the outer buoys are from the bank, the more that the straights are shortened. In fact, if the clearance from the bank were 13mts then the semicircle radius is 18mts and the straights would be only 27mts long and the circuit becomes closer to a circle.

    For your convenience, I have also added a drawing which shows the existing layout compared to the 10mt clearance layout which is superimposed onto the aerial photo of the lake. (Note: the small rectangle is the timing wire anchorage)

    The peripheral distance of the official Naviga oval (and the first three diagrams) is 167.1 mts. The existing layout at Bridlington is 152.7 mts. The Naviga course is therefore about 9.4% bigger.

    #1317
    Chris Hobbs
    Participant

    From original email 12 Dec 2019 16:50

    Hello Martin & many happy returns of the season….
    I do like the idea of the longer straight (9m clearance) but I also have some concerns;
    1. faster entry speeds from longer straights, however nominal, may make these narrower gaps even more difficult to navigate safely.
    2. The last meter or so closest to the bank is by far the most treacherous as (particularly the West Bank) as there is a lot of large jagged concrete blocks protecting the banks from wave damage, the depth of these obviously depends on the water level which can easily fluctuate by 6”. There are also the buoy lines belonging to the “Sail section”

    The wider “oval” is possibly more practical as I assume a set of triangle surface race buoys could be accommodated within the width. Also the 10m gives us plenty of space.

    Ps, what is the width from the bank now?

    Merry Christmas,

    Chris

    #1320
    admin
    Keymaster

    From original email 12 Dec 2019 17:48

    Hi Chris,

    It’s difficult to say what the clearance is now because they keep moving and are often put out manually each meeting and so its variable.
    Also, it usually isn’t put out with any measurement. The semicircles are usually very flat making the circuit rather square.

    Regards
    Martin

    #1321
    Rob Foss
    Participant

    From original email 12 Dec 2019 17:02

    Drawing 1 , top drawing is my vote

    #1323
    Martin Harvey
    Participant

    From original email 12 Dec 2019 17:22

    Hi Martin,

    Do you know the current clearance on the left hand side. I do not think we should go any less than this and preferably a little greater. Consideration also needs to be made for the distance from the pit straight bank so that no changes need to be made to the transponder wires and ironwork.

    Regards

    Martin H

    #1325
    admin
    Keymaster

    From original email 12 Dec 2019 17:56

    Hi Martin,

    It’s difficult to say what the clearance is now because they keep moving and are often put out manually each meeting and so its variable.
    Also, it usually isn’t put out with any measurement. The semicircles are usually very flat making the circuit rather square.

    The transponder bracket is 17mts from the pontoon and so I was able to put the proposed circuits at the Naviga distance of 15mts.

    Do you agree that it would be desirable if the perimeter distance was the same as Naviga?

    Regards
    Martin

    #1327
    John Croyden
    Participant

    From original email 12 Dec 2019 17:39

    Hello Martin I believe the course with 10 meters space from the bank will be best for safety reasons . I wish you a merry Xmas and a happy new year I look forward to seeing you in the new year . Best regards John

    #1329
    Martin Harvey
    Participant

    From original email 12 Dec 2019 18:19

    Hi Martin,

    I am quite happy to have the course perimeter the same as the official Naviga length. I think I would go for the 9.5m option.

    Regards

    Martin

    #1331
    Andrew Fuller
    Participant

    From original email 12 Dec 2019 19:16

    Hi Martin
    Whatever needs to be done I’m fine with, will just need assistance with measurements.
    Thanks Andy.

    #1333
    Ian Phillips
    Participant

    From original email 12 Dec 2019 22:30

    Hi Martin.

    Just couple of points.

    1. There are no ‘weights’ which hold the buoys down. There is a large concrete paving slab on the lake floor under each buoy with a metal loop through which the rope runs. Believe me as George will attest these are nigh on impossible to move due to the suction caused between the slab and the mud.

    2. Any floating rope is caused by the weights which are threaded onto the ropes closer to the bank becoming dislodged but these can be easily relocated. Another option would be to locate a smaller ‘threaded’ paving slab close to the bank for each buoy instead of threaded weights.

    It may be that the buoys just require new ropes fitting as the current ones have been in place for some years but without physically checking of course that is only my guess. It’s possible that the ropes are now catching on the metal loops and not running smoothly which could be causing the problems.

    Regards,

    Ian.
    PS. I drilled each slab and fitted the loops with George’s help.

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