Osprey 757
Blame Kielder. In 2008-2012 I was a member at Kielder and was offered the chance to sail Mike and Violas boat...
Fast forward 10 year.
Along with other friends form Ripon Sailing club we fancied doing the Lord Birkett and sought a boat with sufficient speed and capacity. So an Osprey was required. After missing a couple of cheap Mark III,s, a boat was found in Andy Seedhouse yard in Woodbridge and the adventure began.
The boat had no paperwork and a basic trailer but Andy fitted new wheel bearings and found a suit of racing sails to seal the deal
On inspection the Osprey was a GRP Mark II with only ½ the makers plate. But the supplied original sails were Olympic sails from 1970 ish with #63 on . Osprey #63 was 'Panic' built in 1954. 'Panic's' original owners upgraded to a Westery MarkII in 1971 called 'More Panic'; the name and provenance seem to fit so this is her.
'More Panic' had not been upgraded since leaving Westerlys boatyard; the fit out was tufnol and 3 strand nylon through out.
For the Birkett in 2017 we sailed 'More Panic' with 2 adults and 2 under 12’s in strong winds. She did not point but was fast and fun and didn’t let us down.
2017,18 &19 we completed the Birkett and also Bass week with a motly collection of singlehander helms. Notably, Chris Wright (Mumbles 1973 Osprey owner) and Jim Haddock ex Filey Osprey sailor who was prised from his Streaker and the grips of Vivien for a final camping trip at Bass in 2018.
Along the journey we found the racing sails (Paddy 2010) a great improvement on the originals and upgraded the original small spinnaker for Big Red and a P&B Jib from Hugh, and ventured into the world of Osprey opens where we held our own at the back of the fleet.
On this journey we discovered the miracles of rig tension, straight centreboards, straight masts and strong rudders.
2 more years of the Birkett post Covid and the team decided they were ready for the ultimate challenge.
Chris, one of the under 12’s mentioned above is now a 420 sailor, and his dad , our Bosun, Tim have upgraded the trapeze system, many of the sail controls and set about tuning 'More Panic' along with a top lILCA/Laser sailor, Richard, to handle the spinnaker we are here, making our mark with the aim of not being last!
We were pleased that we could hold our own against modern Ospreys, particularly upwind, Interestingly the weight was not a major disadvantage, although crew co ordination was sometimes more of a challenge. When we luffed a fellow competitor on a spinnaker leg it was noted that we had enough hands to adjust everything at once.
We have thoroughly enjoyed the 2023 National Championships and are inspired to enter more Osprey events as well as multi class regattas.
Name another class where 3 people can plane up wind in a £400 boat!!
'More Panic' is set up very differently to most modern Ospreys, no controls are lead to the helm, and the rig is not adjustable, she always carries a 4th crew member Montmerency the dog.
