Reflecting on Bart’s Bash
Tony Bishop reflects on how far Bart’s Bash has come
It’s incredible to think Bart’s Bash is now heading toward its tenth year! And humbling as we look back to see how many clubs have taken part, the enormous number of volunteers and sailors who have made the events happen over the years. They are all connected by Bart’s Bash all over the world.
We had no idea how big it was going to be when we launched the event, because we had no idea how much Bart’s passing had rocked the world of sailing. This was Bart’s event, and in many ways, we were passengers riding his wave of celebration across the world. It is a privilege to have played a role at the time.
Here some fun facts from year one, ten years ago:
- Guinness initially said ‘No’ to the new world record attempt. It took three attempts to get an ‘Ok’ from Guinness, and at this time, we had around 400 clubs signed up, expecting the best but not knowing the dramas!
- Sailing race results at multiple venues in one race had never been done before, but with the help of the RYA, we invented a way to process results for over 2500 boat classes sailing at different venues.
- Iain and Ben were awe-inspiring with their support and rallied the world of sailing in support of the first video. I remember an email from Iain to Ben detailing who they were going to get to do the video, which was in code: PC, JS, RS, FL, and a few more, who were Paul Cayard, Jimmy Spithill, Robert Scheidt, Freddie Lööf… and they all did. We had to chase Ben in the end, who was the last to get his video in! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhivBnekVrk]
- We had a Laser (ILCA) planned for Ben Ainslie to sail at Queen Mary, but he requested an RS400, which we weren’t expecting. He had planned to make this the first time he sailed a dinghy with Georgie Thompson, which they did, and the couple got engaged about two weeks later.
- Participation in year one was about as large as the London Marathon, but the actual number of sailors is unknown. Results were placed to around 33,000th, and over 9000 boats were recorded in the world record. The website received 2.4 million page hits over the Bash weekend.
Honestly, we were so out of our depth in year one, conference calls at 2 am trying to tame this monster. The experience changed my life and the lives of all those in the event team. It was special. Thank you to everyone who has been involved over the years. The Bash continues to sail on for Bart, and so does the incredible work of the Andrew Simpson Foundation, which delivers year after year.
Make sure you get out and sail for Bart this year!
