Velcro strap is a main clew hold down. It's  intended to allow the main clew to slide lengthways along the boom, as Sail is flattened by outhaul or reefs. While keeping clew snug to the boom.
Common nowadays on many boats from Lasers upwards.
My BC 26 has one.
It needs to be snug, but not too tight...rig around boom, thru clew ring.

You will need a kicker, and a cunningham  too.
My kicker now at 12.1, so as to allow one handed operation, no winching.
Not sure about outhaul purchases, but mine needs a winch in heavy winds

Dig about on here for photos of other boats setups?

BTW...welcome!
Which BC 26 are we talking about?  New? Used?

I normally leave my boat without ballast in so that it sits higher in the water and keeps the white line cleaner, so I possibly use the pump more that others. When I came to empty the tanks after my first sail of the season a couple of weeks ago, I switched the pump on and was surprised by the complete absence of any noise. Tried switching everything off and on again as you do, but still nothing. Assumed that it must be the pump electrical connectors corroding over winter, but no, they were fine. Took the whole pump off and removed the impeller and found that I couldn’t turn the motor shaft, even using pliers to grip it.
Took the whole thing home and stripped it down to be met with quite a mess inside. Top bearing rusty brown and completely seized, bottom bearing just about moving but not good, thermal cutout switch open-circuit and the interference suppression capacitor wandering around loose because both terminal legs had corroded through completely!
On consulting the manual I noticed that it advises that the unit should be mounted with the pump head below the motor, whereas in my 26 it has been installed the other way up. This means that when the shaft seals loose their effectiveness then salt water will start leaking from the bottom of the pump, down the shaft and into the motor, hence the damage. In hindsight this appears rather obvious, so when I put it back I’ll be mounting it the other way up, which will probably require a mod to the plumbing, and possibly a reversal of the pump direction (it pumps both ways).
This post is therefore an advisory to everyone with a ballast pump to check which way up it’s been installed, and to turn it round if the pump head is currently above the motor.

Here now recent photos of Drifter 31. All in perfect working order, ready to go sailing. Notice the shallow keel. That is for me the key feature.: It's a stable little keel yacht for coastal sailing, yet it only draws 2 ft., with no moving parts underneath. It can be sailed in shallows, and can be launched and beached like a dinghy. It's not a racehorse, but a sturdy, roomy and dry sailing family boat. It's a real pity there is nothing like it being produced any more, so one has to buy these old boats to avail of these benefits.
But then, the low price of a pre-owned fully equipped boat is a bonus.

On a continuing theme of the Crouch,  you may find Bridgemarsh marina is a possibility. They have a sheltered ramp, but I don’t know how close the pontoon is.

Thanks, Nicky.
I was thinking of suggesting Bradwell, but I wasn’t sure about the pontoon - I guess they don’t have one!