The first of our series of four working parties took place on Tuesday 19th October for grounds maintenance; clearing the bramble that had taken over a row of berths in M-block (the cat park and windsurf area).
The day started at 10:30 as our team of hardy volunteers took up secateurs, shears, trimmers and strimmers to cut back the brambles. We recovered four boats from beneath the undergrowth, cleared out long-forgotten equipment and rediscovered the top row of berths in M-block, close to where the windsurfers set up their equipment. The situation had got too much for each individual berth holder to cope with.
It is with huge thanks to Chris Clarke, Richard Alywin, Stuart Shields, Kevin Pryke, Steve Ball and Nigel Denchfield that we can now use these berths again. After a substantial lunch of filled baguettes, fruit, crisps and chocolate (and a delicious Victoria sponge – thanks Kevin!), it was back to work assisted by David “Crockett” Ellerbeck in his tractor to finish the job off.
There are now a few homeless wild animals that are looking for new places to hide, including a rabbit and a family of mice, so please, please, please could all members keep on top of berth maintenance – make sure your berth is maintained throughout the year and any brambles pulled out as soon as they appear.
If you would like to join the next working party when we’ll be addressing smaller pockets of brambles in H block and elsewhere in the boat park, please sign up on Dutyman for Saturday 6th November so we know how many lunches to provide. If the brambles around your berth are getting out of control and you would like some help to tackle them, please contact Natalie Bartlett in the office and we’ll add it to our list of areas. Thanks again to all those involved; it looks amazing!
We have experienced and well qualified Race Officers and Mark Layers, who manage these events, and they in turn are supported by volunteers who assist in the committee boat. However, there is no escaping that we do need more people involved. This year, we are delighted that we have 6 members beginning the training and mentoring process to join the Race Officer group.
A key role in the committee boat is that of timekeeper, and this is a role where we are in urgent need of expansion as we have only 2 regular timekeepers at the Club and 2 visiting ones. The role is a very rewarding one, offering real job satisfaction. Being part of a Committee Boat team gives you a great opportunity to be involved in the life of the club and provides a real insight into racing at close quarters. At its simplest level, the timekeeper handles the clock and sound signals for the start sequences which removes a major workload from the Race Officer allowing the RO to focus on wind, the start line and assessing the start for OCS boats. The start is not the time for the RO to be looking at clocks and sounding horns—besides, they would probably do it wrong!
Access will be controlled by a token system. Please take a token from the hook at the bottom of the steps – ladies on the left and gents on the right. If there are no tokens available there is no space inside so please wait until someone returns a token. Access to the office is also now via the right-hand steps to the front door. You only need a token to use the changing room, not for the toilets.
Use hand sanitiser before entering. Follow the one way system through the toilets and into the changing area and find a space. Available spaces are shown by blue mats, please do not use a section of the benches that is closed off with yellow and black tape. There are bottles of disinfectant spray and paper towels, please spray and wipe down the bench area and pegs before and after use.
all times to ensure adequate ventilation. Please don’t close them, no matter how cold it is!
The final Wednesday afternoon session slotted nicely into a quiet bit of wind following a torrential downpour. Some gusts made for interesting moments, especially on the short run from the downwind start to the gybe mark. The short sharp gusts created swimming opportunities that were grasped readily by most of the racers, and at the end of the 5 races Catherine headed that leader board.
The start of race 4 was the best, when Mandy and Matt decided that their 11 youth sailors should join in. Unfortunately this was not immediately apparent to the Wednesday group who found 11 Toppers, 4.7s, Radials and a Tera milling aggressively around the short start line. Spectator joy was the result. Race 5 saw a close finish when in the last 100 yards Catherine romped up from behind Peter, nicked his wind, and sailed past on the line.
It was only right that on Trafalgar Day we would not let a little bit of rain prevent sailing.
Next week, we shall be back on GMT (boo hiss) so for the final session this year will be starting at 1:30pm. Then we switch to the eSailing as advertised on the Club website.
Five boats braved the sunshine and good breeze as Wednesday afternoon racing resumed. Four Radials and Ashley’s DX cat raced 5 short races over a couple of hours pleasant sailing.
Wednesday afternoon racing continued today with the forecast predicting a window of good weather at the right time. Of course, forecasts are really accurate. Six boats turned out, 2 Lasers [Barrie and Pete G], 2 Radials [Chris and Catherine], a Lark [Nigel and Fiona] and the DX cat [Ashley]. Ashore, Richard, Ann and the other Peter G were race control.
Result: Catherine, Chris, Barrie, N&F, Pete, Ashley.
After the glories of last week, it was obviously too much to hope for a repeat. This time the weather conspired against us. XC gave a breezy 16-21mph forecast, but the waves breaking on the shore in the rather brisk NNE wind told a different story. Never mind, Chris Clarke and Peter Gee were game to have a go. By the time they left the line the wind was in the 22-25kt range, with some bigger gusts just to liven it up. Chris demonstrated the advantages of being able to use a 4.7 rig and led throughout the 1 lap race. The reach was awesome, and he never looked troubled. Meanwhile Peter was experiencing a few issues with a tangled mainsheet and a rudder that refused to stay down, no matter how hard he pulled on the downhaul. If the rope had actually been attached to the rudder, pulling hard might have worked.
Blue sky, bright sunshine, 12-15kt, this is exactly what we wanted. Three short races, run from the shore were slotted in using exotic marks like ‘that little pink buoy up there’ [a debate on the colour followed], the green yacht up there and mooring buoy just off the jetty as well as nearby club marks. The aim was to keep the legs short to keep the boats together. Lap times in each race were 10mins, 13 mins and 6 mins, allowing race lengths of 30, 26 and 27 mins. The start line was from flagpole 1 to a moored yacht, the sequence a simple 3-2-1-GO. No flags, no OCS, just keep it simple. An OCS boat will receive a 1 minute penalty…unless it starts more than 1 minute early, in which case the helm will be keel hauled.