Sailing Reports

Sailing Reports.

Sunday 21st September - Race 8

A down river race to Albert Bridge and back. It was a beautiful day, not a
cloud in the sky but unfortunately not a lot of wind either.

There were 7 boats in the race John and Steve in their Enterprises , Jeremy
in a club GP, Chris in his British Moth , Renato in his Laser and Paul in
the club Wayfarer. (Apologies to crew but at time of writing I did not have
the crew list but you know who you are)

The fleet set off tacking all the way to Albert Bridge. Paul in the
wayfarer had a problem with the centreboard and had to retire just after
Putney Bridge.

With the fleet rounding the buoy at Albert Bridge 15 min before the turn of
the tide, the start of the homeward leg was challenging. As it was
downwind all the way the challenge proved to be trying to stay out of the
tide without running aground. Steve got caught out and spent a short time
trying to get his Enterprise underway but he was able to take advantage of
the turning tide and swiftly caught up as the fleet bunched back together.

Renato finished almost 10 minutes ahead of the fleet but after corrected
times including adjustment for tide, saw him moved back to 3rd.

Corrected results

1st Chris - British Moth

2nd Jeremy - GP

3rd Renato - Laser

Gary.

Report on race 7th September 2008

We had 7 boats on the water for this race

Prior to the majority of club members arriving (I as race officer was
there early, primarily to return my British Moth to club and nestle it
up safely in our wonderful shelter for it to dry out prior to minor
restoration) the wind was at the top end of a force 4 SW

As members arrived and started to rig, the wind gradually dropped to a
F3

In true SBSC style time was spent by a number of kind individuals
helping others rig their boats, fix breakages etc. and few were ready
for the start. Those that were ready elected to wait for the rest, and
the entire fleet started some 5 minutes after the bell. Strength in
numbers !!

A slow run up river to the first buoy with Sara taking an early lead,
however things became fickle and the lead changed several times.

Renato came out in front and held the lead for the entire race, with
Alan and Callum in their Enterprise snapping at his heals the whole
time. Gary and Joseph in the GP14 held on to third despite a strong
challenge from Don in his Laser.

These positions were held right through to the finish, and on corrected
times the results were

1st Alan and Callum - Enterprise
2nd Renato - Laser
3rd Gary and Joseph - GP14

Chris Phillips
RO

________________________________

Race 4 Report. Down River with Strand on the Green. 27/08/08

The call came through by chance I happened to be in to receive it. "John Quin here, can you run the safety boat on Sunday? Down river with Strand on the Green". "Why not indeed"? And so it was after a prolonged absence I found myself at South Bank Sailing Club once more. The familiar faces were there and to me many new ones busying themselves in preparation for the gruelling marathon that lay ahead. Glorious Day I thought forgetting that a day with no wind is nothing of the kind to a competitive sailor, still as ever the organisation was impeccable. Mr Elliot handed me a piece of paper detailing all low water times, slack water times, tide turning times and estimated arrival times at every bridge between Putney and Amsterdam. All I needed was enough fuel, a big yellow buoy and a red or was it green flag. So after suitable instruction from the Commodore as to where to lay the buoy and a couple of last minute additions to the crew the safety boat was launched.

It was a grand sight to see so many boats on the river again; I think we counted about fifteen with the Strand on the Green boats; it was some fleet. All the requisite bells tolled by the hand of Robbie the race officer, and they were off ! As ever in very light winds it's the old timers who seem to have the advantage, and Sunday was no exception. Two Strand chaps in Lasers took the lead closely followed by our own Commodore, John Parke. With the combined sailing experience of about 170 years it seemed like the rest didn't have a chance in hell. And hell it was for some, I'm sure. Before the day was done there were complaints of sunstroke, boredom, and sore knees. I even had to quash an attempted mutiny on my own ship by my young late edition, barely out of nappies, fore deck hand. The race went on and on. The wind lifted slightly as the leaders passed Battersea Heliport, though it could be argued this was caused by a helicopter landing there. As the skipper of the lead sailing boat in a race without much incident my only real task was to pick the right spot to drop our marker buoy. Lambeth bridge was our aim, but alas, a bridge too far. So with the help of Mr. Elliot's tide timetable and a watch set to the BBC, Vauxhall Bridge it was. Only after the red flag was unfurled did I realise we had only gone and laid it right in the path of the damned floating tourist bus known as the 'Duck'. Sorry folks! Still most got round, inevitably not all, but most, and were now drifting inexorably home to Putney. Some hours later a chap with very sore knees in a Laser from Strand on the Green was to cross the line first, only to lose out on the handicap system to our very own Mr. John Parke. Although, from what I hear from the Commodore himself, "not strictly by the book". Apparently he had forgotten to sign in before the start. So it goes folks, so it goes. Anyway, thanks to all for taking part. Thanks for the food and hospitality. Here's to the river Thames and mucking about on boats !

Alex

Race 3 of the Summer Series 2. 20th July 2008.

- and with a fresh gusty North Westerlywind, John and Jane, Steve and Tam, Renato, Gary and Sarah set off onthe 5 lap triangular course.

Steve and Tam immediately had to come back to the slipway as they had
mainsail problems which they managed to rectify quite quickly.

Meanwhile, the Munro-Faure contingent had obviously not consulted the
new programme as they arrived just as the 5 minute warning had been
rung, and rushed immediately to get onto the water, which they managed in a record time!

Conditions were not easy at all, but there were no capsizes for Don and
Henry on the safety boat.

Gary and Sarah were the clear winners, with Allan and Callum making up
ground to come 2nd, Renato with the club laser Radial, 3rd, the Commodore
and Jane 4th (the general consensus is that he did an extra lap, despite
Jane saying that they had already done 5!) and Steve and Tam 5th.

Sara RO for the day!

Race 2 of the second Summer Series. July 13 2008

Another of the down river races that we have instituted so that we can sail every week-end during the summer and a trial of having the RO in a safety boat leaving the club after the start and getting back ahead of the leading dinghy. The conditions could hardly have been more different from those on the Ruby Race, there was very little wind for the down stream leg and even when wind came up most of the progress down and back was due to the tide.

Steve & Marian, Joseph & Cate and Tony & Valeria took club Enterprises, David & Margy borrowed John’s, Dan took a Laser and Sara felt that she had to take the GP to give her 6ft 2in son Nick room under the boom, Allan & Callum took their Enterprise. A light breeze got them through Putney Bridge but after that it was puff hunting.

Allan & Callum did not so much pull ahead as disappear into the distance, David & Margy followed and Dan enjoyed being able to sail a Laser without capsizing. The rest of the fleet strung out behind them. Now hunting puffs is all very well if you already have a puff to get you to the next one and Sara soon found that the GP, even with its new varnish and her unquenchable optimism, quickly ran out of puff so to speak.

Eventually a breeze arrived and everyone reached Albert Bridge, except Joseph who is new to helming, and so people could sail back. There was one serious gust which caught Joseph just as they were tacking and ditched them. Poor Cate had not done a capsize drill and got shouted at for pulling the boat over trying to save herself.

Allan and Callum won with Steve in second place and yes we can run a down river race without leaving a Race Officer in the club twiddling his thumbs for two hours until the fleet returns

John

Report of the first race in the second Summer Series. 13th July 2008.

When the RO arrived early for a G.C. meeting before the race, the rain was drumming on the car roof and the poplars were tossing in the SW wind. While he waited for the squall to pass he enjoyed the satisfaction of having predicted the arrival of this depression when he selected the duty officers a fortnight ago and rostered himself into the nice dry Race Officer’s job.

The rain cleared during the meeting but if the wind was no longer blowing hard it was still blowing hard enough. We went onto the towpath. The wind was funnelling through between the poplars and the clubhouse and cat’s paws were chasing up the river, except that these were big and black and moving faster than your average cat. More like jaguar paws really. After 30 years at Southbank the RO knew that shutting the gate would not make much difference, he pondered and sucked his teeth (only his own so it didn’t take long) and remembered the carnage in the Ruby Race the previous Sunday and that only yesterday the Commodore had been capsized twice. He said “Wayfarers and the GP” and advised reduced mains.

Sara took the GP, David and Margie took one Wayfarer and Peter the other, only David rigged a reduced main. The Safety Boat was instructed to lay the gibe marks in the shelter of the Barnes bank. It was thought that three laps would be tiring enough.

Peter launched first and sailed serenely across the line then so did the others and only then did the RO realise that the wind had dropped and it kept on dropping. Boats struggled to weather the marks across the river. Sara was managing the best until the SB moved the buoys into better wind and then it was a slow time ding-dong between her and Peter. David paid the price of listening to the RO by getting stuck against the tide on the Fulham bank and Margie wanted her money back. Eventually male superiority showed and Peter crossed the line first. David retired.

As the boats were being stowed the wind rose again, the centre of the depression had past right over South Bank.

J.P.

Report on the Ruby Race 22^nd June 2008

The wind was SW fresh-strong, eight boats had entered. The Old Man had already decided that there was to much wind for old men but since we needed two safety boats he took Allan’s Little Bob as the sweeper.

Armand took a nice heavy Wayfarer and a nice heavy crew and set off first with his customary nonchalance under full sail. Don who thinks that only soft sassenachs reduce sail, calculated his start time and sailed expertly through Putney bridge leaving the rest of the fleet struggling to prevent their dinghies capsizing on the beach before they launched.

Paul took his main down, though he took it with him, and sailed off comfortably under jib alone. This appealed to Sara but she left her main behind. Unfortunately the wind strengthened and she was driven onto the Fulham bank and after valiant efforts to relaunch off the lee shore she retired and was towed home.

Jeremy held the GP upright long enough to launch it but under full sail was soon in difficulty. He too was driven onto the Fulham bank, relaunched, twice but finding the wind not only strong but constantly changing direction retired and beached in front of Putney Bridge.

Renato managed to wrestle his fully rigged Laser into the water and he disappeared down river.

Rory also took his Laser but had the sense to rig a 4.7 sail and he sailed off competently leaving Allan and Callum. After some thought or so it seemed to the waiting safety boat, they rigged Allan’s Laser 2 regarded as a forgiving boat, and set off last also under full sail but apparently under control so the SB motored off at speed down river feeling that it might be needed elsewhere.

Well the Laser 2 may be forgiving but it has its limits and being hurled down the Thames in that sort of wind is one of them. First it capsized them in the usual way but Munro-Faures are made of sterner stuff so the Laser 2 waited until they were planeing on a run, then dug its bow in and lifted its transom and toppled them forward into the river. They took the hint and retired.

Just short of the Chelsea rail bridge there was Hurry Up tidily beached, sails and boom in the boat, another Scot clearly retired. But Joseph still had his hat on so it couldn’t be serious. We learned later that Hurry Up had hit something biggish at speed and had been holed. There was quite a chop and a submerged log would have been difficult to see especially as having already capsized, Don would have been concentrating on keeping upright. Four down , four to go. The safety boat motored on seeing no one.

Then there was Armand in the Wayfarer marching back against a 20+mph wind which funnelled down Battersea Reach, some 28 stone barely holding the boat up, spilling hard and close reaching at best but under control and moving well. Then Rory looking small but fighting through the chop and not capsizing very often. Paul had turned the Victoria bridge and was struggling back and forth across the river still prudently under jib alone but disappointed that under jib alone he could not tack through the bridges against a strong head wind. At least he was safe.

But where was Renato and where was the other safety boat?

SB2 motored on until he saw the Westminster Boat Base SB standing by an inverted Laser Stratus. He pointed them out 2-300m this side of Lambeth Bridge and on the way back. When they came up Roger in the other SB explained the Renato had not realised that he should turn back at the Victoria Bridge! They had chased a planeing Renato and might not have caught up with him if he had not capsized. He was now sailing back, capsizing but coping. So Roger and David went off to shadow the returning boats and pick up the wounded (Paul, Don and Jeremy) while SB2 stayed with Renato.

Now Renato is our best Laser sailor and probably the fittest man in the club but the wind was rising and the capsizes were getting more frequent. On the Chelsea bank he went over, recovered, rolled over, recovered again and rolled a third time by which time the tide had carried his inverted Laser up against the sterns of two moored launches and Renato was floating in the triangular space between their hulls. When ever Little Bob throttled back to come alongside the launches the wind blew her head round but we got in amongst the mooring ropes and hauled up to an anxious Renato. He got the boom off to release the sail but the dagger board had slipped down and the Laser could not be righted.

Then Steve appeared he had been watching the race from the Battersea bank, seen us in trouble and come over the bridge. With his help we pushed the Laser into the river, Renato dived under, pushed up the dagger board and righted it. We hauled it back alongside the launches and Steve helped to take off the mast and roll the sail. Then all we had to do was tow Renato home.but if we speeded up Little Bob’s bluff bows slammed into oncoming seas, (at least two feet from crest to trough not what were used to on the Thames). It had all taken so long that SB1 came looking for us! We got home eventually, cold but safe though Laser’s bow had been damaged and we nearly missed tea.

Only Rory and Armand sailed the course and Armand took half an hour longer. So Rory won.

Congratulations Rory.

A memorable day.

John

15 June 08: Race 7

Nice day: Sunny, and reasonable with a near perfect variable NW breeze.
A 3 buoy, course was set for 4 laps with the second mark well upstream on the Putney bank, all marks to port, .
Start postponed 10 minutes to 11.10 due to rowing activity clogging the slipway.
5 boats launched: 4 Enterprises and a Wayfarer, but Stephen's Enterprise DNS correctly, although he sailed the course.
Allan & Rory spotted that the NW wind allowed them to cross the river from the second mark and sail down the Fulham bank in the tide shadow while the rest of the fleet pedantically sailed directly against the tide to the third mark on the Putney bank. Allan's enterprise meant that they stormed ahead early on and finished over 20 minutes ahead of the rest! Don cottoned on on the last lap, also crossed the river and at the final mark had pulled up to second but got stuck in the lee of the Putney bank poplars.
The 2nd & 3rd finished only 2 seconds apart, John's Enterprise just pipping Paul's Wayfarer at the line. Allan was so far ahead that John thought he had won! Don's Enterprise brought up the rear.
Several new people were given a sail, and all enjoyed it.

Les.

Visit to Strand on the Green Sailing Club – 1^st June 2008

Four boats – 3 Enterprises and a GP14 – 8 crew - Paul and Joseph, Sara and Tamasine, Tim and Jane, and Allan and Callum – set off attached to the safety boat, driven by Ray Burnet, for the trip up-river to race with Strand on the Green and London Corinthian. The weather was overcast, the wind very light and variable.

It was pleasant to enjoy the very different views above Hammersmith Bridge. We were towed to a point upstream of Kew Bridge where we borrowed some time on a pontoon (Thanks to John Cronk of Kew Marine) to put up our masts and rig the boats. We were told the course would be upstream (between Kew Gardens on one side and Syon Park on the other) to a turning buoy near Isleworth Eyot and back again – theoretically with the tide both ways!

The wind continued light and variable, with a tendency to a north-easterly – at the start some were lucky, some were not, and some committed what might be considered breaches of Rule 42. Bar the shriek of an occasional parakeet, the trip was pleasantly peaceful, and your author was one of the fortunate few who made it round the buoy before the strong ebb tide prevented further roundings. A beat/drift downriver brought us back to the finish line and the pontoon, from where we were safety-boat assisted through Kew Bridge at a bottom-wetting angle! The Club provided a splendid free spread of food and drink, and one of the odder prize-givings I have attended.

Paul decided to sail back; the rest of us took a tow. I still had the mast up and there was some uncertainty approaching Hammersmith Bridge. There was general agreement I would have made it OK – if I’d gone through the middle. How much are those burgees?

Enterprise Open – Tideway race Sunday 25^th May 2008.

South Bank Sailing Club, Putney, London.

14 Entries – 7 visitors and 7 from South Bank.

Position	Sail Number	Helm	Crew	Club
1	22320	Martin Davis	Laurence Davis	Northampton
2	20833	Iain McGregor	Joanna McGregor	Lensbury
3	23225	Chris Rowsell		Lensbury
4	19481	John Parke	Renato Hildago	SBSC
5	20378	Glen Cole	Karen Hoad	Island Barns
6	22563	Allan Munro Faure	Callum Munro Faure	SBSC
7	16660	Paul Elliott	Joseph Cabon	SBSC
8	21776	Stephen Tallis	David Mitchell	Twickenham
9	22547	Gary Marshall	Renee Freeland	SBSC
10	21078	Joe Driver	Andrew Crick	SBSC
11	19659	Don Henderson	Sara Bennett	SBSC
12	21074	Jim Frances	Henry Frances	Twickenham
13	19743	Alistair Edwards	Dinos Laftsidis	Twickenham
14	20588	Steve Barnes	Elin Sandel	SBSC

Report

It was a Bank Holiday weekend and true to fashion the weather was inclement. Our intrepid Enterprise sailors were not put off by the torrential rain and stormy winds on the previous day and on Sunday despite a drenching when rigging, there were 14 Enterprises set to race from Fulham Football Ground to Lambeth Bridge and back. However it was the calm between storms and although grateful for the break in the rain, the lack of wind mucked up the plans and it was more of a drift on the falling tide with the first part of the race abandoned at Chelsea. As the tide turned, there was a promise of wind and the race was restarted at the beginning of Battersea Reach with everyone anticipating a close race back to Putney. Somehow the leaders managed to set their sails to catch the tiny zephyrs of wind and judicially roll tacked to keep within the increasing flow of the rising tide so that they gained a convincing lead with the tail of the fleet scratching their heads and wondering what to do as the distance steadily grew. Nevertheless, whether at the front or the back of the fleet there was intense competition to maintain position and to overhaul the boat in front. By the finish, each position had been hard won. Back on land everyone swopped tall stories and incredulities about gaining and losing advantage as they enjoyed a well earned barbeque. Another enjoyable day sailing making sure that we will be out there doing it again just as soon as we can.

Don Henderson, SBSC Enterprise Fleet Captain.

Early Summer Series - Shorts- 6 Sunday 18th May 2008

This Sunday we had 'shorts'. i.e. several short races where the start line was between the safety boat and any fixed point on the bank, providing quick turn arounds between races, and concentrating the sailing in the windiest part of the river. We had a good turn out considering how many people were away, seven boats took to the water for racing and another came out to play later.

With a strong lee-shore wind blowing us onto the launching bank, it was very difficult to get the boats rigged and away. In fact it took so long that Steve Barnes, who launched in good time but had limited time for sailing, was cruising around with his crew Henry for about 45 minutes but was only able to do one of the races. Pretty frustrating for them - and I want to put in a plea to people to be a bit more business-like about launching off a lee-shore. It takes concentration and co-operation. Having said which, many thanks to Allan and Rory for helping so many boats to launch before they put their own in the water.

James and I set a triangular course that provided a beat across the river to the north bank, a fast beam reach to the up-river mark on the south bank, and a very broad reach (that later turned to a dead run) back down the south bank.

Shorts tend to make people focus on their race starts and although people were not all paying attention to being on the line at the start, we did see some very impressive ones, and I think almost everyone was smack on the start line for one race or another. Renato in particular was very impressive.

Allan and Callum took out a Laser 2 and performed very well without a trapeze in what were very definitely trapezing conditions for much of the time. The Laser sailors were all stretching their limits and most of them took a dunking at some stage. Ian and crew were stable in the Albacore throughout, as were Bob and Sara in a sometimes under-powered Enterprise with a cut-down mainsail.

Doubling up the race management and safety cover means that sometimes the former has to take second place, and so the results for some of the races inevitably become a tad flaky. So with a bit of licence for some of the races based on distant observation of the finish line while attending to capsizes, we declare that Allan and Callum won overall, with Don second and Ian third.

When everyone had come in, Jeremy took his Enterprise Sooty for a maiden voyage after several months of dedicated restoration. He and Allan took her for a spin up river and despite the aged sails, looked well impressive, as Sara's photos show. There's a bit of leak to sort, but essentially Jeremy now has another Ent for our fleet - and for our Enterprise Association Tideway Race next Sunday (which starts at 10:45ish and goes downriver to the Houses of Parliament and back).

JCD=

Early Summer Series Race 5. 11th May

This Sunday, four of the racing sailors also competed in the Laser
League over a triangular course spread across the river from our start
line to almost Crabtree wharf, across to the Surrey milepost and back to
below the start line. There were 5 Enterprises, 4 Lasers and 1 GP,
totalling 16 sailors plus safety boat of 2 and 2 race Officials making
for a good South Bank turn out. The usual disorderly start was augmented
by lulls and huge "holes" in the wind that saw boats in irons and close
hauled whilst being almost side by side. At the Crabtree mark the wind
dropped, almost every time I got there, and the leaders drifted towards
Hammersmith as the tail end caught up, rounded the buoy and set sail to
the milepost. The wind was hyper variable throughout the 4 laps. There
were plenty of opportunities to gain the lead at one buoy only to be
overtaken at the next. In the end, Alan and Callum pipped John and
Renato in the Enterprises closely followed by Don and Peter in Lasers.
Sunday was another wonderful day on the river, in glorious warm sunshine
and a rosy sunset giving a perfect ending to the Club's AGM.

Don.

Early Summer Series Race 3. 27thApril.

A good south westerly Force 2 to 3 with pretty big gusts set the scene

for the race yesterday. We set a triangular course which may or may not

have been better taken in a clockwise route rather than anticlockwise!

Boats out numbered 6 in total - Peter Mack again taking to Gill the

Wayfarer with daughter Rachel and her friend, Joe took Katy and had

Valeria and Andrew as crew, the Commodore and Renato paired up, Callum

crewed for Don, Paul took his Enterprise with Glenn as crew, and last

but not least (especially as they won!) Tim took the club GP El Dorado

with Joseph as crew.

Lots of near capsizes, or at least that's what we saw from the

binoculars, as the course was set so far up river it was difficult to

I am afraid that our dear Commodore did succumb to the water and had to

retire, and although I missed it (perhaps I shouldn't be race officer

again through lack of attention!!) apparently Peter Mack and the girls

went over and retired as well! Paul didn't complete the course, so that

just left Tim, Joe and Don.

Tim pipped Don to the post with 2 minutes to spare with Joe finishing

3rd.

There was no Crews Race as the general feeling was that everybody had

had quite enough exercise for one day just doing the main race!

Sara

Early Summer Series 2008, Race 2 - 20th April

Photo: Glen and Sara checking out George's old GP after the race

It turned out to be a fabulous day's sailing and once the cloud had cleared we had clear blue skies as well as a good breeze with gusts.

Tim Woods, despite being on sticks since his ankle break, very kindly manned the RO box with Becs. Renato and Matthew Marques in safety boat.

A great display of boats - our new member Glen with his mate Pete in Glen's Fireball, Sara and Valeria in Bleu D'Ecosse, Joe D with new member Joe Ward and Judi Spears in a Wayfarer.Gary and Andrew Crick in the club GP,and Steve and Elin in an extremely well furbished (courtesy of Alan) Hairaiser.

RESULTS: 1st Peter Mack, 2nd Glen, 3rd Gary, 4th Joe.

Unfortunately there was a 'technical hitch' in the Race Box and we do not have the elapsed times so unless someone is going to do these perhaps these results will have to stand?

Sara.

Winter Series 2008. 9th March

A series of four short races was planned .They involved crossing the river but the wind was variable and in the mid river current we would have been carried up to Hammersmith so two buoys were laid in the tide shadow on the Fulham Bank and, optimistically, we we hoped to sail three laps.

Well, in these conditions you need good sails and a crew who in nifty with the anchor. The Commodore's pessimistic view of the world served him well and by anchoring early and often he got to the front and stayed there. The safety boat was busy towing boats home so the race was shortened to one lap.

When it was finished the wind (naturally) steadied to 4-5mph and the boats that stayed out had a delightful afternoon's sail.

J.P.

10th Feb and 23 March were on the diary but the weather was inclement.

Winter Series 2008. 3rd February

It was bright but blustery day with a southerly blowing 17-20mph. and heavy gusts, not the day for Enterprises. However the Malcolms were in charge (the people who sailed their Albacore up the East Coast in a force5-6) and preparations for the race went inexorably ahead. The second safety boat man was absent so Paul sensibly volunteered, Steve and Sara who stops at nothing), wheeled out Wayfarer Henri with a reefed main but a full sized jib. At the programmed start time there was a rowing eight across the ramp so we had a postponement.
The eight pushed off and a new start time was given, meanwhile Allan, having rigged a cut down main on Wayfarer Gill, couldn't find a small jib and was struggling to rig an Enterprise jib. Because the southerly was blowing diagonally onto the ramp mains had to be hoisted afloat, awkward at the best of times and the second start time passed. Anne announced a further 10 minutes postponement and when that passed too without anyone sailing, disqualified everybody.
Both boats eventually got away and it was immediately clear that racing round the buoys was much less important than survival and no one was going to be tacking down the river. Reach and spill wind was the order of the day, more of a spectator sport really. Allan with the smaller jib, and both boys as crew, looked the more comfortable.
Steve found it difficult to tack in the strong wind and before long the Fulham bank got in the way.
The Commodore, who could see us losing both the Membership Secretary and the Treasurer, ordered the RO to order the SB to order SB & SJB to retire. As in all the best adventure stories however the radios did not work and the message did not get through.
Now reaching back and forth across the tide carries you up the river and at some time you have try at least a close reach to get home. It was too much and our two vital officers were tipped in.
Wayfarers are heavy Steve and Sara are light and even with good advice and some assistance from the safety boat, Henri inverted and it took about 10 minutes to get her upright.
Henri was towed home and Allan soon felt that he had done enough to maintain the club's honour and sailed home. All part of the learning process they say but we noted that Ranelagh sailed a couple of Lasers up and down their reach. Still they did not sail into our reach which was more exposed, much more.

J.P.

Another report of the Downriver Race on 27th January.

What a fantastic sail we had on Sunday the 27th. The weather was great, the sun was shining, there was a cloudless blue sky, there was a slight chill in the air and a gentle breeze carried us down river to Westminster. Seven boats entered the race and seven boats finished but only just as two capsized and a third hit a bridge and the embankment at Putney on the home run.

I got off to a good start on the run down river, when I managed to stay near the front but as usual, as soon as we turned and headed back up river I dropped back and almost everybody overtook us. The frustrating thing is I don't know what I was doing wrong so won't be able to correct it in future. Nothing to concern the top sailors then!

Perhaps I was just crossing the river too far on each tack, but with the strong wind we really enjoyed ourselves.

Pulling the dinghies and rescue boat out of the river seemed particularly difficult and perhaps with any lottery grant we should consider a 2 stroke winch which would make it easier and far safer to do so.

The challenges of down river sailing are far more interesting and we should do it more often, come on Armand when are we sailing to Erith?

Steve

DOWNRIVER - SUNDAY 27th JANUARY

3 Wayfarers, 2 Enterprises, 1 GP14, 1 Mirror 16 and 1 Laser assembled on the start line at 12.00(sorry, bit of wishful thinking there) set off on a downriver jolly on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
The F3-4, rather gusty, westerly wind blew them fairly speedily along: a couple were caught out by gusts (A reminder here - IF YOU WISH TO SAIL IN MIDWINTER YOU REALLY SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT GEAR) (Sorry Sara, really not trying to put people off, just nudging). Some made it almost within site of County Hall before the miserable git driving the safety boat told them to turn around....
The trip home was, of course, a beat and therefore about twice as long as the preceding leg, but all made it back before sunset and everyone professed to have had a jolly good time, Sara produced sustenance in the form of soup, bread, and cheese - oh, and a cake for the birthday boy!

Report on Race 2 of the Winter Series.

6^th January. 2008

It was a lovely day, cold but with bright sunshine and gentle westerly that would carry Enterprises comfortably down the Fulham bank but not strong enough to take them across the river without losing a lot of ground. So two buoys were laid on the Fulham bank for a three lap race.

Five enterprises launched with Chris in his British Moth and five boats were in the water and the starting signal was given on time—and nobody started. The RO asked the Safety Boat what was going on the Safety Boat went round expressing incredulity and asking “What the Hell”, a fresh signal was given and then the race started.

Allan, Jane & Paul sailed up the river three a breast and jockeyed round the Hammersmith buoy (and argued after the race about water at the mark and whether 360’s had been done). The Safety Boat crew could not help, they were already moored up in the sunshine on the Fulham bank drinking hot coffee.

Allan soon stretched out a lead which was never threatened while Jane, Paul and Chris competed for second place. Boats which tried to creep down close to the Fulham bank in the slacker water were becalmed in the turbulent air as the westerly bounced off the bank and houses. And the Safety Boat enjoyed the sunshine and criticised the sailing.

Allan & Calum won, Paul & Jeremy were second and Jane & Tim third.

We had a crew’s race but there was only time for one lap

JP.

Reports from Allan and Gary re 23rd December.

In response to Tim's email I thought it would be good to give everyone a
race report of the Christmas race. Un fortunately this isn't possible
due to the very low cloud that hung over the Thames on Sunday - i.e. fog.
This rather stymied the proceedings so with good spirit a number of the
club members got stuck into a further phase of tidying up the club and
yard.
The usual proceedings of taking out a few boats from their berths mixing
them up a bit and putting them back in a different order. It all seemed
to make sense on the day and the result is a very tidy yard.
After such hard physical exertion this was followed by a good thick
broth prepared by Jeremy Kahn and followed by mulled wine and cake and
mince pies courtesy of Ian and Anne and John.

Just to give evidence of the efforts of the enthusiastic club members I
attach a photo of James caught in action which gives and indication of
the conditions- not ideal for sailing. This is now displayed on the Home page.
Thanks to all who helped- John, Joe, Ian & Anne, James, Chris and Bess,
Rory and Callum

We look forward to see you all in our sparking club house and yard as it is now set for a very good New Year.

Allan Munro-Faure

----------------------------------------
Meant to let you know , last week I sailed the club GP and it was fantastic
such a transformation , we didn't race but took the time to do some
spinnaker practice and had the spinnaker flying well . The boat was a dream
to sail and all the controls worked well and she is looking great .
So hopefully with mine repaired we can get 3 GP's on the water in future
races.
Gary.

DECEMBER 16th 2007 What turned out to be The Last Race of 2007.

Dec.16 was a low tide day and the idea was that because when we are returning from a down river race there seems to be plenty of water below Putney bridge, we would lay buoys there and race round them for an hour either side of low water. However on the way to the club I had a look at the river and with over an hour before launch time a shoal was showing on the Putney bank. It did not seem such a good idea and as there was enough water above the bridge to sail on our own water the buoys were laid there as usual.
The first problem was launching the safety boat. The river shelves slowly below the ramp and by the time the dory had floated off its trolley the race officer had two boots full of very cold water. Jane and Tim launched Blue Jay, Paul and Jeremy launched Witan, Armand took a Laser and Gary launched the club GP. While we were waiting to start Paul & Armand disappeared down river. On the first leg, up river with a following wind, Gary tried hoisting the spinnaker, but getting the kite up in a dinghy is different from hoisting in a offshore boat and a sail in the water is a very effective brake so Gary beached to think it over leaving Blue Jay with her crew in comfortable dry suits to complete the course in solitary splendour.
Getting back up the ramp got the safety boat crew warm again and in their own good time Paul, Jeremy and Armand reappeared none the worse for having sailed down river without safety boat cover.
Conclusions? a) We can race at low water if we want to.
b) We need to find a better way for old men to launch their boats.
c) Before clearing off down river on your own please inform the safety boat even
if only out of courtesy.
John

For the last race of the second summer series the weather appeared ‘interesting’. Not many boats; there was a big recruiting “taster sail” yesterday but enough keen sailors.

All seemed set for an ‘on time’ start with a wind strength approaching 4 when there was a sudden squall.

So we started late with all the sailors but fewer boats, two Wayfarers and a gallant Laser. The two Wayfarers were enjoying an exciting battle when one of them lost a foresail; this was a shame.

Twelve members went to Rockley at the week-end as guests of our good friends Sailability. Armand had towed down his Mirror 16 and the Munro-Faures had Little Bob, the rest of us were in Sailability boats, three Wayfarers and two Hawks, smart 6m. boats just as fast as the Wayfarers but need a brisk wind to show it. On Saturday morning we sailed across to a beach near the harbour mouth enjoying, in contrast to Putney, an open sky, open water and a light but steady breeze. The Hawks had our lunch and while we waited for them Jeremy brewed up hot coffee in litre mugs. Our boats bumped gently on the beach and from time to time we hauled them up out of the rising tide.

Alarm and despondency! Armand found that his rudder and tiller had been bumped off his boat and had floated away stranding him a good five miles from home. Sailability had a good idea which way they would have gone but it was an anxious quarter of an hour before Rory spotted them from Little Bob and they were remounted.

Another easy sail back now with a following wind and some sunshine but by a different route to see the Poole harbour seal. Then because the tide had fallen, we had to land the Wayfarers and jostle them on to trolleys on a shallow muddy beach. Then back to our caravan for a glass of wine and a slice (or two) of Wendy’s cake

On Sunday the Chief Phillips ordered us to attempt to sail to Warham. Its up a narrow winding channel where even dinghies have to stay strictly between the marker posts. We did it though between about two miles of reed beds though two of the Wayfarers needed a tow for some 100m when the light wind was right on the nose and we had not had enough practice roll tacking Wayfarers.

Another delightful chat with Sailability and we were told about a tongue operated control unit made by one of their members that enabled a quadriplegic not only to steer a boat but also adjust the sails.

More of a headwind and less time meant that we had to be towed the first two miles home but it was difficult to get enough tension on the jib when we started to sail. The Commodore had a technique but dropped his tow line and was blown into the reeds in water too shallow for the tow to get near enough to throw the line back even when he waded out in the mud. A passing water ski launch eventually towed them off and the safety boat helped to get the jib up but if you ever doubted the need for a well tensioned jib halyard try sweating one up on a rope halyard without a highfield lever.

So a brisk sail home, a neat landing and a hose down but JP could not get the telltale mud stains off his mainsail.

Another excellent week-end thanks to the Phillps Bros and the Sailability chief Anne Moreland not forgetting our Sara the source of so many good things.

Last Sunday - 9th September -The Ruby Race

9 boats crossed the start line either side of one o'clock in a light westerly breeze. The wind increased in strength as the bulk of the fleet neared the Grosvenor Bridge turning point, and all "enjoyed" a hard beat back - at least until Putney Bridge was reached! The winners, taking the shortest time both on the water and on handicap, were late starters Allan and Callum Munro-Faure in an Enterprise. There was a very enjoyable after-race barbeque.

Thanks to all the people who helped out on the day - it was very much appreciated.

SATURDAY 25th August- LASER LEAGUE
A full programme of races was completed in pleasant weather with a light but reasonably consistent breeze.

8 double-handers - 5 Enterprises, a GP and 2 Wayfarers - enjoyed a race over 3 fairly lengthy triangular lapsin a light mainly northerly breeze. Allan, Don, and Paul in their Enterprises pulled ahead on the final reach/rundownriver, Paul crossing the line first.

Monday evening was dreach and I was hoping
there would be no takers for Monday's scheduled evening sailing. I
should have known that the weather would not have put off the intrepid
sailors of South Bank. There they were drinking tea and coffee in the
Clubhouse when I arrived to be bombarded with "what's happening tonight
?" and Paul droning on that it was a great wind. So, with Paul on the
safety boat, we put two Wayfarers and two lasers on the water. Don and
David F intended competing in the Laser League, but it was more a night
for messing about and having fun than racing. Despite the rain, we
enjoyed Paul's good wind for about an hour and a half before retiring to
the Clubhouse and more hot drinks. David F who, recently, has been
sailing big boats, had a great time despite an egg-sized lump on his
forehead caused by a flying boom. Leonie, a relatively new member, told
Jeremy that it seemed to rain every time she went sailing at SBSC. David
K, Margie and niece had grins from ear to ear and very wet feet from
letting the water over the gunnel whilst avoiding a capsize. Another wet
and wild evening, which saw Don shaking the water off his boots as he
cycled home, tired and happy. Don.

A glorious summer's day, with a full river,
moderate regular wind, minimal tide and an unusual rectangular course,
with two of the buoys in wind shadows to test everyone's sailing
abilities. There were two Enterprises, one GP and two Lasers on the
water. Dan did a spectacular capsize just before the start and it must
have been that that occupied everyone's minds as no one realised that
the race had started. Beck tried her utmost to tell everyone.
Eventually, the boats were rounded up and with a flourish from Beck
the race started with boats crabbing up the bank in a wind shadow trying
not to miss the first buoy. Only 5 laps to go. Tim and Leonie in the GP
lead the field with Sara in her Laser in a close second, Don and Lynsey
in Hurray Up trailing in third place, with Paul and Renalto (Enterprise)
and Dan (Laser) vying for last place. Away from the shadows the wind was
strong and quickly everyone was racing and trying to overtake each
other. Tim & Leonie fought with Sara to hold the lead for most of the
first lap, but Don and Lynsey closed the gap and managed to overhaul Tim
and Leonie. Sara was faster in the upriver legs so Don &Lynsey tried
hard to overhaul her on the downriver stretches. The wind was gusting
strong and on many occasions the boats were planing. Rounding the third
mark, on the third lap a strong gust lifted Dons Enterprise and at the
same time took Sara. Her laser went back and forth like a bucking horse
before "Blue Up" dumped her unceremoniously in the river, as Don &
Lynsey took the lead and tried to lap Paul & Renalto and Dan. At this
point, Tim had to retire with gear failure. Sara was quickly back on
Blue Up and chasing Don & Lynsey who won convincingly, with Sara second,
Paul & Renalto third and Dan fourth. Leonie was very happy that she had
managed to sail at South Bank without getting rained on or struck by
lightning ! Another glorious Sunday on the river. Don.

After agreeing at relatively short notice to be Race Officer for this race involving both South Bank and Strand on the Green Clubs’ boats and crews, I was a bit perturbed on the day to find I had a flotilla of 15 boats to contend with, and would be completely on my own for the start and finish because everyone else wanted to get on the water! Six boats came from SGSC: 3 Lasers, an Enterprise, a Solo and an Otter, while SBSC fielded nine: 5 Enterprises, 2 GP14s and 2 Wayfarers, so there were 6 different classes altogether.

Luckily the weather was good and, more by luck than judgement, everyone started OK at 2.05 p.m. and immediately disappeared downriver from race-box view, but our safety boat kept me in touch with race progress by mobile phone. The fleet successfully rounded a buoy laid about 0.1 of a mile upstream of Vauxhall Bridge at about the 'turn of the tide' there, and John & Jeremy's Enterprise did a "pit stop" at the Westminster Boating Base's pontoon to mend a broken outhaul.

I had busied myself listing all the boats' and crews' particulars, but as the finish approached I decided to monitor it from the towpath rather than the race box so as to get a slightly earlier view of the approaching boats by sitting on a chair just behind the transit pole and sighting across to the Fulham wall mark to define the finishing line. It felt like being a "one man band" as each boat crossed it - noting its class, number, time, and 'dinging' the finishing bell, and the tempo got quite hectic a couple of times during the half hour finishing period from 4.45 to 5.15 p.m. between the first and last boat's arrival.

Then came the correction of the times for the various class handicaps using my programed calculator which initially indicated Paul & Sara's SBSC Enterprise as the winner, except that no-one knew the handicap correction factor for SGSC's Otter helmed by John Bull ! It was later established to be 1.272, which would have made it the outright winner, even though it had been the last but one to finish!

It was subsequently decided that, as the race involved boats with a wide range of handicap factors and an overal favourable tide flow throughout, it would be fairer to apply additional tide flow corrections to the results. When this was done, I was able to declare the result to be a "dead heat" for 1st place between these two boats, one from each of the two Clubs. I sent the full results to SGSC's Andrew Ross, also mentioning that I'd been uncertain of the finishing order of 2 of their Lasers crewed by David Johns and Nigel Birch and asking him to consult them about it. He replied: "Many thanks for your letter and your expertly worked out race results including the Tide Flow Correction Factor. We'll leave the two Laser sailors to mull over their respective positions in quiet and personal discussion over a pint or two throughout the winter months. Meanwhile the rest of us recall the superb sailing and wonderful hospitality that fittingly produced a dead heat for 1st place!"

All in all a very appropriate result for an evenly matched encounter, and a meeting which was enjoyed by everyone who took part.

In return for their hospitality last year when we cruised up river and raced with them, we invited Strand on the Green to a tideway race.

There had been the usual debate about slack water time at Lambeth Bridge and they arrived in good time but in the event, after the lunch that Joe had bought for them we weren’t ready to start until 14.00. The sun shone and there was a comfortable W/SWerly but although the heavy rain had produced a racing ebb tide Roger had to shorten the course to avoid sailing down against the flood tide and we turned above Vauxhall Bridge.

The three S.o.t.G. Lasers were first round the mark then John & Jeremy with the rest of the fleet close behind. Then John decided to haul his main out a bit more for the beat back, his muscular crew hauled on the fourfold purchase and the 25year old outhaul parted. It took 10 minutes at the Westminster Boating Base jetty to fix it so that was Wenjon out of contention.

The beat back spread the fleet out with Joe and Paul well ahead. When we got to Battersea Park and saw that the moored boats had still not swung with flood the more perceptive helms realised that the flood water coming down the river was blocking the incoming tide. Above Putney Bridge the wind was as usual light and fickle, some helms, thinking to take advantage of the usual tide, stayed in the centre of the river, the less experienced kept to the Fulham bank where the wind was a little better and slid past.

Paul & Sara retained their lead on handicap and S.o.t.G’s Otter, sailed as a single hander, was last but it has a PN of 1272 and after taking into account everything he could think of the RO declared a dead heat with Paul and Sara.

Strand on the Green had had a very good day but a long one and they got back into their boats and sailed home.

Metcheck forecast a nice SW wind. 9-11mph but with heavy showers. The BBC forecast 25mph on the south coast which usually means trouble, and trouble there was with the Poplars bowing and swaying and black gusts on the water.

There was unanimous agreement that this was not the day for Enterprises so three Wayfarers were rigged. Joe was left with a Laser, Callum took the Pico and Allan (wise man) had had the foresight to break his main halyard the previous Sunday.

When we launched there was not enough wind to make against the tide down to the Ranelagh start line, but it turned respectable and John and David climbed into second place though well behind Chris Edwards in a Ranelagh Laser.

The gusts continued to strengthen and in spite of David’s valiant efforts the aged Commodore began to faulter, then he tacked into Don’s water, was hit hard and a 720 penalty turn put him at the back of the fleet.

Chris Edwards, in the Laser, sailed serenely on, always upright in gusts that had the Wayfarers heeling and spilling and he lapped the back markers.

Joe in his Laser survived and was the first SBSC boat home. Don and Jeremy were second with Chris Phillips and Steve third.

When the RD added an extra lap John retired and after his fifth capsize so did Callum.

After the race Joe took the Pico for a romp in the more stable wind upstream and we all went for the usual delicious tea at Ranelagh.

Paul had worked out the start times showing slack water under successive bridges, sailing times for fast and slow boats, time differences and the date.

John Quinn , who had taken the trouble to understand it, suddenly announced that we should be in the water in half an hour’s time.

Don and Sara pulled a long way ahead followed by Roy in a radial rigged Laser, then the rest of the fleet at a very respectable distance.

Round about Chelsea Don sailed into a hole and, as the lead boat often does, drifted slowly while the rest of the fleet, grateful for the warning, avoided the hole and sailed past.

John and David were the first to the turning mark but were soon overtaken by Don and Paul with Bob and Ron.

The wind was changing direction every few minutes. Paul pulled ahead with Don, Ron and John changing places but falling further and further behind.

Paul won by a good four minutes, John slid past Don and Ron to come second, Don third then Ron and Steve

It was cool and showery with light Easterly. The course was four laps round two buoys on the Barnes Bank.

Don got off to a good start and kept the lead for two and a half laps but the wind dropped as he gybed round the Hammersmith buoy and he was carried 25yards up the river and stopped. Alan came next and he was carried 10 yards beyond the buoy when he too stopped.

Joe came next in the Laser and gave us all a lesson in gybing round a down- tide mark in fluky wind.

He gybed some two lengths short of the mark, allowed the tide to carry him backwards past the mark then sheeted in, swerved round the buoy and glided back down river without losing any ground atall. From a late third to a 50yard lead in one crafty gybe.

By this time we were all cold so belatedly the race was shortened to three laps.

A big day for the club, at our Special General Meeting we adopted a new set of club rules which should qualify us to register as a Community Amateur Sports Club and gain an 80% reduction in Rates.

Then we sailed. The oracle Metcheck promised an 11mph easterly rising to a tricky 16-17mph around 18.00. The “sail anything in anything” boys were not there so we launched the three Wayfarers and managed to get away from the leeward ramp. Thereafter it was all rather uneventful, there was the odd puff at maybe13mph but the if anything the wind dropped.

Allan with his lightest son and a crisp set of sails slid into the lead and just got further and further away. John in Katie with three up, was looking forward to showing two women how to hike out through these brisk winds while Allan struggled to hold his boat up, but he was reduced to nagging his crew to micro-adjust an ancient jib and came a distant second. Jeremy, who hasn’t had much practice on a boat as heavy as a Wayfarer, had problems trying to follow a Putney- type wind that eddied round the houses on the Fulham bank and came third.

There was much dithering. The Race Officer said ‘yes’ then ‘no’ then ‘What do you think?’

Armand was going to sail anyway in his stable Mirror 16 well reefed but with two friends of unknown experience. Then Joe arrived and the RO handed the responsibility to him and retired to and retired to an uncapsizable safety boat.

With some difficulty Allan rigged a reduced main on the new Wayfarer Worlds, while Rory reduced the main on his Pico.

The Wayfarer sailed serenely through the gusts, Armand rolled his boom end into the water but stayed upright while Rory, with youth’s confidence, unreefed his sail and planed off into the distance until a squall of driving rain blew him flat, and then again and then again. Safety boat to the rescue only to find that the water was only waist deep.

Nevertheless, there was much seamanlike drama before a grateful Rory was towed off the Fulham wall and across to the shelter of the Barnes bank to re-rig.

When the squall passed and the sun came out we sailed gently back to the clubhouse feeling rather proud of ourselves, even the safety boat

Our winter fixture with Ranelagh SC from our start line. Sundry unnecessary hitches delayed the start to a lively race on a triangular course of four laps to port. Wind over tide meant that it was not as wet as it might have though some of the single-handers suffered a bit in the gusts.

6 boats, comprising 3 Enterprise, 2 Wayfarer and a lone Laser, set off promptly for the start in force 1 – 2 winds, in what was going to be a very tactical race.

And so it proved, with the 3 Enterprises taking up an early lead, and each taking it in turn over the 4 laps of pushing their nose out in front. Don and Sara seemed to have it in the bag when they stalled on the second to last rounding of the downriver buoy, and were overhauled by John and Seb. However Don and Sara soon got the lead back, with Allan and Rory surging ahead into 2^nd.

The downriver buoy finally saw Don and Sara’s undoing though, as they touched it upon rounding for the last time, and forced to do a 360 gifted 1^st place to Allan and Rory.

The fifth race of the winter series took place under less than ideal conditions of a light, yet extremely cold South Easterly. However, this wasn’t enough to put off the intrepid South Bank sailors with Paul even showing his defiance in a shorty wetsuit.

In total six boats took up the challenge, from the smallest (Chris in the Moth) to the largest (a crew of three in Armand’s Mirror 16). The course was a sausage shape, with two buoys placed on the south bank of the river, and despite threats of shortening, was small enough to ensure that four laps could be completed.

Memorable events from the race box included the arrival of a large Ranelagh fleet that completely disrupted our ability to tell one boat from another, a number of amorous couples on the tow path (must have been the cold weather), the Phillips ‘he must have practised that one’ dead on the line starting technique and the neck and neck Enterprise finish between the Munro-Faure team and John/Jeremy.

In the end, John’s decision to stay closer to the bank (less wind but less tide) paid off, with Allan a close second. Don/Paul came in third, showcasing Don’s new Enterprise (for sale at a good price, although still to prove a race winner!), followed by Sara and a joint Joe/Armand/Seb and Chris.

Jeremy was delighted, crewing for John, it was the first time he had been in a winning boat, and then he went on to win the Crew's Race.(Sailing Sec.)

This race took place following a very successful work party, and I convey my sincere thanks to the 20 or so members who took part. The bribe of hot soup and crusty bread certainly seems to have done the trick.

Wind had been F4 to5 in the morning but thankfully backed off to a more reasonable 3 gusting 4 by the time the boats were ready.

We had 6 boats on the water for this fourth race in the winter series, and every one was of a different class. This gave the ever- patient race officer a bit of a headache especially as the Torch had a handicap rating only slightly better than a tortoise! (1500 actually. Sailing Sec)

The GP14, Wayfarer, Pico, Laser2, Enterprise and Torch all got off to an orderly start and it was clear from the offset that this was going to be very much a hare and tortoise event

The GP14 of Gary and Jeremy started well and went into an immediate lead, but was soon overtaken by Don and Steve in the lone Enterprise. Chris and Sara in the Laser2 looked to be making on the GP14 too until they were stalled by very tricky winds at the Surrey Bank buoy.

During this 5 lap race the Enterprise proved to be un-catchable and comfortably held the lead to cross the line in first place. Second on the water was Laser2 followed by the GP14 and then Jim Forrest and crew in the Torch. the Pico of Rory and Callum retired early due to the helm's homework not having been done, which left the Wayfarer to finish.......eventually.

On corrected times it was the Enterprise of Don and Steve first, the Torch second and the GP14 third.

It goes to show that when the wind is up, a slow old boat like the Torch (expertly helmed of course) can make a good show of itself. The Laser2 seems competitive in stronger winds and was setting a good pace when the wind picked up , forcing other boats to spill and sail 'easy', but is a slug when the winds drop. And the Enterprise, although I am loath to admit it, proved once again that it is a class that takes some beating on home waters.

The first official race day of 2007, and it was going to be a good’un, thanks to a predominant south westerly that had been blowing for days making it surprisingly warm for the time of year, and winds in the force 2 to force 5 range. Certainly testing conditions but what better way to get ‘sailing fit’ than to put in a few frantic laps around the buoys at SBSC.

However, things didn’t get off to a good start, with the entire fleet being late for the start, the race officer muttering something about ‘you’ve had plenty of time’ – she was right of course, and the formal race being abandoned

Lesson 2 – SBSC’s waters are very challenging when it is blowing. The wind is up and down and the gusts (which you spot if you are lucky) will flatten you if you are not prepared. Commiserations to Wyl and Armand on their lasers, who did seem to spend an unfair amount of time in the water. No harm done though and it was a great learning experience.

Lesson 3 – Consistency counts in these conditions. Congratulations to Emma who (despite being a young slip of a thing – not my words, honest), expertly sailed her Laser, with full rig, to first place.

Lesson 4 – Watch out for the young’uns. Callum for one, who helmed in this, his first proper race, to finish well up the fleet.

Not quite knowing what to expect, having never (or at least not within the last decade or so) opened the club on new year’s day, we were wondering if anybody would actually turn up !

They did, or at least 15% or so of the membership did (that sounds better than counting numbers) and we had a fine sail in a stiffening breeze.

The new year’s day honours went to Jerome, who, despite us being in mid-winter, felt that a shorty wetsuit was all that he needed, and this was indeed the case. Unlike Armand and Chris, who capsized shortly after leaving dry land and spent far too long in the drink before they righted their enterprise, bailed it out, and continued with the ‘race’.

Mulled wine thanks to Anne and Ian brought this impromptu gathering to an end with a consensus that we should do it all again next year

The first of the winter’s Shorts, simply a number of short races particularly aimed at the inexperienced, to gain practice at starting, sailing a buoyed course, and finishing.

With virtually no wind at the official race start time, it was decided that time could be spent on jobs around the dinghy park. The wind did eventually arrive, along with some long forgotten winter sun, and boats launched and had a very enjoyable couple of hours of informal sailing and on-water coaching.

Take a day in the middle of August. Add wind in varying quantities. When wind dies, require fleet to bunch around the Crabtree buoy hunting zephyrs. Intersperse with extreme gusts that tip boats vertically, requiring helms to bend double to hold them flat.

Invite a mixture of boats – two Enterprises and two Lasers. Welcome friends and relatives and ensure that the viewing gallery is packed out with additional supporters for good measure. Make tea and serve to viewing gallery (except during thunderstorms). Add thunderstorms, lightning over Chelsea and very wet rain. Not too much, 10 minutes should suffice. Return sun to dry clothes.

Excitement is key. Race office watch three lap race with strategic overtaking and fighting against a strong spring tide. Safety boat relay details from the water and monitor situation carefully. Close results are a must, as are adjusted times. Sara, first over the line is tragically relegated to second place behind John and his nephew by record breaking 1.2 seconds. Paul/Seb and Wyl follow the leaders. Results are reversed in crews race with Wyl’s laser leading Paul/Seb and Sara in a one lap race.

Finish in South Bank style. Beer and crisps in the club house, and instruction in the rules of fair coin tossing. Eventually leave, confused but satisfied.

A scorching summer’s day and what better way to round it off than with an evening sail on the Thames. A good number of members came to this conclusion too, and along with 4 potential new members who came for a trial sail, we all had a fabulous time in variable but entirely acceptable winds, sailing until the sky was just starting to set over the Wetlands centre.

Rounding it off with ice cream and beer on the balcony may have been the clincher for two of the potentials, who signed up on the spot! So welcome to Kerri and Anne, we cant promise future sailing at SBSC will be as idyllic as this, but will do our best