The Club is now required to be able to inform the NHS of who takes part in our Sunday races in case there is a risk of catching the bug. This could arise if a participant or visitor is tested positive elsewhere after having been to an SGSC event.
The Club now has a QR code (the square spotty thing on an A4 poster) at the arch which is specific to SGSC and the arch. This means that, if you have the NHS COVID-19 App on your smart-phone, you can register your presence by, in effect, photographing the poster. If someone at the race is subsequently tested positive the authorities can contact all those who registered on that day.
If you don’t have the app or don’t have your phone with you the authorities will contact the Club if the nee arises and we will send them a list of those present, plus phone numbers, to be contacted by track and tracers. We will know who is present from the OOD’s race sheet for the day.
Please use the QR code / App on a race day and make sure that the OOD knows of any non-member crew or other visitors who may be potential contacts. The helm of each boat will be responsible for identifying any non-member crew or other visitors.
Sunday was a perfect day for being out on the river – sunshine, the last of the summer warmth, and a gentle breeze to tease the sails, and even to fill them at times. There was also a strong, even aggressive, spring tide that quickly took over the foreshore and caused most of the fleet to rig waist-deep in water. The minor bonus was that the tide diluted the abundant algal slime that made the foreshore slippery and unpleasant.
Ten boats launched – another exceptional turnout for Strand – and after a slightly delayed start to get all boats launched and up to the start line, Inna Kolobov started the race on a shortened A-course with a Zoffany House line. The triangular course had a downstream mark just off the PLA grid, an upstream Surrey-side mark opposite the top end of the PLA moorings, and a Strand top mark opposite the Bell and Crown. The wind, according to the Met Office, was ENE F3, which meant that it was coming to the river over the roofs of Strand on the Green and being diverted by any building, island or other obstacle that struck its fancy.
About half the fleet decided to start in the clearer air but stronger current on the Surrey side of the PLA moorings, the other half hoping for better conditions off the Strand bank. James Armitage (solo in his Enterprise) took the mid-stream choice and, guess what, he was right. He followed the relatively slack water in the slipstream of Oliver Island and gained at each puff of clean wind as he almost disappeared into the foliage of the island before tacking across to make the mark. It meant that he got around his first lap in under 12 minutes and almost got in another lap before boats 2 (Joseph Armitage, Laser) and 3 (the Browns, Enterprise) got back to the start line. Joseph led the Browns by 5 minutes at that point and they continued in that order until their fourth lap when the Browns passed the line a mere 2 seconds ahead of Joseph, and 20 seconds behind James on his fifth and final lap.
Lev Kolobov (solo, Enterprise) finished about 12 minutes later on 3 laps with Ian Nethersell (Vibe) 2 minutes behind. Rob Adams (Laser) had a bad day in several doldrums and only finished 2 laps, and Chris and Mary (Leader) managed one lap. The rest of the fleet, Tim Young (in his shiny new Wanderer), Jane Watkins (Gull), and Clare Walker and son (Laser) all found the strength of the current too much for the fitful wind and had to accept a tow back from the dreaded Kew Bridge from Sam Shemtob in the safety boat. A pity, but no shame: standard Strand conditions that can catch anyone, and hopefully doesn’t entirely spoil a lovely afternoon on the river.
The high spring tide meant that practically everyone, including the safety boat, could float onto their trolleys on the ramp platform and be dragged into the muddy arch.
Many thanks to Inna as OOD for keeping tabs on everyone, even when hidden by the PLA moorings, and to Sam for saving the unfortunates from Kew Bridge.
On a lovely mid-September Indian summer, nine boats turned out for this C course race. Sam was the last to leave the club – understandably so, given his two crew were both novices. They found themselves challenged with navigating Kew Bridge on a rising tide, half-rigged and drifting sideways but were successful. Dave in the Safety Boat hovered around ready to assist.
The OOD had established a line for the start and then allowed a five minute delay to enable Sam to re-rig and join in. After much impatient gilling-about in a decent South-West wind – with plenty of calls of ‘Starboard!’ – Joseph was first across the line, followed by Rob and then James. Behind them were Ian, Alex and then Tim, who was becalmed for a while. They were followed by Nick Jeffrey in his tiny red Duckling ‘Eeyore’, along with daughter Nicky on only her second SGSC outing in their new boat. Completing the fleet was Sam, with Stuart and Katy as crew.
First across the line coming back was Joseph (showing that an early start is usually a big advantage), followed by James and then Rob, all within a minute of each other. All three went on to pass under Kew Bridge, though James appeared to stall in mid-stream (and nearly got caught?).
Lev crossed the line 10 minutes later, followed within a minute by Alex and Tim, with Ian two minutes behind them. Nick & Nicky took a further ten minutes to reach the line.
Yet to return were Sam and the Safety Boat. Alex rowed up to look for them, without success, so the OOD cycled upriver. He found them still up at Syon, dealing with a slackening wind and relying mainly on the now fast-ebbing tide. They had not yet reached the upstream buoy and by the time they crossed the finish line Sam had dropped the sails and David had taken them in tow. Notwithstanding their misfortunes, it was a good race on a glorious day.
Many thanks again to Andy Ross for keeping a clear results sheet for an impressive turn-out.
The annual Thames Tidefest is sponsored by Thames Water Plc ‘to help Londoners reconnect with their river’. For SGSC this also means a grant of £200 (to run our safety boat) and a silver cup for the winner of our Thames Tidefest Trophy Race.
This year, the Tidefest fell upon a beautiful, warm and sunny day with a light wind from the North-West – good conditions for bystanders watching an A course starting at the Bell & Crown.
A spectacular fleet of 10 boats charged across the start line, led by Lev and his son David with a goosed-winged flourish. Two new members – Clare Walker (with her son, Winter) in Paul Williamson’s Laser and Nick Jeffrey (plus his daughter Nicky on her first ever sailing experience) in a Red Duck boat named Eeyore – completed the fleet at the rear.
After reaching the downstream mark, Lev & David chose to turn out into the mainstream to go round the PLA trot and he kept his lead to cross the line first for the first lap, in eight minutes, just one second ahead of James. Clare & Winter rounded the course last, taking 16 minutes.
The second round saw most boats still taking the mainstream river route; however, James went straight for the upstream buoy and crossed the line this time one second ahead of Lev & David, a lead he then kept throughout race. Tim, meanwhile, was sailing cautiously with a reef in the sail and was becalmed at the downstream mark.
Rob, Alex and Nick (Floyer) took full advantage of the soft wind to stay within two minutes of each other with alternating leads over the next two laps, with Jane dipping in and out between them. The last three boats – Tim, Clare & Winter, and Nick & Nicky – were close together at the rear. A late entrant – Sam Shentob in his weather-beaten Wayfarer – then miraculously appeared and completed two laps.
James, Lev, Rob, Jane, Alex and Nick Floyer all managed five laps while Tim, Clare & Winter, and Nick & Nicky each completed three. Clare was unlucky to become stalled in a dead calm patch just before the line and was last to cross, after an hour of sailing well.
Back at the Club, James had a laptop with the algorithm to translate times into handicap-adjusted places. Many congratulations to:
1 James – winner of the 2020 Tidefest Trophy
2 Jane
3 Nick Floyer
4 Alex
5 Lev & David
6 Rob
7 Nick & Nicky
8 Tim
9 Clare & Winter
10 Sam
Thanks to Andy Ross for an impressive effort on the score sheet: keeping track of ten boats on several laps is no mean feat.
As well as the Tidefest Trophy the sailors were competing for the usual SGSC race series, for which the results were as follows:
It was a four-boat B-course, Nick Floyer having retired before the start, on a calm grey day with a light wind. James Armitage, with crew, led from the start and steadily increased his lead. At the first lap he was followed two minutes later by Alex Pape, then Ian Nethersell and Jane Watkins in close order. The order remained the same but the intervals extended so that at the end of four laps, and an hour of sailing, James was a good 10 minutes ahead of Alex with Ian 5 minutes behind him. Jane in her little Gull was finished after 62 minutes and three laps.
Mary Short kept order and the race sheet, and Chris Greenwood was on safety boat.
A spring tide, dry, sunny late afternoon race with the wind blowing from the west at F2 with gusts of F4.
A “B” course was set with the downstream buoy shortened to enable more laps to be achieved. Five boats were prepared to tackle the gusty conditions. It was a pleasure to see our new member Nick Jeffery in his delightful boat “EEYORE”, a Fairy Duckling, sailing with traditional Tan sails. A brave first sail appreciated by all on the water and the towpath.
After Tim and Chris making last minute adjustments to their rigging on the start line a good start was made by all boats.
James with Ayanda quickly showed the way along the rowing club bank and pulled away rounding the downstream and returning to Strand.
James completing the first lap in 14:37 minutes. Chris and Mary and Alex were neck and neck at 22:23 and 22:40 for the first lap. Tim and Emma were close behind in 25:36 and Nick finishing the 1st lap in 31:54 minutes.
The race order remained the same for the following laps with James unchallenged. Chris and Alex swopping places with little between them and Tim and Nick bring up the rear.
James completed 4 laps in 54:22 minutes.
Chris and Alex 4 laps in 65:13 and 65:46, respectively. Chris just pulling clear of Alex on the last lap. A close race between these two throughout the race.
Tim completed 3 laps in 61:02 and Nick 2 laps in 55:10.
A very testing and watchable race. A spring tide with gusty conditions with all the boats handling the conditions brilliantly and throughout, carefully monitored by Dave and Tim in the safety boat.
The C-course
race took place in warm sunshine and a light variable wind, starting at 11:45.
With
all sailors and supporting members ready early and a weak tide the fleet assembled
on the far side of Kew Bridge without undue excitement. Holding on until the
three minute warning, to avoid the risk a premature departure to the London
Apprentice, we set off together with the wind behind us. All, that is, except Nick who had drifted
over the line and had to work back to re-cross.
Family
crewed Enterprises Lev and Inna and Tim and his daughter Emma, Chris and Mary
in a Leader, Lightning Nick and Ian with his spinnaker jostled for position
until the wind ran out just after Brentford Marina and eventually
re-established itself in the opposite direction. Despite his false start Nick reached
the buoy at the London Apprentice with a long lead only to find, when he turned
the mark, the tide still flooding strongly, so he stopped while everyone else
caught up.
Everyone
else then reached the buoy opposite the pub and started off again with a
following wind; Nick in the lead followed by Chris and Mary. The Middlesex side
of the river offered the best wind on the way home and the tide turned for the
leaders when they were almost at Brentford Ait.
It was a long race – an hour and three quarters for Nick,
followed 5 minutes later by Chris and Mary, 9 minutes later by Lev with Ian
close behind, and 6 minutes later by Tim.
Which was also the finishing order after the sums were done.
Thanks
to David Jones for standing in for Tim Young on the safety boat and Jane as OOD
who went the extra mile to retrieve the Blue Peter flag from the river at the
end of the race.
On a hot sunny afternoon the Met Office said the wind would be
light and from the east. It was
certainly light at times, and Steve Newell set a short A-course from the
Zoffany House start line with a sometimes consistent wind coming up-stream from
east south east. Chris Jones set the top
mark just above the Bell and Crown and the bottom mark was at the downstream
end of the slip-dock, where a barge was somewhat inconveniently moored for the
duration of the race.
There was another good turnout of 9 boats which made for a
congested start from the short start line.
The well-positioned ones headed off downstream hugging the Strand bank
and a leading trio of James Armitage (solo in Enterprise), Joseph Armitage ( a stranger
in his Laser, determined to beat his dad), and lev Kolobov (also solo in his
Enterprise) made it to the mark with little difficulty. The big dilemma was whether to tack within
the slip-dock, with the added hazard of the barge, or to beat against the
stronger tidal flow midstream. Those
three made it around and were practically back at the top mark before the
Browns (Enterprise), Ian Nethersell (Vibe) and John Bull (laser) worked out the
best way around the bottom mark in the contrary wind and tide.
Joseph completed his first lap in less than 9 minutes
followed by Lev and then James, after which James gained, maintained, and added
to his lead. John Bull was fourth at the
first lap and held his position to the end with the Browns in close
pursuit. James and Joseph proceeded to
lap everyone at least once, and all but Lev twice. They did 7 laps with James 11 minutes ahead
of his son at the end. Lev did 6 laps
and John, the Browns and Ian did 5.
While all this was going on a much more notable event was
taking place: the SGSC Ladies Plate. In
the absence of the Summer Party it had been decided to sail the Ladies Plate
concurrently with a suitable A-course points race, and this was the one. It was strenuously contested by Jane Watkins
(ever growing in confidence in her Gull) and former winner Mary Short (in Chris
Greenwood’s Leader). As luck would have
it, Jane had a bad day. She tangled with
the bank and got caught by a series of doldrums which drifted her towards Kew
Bridge – the stuff of Strand nightmares – to be rescued by Chris Jones and
towed home. Which left Mary in control
of the field. She completed 3 laps of
challenging conditions in considerable style and wins the coveted prize.
Many thanks to Stephen for keeping a clear record of the
fleets’ many line crossings – no easy feat.
And to Chris Jones for keeping an eye on everyone from the water. And to Andy Ross for helping the many weary
mariners, and the safety boat, ashore at the end.
Next Sunday is a C-course starting at11:45, and there may be a picnic sail on Wednesday 12th August, starting around 1850 to clear Kew Bridge well before high water. If it happens you will be contacted by email soon.
It was perfect weather for a race: sunny on the whole and a F3 westerly wind, which couldn’t help but be gusty in the strange conditions of Strand. And perhaps because of the COVID restrictions we had a good turnout of 8 boats on a long A-course – top mark opposite the Steam Packet (yes, it’s a pub again!), bottom mark opposite the City Barge.
As usual James Armitage showed the way around the course
(solo in his Ent) and established a lead before the bottom mark by keeping well
into the lesser tidal flow by the Strand bank.
It was a run with minor variations all the way down. James was goose-winged with his jib-stick
most of the time. The return leg was a beat
to windward and although several boats tried a long tack across to the Surrey
bank, shorter tacks between the PLA moorings and Strand proved the best route. The gusty wind meant that the fleet made
steady progress against the tide most of the time on the downstream legs with
some exhilarating beating on the upstream bits.
The Browns (Enterprise) followed James at increasing
distances throughout the race – a minute at the first lap increasing to 11
minutes by the 9th after a
doldrum-patch just below the slip-dock on the last lap. Alex Pape (Lugger) was in third place for
most of the time followed by Nick Floyer (Lightning) who capsized in a gust at
the end of his fifth lap and had to retire (towed home by David Jones). His place was taken by Tim Wellburn
(Enterprise, crewed by Wellburn jnr.), Ian
Nethersell (Vibe) and Tim Young (Gull) who completed seven laps, and Jane
Watkins (Gull) who did six laps.
After the handicap sums the Handicap points were won by Tim
Young, followed by the Browns and then Jane; the Big Boats points were won by
James, then the Browns, then Tim Wellburn; in the Little Boats the winner was
Tim followed by Alex and then Jane; and in the Polly Prize James was the winner
followed by Tim Young and then the Browns.
Mary Short kept an immaculate record of the race, aided by
Chris Greenwood. Eight boats doing up to
9 laps each takes some keeping up with.
Thanks also to David Jones for shepherding the fleet on the water. Apres-race at the arch was masked like the Venice
Carnevale but with less extravagant costumes.
Next Sunday’s race is an A-course at 1730, following a working party in the morning.
Sunday’s race was scheduled as a D-course, down to
Hammersmith and back, but under the COVID-19 circumstances we had decided to
race a series of low-water laps between Chiswick Bridge and the railway
bridge. This enables the safety boat to
keep everyone in sight.
Four boats took to the water with a warm and gusty
north-west wind and headed downstream to a buoy set by David Jones opposite the
late Tony Smith’s house. It was soon
clear that the gusty wind was going to cause problems but Ian Nethersell (Vibe)
managed the first lap in 22 minutes, followed by Chris and Mary (Leader) and
Jane (Gull) in about 26 minutes. Nick
was having less luck and was lapped by Ian before he made his first lap. He then got caught by a gust and capsized just
below the pier and accepted a tow back.
Ian completed his second lap after 34 minutes, 5 minutes ahead of the Leader and 8 minutes ahead of Jane. That was almost it for Jane who struggled with the fickle wind and a flooding tide to make the bottom mark. After a creditable struggle she called it a day and retired.
Ian meanwhile completed a third lap after 48 minutes of
sailing and set off on a fourth lap.
Chris and Mary followed about 8 minutes later, almost an hour from the
start, and Andy Ross (OOD) signalled the end of the race.
