We are sorry to inform you but committee decided to cancel tomorrow Race on Sunday the 28th of June.
It looks like the wind is picking up. Nothing can scare us but unfortunately it is not safe for a Long Distance Race.
Race Report 7th June 2020
Although the summer weather seemed to have gone, we had a turn-out of six for our fourth Covid-restrained race. There were grey skies, the occasional drizzle of rain and a gusty breeze coming down the A-course from Kew Bridge giving a sort-of run down to the grid and a beat back towards the Surrey-side rowing buoy and then our third mark above the Bell and Crown.
The critical choice for the downstream leg was whether to stick to the Strand bank or try the possibly clearer wind on the Surrey side. James (solo in his Enterprise), Lev (also solo in his Enterprise) and Rob (Laser) went across to the Surrey bank and made steady progress against the tide to establish a good lead at the end of the first lap – Lev and Rob leading the trio followed by James.
Ian (Topaz), then the Browns (Enterprise) came around the top mark to the start line a couple of minutes later, in company with Chris and Mary (Leader) who had started late.
The leaders swapped places in fairly close formation for the rest of the six-lap race but Lev was in the lead most of the time and finished first about 15 seconds ahead of Rob with James, uncharacteristically, trailing them by over three minutes.
By that stage Lev had lapped Ian twice and had almost overtaken the Browns who were happy to finish their sixth lap and a very enjoyable and energetic sail. Back at the arch the high tide made for an easy recovery.
So, a good time was had by all despite the enforced lack of tea and buns. Manty thanks to Alex for manning the safety boat and to Tom (and Jo) Broadhurst for officiating from the Bell and Crown.
Next Sunday is down as D-course, starting at 16:10 which may be shortened to a multi-lap B depending on the conditions.
HB
Race Report 31 May, 2020
A handful of sailors turned out for what was scheduled to be a D course on blustery day. After some deliberations, an altered B-course was selected, downstream to a rowing buoy mid stream just past the pier, and then upstream under the railway bridge to a racing buoy set just before Oliver’s Island. Start was by whistle only on this occasion and all got under way without problems and were close together for most of lap 1. James started to pull away thereafter, however Lev and Ian picked up the pace and stayed on the same lap for most of the race. Chris and Mary pulled up after the first lap for some bailing and re-joined after fixes. Jane had a capsize just before the mark on Lap 2, righted the boat and recovered to the rowing club, and soon after re-joined the racing. Lev had a capsize by the upstream mark late on and completed the final lap sitting very low in the water despite furious bailing. Leader James completed 9 laps in just over the hour, and the remainder of the pack followed soon after. Lev and Ian completed 8 laps, Chris 7 laps, and Jane 3. All boats and kit were launched and recovered socially distanced and with masks in club colours (kindly provided by Jane) donned.
Alex
Thanks to Alex Pape for great photos!
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We are sailing, covid-19 update.
Dear members,
The committee has reviewed the recommendations from the RYA and the PLA about Covid-19.
Please download and read the safety controls that the committee has prepared and that each participating club member has to follow.
The controls will be updated as conditions change.
Sailing this Sunday.
We are planning to sail this Sunday, May 17th. This is going to be a D course which will allow us plenty of space on the shore to keep 2m apart. The sail starts at 18:10.
Safety first.
As commodore, my first priority is a safety of the club members.
I would like to emphasise that our current state is not 100% “back to normal”.
Our sail, this Sunday, will not be a normal race but rather a pleasure sail to promote physical and mental health for our members.
This means, each individual member has to take into consideration their own personal underlying health condition and age before coming to the club.
I miss you all and I wish you health and safety.
Lev
Racing suspended until further notice: PLA Covid-19 Notice
This notice says it all. We must suspend our racing activities until the emergency is over. When that will be is anybody’s guess, and we will be ready. The Covid bug caused the Dance to be cancelled, but it merely postpones our sailing.
Port of London – River Thames
NOTICE TO MARINERS No.6 of 2020
24 March 2020
COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS
RECREATION AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES
We are issuing this in line with current Government coronavirus guidance, placing restrictions on movement.
To reduce social contact, travel and potential strain on emergency services, we strongly recommend that all recreation and leisure activities on the tidal Thames are avoided until further notice.
Our priority at the PLA is to help ensure the UK continues to receive essential supplies of food, fuel and medical goods at this time.
As a result, we expect to have a reduced capability in responding to recreational incidents on the river.
To support our essential port operations, we are reducing the operating hours of our harbour service patrols between Putney and Teddington.
We are grateful for your co-operation in these exceptional circumstances.
SGSC AGM 2020 !
The Strand on the Green Club Annual General Meeting will take place at The City Barge on 25th of February 2020 at 20:30.
Everyone is invited to come along.
Race Report – the Last Race – 10 November 2019
Race Report, 10 November 2019, the Last Race
Sunday was a lovely sunny autumn day. All it lacked was a steady sailing wind. But then this is Strand on the Green. The incoming tide was almost swamped by the flow of rainwater coming down the river, which meant that there was little or no beach for rigging the boats. And the rigging was interrupted by the two-minutes silence, orchestrated by Tim on the starting horn.
Eight boats turned out for short A-course from the Zoffany start line, with an upstream buoy opposite the Bell and Crown and the downstream buoy below the grid. Once Jane and Tim had disentangled themselves from the bank all the boats got away without recalls, and had a sort-of run downstream driven by a fickle wind with quite a lot of north in it. Making the downstream mark was quite a struggle for the little boats but the Laser, Enterprises, Leader and Alex’s lugger managed to keep going pretty well.
Rob Adams in his Laser was first around the downstream mark and was well up the course before the Browns in their Enterprise, followed by Lev Kolobov (solo in Enterprise), Alex and Chris Greenwood (with Mary in the Leader) got around for the beat back upstream.
Rob was almost 2 minutes ahead of the Browns and Lev on the first lap; on the second lap he was followed by Alex and then the Browns, who then overtook Alex and maintained second place with Lev in close pursuit. At the end of five laps Rob was 9 minutes ahead of the Browns with Alex and Lev within two minutes astern.
The shifty wind on the downwind leg caused Chris and Ian to complete only four laps with the two Gulls, Tim and Jane, both doing three laps.
After the handicap sums were done Rob was the clear winner with Alex in second place followed by the Browns.
Mary Short got back to the arch in time to fire-up the barbeque and cook some very spicey sausages. Sam, who manned the safety boat, had orchestrated the classic Beer and Bangers feast with home-brew beer, as usual, courtesy of Steve Newell and a variety of other treats from sundry members.
So that was the end of the 2019 season. What will we do with Sundays in the coming bleak winter days?
AGM 2019
The winter is over and we are back !
The Strand on the Green Club Annual General Meeting took place at The City Barge on 19th of February 2019.
Minutes can be downloaded here:
SGSC_AGM_2019.
Good luck in the new season.
Last Race, 4 November 2018
The last race, 4 November 2018
An early start at 1000 did not deter 11 boats from turning out – the largest number for any race in 14 years. It was an overcast morning with a fitful SE wind of F3 coming straight up the river adding to a moderate tide. Rob Collingwood and David Jones put the downstream buoy just above the grid and the upstream one well clear of Kew Bridge.
The Enterprises, tacking down against the tide, trying to make the best of the slower inshore waters, reached the downstream buoy first and the Browns, taking advantage of a slight wind shift, tried an oblique attack on it from upstream. The gamble failed, the wind dropped and the tide pushed them onto the buoy and forced a penalty re-rounding. James, crewed by grandson Ayanda, took the more cautious approach tacking downstream of the mark and established a lead which he maintained and increased throughout the race. At the end of the first lap James led the Browns by about 2 minutes followed by Andy and Enoch with Lev close on their transom. At the second lap James’ lead over the Browns was nearer 5 minutes and Rob Adams was less than half a minute behind. By the third lap Rob was 10 seconds ahead of the Browns with Lev in fourth place, and it was on the third lap that Chris Greenwood, on his second race in a Solo, capsized and took some time to get sailing again – wet and cold. That was the only drama of the morning, apart from the disappointment of Jane who had to be rescued by the safety boat from the perils of Kew Bridge.
Rob maintained his narrow lead over the Browns for the next two laps and there were some interesting inshore tacking battles on the downstream legs. By the fifth lap of the leading ‘also rans’, James and Ayanda had worked their way through the fleet to lap everyone. A lap later the Browns had regained their narrow margin over Rob which they maintained to the end, and Lev, also on seven laps, finished fourth.
So James was the decisive winner with 8 laps, followed by the Browns, Rob and Lev on 7 laps, Ian and Andy on 6 laps, Chris and Alex on 5 laps, Tim on 3 laps, Sam Shemtob (late starter) on 1 lap and Jane a reluctant non-starter.
Meanwhile, Mary Short was at work on the barbeque and a sumptuous feast was being prepared. Founder member Marthe Armitage was present as well as Margaret Berger with a delicious chocolate cake.
Many thanks to Enoch for an immaculate record of a very crowded finishing line (he suggests that next time sailors should space themselves out more evenly), and to Rob Collingwood and David Jones for standing by in the safety boat.
Racing results 1 April 2018
Race Report 1 April 2018, the Easter Egg Race
Sunday followed several days of rain and a predicted high tide, and the Met Office told us the wind would be as near as possible to non-existent. Not ideal conditions for a race, but three Enterprises turned out nevertheless. James Armitage was crewed by David Kolobov; Rob Collingwood was crewed by Lev Kolobov; and Dave Berger was crewed by Sheila in the Brown’s Enterprise.
Chris Jones assisted by Henry Brown, set a short A-course with a start line at Zoffany House. There was so much rain water coming down the river that the flood tide flow was noticeably less than normal but started high up the foreshore: all three boats launched straight into the water from the ramp. All managed to drift and manoeuvre close to the start line for the signal and set off together but unusually for a downstream / against the tide start, the boats furthest from the bank fared best. The Bergers found wind from somewhere and, relatively speaking, romped away. James tried everything, but Porpoise refused to make progress. The Bergers made the downstream mark, well above the draw dock, and drifted back up to the Bell and Crown upstream mark comfortably ahead of Rob. But despite all efforts they continued to drift towards Kew Bridge as Rob rounded the mark and continued his stately progress back to the start line. James meanwhile was still struggling to get to the downstream mark.
The strength of the tide was by now increasing and still had an hour to go. It had topped the footpath and the OOD and his assistant were ankle deep. Rob passed the start line after 26 minutes and Dave crossed it five minutes later. The prospect of another half-hour, at least, of this was more than the OOD team could bear and they declared the race finished. No loud protests were heard from the sailors. So the Easter Egg was won by the Rob / Lev Enterprise.
The OOD team waded back to the arch just as the water reached the top of their wellies; the three Ents sailed/paddled/drifted straight into the yard, followed by Dave Jones in the safety boat, who backed practically up to the arch door to offload the engine and bits; and all present were then marooned until the tide turned, more of less on schedule, at 1630. They were sustained by cups of tea, Rum and Blackcurrant, Easter Egg and some tasty seasonal concoctions from Michael Sommerville and Alice.
Next week it’s a 1500 D-course. Lets hope for just a bit more wind.
