Full report to follow, but 5 boats raced with 3 finishing the C-course and the two little boats having to turn back in the face of the ebb tide. They were, nevertheless, given points for their persistence.

Three boats took part in a very slow race:

A report will follow as soon as I get it from the OOD.

SGSC Race Report 12 October 2025

SGSC Race Report 12 October 2025

A sunny evening race. There was very light wind from ENE and so from behind the houses along Strand: a slight back-draught however blew one way or another or sometimes not at all. An A course was set from a Bell & Crown start to half-way down to the railway bridge.

James (Enterprise) made slow and patient progress keeping close to the bank, and was the first to round the downstream and upstream buoys and complete a lap. Rob (Enterprise) headed out into the strong flood tide in search of more wind, which looked initially to pay off but in the event he completed his first lap a few minutes later; he almost immediately fouled a mooring buoy and took several minutes to clear himself, after which progress was so slow that he was  unable to go round again.

Chris (Leader) rounded the downstream mark but found it difficult to turn back round the one upstream; he had a losing battle against the tide before resorting to paddling to avoid Kew bridge. Tamir (Laser) managed better but needed several attempts out in midstream to reach the line.

Meanwhile, James finished a second lap, and although only a little more than half an hour had gone by, he and the others were progressing so slowly that it seemed wise to finish the race. This enabled Sam (Wayfarer) to be the second to finish, after one lap taking three-quarters of an hour; and to be followed by a finally successful Tamir. Keith (Laser) also sailed but did not complete a lap.

All the two-handed boats were fully crewed, so crews also deserve credit: I am sorry that I did not take a list of names. And thanks to Andy who managed the safety boat unassisted.

Nick Floyer OOD

SGSC v. SBSC 21^st September 2025

OOD: Mary and Henry Brown;   SB: David Baker , Andy Ross

Course: B;   Weather: fine, North 2-4 Beaufort;  Start time: 14:00

On a perfect day for the event, we had 5 visitors from SBSC (Laser, Laser 13, GP14 and 2 Solos) who sailed up with the tide to arrive at around 11:00, in time for a quick lunch in the Bull’s Head, mooring on the slimy foreshore outside the pub.  We had already chosen a B-course because of the predicted north wind, and the fact that a temporary mooring downstream of the Railway Bridge would be more convenient for our visitors.

The first surprise of the day was the unusually large turn-out from SGSC: 11 boats eventually started (3 Enterprises, 4 Lasers, a Leader, a Wayfarer, a Mirror and a Solo).  The OOD had taken the precaution of doubling-up: one to record times so far as possible, the other to simply log each boat for each lap as a check.  And David Jones was also on hand to identify sail numbers.

Dave Baker and Andy had laid the downstream buoy opposite Chiswick Staithe, and the upstream mark was just downstream of the Railway Bridge, in line with the old mooring post.

It was a downwind start, and all started without a recall.  Sam Shemtob (Wayfarer) was late getting to the start but persisted anyway.  From the OOD’s point of view the fleet was out of site until late in the return half.  Joe Armitage was in the lead ahead of his father, James, and followed by Lev Kolobov, then Rob Adams and then Tamir Gotfried, and these five were in the lead throughout.  The first SBSC visitor was Matt Young in a Laser at No. 7.

It was exciting sailing at times with several capsizes and recoveries and the OOD decided to give everyone a generous hour.  Approaching the hour James was bow-and-bow with Joe with Rob close behind followed by Tamir and then Lev.  These five completed five laps, with eight boats completing four laps, and the SBSC Laser 13 and Sam’s Wayfarer on 3 laps.  Ariel Biekark was last to finish in a Solo – he was caught by the turning tide.

So, a spectacular and enjoyable afternoon for all 16 boats on the river, and those watching from the shore, and it was followed by a delicious barbeque, provided by Mary Short and many helpers.

Race Report 7 September 2025

OOD: Mary Brown, Safety Boat: Henry Brown and Russel Hayes

The race was scheduled as a C-course, then changed to an A because of a possible clash with an upstream sailing club, then as we gathered at the Club it was clear that the tide was not rising, and sure enough, on checking, we found that the Barrier had been closed for its routine September full-tide test closure.  So we decided to race on a B-course – between the Railway Bridge and Chiswick Staithe.

Four boats prepared to sail: James Armitage solo in Zephyr (Enterprise); Rob Adams, also solo in Big Polly(Enterprise); Ben Chappell in Envy (Laser); and Rebecca Hayes in Wagtail (Mirror).  There was a brisk SW wind up the river with the tide blowing, according to the weather app, between 11 and 27knots.  The course was set with the bridge support as the upstream mark, and downstream a buoy was laid opposite Chiswick Staithe.

There was a considerable flow upstream, despite the Barrier closure.  The Thames is mysterious. So the downstream leg was a beat against wind and the river, and the return upstream was a run with the current.  Rob and James were evenly matched on the first lap with James about a minute in the lead at 25 minutes, but they swapped positions several times.  Ben started late and was about 5 minutes behind at the first lap.  Rebecca, unfortunately, never made it to the start line.  She tacked persistently just upstream of the bridge only to be swept back in the dead air under the bridge.  She then grounded on her centreboard causing it some damage and decided to retire.

The second lap ended with James less than 2 minutes ahead of Rob and that was quite enough for single handers in a frisky wind.  And especially for Rob who was recovering from a serious shoulder injury.  Ben capsized at the downstream mark which he recovered elegantly without getting wet above the waist.  This earned him a round of applause from picnickers on the bank but lost him 10 minutes of time at the finish.

Next week we have an A/B course at 18:40.