Race Report 10th May 2026

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Race Report 10th May 2026

OOD: Leona Shepherd

Safety Boat: Lennart Pronk

Weather: Fair  with fresh NE  winds F3. 

Course: D  

Start: 15:05  HWKB:14.10    Wind  NE 10-12km

5 boats launched with Patrick Lane-Spollen in Ellie (Laser), Chris Greenwood and Felicia Biekarck in Distant Thunder (Leader) and Tamir Gottfried (Laser), James and Ruth Armitage in Zephyr (Enterprise) and Joseph Armitage and friend James in Big Polly (Enterprise). After a last minute handover of safety boat duties from Joseph to Lennart (thank you Lenny!) the boats were in the water and on the downstream side of the bridge for a 15.05 start. 

The start was very tight with all boats vying for the best wind and tide position and it remained competitive until well after Barnes bridge, when James and Ruth pulled away and Tamir didn’t quite catch the wind in time to stay close. Around Chiswick Lifeboat station, Patrick, who in a head to wind position, got caught in-irons, had to pull his boat out and withdrew from the race. He continued to sail and enjoy the afternoon, gaining some valuable tips from the other sailors on his return.

Being a D course the OD did not follow it step by step! A good wind and tide together for the return made for rewarding conditions and fun sailing. The first, and fast, arrival at the finish line was Zephyr, with James & Ruth, in 1h 19mins 50s. Thereafter, Tamir arrived in 1h 26mins 08s, Joseph & James on Big Polly in 1h 30mins 10s and Chris & Felicia in 1h 33mins 00s. With 14mins between first to last boats it was indeed a tight race from start to finish. Great photos by Lenny are already posted to the SGSC WhatsApp group 

Leona Shepherd OOD)

Race Report 3rd May 2026

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Race Report 3rd May 2026

A fine afternoon with a light but variable SW wind and a strong spring tide.

Tamir Gottfried (Laser) made the best start on an A-course, but was overtaken by James Armitage in Zephyr(crewed by daughter Ruth) and by Lev Kolobov solo in Porpoise (Enterprise) just before the downstream mark.  Originally very close together, the gaps steadily lengthened, James covering Lev all the way, until James managed to lap Tamir on his last of 6 laps.

Next week is a D-course (downstream to Hammersmith and back) starting at 1500.

Nick Floyer (OOD)

Race Report 19th April 2026

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Here are the results of Sunday’s race – OOD: Lenny Pronk, Safety Boat: Lev Kolobov; nice breeze for a B-course (first of the season). Rob Adams and crew were first after 3 laps followed by our Commodore in Distant Thunder and then Olly Adams in Spinosaurus (Mirror), but the handicap system gave first place to Olly in his little Mirror – and well deserved.

Race Report 5th April 2026

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OOD: Mary Short. Safety Boat: Sam Shemtob and Andy Ross

Start : 16:10. Fine, gusty,

Three boats sailing: Distant Thunder ( Leader) with Chris Greenwood and Lev Kolobov; Zephyr (Enterprise) with James Armitage and daughter Ruth; and Ellie (Laser) with Patrick Lane-Spollen. James spent time helping Dave Berger to rig Big Polly but only succeeded in being late for the start: Dave and Sheila had to give up the attempt.

So Distant Thunder led all the way over 8 laps of frisky sailing, and Patrick had a challenging time learning the ways of a Laser.

Race Report 29th March 2026

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Race Report. 29th March 2026

OOD: Rebecca Hayes.     Safety Boat:  David Baker

Weather: dry, cold, wind force 3-4 B SW, gusty.

The third race of the season was an A-Course with two buoys in front of the Steam Packet and by the barge dock. We had a strong seven boat turnout with 3 Enterprises; Big Polly helmed by Dave Berger with Shelia crewing (welcome visitors from Yorkshire); Lev Kolobov was solo in Porpoise;  and father and daughter team James Armitage helming with Ruth crewing in Zephyr; Tamir Gottfried and Ben Chappell in their Lasers; Sam Shemtob with crew in Wayfarer SY2,  and Lennard Pronk who was taking Tango out for the second time and mainly using the race to get used to his Solo.  The WillyWeather forecast promised cloud, no rain, and light winds with the odd blink of sunshine — and while the Thames broadly agreed, it also threw in some unexpected gusts that kept everyone alert.

Launching took a little longer than usual with so many boats, so the race began at 11.30am. Rebecca, Officer of the Day, had Ella assisting on the line, which proved wise as a second pair of eyes was needed as it proved to be a very exciting energetic race. Ben in his Laser Envy shot across first, catching an early puff before the wind faded again, turning the opening lap into a more tactical second part and one of the longest laps. Zephyr led the first lap in thirteen minutes, closely followed by Big Polly and Porpoise, the three Enterprises practically glued together. Tamir kept close behind, SY2 followed steadily and Lennard in Tango crossed the start line twenty‑five minutes later after bailing out some water and settling into only his second outing in the boat.

After the first lap there were a series of punchy gusts speeding up the laps and reshuffling the fleet. One of these sharp gusts capsized Tango in front of the pub and in the line of the other boats so Dave, in the safety boat, towed her clear and after a while Lennard righted her with impressive composure, earning warm applause from the pub as he carried on. Envy also had some dramatic moments, with Ben masterfully righting the Laser each time, much to the delight of the pub terrace who cheered him on.

The Enterprises continued their tight formation, while Tamir darted in and out of them, catching gusts at just the right moment. After an hour of lively, gust‑driven racing, the finish was a thriller: Tamir slipped ahead of Zephyr by just one second to cross the finish line, with Big Polly close behind and then Porpoise, all four boats completing 9 laps.  Ben completed seven laps in Envy, Sam and crew finished with six laps in SY2, and Lennard completed four determined laps in Tango. Well, done to all who braved the cold to complete an adrenaline filled race.

Rebecca Hayes

Next week, 5th April, it’s another A or B course starting at 16:10, following a Working Party in the morning at 10:30.

Race Report 22nd March 2026

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Race Report – 22 March 2026

Race number 2 :  OOD: Mary Brown;  Safety Boat:  Henry Brown.

It was a sunny afternoon with the promise of spring all around, but very little wind.  Six boats launched: Lev Kolobov solo in his Enterprise – Porpoise; Rob Adams, crewed by grandson Hugo in Big Polly (Enterprise);  Sam Shemtob solo in SY2 (Wayfarer);  Tamir Gottfried in his Laser;  Keith Clarke in Kaia (Laser); and Olly Adams, crewed by his son Hugo in Spinosaurus (Mirror).  The wind was variable in direction as it always is at Strand, but predominantly from the north – which means against the spring tide.  Good news. We agreed on a short A-course.   

As the fleet drifted upstream towards the start line (at The Steam Packet) the safety boat decided not to obey instructions from the driver who then had to set the marks using the hand tiller on the motor – which lost some time and meant that the race started with the upstream mark yet to be set.

Rob led the race at the first lap with Lev and Tamir in close attendance.  Tamir led at the second lap and Lev at the third and final lap.  Keith and Olly were always pretty close behind the leaders, but Sam found that his heavy old Wayfarer with its floppy old sails and the lack of a crew left him lagging behind.

Olly and Billy in their little Mirror taught all contenders a lesson in light weather sailing skills, even having time to use the spinnaker and, after the handicap sums were done, finishing first in all categories.

A reward for all, however, was the flapjack/tea back in the soggy arch, courtesy of OOD Mary, with the additional honour and pleasure of Margaret Berger’s company – our own Centenarian.

Next week we have another A or B course starting at11:20.

First Race 2026

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RACE REPORT: 15 MARCH 2026 – FIRST RACE OF THE SEASON

Sunshine and a Met Office forecast of a 14kt SW wind offered the prospect of an excellent, if challenging first race of the season.

Seven boats launched: three Enterprises (James, Rob and Lev); Chris’ Leader; two Lasers (Tamir and Patrick); and a solo Solo (Lennert). Keith manned the Safety Boat single-handed, which was noble of him given the high likelihood of salvage operations.

In the event, all the big boats stayed afloat, if not always quite upright, which was impressive, especially as Rob and Lev were sailing single-handed. 

The start was delayed by a few minutes awaiting late-rigged boats, and then by a few more minutes when somebody led half the fleet over the start line on the 5th minute, despite yellow and blue flags still flying pending the conventional six-minute start & signal. This was of little consequence because the wind (& sunshine) held throughout the morning – we definitely got the better half of the day.  

Lev and Tamir got a very good start, sailing almost in formation all the way round the first lap with Lev just beating Tamir round the upwind buoy and onto the second lap. Fighting gusts (& doing well to avoid capsizing) Lev lost the lead to Tamir, and second place to James on the second lap.

Lennert retired when his boat filled with water.

From the third lap, James and Tamir started to consolidate their lead, albeit changing positions, with James taking and just holding the lead from the fifth (penultimate) lap, to cross the line after the sixth lap in just under 48 minutes.

Meanwhile, a real battle was developing between Lev, Chris and Rob, with Rob taking the lead on the fifth lap, only to relinquish it to Chris – by just 12 seconds – on the sixth and final one. Patrick, making a good fist of Strand’s unusual sailing conditions, completed five laps, finishing only a couple of minutes after the six-lap mid-field big-boats.

Tim Wellburn  – OOD

PS A warm welcome to Patrick (Laser) and Lennert (Solo) who have joined SGSC and now have first-hand experience of our peculiar conditions. Long may they continue.

The next race is another A or B course (depending on conditions) starting at 15:30 next Sunday.

Race Results for 2025

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Just in time for Christmas – here are the results of our Club races for the season.

Congratulations to James for coming first in the three Points Series (Handicap Cup, Class Cup – Big Boats, and Polly Prize), and to Rebecca for coming first in the Class Cup, Little Boats.

Lev was second in the Big Boats and Polly Prize; Keith was second in the Handicap Cup; and Nick and Olly were joint second in the Little Boats. Chris was third in the three Points Series.

HB

Race Report 16th November 2025 – Last Race

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Race Report 16th November 2025

OOD :  Enoch Rodriguez assisted by Andy Ross and Dave Jones

Safety Boat:  David Baker

Weather:  Cloudy, light NE wind, 2-3 Beaufort, 

Course: A

It was the last race of the season with a good turn-out of 8 boats on a fine Autumn morning.  James Armitage had Kieran Biekarck as crew in Zephyr (Enterprise); Lev Kolobov and Rob Adams were both solo in their Enterprises – Porpoise and Big Polly.  Chris Greenwood had Commodore Felicia Biekarck as crew in Distant Thunder (Leader) and Sam Shemtob had Timor Gottfried aboard to speed his Wayfarer, SY2.  Ben Chappell and Keith Clarke had their Lasers – Envy and Kaia, and Rebecca Hayle was all alone in Wagtail.

The wind was good for the Ents: James was consistently ahead doing laps in 5-7 minutes with Lev and Rob ending up about 4 minutes behind after 9 laps, and Chris followed closely about 90 seconds behind.  The two Lasers were lapped by the Ents and completed 7 laps in about the same time.  Sam in the Wayfarer had put a reef in his main (expecting to sail solo), which slowed him down despite Tamir’s assistance.  And the light wind was no friend to Rebecca who persisted heroically to overcome the flood tide in the approach to Kew bridge.  But she nevertheless completed 3 laps.

The race was over in just over an hour and all the boats made their way back to the Arch.  But spare a thought for Enoch and his helpers who had to record the times of eight boats crossing the line up to 9 times each – around 60 individual records.  And the race sheet was immaculate.

Meanwhile, back at the Arch, Mary Short (and others) had bought the barbeque to life to prepare a hot feast of bangers and other meats, plus pickles and sauces, plus buns, plus a wide variety of cakes, flapjacks and sweets, plus beer and other drinks.  The traditional beer and bangers to mark the end of the season, and 80 years of SGSC.   And we were honoured to have Marthe Armitage, a founder member of the club back in 1946, to share in the celebrations.