Race Report 9th August 2026
In yet another heat wave, in wind that varied from nothing to not much more, three valiant helms tried their luck on a C-course. Ben Chappell as OOD joined Lenny Pronk in the safety boat and jointly wrestled with the increasing vagaries of the outboard. Fortunately, thanks to Lenny the blocked cooling system responded to gentle proggling with a safety pin that proved to be the vital part of the emergency equipment.
The first obstacle on the C-course is Kew Bridge. Chris Greenwood in Distant Thunder (Leader), with Mary Short as crew, were afloat and passed under the bridge before the tide got too high, as did Nicole Jeffery, with father, Nick Jeffery, as crew, in Eeyore (Duckling). Sam Shemtob and crew Emma Diggle in SY2 (Wayfarer) had to lower and raise their mast before they could clear the bridge and start.
Sam led at the start before being overtaken by Chris on the passage past Kew Gardens. Chris rounded a virtual mark roughly opposite where the Surrey Bank footpath has been replaced by a concrete structure, as the flood tide ran out of steam. On the way back downstream with the ebb he passed Sam on the way up, who decided he’d had enough for the day and had a fun race with Chris back down to Kew Bridge. By this time Eeyore had also turned tail and headed back downstream to Strand.
Back at the Arch all was made well by a delicious cake provided by Tara Chappell.
Next week is an A/B course at 16:40.
Ben Chappell (OOD) and HB
