It was an overcast day with a distinct autumnal chill in the 5-6 knot WNW breeze: perfect for the planned B-course.

Six boats came up river from South Bank: 3 Enterprises; a Laser; a Xenon, and a Merlin, together with an attendant safety boat. They beached on the slimy foreshore downstream of the railway bridge and made use of our sumptuous facilities, including tea and coffee.

They were matched by nine Strand boats: James Armitage and Lev Kolobov in Enterprises, Rob Adams, Joseph Armitage and Keith Clarke in Lasers; Sam Shemtob’s Wayfarer; Ian Nethersell’s Vibe; Tim Young’s Wanderer and Nick Floyer’s Gull.

The downwind start, against the flood tide, presented the choice of seeking the relatively slack water on either side of the river. 14 boats chose the Middlesex side and only one SBSC Enterprise (Allan Munro-Faure) chose the Surrey side. He was correct and rounded the downstream mark (at Chiswick Staithe) well ahead of the others. After the beat back upstream and rounding the upstream mark (opposite 7 Strand on the Green) he was 30 seconds ahead of Joe Armitage’s Laser with his Dad two seconds behind.

The first lap took around 19 minutes for the leaders. The second lap was faster with practically all the fleet following the Surrey bank and at the end of it Joe led James by 20 seconds with Allan 6 seconds behind. The wind dropped significantly during the second lap, spreading the fleet and catching Nick Floyer on the wrong side of the downstream mark.

It was clear that we’d had the best of the afternoon wind and Mary Brown (OOD) decided to end the race at the third lap as the leaders approached the hour. The finishing order was James, 54 seconds ahead of Joe, 11 seconds ahead of Allan Munro-Faure. Lev was close behind as was the sleek Merlin of SBSC’s A Molyneux.

The Challenge Cup is a team trophy and goes to the Club with the lowest total score when the positions of the first six boats in each club are added up. The result was a convincing win for SGSC .

Afterwards – what a feast. Steve Newells home-brew helped to wash down a wide variety of goodies from barbequed sausages (many thanks to Leona Shepherd), through buns and cakes to a triffle. Many thanks to all concerned, especially our SBSC visitors, for an epic afternoon.

Our much-delayed sailing adventure to the Norfolk Broads has been confirmed for 16^th to 19^th September. The weekend trip is based at Upton Yacht Station situated in the centre of the network of rivers and lakes that make up the Broads National Park.

We have reserved four traditional sailing boats from Eastwood Whelpton.

Bootlegger                 

High Seas

Severn Seas

Windsong

The fleet is well equipped and unlike our last outing has engines!

There are berths for 19 people, and if they are all taken then the approximate cost is £140 per person.

If you are interested in coming along or have already paid your deposit and want to confirm your place then please contact David Jones  by mobile or by email on  davidjones306@hotmail.co.uk

Request David Jones mobile number by emailing to info@strandsailing.org.uk

Dear Sailors,
The Jubilee is creeping up fast!
We have been invited to take part in the Jubilee sailing regatta on the Thames which runs from Thursday 2nd to Saturday 4th with a return back Strand on the Green on Sunday 5th.
Three other clubs are taking part. Corinthians, who are based on Hammersmith Mall, Southbank, who are opposite Fulham Football Ground, and Ranelagh, who are a little further downriver at Putney.
There is a mixture of races with passages from one club to the next, down-stream races, and high-tide courses around buoys.
Because of the tide times, SGSC is not able to host a race that is convenient for our neighbors. The other clubs are offering parties and food and the opportunity to leave our boats overnight so we can return home and go back the following day. Corinthians and Ranelagh are also offering dinghies for hire for the events held on their stretch of the river.
This is the program:

If you are interested in taking part in any of the regattas then please let Chris Greenwood know. David Jones and Andy Ross have volunteered to look after the safety boat. We have three boats taking part so far. If you want to hire a boat for one of the events or crew with someone else then this could be a good option too.

Entry for SBSC
The SBSC On-Line Entry Form for the round the cans race on Saturday 4th June is on SBSC website and ready for your club members to sign up. There’s a tick box for the BBQ post-race on the form too. Go to Menu on the front page and it’s there under Jubilee Regatta – www.southbanksailingclub.co.uk
If we could have an indication of numbers by next Friday 27th that would be helpful. Inevitably there will be a few who won’t decide until the day before but we can deal with that on the 4th.
Looking forward to seeing everyone. All we need now is some nice wind and sunshine!

Chris Greenwood, SGSC

The Black Swan Event

The afternoon did not get off with a promising start and if anything it just got worse!

There was little breeze and a persistent drizzle from the outset.  The planned “B” course was never a realistic possibility so thoughts moved towards a short “A” with a Zoffany start provided we had enough sailors/boats (at least 3) along with a safety boat crew and OOD.  We had a full complement of officials but it was well inside the last 40 minutes or so before we had three boats declaring intentions to launch and in the end we got four.  Perhaps the televised Women’s FA Cup Final at Wembley was keeping everyone away. By the time the last trolley was back up the ramp the OOD had too little time to close up the arch and hasten along to the start which was three minutes late as a result.  Many thanks at this point to Heather Adams for providing a folding chair which was later moved to under the shelter of a tree.

Two Buoys had been laid for a short “A” with the upstream one by the Bell and Crown.  Progress was agonisingly slow and after 30 minutes no-one had reached the first mark and one boat had been rescued from the jaws of Kew Bridge at least once.  That race was then cancelled, the downstream buoy moved nearer the bank and the upstream buoy only just downstream of the start/finish line.

The second attempt at holding a race was more successful but only just.  The most exciting event of the afternoon was the appearance of a black swan (pictured) which seemed to swim around totally at ease with a dozen of the white variety and a few of the inevitable Canada geese.  “Porpoise” (Enterprise) eventually broke free and completed a lap in 24 minutes followed by the other two survivors about ten minutes later.  The other Laser had long since requested a tow back to base so all finishers got on the podium!

OOD – Steve Newell;  Safety Boat – Tom Broadhurst, David Jones.

Steve

Good morning sailors

In case you haven’t been alerted, the first race of the season is on this coming Sunday, 6th March, and the calendar for the whole season is now on the website.

A printable version of the calendar is also on the website.

Happy sailing

Henry

How well did you do? Here are the points and winners over 28 races – more than most years despite Covid.

A crisp, sunny autumnal afternoon with a decent breeze saw a fleet of eight dinghies launched for the final race of the season – including “Ait Knots” as a spectator under electric motor for an inaugural outing for Tim’s grandson. The Safety Boat was manned by David Jones and Tim Williamson who efficiently laid buoys for course A in time for a prompt start at 14.35, with the Bell and Crown chimneys aligned and the signal flags (ably broken out and dropped by Mary S) being complemented by OOD Nick J’s whistle. This piercing noise went unnoticed by two boats, “Pakman” and “Distant Thunder”, that started 3-4 minutes late. (NB: ISAF: “Times shall be taken from the visual signals; the absence of a sound signal shall be disregarded”). Leona, aboard the Tonic “Lightning” decided not to start due to gear failure so it became a four-boat race for the first 20 minutes as Jane aboard “Pakman” and Chris & Felicia aboard “Distant Thunder” duelled it out for last place at the first buoy in front of The City Barge, with three capsizes, all out of sight – and earshot – of the OOD. The Thames Barrier was closed so tide was negligible making for quick progress mid stream. The first lap saw just three minutes separating the four leaders: James’ “Zephyr” (9:50), Lev’s “Porpoise” (11:23), Ben’s “Envy” (12:05) and Ian’s “Backwash” (12:59). The two enterprises held the lead with “Zephyr” completing six laps in 56mins:27secs and “Porpoise” five laps (59:20), Ian’s Vibe four laps (1hour:3mins:55secs) and Ben’s Laser five laps (1:5:54). Chris’ Leader managed five laps (1:8:15) while Jane’s Gull took the final sound signal  at 1 hour 12 mins and 26 seconds (including the 3-4 mins start) for three laps, six-year-old Kieran blowing the club’s horn loudly, to mark the end of the season’s racing. SGSC members and guests then enjoyed some excellent home brew beer, chicken soup, sausages, cheesy quiche tarts, Ukrainian pirogy, cup cakes and banana bread, Mary S expertly manning the BBQ and Commodore Ian thanking all for attending and sailing through the season.

Nick Jeffery

Be warned. The rules for parking at Strand on the Green have changed. Formerly there were no restrictions at the weekend in SotG and the surrounding roads. As of last weekend there is, in effect, no weekend parking for non-residents between Kew Bridge and the Railway Bridge, and the adjoining roads.

But you can still park on SotG and adjoining roads south-east of the Railway Bridge (Magnoliia, Loraine, Riverview etc.) at the weekend.

Dear Sailors,

This Sunday the club had planned an outing to Gins Farm on the Beaulieu River. An alternative (A) course starting at 18:10 has also been pencilled in. I’m aware that many people are away or may have other engagements planned for the bank holiday weekend, so please can you confirm using the email below that you definitely will be turning up.

Chris Greenwood

Duty Chaser

chrisjgreenwood@yahoo.com