Report on Sunday morning sailing, 19/3/17
Weather was dry with a bracing westerly wind blowing across the pool into our faces.
The resident wind surfers having seemingly ideal conditions and were flashing past at great speed.
The water was possibly as rough as we have seen for a while making it quite a task even to put the buoys out to make a course for the scheduled Club 500 races so we had a shortened course as agreed .
Tony put his large tug out and it coped but looked in trouble when blown into the shore. No other vessels took to the water.
10.30 am rolled round and it was agreed the 500`s could handle the rollers and with Terry (multi tasking) on timing and once again Ed doing the scoring assisted by Vaughan shouting out the laps over the strong wind we set off on what could possibly be the aquatic version of the “Wacky Races”.
Boats were being flung about on the whitecaps and pushed on to the shore and it was difficult to steer around the course the combination of riding the waves and the heading into the wind some boats were flipped right over. The wind blowing the stricken hulls back to the shore very quickly to be righted and continue the race. Surprisingly most boats finished some being overturned more than once and several with holes or bits missing the time was up, with the final score:-
1st Paul 20 laps, 2nd Phil 17, 3rd Piers 15, 4th me 13, 5th Terry 12, Vaughan, like a good Catholic lad, pulled out at the last minute.
With the weather worsening it was decided to patch up the damaged hulls and bring the second race forward to 11 am.
The second race saw many boats hitting the waves, hitting the buoys, hitting the shore and hitting each other, a race of attrition was on. Piers stood head and shoulders above the rest somehow even with his split hull taped up and the results were :- 1st Piers 16 laps, 2nd Phil 11, 3rd Paul 6, 4th Terry 4 and me 5th 3, 2 of which with a hull full of water.
Time was called, enough was enough. We then tried to paddle out against the wind to retrieve the buoys, after many attempts proving fruitless i waded out and got a couple and one was left out.
Thanks to all those who turned up and greater thanks to those who helped with scoring and putting the recovery boat back and locking up.
Good to see Tony back after his foot opp and good to hear Ed`s` wife is on the mend after her Hip opp.
Of course those who wish to sail in the week or Sunday can do so. However we have decided that as we didn`t get many illuminated boats last week there would be no Evening sail Tuesday and as its Mothering Sunday next week many would not be sailing then either.
More news soon regarding the proposed inter Club 500 races with Aldridge, so get your battered 500`s sorted out.
Pat
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