Sailing and Social Report 13-Feb-20

Nipigegi – Wednesday 26th Feb. talk

Sailing Club News 13-Feb-20

Storm Ciara not only caused the Club to close last Sunday, (and if any of you are thinking you could have handled that breeze, ask Rob in the galley to show you his videos of the waves!), but the strong winds also damaged the ‘T’ pontoon we had been diligently trying to fix since the last blow. The picture shows a section mounting the Safety Boat pontoon! Having brought the Committee Boat into the shelter of the concrete jetty we were amazed to find that the force of the wind and waves had actually pulled one of the mooring lines apart. Happily the boat was undamaged ‘nosed in’ to its little harbour. Thanks to the help of Dave Hopkins, the ‘Johns’ Balcomb, Shimell and Bone the sections of the pontoon were retrieved from far flung corners of the lake on Wednesday. I fear it may be a week or two before normal business can be resumed at the foot of the Southern slipway.

The wind the previous weekend was strong and horribly gusty but sailable for the hardy. However, it was far from ideal for the 18 University teams contesting for a place in the BUSA finals. The Race Officer had a target of 120 races over the weekend and did well to complete just over 80; this was sufficient for the results to count (happily this means they do not need to use the reserve weekend this week). The “home” teams had mixed success; Bath 1st team qualified straight into the National finals, Bristol 2nd’s qualified into the Playoffs, (watch these over the weekend of 29th Feb/1st March), and Bristol 1st’s failed to qualify. Thanks to Anne Belcher for taking some amazing pictures on a photographically challenging Saturday!

John Kelly and Ruth Kenyon did not disappoint when I suggested they would come up with a mix of nautical and general puzzling questions for the Quiz. Over 50 of us formed teams and guess what, the team with both Vice and Rear Commodore won the evening! Clearly having Mike Higgins helped – he and John sail together and it was like watching a ‘mind meld’ as intuition lead him to the right answers…. There was a ‘Kelly’ round in which we were asked for the names of various famous ‘Kellys’ – and there have been a lot of them. Oddly two of the answers were John Kelly himself – need I say more!

Exciting developments are happening in the Gents changing rooms, and not just the heaters working! To ensure we keep up with the luxurious ladies facilities, Mike Higgins has martialled many troops which has seen the showers newly divided into cubicles, the demise of the ubiquitous stainless steel trough urinal (!), re-varnished seats, a new ceiling and finally an attractive new floor. All in a days (or in this case 3 months) work for a Rear Commodore.

Looking Forward

Wednesday 26-Feb-20 ‘Nipigegi’ Round Britain Wayfarer non-stop sailing record.

Will Hodshon and Rich Mitchell sailed a Wayfarer anti-clockwise around Britain; they smashed the record for the rounding in an open boat, and they were the first to complete the challenge non-stop and unassisted.
Nipigegi was bought by Will’s Grandfather at the Boat Show 60 years previously!
Chew are so fortunate to have Will coming to tell us about the adventure – it will be one of his last talks before they take centre stage at the Dinghy Show.
The timings are 6.30pm when the Galley and Bar will be open, aiming for a start at 7.30.
Will has asked for donations for the RNLI – a £1 entry fee will be charged.
DO NOT MISS WHAT PROMISES TO BE A GREAT WAY TO ROUND OFF THIS YEAR’S WINTER WARMER EVENINGS

RYA Dinghy Show – Alexandra Palace Sat. 29-Feb-20./ Sun. 01-Mar-20

All dinghy sailors need a ‘fix’ of the Dinghy Show at least every two years! (If only to take the opportunity to update some of that worn out kit – you know, the boots with holes and the leaking drysuit…)

Frostbite Series continues (weather permitting!) – Sundays 16 and 23-Feb-20

Class Race Day 7 – Sunday 01-Mar-20

Racing in our usual fleets with prizes awarded at the end of play.
The fun starts at 11.00 and, weather permitting, the plan will be for two races before lunch and two afterwards. With that experienced duo Ian Cadwallader and Bill Chard in charge a great days racing is assured – maybe the one to christen your kit in 2020….

BUSA Playoffs team racing – Sat. 29-Feb-20/ Sun. 01-Mar-20

This will not see as many teams competing and, if the weather Gods cooperate, they may not need to use the planned Sunday.

Finally and worth a big cheer, Chew’s own Alex Knight came 2nd crewing for Dan Holman in an International 14 at their World Championships in Perth – well done Alex!

John Smalley – vice-commodore@chewvalleysailing.org.uk