Sailing Report

– Helen Martin, Vice Commodore

Once again the club was full of cheerful, enthusiastic university teams competing in the BUSA Western Region Team Trials for places in the national team racing finals. Although the winds were light on Saturday, there was enough to get in the 75 required races with no breakages.

On Sunday too it all seemed to go very smoothly and the coloured sails, red, green blue and white, to identify the different teams  made quite a picture. Lots of people work hard to make these events go smoothly, well done and thank you to: Alex McCulloch and his team from Bath for coordinating the event; RO Keith Harris; Nick Martindale for liaising on behalf of the club;  the duty teams on both days for helping to make such a busy weekend go so smoothly and  the bosun team for launching the committee boat especially for this event.

Although club racing was restricted to the northern end of the lake on Sunday, the light N/NE breeze and lots of mark roundings led to some very close and enjoyable racing.

The bar is open after racing on Sundays, if winter sailing isn’t your thing, come to the lovely Chew Valley for a walk and then join the jolly atmosphere at the club.

I have probably already said that the Frostbite Series provides some of the best racing of the year. The sailing is good on Wednesdays too ( safety cover 10 – 2) if you are able to get away from other commitments.

Slipways

If you use the large northern slipway you may have noticed that it has been “recaulked” (I trust that is the correct phrase), thanks to the beady eyes of Brian Brookes and Allen Marsh. There is more to be done later in the year when the water level drops further. They also have plans to improve the “walk ashore” on the southern pontoon – if you are the last person using the pontoon please make sure the walk ashore is brought fully onto the shore and that the winch rope is locked away.

Coming Up

Topper training – 11th & 12th February.
High Performance Club 2.4m training – 11th & 12th February.
RS 200 training, Solo Fleet training – 18th February.

Dates For Your Diary

Wednesday 1st March – Changes to the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) . 7 for 7.30 pm.
Wednesday March 22nd – the story of Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club, past present and future. 7 for 7.30 pm.

AND don’t forget to put the dates for the 50th anniversary celebrations in your diary.