After a hasty change of date to the Saturday for a much better weather forecast, the Dinghy sailors gathered at the Hub Club yesterday to put the club dinghies and their gear to bed for Winter.
This involved drying out and then folding the sails, before taking them to the Mezzanine Floor for Winter storage. A series of long washing lines were set up for this purpose.
Masts and booms were removed and the masts laid down against the bank. Then boats were turned over to keep them secure during wet and windy days to come.
The sailors brought their own packed lunches and this was supplemented by a box of doughnuts and a marbled chocolate and vanilla cake – made by our Dinghy Officer, Rosie. All this helped to keep the workers happy!
Sailing Club members may be interested in the range of boat storage, workshops, studios and other storage facilities available for hire at South Hooe on the Bere Peninsular – next to the River Tamar.
These include: Single storey Storage / Work Spaces
Indoor Storage / Workshop Spaces with power and light
Large Open-fronted Barn for individual Boat and Vehicle covered storage with power supply & local water
External Parking Area for Boats on their Trailers – with local water hose and power point
Storage Rack for Tenders by the Tamar River
The tender rack is next to a ramp leading down to the River Tamar and has adjacent car parking spaces. Helpful for members seeking tender access to upstream moorings.
There is also a water hose to wash down your tender before returning it to the storage rack.
For more information and prices, please contact Ros Renwick
Email: renwick.ros@gmail.com
Phone: 07808 078834
Address: South Hooe Farmhouse, Bere Alston, Yelverton, Devon, PL20 7BW
Last Friday, the dinghy sailors held their Jelly & Ice-creams Party at Bere Ferrers Church Hall to mark the end of their Friday evening dinghy training season.
The first item of the evening was Steve Kirby’s traditional quiz with its usual mix of age-old jokes 🙂
Then it was time to tuck-in to the wonderful selection of food on offer including pasties, salads, quiche and many other home-made delights followed by jelly and ice-cream (of course) plus a wide range of desserts, also brought by the participants.
First courseAnd pudding!
Steve then gave us a recap of the year’s Dinghy Events and this was followed by the prize giving.
And the Winners were:
(1) Guessing how long Steve’s speech would be: Emma Kirby
(2) Guessing the weight of the Pumpkin: shared winners Bennedict Hayden-Davies with Iris Scorer
(3) Overall winner of the Regatta: Don Ladell with prize collected by Wilfred Larman and Sampson Smart in lieu.
(4) Winner of the Dinghy Races Series: Sophie Dandy
(5) Best Friday Night Attendance: Ralph Haydn-Davies
(6) Most improved Junior: George Rowsell
(7) Best Junior contribution to Friday night dinghy sessions: Ralph Haydn-Davies
(8) Most improved adult – Phil Towers (not present to collect his award)
(9) Best Adult contribution to Friday night dinghy sessions: John Giblin
(10) Recognised for her major contribution to Dinghy Events: Sue Coomber
There was a huge round of applause for Steve Kirby for his continual contribution as our Chief Instructor.
And the parents jointly contributed to prizes for the following Friday Night Helpers:
Yesterday – 25th September – the club’s moorings maintenance barge “Pickle” was grounded on the slipway at Weir Quay to undergo her annual maintenance refit.
We were so lucky with the weather as a team of volunteers set to work on her as the receding tide left her high and dry.
Club member Richard Kelsey was on hand with a pressure washer, powered by a generator in his vehicle, to make hull cleaning so much easier!
Tasks included:
Removing old anti-fouling
Applying new anti-fouling
Having the outboard motor serviced
Greasing any mechanical moving parts
Giving her a bit of a clean up!
At about 6:30pm, the flooding tide had lifted her clear of the slipway and the team was able to drive Pickle back to her mooring in the river.
Working together created rather a happy social event and Pickle is now ready for the mooring inspection tasks this coming winter and spring.
Our dinghy sail and camp at Cotehele, also known this year as “Never believe the weather forecast”
Weeks of baking hot weather and the promise of more of the same – plus wind – sounded almost too good to be true for the dinghy sailors 2-night camp upriver at Cotehele. And that did indeed prove to be the case, with rain turning up for two out of three days as well as a spell of thunder and lightening thrown in for good measure! But that didn’t get in the way of a very good time had by all.
Strong winds on the Sunday made for a challenging sail upriver with some unintentional swims, causing some temporary damage to one Vision, but the lure of the ice creams at Calstock kept the remaining five well-loaded dinghies tacking resolutely upriver to finally enjoy refreshments ashore before a faster trip back on the tide to our camp just downriver from Cotehele Quay.
Next day, despite much lighter winds and with the aid of paddles, support boat, and an extra outboard, the fleet made it up to Morwelham Quay to enjoy a pasty lunch plus refreshments from the Ship Inn before returning to camp for the traditional playing in the mud – the highlight of the weekend.
The evening rounded off with a splendid camp fire, songs, and ‘s’mores’. We woke to steady rain on the final morning (despite the weather forecast sun symbols onscreen) and no wind, but the dory did a sterling job of towing everyone back to Weir Quay to disperse home for much needed showers and an epic amount of drying out wet and muddy kit.
This was our biggest camp ever, and the first one done without the ‘mothership’ of our camper van which made it rather more challenging. Although I’m the lead organiser for camp, I wanted to say a great many thank yous to everyone for pitching in, in true Weir Quay teamwork fashion, and making it such a fantastic event.
To Steve, particularly for the enormous amount of work in preparing all the boats and sailing equipment. (and thanks to the behind the scenes Tuesday Fettling team too).
Rosie, our dinghy officer, for organising everyone on and off the water with unfailing good humour, fun & games. And to Sophie, our previous dinghy officer (who deserves a special mention, with her crew of Belle and Ariana, for getting up to Morwellham and back under their own steam (or rather, paddles). I hope your arms have recovered.
Chris, for support boating throughout, helping me with so much of the prep and clearing up, and putting up with my complaints about the admin curveballs that cropped up this year! Ben W, thanks for your help on support on Sunday.
Alex, thank you for getting all the insurance sorted in time and all the finance work.
To the ‘porters’ who drove the mountain of kit round to camp, back again, whisked away the rubbish and returned everything to its home: camp would not be able to happen without you: Benedict, Mary, Julia, Ben Watt, Alex. Judy. I hope there’s not too much mud and grass left in your vehicles….. A special thank you to Rob for cheerfully dealing with the unsavoury task of shifting the BBQ (hope the smell eventually clears from your car….) and thanks to Rob and Judy for using your van as the new ‘mothership’ and sheltering so many of the group on the soggy last day. I’m glad we didn’t have to push it off the site this time after last year’s mud fest! Thanks to Mary, for shopping for emergency supplies including the delicious cakes that perked everyone up at the finish.
Alan, for supplying the pasties from Tavistock, and for making an emergency search for camping stove gas when my order didn’t arrive. We raise our mugs of tea to you! To everyone who chipped in with the massive amount of work in feeding 30 hungry mouths especially the BBQ ‘team’ – Alex, Martin, Tom, Isobel, Phil – who cooked the mountain of food with great efficiency. Martin, I will never wrap my BBQ bananas in foil again! And to all the preppers and servers: Judy, Julia, Michelle, Isobel – it was so wonderful to return from our upriver expedition, cold and wet with the extra jeopardy of thunder and lightning, to find ready-prepared hot drinks and snacks waiting for us.
To all the younger campers for pitching in with camp life and looking after each other. Older juniors Ralph, Tom H, Belle,, Ariana, and Harry, particular thanks for being so helpful and responsible.
Camp this year was almost accident free (whew!) apart from a muddy eye quickly dealt with by Michelle. While all us organisers hold RYA First Aid certificates, I just wanted to say that it is a massive weight off my shoulders to have so many professional medics in our midst like Mary, Michelle, and Phil, who have indeed been called on at past events!
First rule of sailing – ignore the weather forecast!
Despite the backdrop of the initial forecast of thunderstorms predicted, 8 boats competed in the annual Tamar Bridge Race in aid of the RNLI and set sail in ideal conditions for an entertaining race full of drama and mishaps, with only 8 seconds separating the first to third boat after handicap!
The first rookie error spotted was that an Enterprise helmed by Neil Wylie crewed by Liz Palmer was adjudged to be over the start line at the sound of the hooter by the committee boat who duly and unknowingly awarded them a 20 second penalty.
Tacking downstream against the incoming tide, the helms adopted various tactics to keep the wind, dodge the moorings at Cargreen and maximise the width of the river to maximum effect.
The unlucky trio of Ralph Hayden-Davies, Isobelle Lindsell and Wilfred Larman, sailing a Laser 2 were putting in a great performance until a breakage to a boom fitting, requiring the support vessel to remedy, caused their early retirement.
Steve Kirby in a Lark Dinghy crewed by Rob Larman led the way down to the Tamar Bridges, hotly pursued by Steve Larratt sailing a Laser and Sophie Dandy and Chris Fillan in a Quest dinghy.
The two Enterprise dinghies were having their own battle and, in this instance, Neil Wylie was unusually getting the better of Will Higgs and his crew – but there was a contributing reason!
The decision to leave the turning point of the centre column of the Royal Albert Bridge to either port or starboard was at the discretion of the helms and both Enterprise dinghies having elected to gybe around the pillar came a cropper!
Firstly, a sudden gust caused Neil Wylie to luff up and become entangled with the infrastructure and then Will Higgs managed to capsize, much to the bemusement of his crew Scarlet and Axel. In Will’s own words “I cocked that gybe up”! Having righted the boat, they set a course for home but the boat did look a little low in the water…
The trip back was less eventful other than battling with spinnaker etc. Charles Stanniland in his first outing of the season in a Laser 16, definitely could have done with a pole but he maximised his long arms to great effect whilst John Giblin steered.
The wind became more patchy at this point so it allowed the boats at the back of the fleet to catch up with the front boats and the two retiring boats, one through assistance and the all-girl trio of Lucia, Jess and Matilda in a Laser 2 to turn around shy of the downwind mark to make sure that they returned in good time.
Having come ashore, it was then discovered that the Enterprise sailed by Will had a big split in the side causing the buoyancy tanks to fill with water.
Many thanks to Rosie and Doug Hinge for leaving the comfort of their home to record the times and Chris Coomber for Safety Boat duties. £55.00 was raised for the RNLI.
Results after corrected time:
1st Steve Kirby / Rob Larman Lark – 5801
2nd Steve Larratt Laser – 5806
3rd Neil Wylie/ Liz Palmer Enterprise – 5809
4th Charles Staniland / John Giblin Laser 16 – 5860
There was a touch of midsummer madness at Weir Quay when sailing club members gathered for the Annual Regatta!
Before the two big events – the Trans-Tamar model boat race and the dinghy race – Commodore, Rob Kirby put on his Taskmaster hat to set a series of fiendish challenges for the members.
His helpers, Alan Duncan and John Giblin divided the regatta-goers into two groups, Port and Starboard with pink and green wristbands, and put them through their paces.
The games kicked off with a three-legged race round an obstacle course. Steve Kirby had to be be brought to order when he tried to run round the course carrying his much smaller partner in his pocket.
The relay race that followed had a bizarre touch. Alan Duncan demonstrated how the participants had to hold a plastic bottle between their legs as they ran – this is not a sight that is easy to forget.
Weir Quay sailors are used to getting wet. That stood them in good stead for challenge number three: passing a bucket of water over your head to try to fill the bucket held by the person behind you. Repeat down the line until everyone is thoroughly soaked.
The bucketeers had a chance to dry off during the next challenge as they ran madly round the field looking for the hidden gear of two Picos. Once the Picos were rigged, the teams had to balance on their boats. This they did until their tormentors – John and Alan – asked: “Have you remembered your R-clips?” Of course they hadn’t and there was another mad rush around the field before the boats were boarded again.
The final challenge was for the mudlarks: a relay race that involved wading out through the Tamar ooze to a tender and fetching balls to pop in a bucket.
The overall victory went to the Port side. Better luck next year, Starboard!
Once the competitors had washed off their mud, it was time for the Trans-Tamar Model Boat Race.
There was a huge number of entries this year. Models ranged from carefully crafted craft with big keels or keelboards to tiny boats – and even a flying chicken/duck/avocet.
Hard work was not always a guarantee of success. A beautifully built black catamaran got off to a flying start before capsizing seconds later and needed a helping had to get it going again.
Steve Kirby’s boat did a Teignmouth Electron, sailing halfway across the Tamar before turning back to Devon, pretending it had completed the journey. It must have felt ashamed because it then turned round and tried to complete the course properly.
The eventual winner was the Tamar Flyer built by Patrick and Saoirse.
Then it was the turn of the proper dinghies.
The race was won by Don, Wilfred and Sampson, with Charlotte and Aoife second and George and Hugh third.
After these hectic events, it was time for a barbecue with music provided by Charles, Ralph, Ben, Mark, Ali and two Johns.
Our thanks to everyone who came and especially those who worked so hard behind the scenes to make it all run smoothly!
If you would like to see more, take a look at this video of the Regatta.
Sunday 6th July saw the 2nd dinghy race of the Summer Series take place.
5 boats partook of the blustery force 4 / 5 northerly winds, providing entertainment throughout both races with races inside races as well!
Will Higgs with his two daughters as crew, sailing an Enterprise made an excellent start to Race 1, followed by Sophie sailing a Topper who maintained her lead over Charles and John in a Bosun dinghy for the first half of the first race before being eventually overhauled.
The two other boats, Christine and John sailing a Quest with Rob, Wilf and Belle in a Feva, were having their own tussle between themselves as well as contending with the fluctuating winds and mud!
The Enterprise crossed the line first followed by the Bosun but once boat handicap was taken into consideration, Sophie helming the Topper was the comfortable winner.
The start of the second race was far more of a spectacle where all 5 boats were in close proximity to each other right up to the first mark, whereupon the Enterprise managed to pull away from the Bosun and the chasing fleet.
Tacking into the wind proved difficult at times with any lost momentum resulting in the boats being blown backwards, losing ground against their opponents.
Strangely it was not until the penultimate leg of the final lap that we saw the first capsized boat, the Feva, followed by 2 more capsizes again by the same trio in the Feva.
Not to be outdone, the Quest, tipped over at the gybe mark, stayed over and due to a flooded compartment took the safety boat crew a considerable time to right the boat and be in a position for her to be towed back to shore.
After Handicap was taken into consideration, Will’s team came first, Charles and John second (albeit they should be disqualified for obstructing a competitor after finishing) with Sophie third and Rob Wilf and Belle forth.
Whilst Will won the day’s events, the overall winner of the summer race Series was Sophie, having achieved two victories in the previous races but first prize for best screaming – that award goes to Belle. Ear plugs for her crew will be supplied at the next event!
Congratulations to all sailors for taking part and competing in challenging conditions.
Many thanks go to Steve Kirby and Steve Larratt for manning the safety boat and setting the course.
The Autumn Race Series will start in September and we look forward to seeing as many boats on the water as possible! More details to follow, nearer the time.
Weir Quay Sailing Club 
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