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Sunday 8^th June saw the first of the Summer Dinghy Race Series, where 7 boats ventured forth in ideal conditions to tone up their racing skills!

A delayed start to the first race due to launching difficulties soon found an early leader of the pack with Steve sailing a lark rounding the upwind mark in first place, this position Steve maintained throughout the 3 laps, initially hotly pursued by Rob and Wilf in a Laser 2, and laterally Sophie, sailing  a Laser 1, reduced her deficit from 42 seconds after lap 1 to just 2 seconds after the 3^rd lap.

Unfortunately Will, Enterprise, never heard the 5 or 4 minute hooter at the start of the first race so was heading in the wrong direction and took 4 minutes to get back to the start line. I wonder if that had anything  to do with his crew?

Race 2 was a much closer start and far more competitive throughout the race with the Lark and Laser exchanging 1^st and 2^nd places as the laps progressed with Steve eventually crossing the finish line first after overtaking Sophie in lap 3.

Ralph, sailing a Laser 1, had an excellent debut in the two races and only some alleged skulduggery by Chris and Helen prevented him from a achieving two good results. Unfortunately  VAR and shoreline technology has yet to reach Weir Quay, so who was at fault for the collision has yet to be determined.

Overall a good day was had by all and the supporters on the shore were made aware of any impending gusts by the vocals of Belle and  Ariana as they controlled their Laser 2 in the windy conditions.

Results after handicap and corrected time:

Race 1 – 1^st Sophie D,  2^nd Steve K, 3^rd Ralph H,  4^th Rob and Wilf L.

Race 2 – 1^st Sophie D, 2^nd Steve K, 3^rd Rob & Wilf L, 4^th Will & Isobel H.

Thanks go to Alan Duncan for being Race Officer for the day.

Rob Kirby | Commodore

The Commodore’s Report on Yesterday’s Upriver Dinghy Trip

If I was to say that, in spite of the forecast and anticipated winds on Sunday, the boats that set off upriver towards Cotehele were at times becalmed, you would find it hard to believe!

Arriving at Weir Quay at 14:00, the winds could only be described as gentle – until we came to launch, then the gusts started to pick up to at least 33mph.

6 boats were launched, all reefed in anticipation of the pending whirlwinds and started the journey against some then very fresh breeze.

One boat retired early whilst the remainder tacked multiple times across the river after South Hooe to make it to Pentillie, only to be treated by a flat calm river; almost bereft of wind.   

Course tracker showing how many tacks were needed to reach Halton Quay

Then we encountered a heavy shower and Rob Larman in his “Pirate Ship” as he passed amongst the flotilla.

Having finally reached Halton Quay and realising that the Ice Cream Parlour was due to close in 5 minutes, the decision was made to return to base – which proved to be a slightly quicker journey than the one going up!

Despite winds stronger than desired, good fun was had by all and only one boat capsized – admittedly it did do so about 6 times, despite the change of crew!  

Senior Helm Alan Duncan will now be pleased to offer his services as the lead demonstrator for any future capsize and recovery drills.

Thanks go to Rosie Duncan for organising and taking control of the support boat and also to Steve Larratt for ferrying crew and radios between boats via his RIB.

 Rob Kirby | Commodore

The club has purchased a replacement set of 25 buoyancy aids this year for use during Friday evening dinghy training and other dinghy events.

The smart new buoyancy aids meet current safety standards with crotch straps fitted to prevent them floating too high when the wearer is in the water and are type Typhoon Amrok.

Here are some of our dinghy sailors wearing the new buoyancy aids last Friday.

They were part funded by the club and by a generous donation of £375 made to us by the South West Company of Mariners.

Last weekend 10 of our cruisers, with 24 club members aboard, sailed to the River Yealm for the first get-together of the season.

Here are some of the boats that took part:

The event was organised by Alison Coombs, our Cruising Officer and had been intended to include separate groups being allocated to eat dinner aboard one of the four “host yachts”. However, seeing Julian Smith’s wonderful catamaran Lilly’s obvious potential, this was nominated as our “party boat” and the food was brought here for everyone to share together!

There was a great selection of dishes and it was lovely to share them in the open air on Lilly’s huge deck space.

Next day we took a walk through the nearby bluebell woods ashore.

The view from the pontoon:

Finally, after lunch on Sunday, it was time to head back home as all agreed what an enjoyable weekend we had spent together. Many thanks to Alison for making this all happen!

The club held a very enjoyable Barn Dance at the Parish Hall in Bere Alston on Saturday 8th March with music played by the fabulous Dartmoor Pixie Band.

Once again, there was a wide range of ages amongst the audience and all joined in the dances with fun and energy.

In addition to the Oggy-Oggy pasties, members brought tasty side dishes and desserts, creating a veritable feast for us to enjoy.

As an additional piece of entertainment, Mark from the band and club member, John Eason gave us an amusing performance with their Jig Dolls:

“Sailor Jan” and “Wonson” the Wonder Dog” – 140 years old and Mark inherited them from his father, who founded the Dartmoor Pixie Band.

John Eason’s dolls – “Pete the Pirate” and “Fortescue Fox”.

There was lots of help to clear up at the end and we went home having had a great evening together.

The club has been sent information about the brand new West Country Pilot that is being issued this month by Imray and written by Gordon Macintosh.

Described as: Complete with newly updated charts, local information and expertly curated insights, this volume is more than just a reference; it’s your dependable companion. Whether you’re a seasoned sailor or setting course for the first time in the region, West Country Pilot will lead you to hidden harbours, moorings, and anchorages while ensuring your journey is safe, informed and rewarding.

See here for a Preview of what’s inside the West Country Pilot.

Note that it has information about passages between the mainland and the Isles of Scilly but for pilotage information within Scilly, Imray has another publication:

On Monday 17th February, we had a very interesting talk about the role and operation of the NCI station at Rame Head. The speakers were Andy Curtis and Ralph Whitworth, who both volunteer at Rame Head.

We held a collection on the evening and from this we donated the impressive sum of £130 to the NCI.

This is the certificate they gave to the club to commemorate our donation:

On Sunday 16th February, volunteers from the sailing club and the gig club came together in the morning to work on various tasks to tidy up the Hub Club site.

They cut back the hedge along the side of the boat park.

Two brave souls attacked the impressive brambles along the back of the site.

A trench was dug to take the water pipe leading to the new tap at the outboard store.

After the hard work had been completed, the workers were rewarded with bacon sandwiches and hot drinks as they admired their handiwork.

Definitely a job well done and the weather stayed fine throughout!

On Monday 13th January, we held our 1st Winter Talk at Bere Alston Bowling Club.

The speaker was Bere Ferrers local, Clive Charlton and the subject was Around the Top of the World – The Search for the Northwest Passage.

We heard about the many dramatic attempts to find a route for boats to navigate across the top of Canada to transit between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and thus avoid the long passage via Cape Horn.

We had a large audience and were even treated to a couple of appropriate sea songs from the Tavy Tars midway through the talk.

Our next talk will be on Monday 17th February.