GYC June/July Newsletter
Contents:
Page 1. The Richard Baker Trophy Race
Page 5. Commodore’s Report
Page 6. Cruiser Sailing and East Coast Cruise
Page 8, Fastnet
2007 and ‘Pouncer’
Page 9. Rowing Section
Page 11. Dinghy Sailing
Page 13. The
Page 14. Motor Cruising Section and Social Events
Page 14. Work Parties
Page 16. The Loss of
the ‘Ouzo’
Page 17. Tour de River
Path and the ATL at Queenborough
Page 18. Dolphins, Barges and other Hard Objects and Barrier Closures
Page 19. ‘Come Fly With Me’.
The
Richard Baker Trophy Race:
On Saturday, 5th May four teams of keen
sailors met to do battle (or should I say ‘do paddle’?). The day was somewhat
cooler than it might have been, but that did not deter
our hearty competitors…
Briefing: 1300hrs.
…at the start line – the four teams
eager to get going and paddle…
The four teams were ‘The Freshwater Pirates’ –
James, Elena, Anne, Tom, Padraig and Jonah…
The ‘Thunder Ducks’ – Nikki, Pete, Jay, Jenny, Terry, and Toby.
‘The Spartans’ – Sue, Geoff, Dave, Carla, Lionel:
…and ‘The Artists’ – Brian, Aileen, Jane, Katrina, Rebecca and Hal:
They all began paddling the Bosuns
with such fury that the Rescue Boats had a job to keep up with them all. The Race
was four(?) laps of various complex maritime
manoeuvres…
…including a deliberate capsize
– which was achieved by one or two people who seemed not to get too wet at all…
‘The Thunder Ducks’ got off to such a flying start
that the ageing photographer failed to get them in his lens…(Is
it possible he was not focused on his job????)
Some of the crews decided to wet each other. One nameless person (who is very high up in the Dinghy Section) even attempted to splash the Safety Boat with the photographer in it! (How very dare he?)
In the event, for reasons that can clearly be seen
in some of the pictures, all crews were disqualified either
for paddling whilst on the sailing lap, or sailing whilst on the paddling lap,
or for using illegal propulsion – eg buckets, hands, paddles or oars…(if they’d
had engines they’d have used ‘em!), or, indeed, for trying to ram either the
Rescue Boats or the Clubhouse itself… for showing off, for having overloaded
boats, for capsizing in the wrong place at the wrong time…or generally for just
being themselves…
But in the good old tradition of GYC, it was
decided by the erstwhile Race Officer (Nick) that the finishing order was as
follows:
!st Place – ‘The Thunder Ducks’
…and so the Richard Baker Trophy was presented in
the Bar after the crews had recovered from the Race!
Well done everyone who took part. After the
presentation and the thanks in the Bar – Nick proposed a toast to Richard. As
was aptly said, we all felt sure he was looking down and having a great laugh
at us all at all of our expense…
For more photos and videoclips of the Race go to the GYC website http://www.greenwichyachtclub.co.uk/. Click on ‘photos’.
Commodore’s
Report:
It was my sad duty in March to attend the funerals
of two past Commodores, Bob Carter and Richard Baker, both of whom gave years
of service to the Club. The Club’s sympathies have been passed on to their
families. Tributes to Richard and Bob appeared in the Spring
edition of Trident.
Club members will also want to join me in
extending condolences to the family of Paul Kenwood – a Club member who died on
28th April.
Meanwhile Club life continues…
The dinghy and cruiser sections have both had
successful and exciting Winter Series.
In the Frostbite Race on 17th March GYC
again won the Brass Monkey Trophy, and now that spring is here and summer on
its way there is activity in the yard, with cruisers being prepared for the
summer.
The Club hosted the Bosun open recently and two of
our boats were successful in one of the races.
GYC will once more host The London Regatta with an
increased number of dinghies taking part. It was an excellent day last year and
should prove as good in September.
The Motor Boat section has organised several
outings and the rowers are practising; both sections will welcome new members.
The Harbour Master has proposed work on the
moorings to bring them back into line; the committee has agreed, and he will be
arranging the work soon. Also a sub-committee has been set up to consider the
modernisation of yard machinery to make the lifting and moving of boats more
efficient and safer.
More model boats were launched than I can remember
at the December solstice. On Friday evenings there have been two well-attended
talks, on sailing to Spitzbergen and cruising in the Thames Estuary; Tony
Norwell and Jenny
Blakendaaf have organised a number of music
sessions in the bar; several social events have been run by Andy Pledger; an
extremely well attended Poetry
evening
organised by Oona Chantrell has been held and DVDs of this year’s
Due to popular demand there will be more
certificated First Aid classes this year.
Improvements have been made to the landside to
ensure that it is maintained in good order and fit for its purpose.
Members will no doubt be aware that at the EGM on
Saturday, 21st April two issues were discussed. One was the continued
efforts into assessing the feasibility of providing a floating pontoon for the
club. This was defeated. The other was the question as to whether the Red Bull
Air Race Event should be allowed to use our premises for the weekend of 28th/29th
July. This was agreed to. http://www.redbullairrace.com/
then click on ‘Race Calendar’ the ‘
Frank Lerner
Cruiser
Sailing:
A large number of the boats kept at Greenwich
Yacht Club are sailing cruisers. They can range from sturdy and picturesque
gaff cutters to slim modern racers and we endeavour to organise a sailing
programme each season, which will encourage everyone to get out on the River
together. There is a wide range of formal races, with challenging short upriver
courses contrasting with longer trips down towards the Estuary.
Occasionally we venture down to the River Medway
for longer weekends away. We operate a
handicap system, which is designed to give every yacht, no matter how humble, a
chance to win a trophy during the season. Interspersed with the races are
informal events and each year the Club organises a weeklong cruise in company
to an agreed destination further afield.
The ethos of the Club is to endeavour to encourage
everyone to enjoy the river, in a supportive, friendly environment, providing
opportunities to learn and to share experience amongst similarly minded people.
2007
GYC Cruiser racing Programme for rest of year:
May 26th Medway Cup and Cruise GYC to
Medway start 1020
May 27th Sea
Reach Trophy Sea Reach start tba
(also
the w/e of the Southend Air Show!) http://www.southendairshow.com/
June 10th Winston Churchill Cup GYC to
Greenhithe start 1100
July 1st Bob Walker Cup GYC to Tower start 1230
July 22nd Westerley
challenge Cup GYC
to
August 18th till August 27th East Coast Cruise. HW on 18th August – 0530hrs(!) and 1740 hrs.
September 23rd Meridian Trophy GYC to Driftwood Barge start 1000
October 21st Ovens Trophy GYC to Ovens Buoy start 0845
We still need to train a few more people up for
duties in the race hut, and need some more volunteers to start/finish races on
the event calendar.
If you feel able to help, then email me, or put your name on the list on the noticeboard.
Finally, good luck to Charlotte and Jane, and Kim
as they set off on their respective adventures. May the sun always shine and
the wind be always aft of the beam!
Lionel Willis – Cruiser Captain
GYC
East Coast Cruise 2007:
OK folks, it’s that time of year again. Time to
flick off those barnacles, put a duster round deck,
and top-up the onboard cocktail cabinet.
The GYC East Coast Cruise will be rearing its ugly
head for the fifth year running. The plan (yes, there is one) is to leave GYC
on Saturday 18th August and return on Monday 27th (Bank Holiday Monday). The target
destination this year is the Walton Backwaters. Those of you familiar with the Waltons will know it’s imperative to have at least one crew
member called Jim-boy, to say goodnight to. There will
be a meeting on Tuesday 22nd May at 2000hrs at the Club for all.
If you are a skipper looking for crew – or crew looking
for a place as crew on a cruise come along!
For more details, watch the notice boards and the yahoo group.
Ray
Sharp.
FASTNET 2007:
The biennial Rolex Fastnet Race
is known as one of the world's classic ocean races and on occasion can be one
of the toughest. The 608nm course starts from
Pouncer:
Club members will know that Jane and Charlotte are setting
off northwards to
‘Pouncer’
– just after taking the water at HW on 5th May.
You can follow their progress and leave a
message on their website:
http://travel.yahoo.com/trip-view-973501-pouncer_sails
GREENWICH
If you are a new member, welcome to GYC.
When you all walk across the footway to the
Clubhouse, on the starboard side you will probably have noticed two open boats
moored up, one called “The Great Harry” and the other “Araby”.
These are our two club rowing boats. We use them for regular rowing practice
through most of the year. Having practised all year we then enter the annual
Bridge and back, to Erith
Yacht Club or sometimes up Bow Creek and back. The rowing practice times are on
the Club notice board in the bar.
If you would like to join us please put
your name down and come and have a great time. There is a £3 fee per practice,
which goes towards the upkeep of the boats.
So, you never know, you could end up taking
part in the Great River Race, which this year is to be held on the 8th
September - start 1255.
We have three boats entering, the Araby,
the
The Great River Race is a bit like the
London Marathon on water, with over 300 boats of all different sizes and
builds, all covering the 22 miles from
Rowing, past , present - and future ?
Nearly all members have rowed a boat at some time
or other and I’ve admired the great River Race for years, when the River comes
alive as on no other day. One of those tea-room conversations, the
encouragement of John Catchpole, then Commodore, the generosity of member Iain
Campbell and the deeply infectious enthusiasm of Damon Rowley saw the launch of
longer-distance
rowing in the Club. We
first tried out a great big canoe found in the loft, a plywood job which
leaked, listed and writhed. After burning it on grounds of
public safety , we borrowed Iain’s 1896 fishing-boat the Sonas,
entered it in the River Race 2003 with very little practice, got pole position
at the start and finished 196th with an enormous sense of
triumph at finishing the course.
The next year, we were loaned a ship’s lifeboat
which the Club adopted and named The Great Harry. Sonas
was entered as well and the two boats met in the Millwall
Reach. (Well, I remember it).
By now, things had caught on ,
and the 2004 Club entry boasted not only the Great Harry but also the Araby, bought from Steve Chantrell
and painted in her present Pilchard colours by Andy Pledger and coxed by Jo
Wooding. Stan Mitchell had acquired a bigger lifeboat and named it The Great
South-Eastern and crewed it with six rowers wielding wooden beams
. The Sonas made up the fleet of four , supported by Larnaca,
Splash, Amourette and
Great Harry and Araby
competed again in 2005 and in 2006. During the summers, we had a number of
cruising trips, up Deptford Creek to Lewisham, to
This year it’s good news/bad news. Docklands
Sailing centre has taken The Great Harry – they owned her and we have had good
use of her. Dick Wynne, a new owner has joined and has generously allowed his Montagu Whaler, the
According to the tube tabloid Metro, it was the
head of the River race that day for the fine-lined racing rowing boats, up at
Putney. The paper said, and why
should we doubt it,
that 22 of their boats sank in the
There is room for ten in the
After September, Stan Mitchell has kindly offered
the use of The Great South Eastern, so we shall again have a boat as safe as a
bus, and loads of room.
Rowing has provided sailing members with a fun way
of keeping fit on those days when the high tide is at mid-day; and some new
members have been able to enjoy a way of getting to know the River at close
quarters.
Rowing sessions are scheduled in advance to fit in
with the tides and the next will be held on – see schedule. Which boats are
used will depend upon availability and the numbers of rowers
. Do have a go –let Andy know. (Or me) Visitors can come up to three
times in a year but should then apply for Club membership if they decide to
keep on. All rowers are asked to contribute three pounds for each rowing
session to help with maintenance costs.
The Great River Race will be held on Saturday 8th
September. Places will be scarce this year. Any member wishing to take part is
asked to put in their bid by the end of June, together with their personal
entry fee of about thirty pounds (tbc).
Peter Waugh
Rowing
Practice Times:
Saturday, 26th May 0820hrs
Sunday, 10th June 0750hrs
Saturday, 30th June 1240hrs
Saturday, 14th July 1240hrs
Saturday 28th July 1130hrs
Saturday, 11th August 1140hrs
Tuesday, 21st August 1840hrs
Sunday, 26th August 1110hrs
Tuesday, 4th September 1810hrs
If you have any questions you can talk to
me, Andy Pledger,
or Damon Rowley, any Tuesday night
at the Club.
Dinghy sailing at GYC:
The club has a flourishing dinghy section. We race
at least once a month during the summer. There are many other events such as
cruises, “have a go sessions” and inter-club races.
What is a sailing dinghy? These are open
boats with lots of sails. Well, two, or so. They are exciting to sail but a bit
tippy! The club owns eight Bosun
sailing dinghies, which are available to club members to hire for a small
charge.
Some might think it dangerous sailing on the tidal
Special clothing that might be needed are a wet suit in winter, waterproofs and a buoyancy aid all the year round.
Any GYC member in theory can go dinghy sailing but
we need to check that you have the skills to do so safely and there is a
booking system to use the club boats.
If you have no experience but would like try
dinghy sailing you may like to know that during the year we have arranged three
“have a go” sails. This is where an experienced club sailor takes you out in
one of the boats and gives you a taste of dinghy sailing.
If have some experience and would like to go
dinghy sailing, there are often crew spaces available on the club races - just
ask or just turn up on the day and we will try and get you a place.
If you are an experienced sailor, you become a
Club helm by having the Club make sure you are up to it; we do this by
assessing your level of experience.
The basics of sailing can be learned at sailing
centres across
http://www.greenwichyachtclub.co.uk.
If you would like to know more I or any one of the
dinghy section will give you more details. We are usually in the bar on club
night (Tuesdays) or before or after the dinghy races.
Summer Dinghy Racing Sailing Programme for rest of 2007:
June 2nd Windas Cup start 1500
June 3rd Travellers Erith start tba
June 17th Travellers Gravesend start tba
June 22nd Dinghy Cruise start 1100
July 8th Open Sailing start 1600
July 15th Travellers Greenwich start 1200
July 28th Commodores Jubilee Cup start1200
August 7th Tuesday Race start 1900
August 12th Mayor’s Trophy start 1200
September 1st Isle of Sheppey Race start tba
September 2nd Isle of Sheppey Race start tba
September 8th Meridian Trophy start 1100
September 9th London Regatta start 1200
September 30th Courage Trophy start 1500
October 28th RNSA
Trophy start
1300
The Bosun relay race was a big success - 25 participants, and it will be run again next year.
Next
Events:
Windas Cup: a race to
Erith on Saturday June 2nd .
Travellers Trophy: 2007
This three race series has run for many years,
with GYC winning the overall trophy for the last two years. What we need is GYC
dinghy racers to sign up to compete, ideally for all three races. The dates are
listed below, the entry fee of £5 per boat is all you need (
no dinghy fee as you are representing the club.) I will be putting up a
sign up sheet at the club tomorrow. Please do so even if you only think you
might be interested.
Erith
Sunday June 3rd
Planning
meeting 22nd
May
We will have a short meeting Tuesday (May22nd) at
Please try and make it, and if you can't email or
text me if you wish to take part.
Next week, I will also put up a sign up sheet for
the Windas cup, this is a
very pleasant long race to Erith on the day before their Traveller race. The
participants need not be the same as those for the travellers.
Finally we had a great dinghy cruise last Friday
with four boats and wind, rain, bleeding great ships and a return to the club
just before dark. We all had a great time!
Brian 07981965610
Work parties:
Tuesday May 15th
Tuesday May 22nd 7 to 8:30 pm
light sand then varnish then straight to bar.
please sign up on sheet
on the board or email or text me to say when you are coming .
Dinghy fees:
Since asking for your opinions on the new dinghy
fees in my last but one email I got very little response. However, since then,
I have had got lots, mostly against. We have also generated more income than
expected from the non race
events so I decided we
can afford to charge £15 per boat ( or £
Brian Harrisson GYC Dinghy Captain
London
It looks as if the London Regatta will be held on
Sunday 9th September this year.
We are of course entirely dependent on the PLA and
their Barrier closure schedules, and this date is the only “full day” closure
planned.
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/regions/thames/ This is
unfortunately also the day after the
Great River Race and GYC will be involved in both events as will several of the
other water sports centres. Things are still at the early planning stage, but we
have the experience from last year to build on, and we have a lot more time to
plan things too this year. I am confident all GYC members will want to pull
together to make the day as big a success as it was last year.
Ray Sharp
GYC Motor Cruising Section:
Calling all motor boaters! Why should the sailboats have all the fun?
The GYC Motor Cruising Section has only been running for two years but
has grown rapidly.
We have river trips in both directions, both up to the quiet, non-tidal
parts, and down to the Estuary. We go to Southend to watch the Air Show, we also have an
annual trip to
for the Great River Race every September, and we share many cruises with
the sailboats. Most summers we plan a longer journey further afield.
0ther trips and days out are arranged during the year. New motor
boaters are welcome to join us in a safe and friendly atmosphere where you will
make many new friends.
This is the motor boats’ fourth year.
The weekend of 5th and 6th May we had a trip to Burnham and Queenborough. Three boats took part - the total distance covered was over 140 miles.
See me at the club most Tuesday evenings.
We are going to Queenborough on Saturday 26th May then over to Southend on the Sunday or Monday to watch the Air Show. http://www.southendairshow.com/
Stan
Mitchell Motor Cruiser Captain
Seawise Powerboat School
We offer all
levels of powerboat tuition from beginners to advanced -including safety boat
training. Own boat tuition; International Certificates of
Competence; CEVNI testing; VHF/DSC Marine Radio Courses.
Give Andrew Maybury a call on 07944 092072 or
email seawise@rya-online.net
Social Events:
Sat
2nd of Jun: ELVIS is
coming to the Yacht Club. Elvis is Trevor Dodson
an Elvis tribute artist. Andy has had the pleasure of listening to him at a
venue. He is a fantastic performer, not any run of the mill. Do not miss this
one. Tickets will be £8.
Fri
15th Jun: Live Music Evening. Bring yourself and
maybe an instrument and join us! We will not Have Justin Timperpond, The
Sizzler Sisters or Barbra Steismud. Tickets will not be £500 each – it is
a free
event!
Fri
6th Jul: Quiz Night
Sun
8th Jul: Open sailing. A chance
for those wanting to ‘have-a-go’ at sailing in a Cruiser or Dinghy to do so.
Sun
15th Jul: 1600-1900hrs Travellers’ trophy Jazz Band
Sat
21st of July: SUMMER
BALL, This will be a very special occasion with a piece Band consisting of
Piano, Bass, Drums, Vocals and Saxophone/Trumpet. Black Tie
and Cocktail Dresses. Sea food supper.
Ticket Prices to be confirmed.
August
– Beach BBQ date/time to be arranged.
Fri
7th of Sep: Imagine
the Beatles are returning. This just had to be - due to popular demand. A
total sell out last year at the Club. Ask
any member who came
to the event, it was total enjoyment.
Ticket Prices to be arranged.
Sat
8th
Fri
12th Oct Race Night
Sat
27th Oct 8pm Halloween Fancy Dress Party
Sat
10th of Nov: Annual
Dinner Dance and prize giving. An
enjoyable evening with a quick prize giving and a great party.
Sun 9th Dec Christmas Concert Band.
Sat 22nd Dec Winter Solstice – Build a Boat.
Mon
31st of Dec: New Years
Disco. A very good DJ will be entertaining you this year.
Andy Pledger
Work Parties- Up-coming dates:
26th
May, 30th June, 28th July, 25th August. (All Saturdays)
Work Parties start
at 0900hrs and finish at 1230hrs - when breakfast is served in the Clubhouse
galley.
All members are
expected to do at least two work party days per year. This is one of the ways
we keep costs at our Club down.
The Loss of the ‘Ouzo’:
GYC members may be aware of the tragic loss of three lives and of the yacht ‘Ouzo’ last year after an incident south of the Isle of Wight during which the yacht came into very close proximity with a large ferry. The Marine Accident
Investigation Board (MAIB) has produced a report which may
be read in full at
http://www.maib.gov.uk or through the RYA website. There
are some crucial recommendations which I reproduce/summarise below in
an edited form with the permission of the MAIB:
1. Yachts cannot be seen easily from the
bridges of ships, and yachtsmen need to be proactive in attracting the
attention of the ships’ watchkeepers. The crew of Ouzo kept a powerful torch at hand for
just such an emergency but, in this case, were probably unaware of the real
danger until it was too late. Yachtsmen should not hesitate to
attract the attention of ships’ watchkeepers by whatever means are available. Shining
a powerful torch either onto the sail(s) or directly towards the bridge of an
approaching vessel are perhaps two ways of doing this.
2. The lookout on the ferry had
not seen the yacht until it was very close ahead. This gives rise to a number
of possible factors including, from the yachtsmen’s point of view:
i.
The lenses
of navigation light units similar to the one fitted to Ouzo are prone to crazing which substantially reduces their
efficiency.
ii. The lamps (bulbs) fitted to the navigation lights used on Ouzo can easily be inadvertently replaced with lamps of a lower rating.
iii.
It is quite
common for replacement lamps for yacht navigation lights to have damaged
filaments, which cause an intermittent fault.
iv.
If the yacht heels more
than 5º the horizontal intensity of her navigation lights may be decreased.
Yacht owners should make every effort to ensure
that their navigation lights are fully effective, and their characteristics
understood.
3. Ouzo’s small radar cross section,
coupled with the moderate sea conditions, made it unlikely that the radars on Pride of Bilbao could separate Ouzo from
the sea clutter even if Ouzo had been displaying her octahedral radar reflector. A study of
the capabilities of typical radar reflectors that may be
fitted to yachts will be published on the MAIB
website on or after
website).
It is now available on the site – together with rather sobering reports on the
survival of the victims.
4. One of the crewmembers of
the ‘Ouzo’ survived in the water very much longer than the others probably due
to the fact that he had fitted his lifejacket tightly. The simple addition of a
crotch strap would have significantly increased the survival times of the
yachtsmen. Crotch straps should not be optional
extras on lifejackets; they should be supplied, fitted and worn.
5. After the incident, it
appeared that the yacht’s crew did not raise the alarm. The factors
contributing to this may include:
i. There was probably too
little time before the yacht’s crew found themselves in the sea. A hand-held VHF set in a waterproof cover could have provided a
means of sending a distress alert.
ii. The boat did not carry an EPIRB (Emergency
Position Indicating Radio Beacon) and/or a liferaft
rigged with a hydrostatic release unit. An EPIRB and/or a liferaft would have dramatically
increased the crew’s chances of survival.
Tour
De River Path…
Join GYC ‘No Hills Push Bike Group’ on various
weekends throughout the year. See the Famous River Thames on the saddle. See
the famous birds and the
famous rodents. See the
trees and rippling bodies! Conditions: You must bring a bike.
See Mick Sadler 07950 577899 or Trish Montemuro.
WEST SWALE
QUEENBOROUGH
HARBOUR
ALL TIDE LANDING (ATL): At the time of writing the AT Landing at Queenborough is still out of use. After several phone calls and emails I have learned only that there is still a considerable amount of work to do to repair
the damage to it. Members may be aware that it is still possible to get ashore at Queenborough using your dinghy and landing either at the meandering slipway or by going up the creek at HW (bearing in mind it dries out quickly).
If using the slipway, you will need again to take account of the tide state and be prepared to carry your dinghy a good way up the slipway if staying ashore for any length of time when the tide is rising.
Stop Press: I have just received this information:
Hi Tony
The All Tide Landing at Queenborough is currently closed awaiting repairs. During the recent storm, the hammerhead moved. We are uncertain if a
mooring chain has parted, or an anchor moved. Medway Ports have inspected the anchor attachment points and I'm waiting for an estimate from Medway Ports for the repair and replacement of the Pier head anchor pattern.
Also during the storm, possibly as a consequence
of the hammerhead moving, the bridge joining the walkway to the hammerhead was
damaged, and the
walkway
had the back broken. Due to these hazards to the users, we closed the ATL, to
await repairs. A Notice to Mariners was issued, and a further one will be
issued when the ATL is reopened. We are considering an insurance claim, and are
awaiting the assessors’ comments.
The bridge to the shore has some signs of wear.
This bridge has been repaired and is ready for replacement, but this will wait
until the other areas have been completed.
The walkway will need some major repairs, which
are underway.
So, whilst repairs are in hand, I’m unable to say
for how long the ATL will be closed. I am hopeful that it will be available for
the Swale Regatta, the first weekend in June.
The Queenborough YC Trot Boat is ready to be
launched, but we are unable to run a trot boat service until the ATL is
reopened. I'm not sure what the situation is with regard to the Swale BC trot
boat service, definitely they will
not be providing a
service until the ATL is reopened. Queenborough hard is accessible at all
states of the tide, but you do have to bring your tender.
Regards,
Peter Fisher
Engineering Advisor to the Queenborough ATL Committee.
Dolphins, barges and other hard objects…
There has been some interesting debate recently about the club practice of using the above as marks on both dinghy and cruiser races. Some feel perhaps
‘softer’ marks (Club plastic buoys) should be used instead of solid objects with sharp bits on them. This may work for ‘round the can’ races but would, perhaps, be difficult to implement for longer races – eg the Mayor’s Trophy.
Perhaps every element of sailing – just as working
in your kitchen does – involves an element of risk. There are so many variable
factors involved in avoiding difficult situations, that from time to time
things may go wrong.
If one of the most famous luxury cruise liners in
the world can get it wrong swinging into Southampton Water from the Solent
because of the underestimated effects of both wind and tide and have to ask for
help from tugs and if the master of the warship that became embroiled in Tower
Bridge a few years back also underestimated the effect of wind and tide, to
mention
just two of many
incidents, then it seems to me that any of us ordinary mortals can also make
‘mistooks’ (as I call them with the kids I work with) just to make the point…
As with other happenings in life it seems that
most serious incidents (the tragic loss of the ‘Ouzo’ is a stark reminder of
this) happen when a combination of sometimes
avoidable factors and sometimes unavoidable ones – all come together to
compound a situation that otherwise might be trivial into something that is
much more serious. Therefore, attempts to eliminate as many of the avoidable
ones as possible beforehand should be the aim of practical and effective sailing
‘risk-assessment’. Even when all this is done, it does not guarantee
incident-free sailing, does it? Perhaps if we could guarantee
‘incident-free’ sailing, it might, just maybe, take some of the fun out it…What
do you think?
Barrier
Closures:
September 9th 0550-1550 (Full Tidal
Closure and the day of the planned London Regatta)
Come Fly With
Me
Well,
we didn’t have to wait for the Red Bull Air Race to see beautifully engineered
and skilfully piloted machines flying along the
GYC
was hosting a corporate event for iShares, an asset management arm of Barclays,
who are the major sponsor of a series of races to be held around
The
Extreme 40 class catamaran is a new mid-size sports catamaran designed to set a
new standard for exciting inshore sailing. They are, of course, forty feet
long, and the super-light carbon fibre construction is the highest quality
currently available. The capabilities of the boat are quite wide considering
its size and speed. Extreme 40s are not intended to cross Oceans but they are
easily strong enough to take on the toughest conditions with coastal and
inshore races.
I
was the very lucky GYC member to be invited on board. It was absolutely
thrilling. She barely seemed to touch the water and reached speeds in excess of
twenty knots. The iShares catamaran has a crew of four and will be taking a
guest in each race who will then participate in one of the most exciting forms
of sailing ever. The skipper was on the trampoline beside me. Aft was the Helm
with the tiller in one hand and the hydraulic pump in the other.
Most
of the speed control seems to be done by this hydraulic system which tensions
the main sail by pulling the boom down. To de-power, the Helm twists a little knob which makes a continual high-pitched squealing whose note is a direct indication of the speed of release. It was fascinating to watch (and hear!)
him continually tuning the sail like this, discussing
tactics, while his neighbouring crewman on the main sheet pulled and eased a few centimetres at a time.
Forward
of them was another fit young man on the jib sheet. And, boy, could they
make her go! Flying the windward hull, we could really feel the burst of acceleration as the Helm steered to take advantage of every patch of wind they
spotted on the water. As we tacked smoothly round into the tide this amazing
craft refused to give a single knot away. I don’t think we could have done much
over about 22knts but these Extreme 40s are estimated to reach speeds of 35knts
on flat water in around 20-25knts of wind. They will also fly
a-hull in as little as 8knts giving the best visual impact in all round wind
conditions. There is no instrumentation on these boats at all. They are all exactly the same. The idea is to make
sailing skill the only differentiator.
Having
been sailed up the
Nick Day
Tony Norwell May 2007