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Welcome
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| Racing - near Kew railway bridge. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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To
see race results and read a brief
race report, click the down
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| Every summer we have a weekend away, based on the Beaulieu River at Gins Farm. We usually sail across the Solent to the Isle of Wight. See 2009 report in News. |
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| Sailing We race on the Thames near Kew Bridge every Sunday from March to November. The race time depends on the tide. Consult the Calendar for race times. Courses are close to our railway arch HQ, plus Hammersmith, Isleworth and long distance races. |
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Home | Calendar | Scoring | Sailing Instructions | History |Email
Broads weekend -join us! The club is organising a weekend on the Norfolk Broads for 28-31st May. We've hired 4 classic Broads day boats (no engines) from Hunter's yard near Ludham. There are still a few places available and anyone is welcome. You can camp aboard or in a tent, or arrange B&B. It should be a great weekend Email the Commodore nigel.birch@btinternet.com and let him know if you'reinterested. Nigel will tell you more.
Annual Dinner Dance - 2010 This year's dance was on Saturday 6th March. It was a great success. Music was provided by the Craigievar Scottish Dance Band and the dancing was spirited and energetic if not always entirely coordinated ... The Royal Mid-Surrey
Golf Club did us proud as ever with excellent organisation and provender.
The roast beef was superb. Remembering Bob Folkerd Bob Folkerd, for many years a regular Strand sailor, died in February. His daughter (who once won the Ladies' Plate herself, and who with her partner also sailed across to the Isle of Wight from Gins with us in an inflatable dinghy) asked if we could contribute to a scrap book of memories about Bob, which she is compiling. Henry has sent the following. Bob Folkerd and Strand on the Green Sailing Club I have just browsed
the Club's archives to find out when Bob joined. I think it was in 1968,
for he certainly sailed in that season in a Firefly called St Crispin.
It's possible he sailed some other craft before that date. It seems that
he changed from a Firefly to a Miracle in 1979 but stayed faithful to
St Crispin by continuing with his name. St Crispin, I learned from Bob,
was appropriately the patron saint of cobblers. He sailed the Miraculous
St Crispin for 20 years and finally changed to an Enterprise called Cream
Rose in 1999. His last season with the Club was 2000, after suffering
the fickle winds and wilful tides of Strand for 32 years, and moving on
to calmer waters.He
was in many ways the epitome of the Strand sailor. He was there not to
win, which he was sometimes surprised and delighted to do, but to simply
enjoy a Sunday on the river in congenial company. He was a crafty sailor
who didn't push his luck in strong winds: his concession to such things
was to wear a hard-hat and take it easy. I don't ever remember him capsizing,
unlike the rest of us, in the 20-odd years I sailed alongside him. He was always easy-going, cheerful and generous with time, help and advice. He served on the Committee for many years and did his turn as Commodore in a characteristically relaxed and informal manner. We have missed him
since he left us in 2000 but all those of us who knew him were very saddened
to hear of his death. He will certainly live in our memories in the best
possible way.
Better late than never for this report ... Many thanks for producing it to Chris Greenwood and Nick Floyer Gins weekend - 2009 A good fleet of dinghies and yachts, enthusiastic sailors and guests enjoyed a bracing weekend based around Gins over the August Bank Holiday. We were pleased to see some newcomers and also the veterans who have kept the traditions alive. The start of the weekend
was dominated by quite a strong westerly wind, significant enough to keep
the yacht hired from the Hamble and skippered by Rachel on its mooring
on Friday evening. Saturday dawned calm, and to those accustomed to London,
idyllically quiet. After lengthy and detailed discussions, a trip to the
Island was agreed and the four smaller craft set off for Newtown. Increasing
wind meant that Chris and Mary turned back at the mouth of the Beaulieu.
Nick and Sally Floyer in Alarc'h, and their daughter Biddy and friend
Brek in their Tideway dinghy got to the island but came straight back,
leaving David and Sheila in their new Albacore, who alone made it to the
final destination. The supper on Saturday
evening was very well supported with around 30 guests, including Edmund
Rutherfoord and Tony Smith who had made the trip from Chiswick just for
the evening. Kurt's choice for the menu, the quality of food, the hunger
of the guests and the attentive service from the staff made for an excellent
dinner. The weather on Sunday was again fairly windy, so a sail up to Buckler's Hard and a picnic was the chosen option. One of the highlights of the picnic was some appropriately themed red and green stuffed peppers. Unusually a pontoon mooring was available making it easy to visit the village where three ships were built that saw action in the Battle of Trafalgar (Euryalus, Swiftsure and Agamemnon). The Master Builder provided a glass or three of beer. Monday provided the best weather for sailing at Gins for many years, warm and sunny with a steady SW breeze. However, the Tideway and the Enterprise had both returned home, and Scorcher did not sail, so only half the fleet was left. The other difficulty was that because the tide was low in the middle of the afternoon, there was nowhere easy to stop for lunch, and it would be late before we could take boats out of the water afterwards. Nick and Sally took Alarc'h out early, and with Dave and Sheila joined the Bergerboat for three hours out into the Solent. After returning to Gins, Rachel and crew left for the Hamble, the smaller boats were packed up, and everyone left in good time. So it was a good conclusion to a somewhat frustrating weekend, though a pity that we could not exploit it more fully. We must try again next year! CG and NF
.
When
you're on the river ... 1. A reminder of the rules Anyone sailing in our races must comply with three related sets of rules. The first is the current Racing Rules of Sailing, which are based on the international COLREGS, and which are modified by the PLA Byelaws for the Thames. A critical modification of the normal rules for the Thames (modification 15 (a)) is that "a vessel shall not cross or enter a fairway as to obstruct another vessel proceeding along the fairway". This means that if we are tacking across the fairway (defined as the central channel used for navigation up and down the river), or crossing it between buoys, we must keep out of the way of any power boats or rowing boats that are travelling up or down the river. This rule takes precedence over the normal rule of power giving way to sail. The rules for the Thames do not recognise racing dinghies as a special case. We must also be aware that many power boats are much less manoeuvrable than a dinghy. In particular we have been told by the PLA that their new catamaran launches are particularly bad in a cross wind and are very restricted in their ability to stop or go astern - give them plenty of room. In general we have
a duty under the COLREGS and common sense to avoid a collision at all
costs, and this means keeping out of everyone's way - even competing dinghies.
2. Watch your speed when driving the safety boat There is a speed limit of 8 knots on the river above Wandsworth. Rowing club launches are now required to seek approval from the PLA to exceed this limit when escorting rowing boats. If they are likely to carry more than two crew, their wash is to be tested by the PLA. We are OK if we only speed in response to emergencies, but shepherding the fleet on a B or C course is another matter. We do not need to be tested - yet - but if there are any complaints about our wash, that may be required. So, watch your speed,
especially near rowing boats, and don't carry more than two in the safety
boat if you are going to go faster than 8 knots. 3. Sound signals Rob Adams noticed
this information on the web. Useful to know what the correct sound signals
are, by which powered boats may announce their intentions ... occasionally
...
Email addresses please! Anyone who is interested
in reading the racing results each week should please give me their email
address. I can't always put the results on the site at once - but I can
easily email you to tell you when they are there - which would save you
looking for them in vain. So please email me - just click on this link
now - and I'll add you to the group to notify - mary@brownsox.co.uk
Second hand boats etc for sale
News archive:
Gins
Weekend 2007 In
the midst of a damp grey summer, Gins this year was sparkling seas, blue
skies, HOT. Strand
visit to LCSC, 14
/ 15 July 2007 The two days could not have been a greater contrast in sailing conditions. Only James was towed down on the Saturday (thanks, Andy) to face two other Ents and two Lasers. It was a steady F4 westerly, with stronger gusts and lumpy conditions with wind against tide. The race resolved itself into a struggle between Rees and Hugh Kemlo (Lasers, both LCSC) in the lead and James and Beverley + ? at a discrete distance in the Ents. After a two-hour struggle Rees was ahead of Hugh, the lasers taking first and second places, and James was seconds ahead of Beverley in third place. Everyone capsized at some point but it was an excellent race. The Browns, the Birches (in the Gull) and John Bull (in the Otter) were towed down on the Sunday, which was humid, still and threatening rain. They joined a similar number of LCSC boats. What wind there was was ENE to E, and very light. Several boats paddled or were towed to get the right side of the start line and the start was a collective drift with tide and a little help from above. The two upstream buoys were rounded without too much difficulty before the slow and painful business of beating up the bank began. Two Lasers and three Ents were making good progress until they had to leave the back-eddies along the bank and head into the current to round the LCSC pontoons. James made it, as did a couple of Lasers, but they then struggled to make the downstream mark. The Browns and Beverley struggled for an hour and a half without avail; Hugh got round the lower mark and gave up on the way back from the upstream marks; Rees never made it past the lower mark. And James (with Edward Broadhurst) lapped everyone, creeping without apparent effort along the bank, to complete three laps. To add to the delights we had a thunderstorm with lightning strikes uncomfortably close and a biblical deluge of rain. So SGSC acquitted itself well: James got the silverware both for Sunday and for the combined event, leaving Rees (LCSC) with the cup for Saturday. Many thanks as usual to LCSC for their hospitality, and many thanks to Tony for his long wet day in the safety boat. LCSC visit 13 May 2007 We had been promised a contingent from the Southbank Sailing Club in Putney, as well as London Corinthian Sailing Club, but the weather forecast was so dire - wet and windless - that only three hardy boats came up from LCSC and none from Putney. We had organised a C Course and trailed a line upstream of Kew Bridge for boats to hold on to before the start. In the event it was in a wind shadow and most boats made use of the Surrey-side moorings. The race was uneventful. A gentle and fitful easterly meant that we had a running sort of reach up to Isleworth and a beat back along the Middlesex bank. James got a lead on the way up which he extended on the way back. David Jones and the Browns were next around the top mark, almost together, and the rest of the fleet followed at not much greater pace than the tide. The return journey, initially against the tide, was a good exercise in bank-creeping, tree-dodging, and roll-tacking. Robin and Beverley from LCSC caught and overtook the Browns at Brentford Dock and clung on to their lead to finish second. The Browns were third followed by John Bull and David Jones, who lost position to the second LCSC Ent on the handicap calculation. The third LCSC Ent capsized and retired, perhaps trying too hard to roll-tack. It rained gently much of the time but not enough to dampen the spirits. Colin, Tony and Edmund did very effective service in helping boats through Kew Bridge and Jenny withstood the elements to supervise the race. The après-race was as good as ever: a very welcome tasty keg from Steve Newell, and food contributed by several members and masterminded by Marian. Strand retained the Challenge Trophy (a team prize). Gins weekend 2006 What a weekend it was! Well up to standard. There were three Strand Ents. (James Armitage, Dave and Sheila Berger, and Hugh and Miranda Kemlo); the Floyers in their beautiful new boat (a smaller version of Ratty the revenue cutter, built in France and called Swan in Breton); two Ents. from London Corinthians (Jeremy + friend and Beverley and Kirsten); and a Wanderer (Ben and Alan, we think). The fleet was shepherded by Michael Kemlo and crew in his yacht Scorcher and the Browns / Birches / Bergers (Snr.) in a 33ft Najad sloop called Tern IV, chartered for the weekend from the Hamble. Saturday morning was passed in the traditional way: discussing where to go and when to set off. It was noon by the time everyone was launched and on the way to Newtown River (which is, of course, where we always go). The little blue sails were soon dispersed across the Solent: a beat down the mainland side in the slacker flood tide and a dashing reach across to the island. We on Tern IV saw them in the distance and followed into the mouth of the river where we rafted up with Scorcher and James for lunch. The other dinghies beached up towards Shalfleet to picnic or to visit the pub. The sail back was exhilarating in a F3 - 4 westerly breeze and sunshine, and the dinghies left the big boats well behind. It gave everyone a healthy appetite for the evening meal in the RSYC: a large table-full of about 30 Strand and LCSC voyagers and friends. The forecast next day was NW F3-4, increasing F5-7 later with rain then showers. Not the most inviting prospect. The consensus was to sail down the river, poke our noses into the Solent, and return up to Beaulieu or Bucklers Hard. Perhaps predictably, once the dinghies were out in the Solent, and it was bright, sunny and perfectly manageable, the fleet decided to head across to Cowes. From there we all went up the Medina to the Folly Inn for lunch. With the tide still at the stand we set off back down river, aware that the wind had indeed picked up. At the mouth we were confronted by a good F5, gusting more, with white horses all over the place, stirred into the notorious Solent chop by motor boats, and augmented by a power boat race that was taking place just to the west. All the dinghies bar one promptly dropped their mainsails and bounced their way back, white-knuckled, in clouds of spray. Exhilerating, to say the least.The forecast rain didn't materialise but the crews were just as wet as if it had. In the mouth of the Beaulieu mainsails were raised again for a slog against wind and tide, but in calm waters, back up to Gins. Dave and Sheila, in an impressive display of boat handling, came back the whole way with the main up. Beverley and Kirsten had had enough when they reached the Beaulieu and accepted a tow from Tern IV back to Gins. That evening everyone found their way to the Kemlos' house in Lymington for a splendid and convivial meal in the garden. More strong winds were forecast on Monday morning, so the remains of the fleet made its way upstream to Buckler's Hard. Tern IV picked up a spare mooring and was promptly joined by the Floyers, the Kemlos and the junior Bergers: fifteen people crammed cheerfully into the cockpit to consume the collective picnic leftovers. Tern IV then had an urgent appointment in the Hamble, so we dropped Kurt and Margaret back at Gins and enjoyed a sizzling sail back, with two reefs, touching 7 knots on a beat. So ended another unforgettable Gins weekend. Many thanks, as usual, to Kurt for the organising, and to both the RSYC and the Lymington Kemlos for their hospitality. And how nice to have some Corinthians along. Let's hope it's the start of another tradition. (By the way, Gins reports from 2005 and 2004 and lower down on this page, in the archive.) Ladies' Plate & Summer Party 2006 Three fairly apprehensive helms contested the Ladies'
Plate this year and were rewarded with a light wind which was fortunately
not a total drifter. So progress round the course could be made, give
or take some running aground. In the evening it was the summer party, held in Kurt and Margaret Berger's lovely garden. As usual Marian did a wonderful job of organising a great meal (wow that pudding!), and the evening was enjoyed by all. Gins
Farm is the Royal Southampton Yacht Club's outpost on the Beaulieu River.
It's a Strand club tradition to have a weekend trip there, and to sail
the dinghies aand usually some bigger boats across the Solent to the Isle
of Wight. Nick Floyer The Gins weekend is
when we take our dinghies down to the Solent, launching from the Royal
Southampton Yacht Club's clubhouse at Gins on the Beaulieu River.
News from the north (from Dave and Sheila Berger who no longer sail regularly at Strand - only because it's just a bit too far to commute from East Yorkshire every Sunday) As I write this the day time temperature has not crept above freezing out of the sun for a full three days. I have been idly looking at the excellent SGSC website to remind myself what we're awaiting before the new season gets underway. The news from Yorkshire is that - horror of horrors - the Bergers have bought a different boat! I would have said new, but it's actually almost 30 years old - a nice wooden Albacore: "By Jingo". Dave decided that as we were the lone Ent at Hornsea SC we might as well get a boat that at least one other sailor was sailing so we could have some boat-for-boat comparisons on the water. This Albacore has had little use in the past 8 years or so - it's previous owner having spent much time coaching and taxi-ing his son in a Topper to some very useful effect (like the National squad). To date we have not yet launched the boat - so don't even know if it floats! - however to ease the transition Dave has been tinkering with fittings so that at least the usual Kicker, outhaul and cunningham will fall easily to hand. Albacores have a few more bits of string - like a fly-away jib stick (one pull and it's set) which should cause fewer inadvertent dunkings on those windy runs when previously someone had to go forward to set/retrieve the stick. Also they have adjustable shrouds - so the trick is to let the rig right forward on the run. This sounds good till you think about what may be involved in a gybe - do you gybe with no rig tension? old windward shroud on/leeward shroud off (or vice versa) and what about those frenetic roundings back onto the beat when you completely forget to put the tension on again and find yourself sliding back down the fleet even though you have checked for weed round the rudder and have remembered to put the centreboard down! The Albacore has no spinnaker, but at 15 foot, though relatively heavy (240 pounds or so in sailing trim) it is an excellent sea boat (can't wait for Gin's Farm 2008!) and quirkily recently became the fastest mono-hull!! - in Canada ( see: http://www.albacore.org.uk) it was in loads of wind and for a very short burst of speed - there was a weblink - seems to have disappeared). Another former SGSC member - David Sibthorp did sail an Albacore with his wife Jenny - I think in the distant past they even joined us at Gin's as they were based in Portsmouth - I have guilty memory of pulling his Albacore into the car park at Royal Southampton and shorting out the main 3 phase power lines - bowing a hole in his mast and causing the lights (and galley, showers etc) to be out of action for a couple of hours! Dave and Sheila look forward to joining some of the Strand sailing this year - we're holding on to the Ent just in case we don't get on with the "old man's boat" that the Albacore has a reputation for being! Dave & Sheila
Berger
Site launched 16/10/02 website contact: mary@brownsox.co.uk
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