Last Friday it was announced that the YCW Regatta at the weekend would be postponed due to the forecast. However Ned Winter put this available time to good use and made the long trek to Suffolk to collect two Lark dinghies from Waldringfield sailing club and bring them back to sunny Weymouth as club boats. Purchasing these has been part of a plan to encourage members to try out dinghy sailing and join in dinghy racing.
In addition, we will be hosting the Lark Nationals next year for which these boats will be available.
On Saturday a few geeks crowded round the boats to work out how to rig them and what was needed to get them race ready.
A list has been compiled of work that needs doing and one of the boats needs a bit of remedial work but 2226 just needed a new bung and slight kicker modification and was ready to launch for Monday racing. Unfortunately, no one to race against. Undaunted, Ned and I set out to the course for a shakedown.
2226 did not disappoint. She was good upwind (I think – difficult to know when no-one to compare with), fast downwind and wet on the reach. We forgot to take the spinnaker pole with us so didn’t fly the kite but I think we had had enough by then as it wasn’t that warm. We turned in after two laps happy that the self bailers hadn’t leaked and the buoyancy tanks were dry.
I don’t think the photo does it justice as I’m sure it was windier than it looks. The club anemometer site showed 17-22 knots.
These boats will be available to use for a small charge but members will need to have an induction and we need to be confident of their competence in launching and retrieving the boats so that they are usable throughout the sailing season. Details of how to book the boats will be sent out in due course.
Submitted on 17th July 2023