Weymouth
Sailing
Club

Eagle-eyed sailors may have spotted a new adornment on the roof of our committee boat. Thanks to Jim and Peter Williams we now have a solar panel installed on Viking which should solve the re-current (geddit!) problem with flat batteries.

Join us in the now Famous Annual Tender Race across the Harbour on Friday 6th September. It kick starts the Weymouth Keelboat Regatta. Registration opens at 5pm. Compete for the coveted titles - "The Fancy Dress Trophy" and "Weymouth Harbour Cup".

The Kenion trophy being sailed tomorrow (27 July) has a particular place in my yachting calendar, as it was on ‘White Nothe’, Hugh Kenion’s locally-built Buchanan Seaspray launched in 1962, that I did my first keelboat sailing, along with Keith Sullivan, Keith Bird, Mick Floyd and other early crew members.

Fantastic conditions for the Rear Admiral's Cup ... the sea breeze had set in by late morning resulting in a veering S-SW F4+ with a flat seas and blue sky.

Two WSC boats took part in the Round the Island Race this year – Arcsine, skippered by Kathy Claydon and Jo90, skippered by Richard Woof. Arcsine was crewed by Charlotte Weaver, Andi Heyting, Nathan Gray and Rocco and Thomas Franco. They had their longest race ever, taking 13 hours. Only 250 out of the 1250 starters finished.

Having entered Thierry's Sigma 33 'Oirrior' for this year's Round the Island seemed an increasingly ambitious idea as the week of strong easterlies progressed, and we spent most of Friday debating whether to go or not, but finally decided at 1700, over coffee at the Yacht Club, to leave - even though the forecast still gave E 25 knots for the night to come, though the wind was supposed to ease later - how many times have I heard that one! Outside the breakwater 20 knots and a big sea suggested this was not going to be easy, and the evening merely proved the point as the wind rose to 26 knots and stayed there for most of the crossing.

Looks bad, but it's ok provided the bow line is kept tight and the fenders stay in place. We've now at Sjotorp having negotiated 55 locks, and there are just 3 down locks (they're much easier) before Lake Vanern, the largest lake in the EU, and the end of the canal. The canal meanders through rural landscapes and crosses placid lakes fished by ospreys, a very relaxing journey (except the locks). Yellow shirted students operate the locks and are generally helpful with excellent English.

Sailing in company is a good way of taking the stress out of a Channel crossing, especially if you’re doing it for the first time. There is nothing to beat the feeling of the open sea as you get clear of the land, except perhaps the sense of achievement of having made a good landfall with the tide in your favour, as you drift up the coast in the sunshine towards your destination.

If you’re thinking of joining the Solstice rally this year, I’d be grateful if you could let me know as soon as you can, so that I have an idea of numbers for the winetasting, etc.

Steve Fraser
Aliya

On Sunday 9th June, Rima and I enjoyed the company of Cherbourg Yacht Club crews during a delightful BBQ on the terrace organised by Amanda and superbly cooked by our Commodore Steve and his wife Josie.

You could tell the weekend was going well from the singing coming from the cockpit of 'Les Rapetous' from Granville; sailing hard seems to come as naturally as partying hard to the French, though WSC was ably represented, in the former if not the latter, by Kathy Claydon and her crew on 'Arcsine'– Mike, Charlotte, Pat, Kirsty and Andy. Well done to them, and to the crew of 'Effusion', who decided not to risk their rig in those conditions, but still got in on Sunday morning after the wind had dropped a bit.