South Bank Sailing Club Blog

Race Officers: Carla Canturri Safety Boat: Sara Bennett and Ray Burnet It was an early start of a summery day: moderately high temperatures and a light breeze. The course was set to a boring sausage between two buoys, despite the cries for a more spiced up course… One buoy was laid near “do you see that white building over there, where there is a puff of wind” and another at the Crabtree. Sara and Ray (thanks for volunteering with such short notice) were manning the safety boat and keeping the fleet safe. The start was delayed as many boats were struggling to keep up with the tide. Remember that you are allowed to paddle or to start from the beach as some boats did, next time the RO may not be as nice as ME and will start the race… One Supernova, four full Lasers, three Laser radials, one Albacore and one Topaz took the water. In the meantime in the race box, the RO was left in charge of a nervous little dog, an agreement was reached and she was able to stay out in the balcony if she p...

* Race Officers and SB 1: Graham Douglas and Sophie Henwood * Safety Boat 2: Giles Harrison and Keith Simms The Ruby Bell- A race where the sailors circle each other before the race and wait until the first one blinks. The challenge is to use the outgoing tide until the turn mark and time it so the return leg utilises the incoming tide. Get it right and it will flatter your handicap ensuring victory. Get it wrong and you either arrive too soon at the turn that you have to stem the tide and suffer the agony of watching all the following boats catch up, or you leave too late and the tide turns against before you reach the mark. The start is a game of calculation, bluff, counter bluff and bravado. Fun for all except perhaps the organising race officer. With the likelihood of a race fleet more strung out than normal and a mark to be laid at a pre-determined, but as yet unseen position. Fortunately the weather was kind. A forecast 12 knots from the west promised a downwind, downstream start...

* Race Officers: John Parke and Jesse White * Safety Boat: Peter Mack and Dom Pizolic The sun shone and the wind was easy, 2-3 N with a bit of E and pretty steady, but most of our keen sailors were in Turkey. The RO opened up waited. It was an opportunity to try and impose his will on the fence defence roses, now coming into flower and looking lovely. At a cost of some blood and tears (in his gloves) branches were pulled down and wired across the gaps. One by one bodies materialised including the two safety boat crew and No. 2 RO. It was going to be just like the old days (very old) two in the office, two in the safety boat and four sailors. The course was debated, how many laps? The Most Important Sailor suggested that if a buoy was laid above the start line so that the race finished up-stream we could finish when convenient, there would be wind to round it, if it was laid well out from the Fulham bank. So we waited to launch for rowers to clear the ramp. Then with two Lasers in the w...