South Bank Sailing Club Blog

Bevington Downriver Race 3 The forecast was a mix of sunshine, blue skies and very little wind. Perfect weather for the Race Committee but not at first for the sailors! Even with this forecast the sunshine led to a huge turnout of nine members – and all of them made the decision to go single-handed.   We had Sara and Allan in Solos; Estrid, Elaine, Jakob, Josh, Imogen & Jamie in full Lasers; and Esteban, as a late arriver, in a Topaz. The race course was the usual downriver to Battersea and back. One race on the way down and one race in the way back – the combined results would identify the winner. On the Race Committee boats were Anne Hauger, Matt Richardson, Justin Lloyd Williams, Jane Stanton Humphreys (passenger for the sunshine) and Richard Graham. The race started slightly later than planned after a significance of ‘boaty traffic’ on the slipway, and by the time the five minute bell rang a bagpiper from the Fulham side commenced with a rendition of Scotland the Brav...

It was a glorious hot sunny day – the kind of day Southbank Sailing Club was invented for. We had six boats for the downriver and a better breeze than expected. At the start Allan & Bob were over the line so had a bit of extra sailing to do. Sara shot off like a bullet, with Leo S (Argentina) in pursuit. Iwas thinking of the great football world cups of the past as Leo Z (Italy) chased Argentina!   Sina and Josh were doing some good hiking in the GP 14. It was gusty in places, very still in places. Jane and Jane in the RO safety boat worried the wind was dying and laid the buoy too early in retrospect – the tide had more to give. Leo (Argentina) – who now looks completely at home in a Laser – crossed the line first, although Sara was close enough behind to win the downriver leg on adjusted times. We sailed down to Battersea Reach for the second start, to give the sailors more of race on the return leg. It looked like a mostly satisfying sail back – with...