South Bank Sailing Club Blog

Tim Young's report (Strand on the Green Vice Commodore) It was an overcast day with a distinct autumnal chill in the 5-6 knot WNW breeze: perfect for the planned B-course. Six boats came up river from South Bank: 3 Enterprises; a Laser; a Xenon, and a Merlin, together with an attendant safety boat. They beached on the slimy foreshore downstream of the railway bridge and made use of our sumptuous facilities, including tea and coffee. They were matched by nine Strand boats: James Armitage and Lev Kolobov in Enterprises, Rob Adams, Joseph Armitage and Keith Clarke in Lasers; Sam Shemtob’s Wayfarer; Ian Nethersell’s Vibe; Tim Young’s Wanderer and Nick Floyer’s Gull. The downwind start, against the flood tide, presented the choice of seeking the relatively slack water on either side of the river. 14 boats chose the Middlesex side and only one SBSC Enterprise (Allan Munro-Faure) chose the Surrey side. He was correct and rounded the downstream mark (at Chiswick Staithe) well ahead of the ...

The forecast 6 to 11mph SSW to S wind seemed lighter and more westerly in the event for the 2nd Campbell Series race, with the club flag at half mast.  After some excellent cake thanks to Elaine, 11 boats took to the water. Most were quickly swept to the wrong side of the start line by a strong spring tide which seemed to be carrying lots of debris including an entire tree.  Not an easy situation for the RO team, but we felt it best to get things underway and allow the rest of the fleet to start racing once passed by Renato and Jakob who had started from the correct side. Things improved significantly once the fleet reached the simple 2 buoy course, in the wind which had also picked up and in the lighter tide on the Fulham bank. It looked like an enjoyable sail. Jakob (Laser full) was first over the finish line after the 4 laps we’d eventually decided on, having well handled or been lucky with the shifty wind around the new Fulham stadium, followed a minute later by Renato (La...