South Bank Sailing Club Blog

The last weekend of May was chosen for our rare, day-long upriver sail to the London Apprentice in Isleworth. A healthy 9-20kts conveniently coming from the north provided plenty of wind for a Laser, two Xenons and a GP14. The weather was cool and intermittently shady; overall nearly perfect weather for the job. Once all the boats were on the beach we launched our GP14 first, and beating happily in the fresh north wind, we were almost around the corner before the remaining boats were off the beach! Waiting at Hammersmith for 10 minutes to keep the fleet together, we defended our lead as hard as we could. Safety crew Justin and Lucy escorted Peter and Jakob’s Xenons under the bridges. Patrick’s laser passed us midway; the Xenons were closing in on us when we arrived. State of the art onboard telemetry (a.k.a. a cracked iPhone running Strava in a dry-bag) shows the GP14 completed the trip in a comfortable 2 hours (3kts VMG) with a top speed of about 6 kts. We were joined for 3 pleasant ...

I hadn’t been intending to come to the boat club supper this year. It was largely due to the fact that I hadn’t really been sailing and it felt a bit fraudulent. However, it was really lovely to be prodded by Sarah the Vice, and so Emma and I bicycled down. When we arrived we’d missed the early evening exchanges, which by the look of the photos involved some lovely drinks during a beautiful sunset after a lazy sail to the pub. Sounded pretty marvellous to me. Everyone was in good form. It was great to see Allan, Steff, Jane and Sara, and lots of other old friends – and newer faces.   The meal was of course outstanding. Not quite sure how Stefan manages to carry it off year after year. What an interesting and industrious character he is, I wish I could cook like him. I was pretty full after the salmon, but the calves liver or whatever it was for the main course was pretty astonishing and the lemon dish a delightful finisher. As the red wine flowed, excellent conversations were had ...

Inspired by those who went before them, five intrepid sailors from South Bank booked a weekend on Hunter’s Yard’s beautiful gaff-rigged vintage mahogany sloops. Here’s what we saw and what we learned! Consider making it a Friday-Monday trip Unless you live in Norfolk, Hunter’s Yard is pretty remote, and you will want to arrive at 9 or 10am, for 2-3 hours of signing in, unpacking your gear, being briefed, uncovering your boat, finalising your plans and rigging for the first time. The price of each day of cabin boat hire includes the whole night, so if your professional and domestic arrangements permit it, spending Sunday night aboard and travelling home on a Monday is an option to avoid a tired, nocturnal drive through the worst rush hour the UK has to offer. Take the opportunity to learn! This is not a perfect learning environment; a shallow keel and a heavy wooden boom mean that tacks need to be assertive, and gybes need to be careful; but cruising on a reach is a great time for a nov...

     What started off as an idea to sail solo around the UK evolved into a 3-week bike adventure from Land’s End to John O’Groats. Although this was meant to be a more manageable challenge, I set off in September, apprehensive at the idea of completing the 880 miles ahead with little training and no planned route. I also hadn’t practised using cleats so when my feet got stuck and I fell off the bike into bushes for the second time on Day 1, I wondered what on earth I was doing. Determined to continue, however, the onward journey was sunshine filled, and satisfyingly with each day my fitness improved. My route followed the wild and remote Scottish West Coast. This was a highlight with its vast vistas and dramatic landscape. The plan to enjoy the journey over a longer period of time meant fewer miles per day- I averaged 51 miles over 17 days- but the discipline of getting back on the bike each day pushed me out of my comfort zone. I hope (!) my mental resilience has improved as a result…...

Watch this video edited by Mike de Selincourt and remember the moments sailing helped take your mind off 2020 for a while…        

Last Updated 12/8/21   The committee meet regularly to review the RYA and Government Covid-19 guidance as the situation develops. Updates will be communicated to the club before any sailing activities. We currently require any visitors to check-in by scanning our QR Code with your NHS Covid-19 App, or manually signing in with your contact details outside the clubhouse. Members are asked to observe social distancing and wash their hands / use the hand sanitizer gel provided.

We’re in lockdown, and we can’t sail.  …Or can we?

A farewell to much-loved member Leo, deserved a fitting event. Led by Chris B (race officer extraordinaire) with Ray and Jim C in the safety boat, a number of chaotic and confusing races was the main order of the day. The “dizzy race” where everyone had to go round each buoy three times made for some close encounters (great to meet you new members Toby and Helena) and made some of us worry we’d have no club boats left by the end of the day.  In line with the style of the day most boats decided two turns was enough and rushed to the finish line to claim victory and improve their chances of winning the regatta’s prestigious Leo Spoon. The “tennis ball” race had sailors turn into shotput wannabes as everyone quickly realised that throwing tennis balls at other boats (forcing them to either collect the ball or do a 360, or both – I was never quite sure to be honest – was a far more effective way to win the race than to try sail well. Intersper...

A merry band of sailors with courage and stamina made the trip to Strand on the Green for the annual Strand Challenge Trophy. You can read Strand’s race report here (Look for 1st September).      

Campbell trophy, race no.13, 21 April 2019 In the Race Box: Joseph Cabon & Meredith Gunderson In the Safety Boat: Trish Gutteridge & Josh Mareschal It was the sunniest & warmest of Easter weekends, long to be savoured in memory. Four boats of four classes took to the water: one each of Enterprise, Laser, Solo & Streaker. With the wind mainly from the east at 2-6 mph, sailors had to complete their rigging on the riverside. The course was three circuits of a four-buoy lap, with a ‘sausage’ in the middle. After a clean start all boats were bunched closely for the race to the first buoy, & from the race box, through the compressed perspective of binoculars, it looked for a while that they had all stalled in the light wind.   But there was movement, & Sara rounded the first mark after a little over six minutes, closely followed by Allan & Steph, Chris, Elaine.   By the end of the first lap Allan & Steph had moved into the lead with Elaine, Chris ...

By Sara Bennett It’s quite extraordinary how the years rush by and one can suddenly reach yet another significant age virtually without realising it,  which I seem to have done at the beginning of April. One of the most important things in my life over the time I’ve been a member – for pretty well 20 years now  – is this crazy wonderful brilliant club we call South Bank.  It has brought me things I could never have dreamt of; great new friends over the years, sailing on a river where the wind changes on the throw of a dice, but probably most of all the continuity of being involved with something which I’ve seen grow and flourish with people coming and going but all of them having a love of this great club. Jane SH and Elaine very kindly organised that the club should buy me a cherry tree for my garden, which as you can see from the photo below is now flowering and will hopefully bring me a cherry or two this summer. Very many thanks from me to everyone for this lovely presen...

Bonfire night went surprisingly well considering we didn’t have a bonfire. (The tide times didn’t work out for us to have one on the beach.) So we settled for medieval style fire pits and served up some top notch fodder thanks to the burger master general AKA Ray. Soups and mulled wine were also provided by the sharp brigade of volunteers that go by the names of Emma, Sally, Sarah and others. Big thanks to anyone who helped. Disaster almost struck when we ran out of gas for the BBQ but that’s nothing a cheap electric camping hob couldn’t fix. Here are some photos to prove it wasn’t a conspiracy…                

We’re very pleased to report that Henry Koe, who’s 13 years old and one of our youngest members, has made the National Youth Squad for Topper Dinghys. Henry’s been racing Toppers competitively for two years now, competing in regional and national sailing events (sometimes involving more than 150 boats). Over the past two years he’s been selected for the London & South East Zone Squad and the National Topper 4.2 Squad (this is for younger sailors, in Toppers with a smaller sail). It’s been tough going, but Henry has got better and better and now he’s grown a bit, he can compete in most weather. Those who have seen him sail at the club would attest that he is a fiercely competitive young man, who loves his sport. Sailing with the National Junior Squad is a very big step up for Henry. He’ll be sailing with the very best sailors of his age and will do his best to keep up. He will have brilliant coaching (his coach is Ellie Cumpstie, who is aiming to w...

“Well, that was a nice little walk! ? ” were the words I tweeted at 9am on Wednesday 27 th June. Precisely three days earlier I had started my SleepWalk Challenge , in aid of Bowel Cancer UK, the RNLI and The Cure Parkinson’s Trust. In those 3 days / 72 hours, I walked for 225 km (140 miles) and had only 2 hours sleep!   My route took me round (and round and round!) London’s stunning Richmond Park, with occasional forays into Wimbledon Common, and along the Thames Path via Teddington Lifeboat station. Every six hours I would stop briefly at my support base (a camper van, parked with special permission in the corner of Richmond Park) for a meal break and to cool/wash my feet and change into clean socks. That way, I was essentially able to keep walking from 9am Sunday, through three days and nights, until 9am on the Wednesday morning. For me, the SleepWalk represents the huge challenges some people face in their daily lives and I wanted to capture that spirit of positivity a...

Our Bob Jackson is as handy with paint (and app) as he is with a jib. The artist has an exhibition locally – here’s some background: South London artist Rob Jackson is exhibiting several of his recent artworks at Kram Gallery, the community art space in Garratt Lane. Jackson first studied at the Mary Ward Centre in Bloomsbury, and then Camberwell School of Art.    He took up art ‘in spite of his father thinking that modern art was a load of rubbish’, and says, ‘when I first saw Jackson Pollock I sensed real freedom’. His art and studies have led him now to be influenced by painters from Rembrandt to Richter and computer art apps. He has  an interesting app on his iPad that he has been interested with in recent weeks, adding, ‘I find the use of new technology has added to the range of my work and can help people to more easily create works of their own’. The Jackson Show is on at Atkinsons’ Kram Gallery, 302 Garratt Lane, Wandsworth,  SW18 4EH until July 24th. Admission: Free...

One of our youngest and brightest sailors Henry Koe was on the water a few months ago competing in the South East Winter Open. Proud father/household bosun Digby wrote this report: “He was competing in the south east zone winter open at island barn sailing club. There were about 28 boats mostly zone squad sailors with 8 national squad sailors. There was very little wind to begin with but it filled in during the afternoon, allowing 3 races. In the first race, Hennry got a good start and managed to get away from the fleet with 2 other boys. He held his position and got a brilliant 3rd. The second race didn’t go so well. Henry got a little stuck in the melee at the start and lost places to midfleet. He was also penalised and ended up 13th. I think it may have been because I watched that one. In the last race he didn’t have a good start, but made up places through the fleet by using the gusts well and keeping his head. With a lap to go he was 9th at the back of a group of boats but br...

For no other reason than it’s a photo too lovely not to have permanent pride of place on our site. Here’s our most experienced helm, John Parke, with some of our youngest sailors, Oscar, Sophia and Nicholas. It looks a bit like a session on downriver currents. You’re never too young to learn. Even if, like Nicholas, you need a nap to let it all sink in. Thanks for the picture, Olga. Jane

Picture this… Graceland on the radio as we pull in to the sun dappled yard of the Hustler yacht station in Ludham Norfolk.     Weighed down by dreams of open (mostly) tideless water, stable winds and half the wine section of a Norfolk Tesco’s, 5 intrepid Southbank sailors embarked upon two of Percy Hunters finest “lovely ladies”, namely Hustler 1 and Hustler 3. Constructed between the 20s and 30s, these custom built and designed 24ft gaff rigged mahogany speed machines were to carry the eponymous sailors of Jane SH, Elaine, Sina, Tommy G and Commodore Ben on an epic adventure. Leaving on Saturday afternoon, the teams of Ben, Sina (adopted English lady) and Jane, took on the evil might of the US-Maltese coalition. What was meant to be a familiarisation sail turned into a 4 hour prosecco fuelled “race” with an abandoned pub stop-off and a SBSC style BBQ to finish off the evening. Sunday was an early rise, the teams staying together for a fun b...