Sailing Events
SAILING PROGRAMME for 2008
Social Events
Social Programme 2008
Bar Opening Hours:
Wednesday 19.30-23.00
Friday 18.00-21.00
Sunday 12.00-15.00
Duty Man Roster
Your News & Views
Please send your stories, opinions and photos to the webeditor
21 April
Wayfarer and Dinghy Cruising News
After the cancellation of our first cruise of the season due to bad weather it was slightly worrying to hear that there was a gale warning in force for the cruise on 19 April. However, three boats made the speculative trip to DSC early on Saturday morning (Me, Ken and Rob and Peter) and found that the "North Easterly, force 5-7, occasionally gale force 8" actually delivered some good sailing conditions for us.
The Wirral side of the estuary was relatively sheltered due to the wind direction and the lack of any fetch for the waves to build up kept the chop to a minimum. Plans to head across to Wales were shelved as the conditions didn't seem as good on that side of the estuary. Instead we reefed and decided to practice our short tacking by heading up the channel to Sheldrakes. We didn't make it for a pint, but all three boats made it most of the way there before running out of water and space to tack. After a couple of impromptu paddling sessions in the reeds (which may have left any birdwatchers with the impression that some strange new kind of wading bird was visiting the Dee) we turned around for the considerably easier downwind leg back to DSC.
Actual wind conditions on the estuary seemed to be more like the upper end of force 4 - with the occasional stronger gust - certainly manageable for the Wayfarers under reefed mainsails.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Plans for future cruises are under discussion. However, there is one general issue which we need to look at as a section. This is whether the Saturday cruises which are in the program for the rest of the year should be moved to Sundays. The original plan (as I understand it) was that cruising should be on Saturdays so that those who wished to race on Sundays could do so. However, the opinion from everyone I have spoken to so far has been that, whilst they would be interested in doing some racing, they aren't likely to do so on a Sunday if there has been a cruise the day before as they can't get away with two consecutive days' sailing over a weekend.
We also have issues with arranging tractor cover on Saturdays without which it is extremely difficult to get the Wayfarers off the beach and there are obviously no safety boats available. Most importantly, the bar isn't open when we finish the cruise!
On this basis I wanted to canvas opinion on moving these cruises to Sundays where possible. This seems to have the following advantages:-
1) The club house will be available (and the bar open)!
2) The tractors will be around to tow us on / off the beach - provided obviously that we tie in with the racing sailors in terms of leaving and arriving at the beach
3) Whilst we won't have specific safety boat cover there will be more boats (including the RIBs) on the water. For cruises far afield this doesn't really make a difference, but where we have training sessions or local cruises for new members it should give some comfort in the event of a real emergency
4) If too few boats turn up for the cruise or the weather is too bad (or if we just want to race for a change) then it will be possible to join in the racing instead of just cancelling
5) We will get more of a chance to meet / socialise with the other fleets / sections (who aren't really all that bad - honest!)
The only downside I can see is if there are people who are able to do Saturdays, but not Sundays. Please would everyone who gets this let me know whether they are in favour of the switch - we need to make a decision on this fairly quickly so I really need to get some feedback.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Next week's session is in the program for Saturday, but if people can make it this could be the first of the changes to Sunday. It is a very small tide (just over 7 metres) so I would suggest that we treat it as a local training session rather than a cruise. There are a number of options for this, but one thing I would like to try is to practice anchoring skills under sail (in preparation for some longer cruises which we will hopefully do this year). Maybe we could even pack the stove to test out stowage arrangements and have a brew whilst at anchor! Heaving-to and reefing whilst afloat might also be useful to practice. If anyone has any suggestions for other training then let me know - maybe a bit early in the year for capsize drills though!
HW is quite late (so at least we get to sleep in) - would need to be ready to leave the boat park by 14:30 if we move to the Sunday. Again, if you are planning to come and sail please let me know.
Cheers
Jon
Tell us what you think - your comments, contributions and photos are very welcome.
Back to top
