Tidal Diamond 932

• Ebb & Flow
• Useful Links
• Diary Dates

Ebb & Flow

A quite week this week, but not without some items of interest to bring to your attention. Socially we have a couple of events in the near future worth highlighting (and do keep an eye on the Diary Dates below and the website for the latest information as well).

Family and Friends Friday

Family & Friends Friday will be starting this week! Come down to the club for some free pizza (while it lasts!) or just a drink. Book on WebCollect at https://webcollect.org.uk/tudorsc/event/family-friends-friday so we have an idea of numbers for pizza! (see also the attached poster).

Tudor Talk – VHF and Moorings Talk

Nicola Craig is going to give us a refresher talk on VHF use, including emergencies.

This will be followed by a talk on our Tudor moorings by John Dunn, our Moorings Bosun. This will cover maintenance, suppliers, requirements and Q&A. This will be of interest to existing cruiser owners, new member cruiser owners and future cruiser owners.

These talks will be interesting and should remind us all of something we have forgotten or didn’t know. Please come along and support.

Booking on WebCollect will be available soon.

Other items of interest:

Farlington Marshes – An Uncertain Future

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has an article on the future challenges facing Farlington Marshes. Given our moorings are just across from there the survey they link to at the bottom is worth responding to. You have until the 19th February. Feel free to pass this on to anyone local or otherwise who has an interest. https://www.hiwwt.org.uk/blog/jamie-marsh/farlington-marshes-uncertain-future.

Those with cruisers (or caravans) may be interested to hear that Calor has decided to reverse the cylinder withdrawal and continue the circulation of 3.9kg propane and 4.5kg butane cylinders. More details in this RYA article: https://www.rya.org.uk/news/calor-gas-reversal.

Those with cruisers with diesel engines may find this article interesting on the use of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO). “The working group will continue to engage with the Government to make HVO affordable and available to both coastal and inland boaters. The advantages of HVO go beyond its approximately 90% reduction in carbon emissions as HVO does not suffer from diesel bug or common storage issues.”.Worth keeping an eye on: https://www.rya.org.uk/news/hvo-given-green-light.

Finally, for experience as well as new members (a timely reminder of things you may know never hurts), another RYA article, this time on The RYA’s seven common senses for safe sailing: https://www.rya.org.uk/blog/7-common-senses

.

As ever, feel free to drop me an email at this address, it is always nice to hear from members. Any ideas of things to include in the Tidal Diamonds always most welcome.

Let’s be careful out there.

Paul Tansom
Tidal Diamond Editor
tidal_diamonds

Useful Links

• WebCollect: dinghies for more details.

Tidal Diamond 931

• Sub-Committee Elections
• Cruiser Update
  
• Tudor Rowing Winter Series
• QM Bloody Mary Report
• Ebb & Flow
• Useful Links
• Diary Dates

Sub-Committee Elections

The new structure for committees was approved at the AGM. This means that a Dinghy Sailing Sub-Committee and a Rowing Sub-Committee were formed, reporting into a new Captains Committee.

We will be electing members for these 2 sub-committees next week by online poll. If you are interested in standing, please let me, John Elson or Hannah Barnes know by Sunday 28th Jan.

Colin Thorpe
Commodore
commodore

Cruiser Update

VHF and Moorings Talk

On Friday 9th February, starting at 7pm, we are having a talk at the club.

Nicola Craig is going to give us a refresher talk on VHF use, including emergencies.

This will be followed by a talk on our Tudor moorings by John Dunn, our Moorings Bosun. This will cover maintenance, suppliers, requirements and Q&A. This will be of interest to existing cruiser owners, new member cruiser owners and future cruiser owners.

These talks will be interesting and should remind us all of something we have forgotten or didn’t know. Please come along and support.

This event will be on WebCollect.

Brian Kinsley
Cruiser Captain
cruisers

Social

It was great to see the clubhouse full on Saturday lunchtime for a fine curry cooked by Richard Bloxham alongside the first event of the Rowing Winter Series. Well done to our new Social Committee and to all those who took part in a chilly day on the water.

Look out for new social events coming along soon – including First Friday Friendly Family takeaway nights….

Colin Thorpe
Commodore
commodore

Tudor Rowing Winter Series

Last Saturday Tudor hosted the first of three races in the 2024 Rowing Winter Series.

Eight Bursledon gigs powered by 40 crew raced a 2 Nautical Mile course to South Salterns and back. Whilst only a short course the strong head winds on the first leg meant the race provided a good challenge for the first race of the season.

The hard fought race saw the first 4 gigs cross the line within 45 seconds of each other with only 12 seconds separating the first 3 boats, see results sheet.

In the end it was Crazy Daisy that took first place and congratulations goes to the Crazy Crew of Rich, Maggie, Linda B, Dave and Linda V. Back at the club, after the race all competitors enjoyed a chicken curry washed down with a few drinks from the bar.

Well done to everyone involved, and thank you to all those who helped with the organisation of the day, particularly to Crazy Rich who not only won the first race but also cooked the curry. The next race in the series will be held on Saturday 17th February, and all club members are invited to come along and join in the fun, either as a spectator of participant.

If you think that you would like to give gig rowing a go then why not sign up for one of the clubs intro row sessions which are held at 11am every Saturday during the winter months. These free 1hr taster sessions are organised to suit the rower’s individual ability and are great fun. If you would like to book one then simply email me at rowing.

John Elson
Rowing Captain
rowing

QM Bloody Mary Report

F is for fouls (again), N is for Numpty Yoofs!

Selden SailJuice Series Queen Mary Bloody Mary event, 6 January

Race number three for me, number five in the series, and the forecast was looking exceptionally benign, to the extent that the QM Commodore described it as “almost summer-like conditions [compared to previous events]” over the tannoy, even as I was pulling on my thermals and new Happy-Christmas-to-me Typhoon dry suit!

But windwise, yes, this was the first time I felt able to enter using the full Blaze sail as the forecast was for 6-14kts from the N, with an air temperature of 6c and a wind chill of just 3c. It would dilute my previous two Fire entries for the series standings but I am slow enough without being underpowered even more.

Clear, dry and not very breezy was the theme as I once more hitched up from the compound at 0630 and headed north up the A3, yet again arriving in second position in the QM compound at 0800…behind another Blaze sailor, Andy Wilson, the class secretary no less. The QM organisation was almost military in its efficiency. If you’ve not been to Queen Mary reservoir before, it’s near Staines, is a big reservoir with a long bund down the middle and, like Datchet, is about 100ft (55 steps!) up in the air. I used to windsurf here as a member in 2006-08 and remember it being cold, steep, concrete-y and slippery – no change is evident 16 years later. There’s only one road up to the top, so walking-talkied volunteers were directing a stop-go system to ensure no one had to back anywhere with a trailer. Each boat was assigned to a coloured area and it paid to make sure all you needed for the day was dropped off here and now, or else the Steps of Doom awaited. Just ask Andy! Space was at a premium; one volunteer said they had hosted the maximum 350 entries one year and you could have walked around the course keeping your feet dry on the various decks.

Launch times were organised by boat handicap, with the warning signal going at 1155. This was a pursuit race (course attached) where the Toppers started at midday and various boats followed at 1-minute intervals. Having seen this at Datchet, I at least had some idea what to do and knew my start time was the 36th minute. Luckily, there were 4 Blazes so I just followed their lead – for the whole day, as it happened. Again, volunteers came to our aid as we gingerly eased our trolleys down the steep concrete sides but the gentle cross-off wind made launching a doddle. If the forecast was for F5-7 southwesterlies as in previous years, I would not have bothered entering as I don’t see how the concrete would not have taken massive bites out of the vessels launching and recovering.

So here I was again, mooching up and down the start line, trying to keep clear and watching wave after wave of increasingly speedy boats launching northwards to the first mark. This time, I managed to set my watch off at minute 31 and so was on time right on the starboard end of the line, with the three other Blazes, a Hadron H2 and some Aero 9s. The first problem was the wind shadow cast by about 10 RS200s all tacking upwind a minute ahead of us but I was up there with the other 36-minuters …until my new self-designed clew strap popped a bobble. I had to stop to prevent the red one bouncing off into murky wet oblivion and then just hope that the clew would remain somewhere in the vicinity of the boom. I was understandably anxious that, at some point in the next 90 minutes, the whole caboodle would let go but luckily the knot held fast.

So the scene was set for several circuits of Queen Mary reservoir but via an interesting course, rather than just a big circle. Again, no real way to get lost but the amount of dinghies out (over 175) meant that the various marks were often lost to sight, though it was not hard to spot the crowd of boats that marked these turns. It was all pretty unremarkable as I passed some slower bods, speedsters passed me and I didn’t catch up most of the fleet, but nothing (else) broke and I didn’t fall in. In fact, the wind only gusted enough to get me up on the plane once or twice so it was quite a staid procession around the reservoir in the end.

Of note this time, as alluded to in the title, was a young Laser sailor who caused me to crash tack to avoid a collision (while I was on starboard tack, of course), who was very apologetic but obviously knew nothing about penalty turns. The top mark seemed to be full of congestion as I approached it a second time, noting that Andy had been bumped into and was in the middle of a three-dinghy sandwich going nowhere fast. This was my chance to catch him up and indeed I did get to within a few metres. I wisely carried on above the layline to avoid the carnage…only to have a yoof-driven 29er zoom in on port and cause a Phantom to tack into me (both of us on starboard, of course) and get entangled in my rack (oo-er missus!), thereby delaying me back to my previous position behind Andy and the Hadron that I was trying to catch!!! No penalty turns in evidence here either.

Eventually, the time was up and we finished at the next line, where I nabbed a place from a Devoti D-Zero and had one nicked by a Norfolk Punt – some interesting kit out there. The recovery to the shore was easy, burly volunteers helped me haul the boat and trolley up the embankment and then it was time to demast, apply the covers and get into the departure flow. Military precision was then applied in reverse, with orderly queues of vehicles waiting at the bottom for those with trailers attached to come down from the top and I was soon out and on my way to the work car park to berth the boat for a few days ahead of the next day’s trip to Shanghai. I was happy that my dry suit had done a good job in keeping me warm and I decided to test it for leaks by tripping over my trolley on the shore and going for a quick dip – the seals work just fine, it turns out!

I had a chat with Andy Horlock (third in the Blaze Nationals and 11th today – I couldn’t believe he was actually sailing the same boat as me) about how the lack of sportsmanship was putting me off the series slowly and he agreed that it was a known problem. No one seems to protest anybody and nobody seems to admit their guilt. In fact, the only penalty turns I have seen in three races was Blaze sailor Douglas Clow doing a 360 for hitting a mark here at QM – his other choice was to ram into a boat that, naturally enough, was in the wrong! I’m not sure there’s any solution to a self-policing sport where the coppers are corrupt but I’ll keep trying my best to know the rules, avoid infringements and do the spins if necessary – if only to keep Terry and Bernie happy at home events!

Rupert Rhodes

Ebb & Flow

Three RYA links this week. First a video on fitting kids lifejackets, which might be useful when preparing for the season: https://youtu.be/VNL860PVKcY?si=OQvzauz5BgzcwGL. Next an article on staying safe on the water as night draws in, which is pertinent when the evenings are shorter. Read more at: https://www.rya.org.uk/blog/stay-safe-on-the-water-from-dawn-to-dusk. Finally, the RYA has a page collating a selection of Dinghy Trails around the country, which are great for dinghy cruising, or possibly also for kayaks. Details at: https://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge/dinghy-trails.

As ever, feel free to drop me an email at this address, it is always nice to hear from members. Any ideas of things to include in the Tidal Diamonds always most welcome.

Let’s be careful out there.

Paul Tansom
Tidal Diamond Editor
tidal_diamonds

Useful Links

• WebCollect: dinghies for more details.

Tidal Diamond 930

• Grafham GP Report
• Ebb & Flow
• Useful Links
• Diary Dates

Grafham GP Report

B is for Breakages, G is for Grrrrrr!

Selden SailJuice Series Grafham GP event, 30 December.

Having survived the passage of not one but two named storms at Datchet earlier in the month, I entered my second event in this national winter series with my (misplaced) confidence sky-high in the ability of both me and the boat to weather anything scary on the forecast. As usual, I started scanning my 7 different weather sites and apps of choice for an inkling of what was on the cards for the end of the year and therefore which size of sail to enter again. All seemed roughly to agree on about 10-18kts from the south, with black 40mph arrows on the BBC site for Huntingdon later in the day – standard fare for me these days, it seems!

No zero-dark-thirty start for me this time as my wife and I headed up on the Friday afternoon to stay with friends near Cambridge for the night. Some manoeuvres-in-the-dark later, sans orchestral accompaniment, the boat was carefully deposited in their garden with a wheel lock in place and the van parked across its bow to ensure it was still there in the morning…which it was, as I set off up the A14 for an overly complicated route (thanks, out-of-date sat nav) to get to Grafham Water Sailing Club for 0800.

This time, I was the second boat to arrive (if only my finishing positions would reflect my car park entries) and duly rigged up ready for the day ahead. I had again gone with the smaller 8.8m Fire sail due to the forecast and the wish to have a second series result overall. The Race Committee had sensibly divided the expanse of Grafham reservoir into the Fast Fleet (27 entries) to the west, Medium (me and 54 others) in the middle and Slow (48 starters) off to the east. Happy not to be speared by ferociously fast catamarans but less chuffed by having to keep an eye out for 54 other loons in the middle.

Launching a single-hander seems to be a bit of an lottery at these events. Datchet involved getting a kindly Mirror crew member to hoik my trolley up the concrete side and Grafham meant I had to wheel my steed down a sandy/muddy shore, gingerly beach it in said sediment and hoik my own trailer up onto the land. Luckily, in case you are unfamiliar with inland bodies of water, Grafham isn’t tidal so it remained where I left it until I had to reverse the process to recover – fortunately, this time, on a very gentle windward shore.

While the Fasts were given a preferred upwind/downwind couple of buoys, we and the Slows were back to our trapezoid course, which I like because even I can’t get lost – leave everything to port…and remember this time to go through some sort of start line/gate affair each lap, of which there ever only seemed to be two.

Race 1

Some good 15kt+ gusts were already scything their way down the course as we started the “dance macabre” into the start countdown and I was glad of my smaller sail again. The melée in the last few seconds was as feroci- and vocifer-ous as ever and Timid Mouse (Sensible Mouse!?) once again kept his distance, ready for a start in the second row. We don’t do many upwind starts at TSC and these events are most definitely not a good place to practice them in a gentle and forgiving atmosphere!

Beep, beep, beep….BANG! Unfortunately, that was not the sound of the starting signal but my main sheet block detaching itself from the boom with alacrity, right on the initial sheet-in-and-go. Self-induced Breakage #1 – nota bene, Rupert, that even thick-looking zip ties from an establishment as reputable as B&Q do not have the same breaking point as Dyneema loops around the boom!

So now I was facing the prospect of over 3 hours of sailing around with nothing but a length of poly pipe (zip tied to the boom and also from that aforementioned reputable establishment!) stopping my centre-sheeted sail becoming a rear one (see picture). The whole point of moving the block back a few cms was to increase the sheeting moment but this new rearmost position would have been frankly ridiculous. Also, there was a pulley block now clanking around in the bottom of the boat and getting caught up in everything down there too – not a good start. A quick investigation revealed there was nothing to be done so I set off up the first beat hoping that the poly pipe would hold…

…and it did. But I was in virtually last position, followed only by a couple of late starters. A couple of tacks in and I was garrotted by the sheet and went for my first swim. Luckily, both it and the subsequent 5 or 6 dunkings were pretty dry scrambles back aboard (getting fairly practiced and proficient these days) and all were caused by sheet / pulley jams in the bottom or around the tiller, mainly going upwind, so that was a nice change to the usual failed gybe capsizes. The only people seemingly having less fun than me were youths on the notoriously tippy RS600 who really seemed to prefer swimming to sailing.

I finished somewhere near the back.

Race 2

A squall came through, between 27 and 35kts according to the officials and with a right shift of about 80 degrees, so the AP was up while they considered trying to reset the course or waiting out the temporary tempest. They correctly plumped for the latter but I was way off in the distance trying to decide whether I could move the block back to its original position on a shackle (not without pliers) or sail all the way upwind back to shore (to get some pliers) or just abandon all hope and retire (not after 160 miles of driving, no way) when I noticed the sequence was underway. I was still a long way off when the General Recall was sounded and I got a second chance at least to be somewhere near the line.

Race 2 was much like Race 1, though the wind dropped a bit, especially in the lee of the clubhouse. Nice not to be blown off the water for once but my upwind pointing was not aided by my inability to sheet in properly. It was some way up the first beat that I then noticed Self-Induced Breakage #2 – my kicker’s continuous control line had snapped. For future splicing tips, Mr Rhodes, make sure there is plenty of overlap, not just a few measly cms, or else this will happen again. So now I was trailing a few metres of red EasySplice behind me and leaving the kicker pretty much alone to ensure I didn’t run out of rope.

I finished somewhere near the back…again.

Race 3

Much like the previous two, only without any further malfunctions. The wind dropped quite a lot, so much so that I was actively seeking more, my tattered boat hung on and I was tooted across the line…eventually.

I finished somewhere near the back…for the final time.

Then it was time to pack up in the dusk, get changed, be too late for the pasta meal, pick up the wife, say cheerio to our friends and drive south, park the boat in the compound and head home around the island to Old Portsmouth.

Not the best day out, upon reflection, with nothing much learnt and 320 miles of diesel burnt. Great to see our Cambridge friends again and I suppose all sailing experience is good experience at my novice level. 40th/48 in the end which heaved my soggy behind up to 35th in the series overall, so that was nice.

Next stop, the QM Bloody Mary in January, usually a scarefest of gales and concrete edges, but we’ll see what 2024 has in store for its start.

Rupert Rhodes

Ebb & Flow

A nice write up this week to inspire everyone for the coming season. I will round off the Tidal Diamond by highlighting a couple of upcoming dates. On the 9th February there is a talk planned (but not yet confirmed) on VHF Radio and Distress Beacons – watch this space for more details. Following a couple of questions I will note that the Cruiser Launch Weekend is 23rd / 24th March.

As ever, feel free to drop me an email at this address, it is always nice to hear from members. Any ideas of things to include in the Tidal Diamonds always most welcome.

Let’s be careful out there.

Paul Tansom
Tidal Diamond Editor
tidal_diamonds

Useful Links

• WebCollect: dinghies for more details.

Tidal Diamond 929

• AGM
• Ebb & Flow
• Useful Links
• Diary Dates

AGM

Many thanks to all those who came along the the AGM on Sunday and took part in some important discussions. The new Executive Committee will be meeting next week and we will hope to update you soon on plans for the year.

We have positions still vacant on 2 of the committees.

Bosuns Committee – We would very much like to find somebody who has good mechanical skills to help maintain the tractors/hoist.

Social Committee – to help with organising our social events.

Please consider if you could help with either of these. If you are able to help out but would just prefer not to be on the committee itself, please let me know as this also would be enormously helpful.

Colin Thorpe
Commodore
commodore

Ebb & Flow

With the RYA Dinghy and Watersports show coming up in Farnborough on 24th and 25th February I thought it would be worth mentioning that RYA members can attend for free (you can also get a free ticked for the Southampton Boat Show and discounted extra tickets – or have in previous years). Details available at https://www.rya.org.uk/events/dinghy-show.

I will also note for those who are interested in the environment as well as sailing (and Langstone is a good harbour to combine the two in) that you can sign the Green Blue Boating Pledge (as well as get information about reducing your environmental impact) at https://thegreenblue.org.uk/boating-pledge/.

As ever, feel free to drop me an email at this address, it is always nice to hear from members. Any ideas of things to include in the Tidal Diamonds always most welcome.

Let’s be careful out there.

Paul Tansom
Tidal Diamond Editor
tidal_diamonds

Useful Links

• WebCollect: dinghies for more details.

Tidal Diamond 928

• AGM
• Cruisers
• Cruiser Update
• Ebb & Flow
• Useful Links
• Diary Dates

AGM

AGM is this Sunday at 2pm. Please do come along and take part in this important meeting. The bar will be open prior to the meeting. Please note the following.

• We now have nominations for all exec positions. The nominations for Vice Commodore, Hon Secretary and Maintenance Officer have been made subsequent to the nominations meeting. We can therefore accept additional nominations for these posts.
• Any items for AOB to be submitted prior to the start of the meeting. There will be an opportunity for announcements to be made after the meeting closes.

We also have the following committee vacancies:

• Bosuns Committee
  1 position. We would like somebody who has skills to help maintain the Tractors and Hoist.
• Social Committee
  2 positions. Organising and where necessary assisting with running of social events and galley.

Colin Thorpe
Commodore
commodore

Cruisers

A reminder that all sails should be removed, and that all ladders must be removed from the compound or securely padlocked.

Cruisers in the north west of the compound by the power that has been broken may use jet-washers until the end of January; other boats may not now use jet- washers so that neighbouring boats may paint/varnish/clean without splatter.

Colin Thorpe
Commodore
commodore

Cruiser Update

Happy new year!

I’ve recently taken over the cruiser captain role from Kat Robinson, thanks Kat for your great work in 2023.

I have been a member of Tudor since 2007, sailing an enterprise, toppers and lasers. I moved to cruiser sailing in 2010 with a Jaguar 25 and now sail a Westerly Merlin. I enjoy both cruising and the racing that’s available here at Tudor.

I know many of you have your own cruising plans and agendas but anyone who is new to the club or wants to be more adventurous than last year and feels they need help or advice should get in touch with me, I don’t necessarily have the answers but between us all we should be able to help out. I’m also interested in hearing from anyone who wants to learn/ try out some more challenging sailing, such as the Looe Channel, Portland inner, night passages, spinnaker, etc. Again, contact me if interested.

We will continue to use the Cruiser Calendar, introduced last year to allow any member who is planning a cruise to let others know their intentions if they wish.

If you have any cruiser related issues or concerns you think I can help with, or should know about, then please let me know via the cruisers WhatsApp group or cruisers.

Cruiser Racing

It won’t be long before this year’s cruiser racing calendar is published. We have several options from the in-harbour Gales Series, the Forts, Lymington, Nab Tower and around the island. The cruiser racing in Tudor is very friendly and supportive so why not give it a try, it will be great to see some new faces on the start lines in 2024.

Moorings

There’s an opportunity for new, existing and potential cruiser owners to arrange a session to understand the mooring requirements here at Tudor. Depending on the interest this is likely to be a meeting at the club. It shouldn’t take long but it will be a good opportunity to learn and ask questions. If you are interested, please contact me via the cruisers WhatsApp group or cruisers.

Brian Kinsley
Cruiser Captain
cruisers

Ebb & Flow

There’s an interesting article on the RYA website on end of life boats that caught my interest a while back. Recycling GRP is definitely a problem and if you look around most harbours you will see many an abandoned boat. I will note here that Langstone Harbour Board and Portsmouth City Council have been working together for a while and have made a significant impact on the Eastney Lake area which has been a problem – a costly and time consuming business. It is interesting to note that the article quotes “typically lasting 30–50 years in active use” given that my boat, Pimpernel, is 56 years old this year and still has plenty of life in her to my mind, even if some may consider the style to be dated. You can read the article at: https://www.rya.org.uk/blog/end-of-life-boats.

As ever, feel free to drop me an email at this address, it is always nice to hear from members. Any ideas of things to include in the Tidal Diamonds always most welcome.

Let’s be careful out there.

Paul Tansom
Tidal Diamond Editor
tidal_diamonds

Useful Links

• WebCollect: dinghies for more details.

Tidal Diamond 927

• Ebb & Flow
• Useful Links
• Diary Dates

Ebb & Flow

A low news Tidal Diamond this week, I can’t think what is happening to cause that! I thought the Diary Dates below may be useful however. It may also be worth noting that slightly beyond the Diary Dates we have the Icicle Series starting on 13th January. Quite a long way beyond that we have the 75th Anniversary Tudor Regatta provisionally planned for 7th September. Before both of those I will also emphasise the AGM on 7th January at 1400hrs.

As ever, feel free to drop me an email at this address, it is always nice to hear from members. Any ideas of things to include in the Tidal Diamonds always most welcome.

Let’s be careful out there.

Paul Tansom
Tidal Diamond Editor
tidal_diamonds

Useful Links

• WebCollect: dinghies for more details.

Tidal Diamond 926

• Social Update
• Datchet Flyer Report
• Ebb & Flow
• Useful Links
• Diary Dates

Social Update

I would just like to say a huge thank you to those of you that attended the Christmas party on Saturday. The SSAC joined with Tudor members to party, and it was lovely to see so many people enjoying themselves and looking fabulous in their party attire.

A huge thank you to the bar staff, John, Paul and Ben, the volunteers Chloe, Melissa and Crazy Rich, and of course to the awesome social committee, Denise, Alison, Linda, Dawn and Joanna who created an amazing Christmas buffet, catering for over 90 people.

You may get another chance to hear the wonderful band at the Tudor’s 75th anniversary regatta next year.

My best wishes to you all for a healthy and happy Christmas.

Sue Elson
Social Secretary
socialsec

Datchet Flyer Report

E is for Elin, F is for Fergus, O is for MG!

Selden SailJuice Datchet Flyer weekend, 9-10 December

I fancied a bit of a challenge this winter and signed up for my first taste of big fleet action to mix it up (from afar!) with some of the country’s best dinghy sailors. I’d been watching the forecast from 10 days out (9kts from the NE) and gradually saw the isobars tightening as the week went on. So much so that I switched my entry from the 10.4m2 Blaze sail to the 8.8m2 Fire sail and what a good decision that turned out to be…

So, at 0615 on a very wet and windy Saturday morning, I hitched up my dinghy to the van, fighting to keep the compound gate from blowing shut onto my precious cargo, and hightailed it north up the A3 in the driving rain to Datchet Sailing Club near Heathrow. I was the first to arrive (just as the gate was being unlocked, in fact) and rigged up the boat, also in the rain, registered, picked up my GPS tracker and got ready to launch.

(https://enter.sailracer.org/eventsites/content.asp?id=50500&eventid=225490&templ=)

gives a great report of the weekend and I would agree with the “heinous conditions” part! The reservoir water level was full and we were now elevated up into the full wrath of the biggest gusts – the wind did indeed follow Windguru’s predictions almost to the knot. At one point, I thought “this wind deserves a name”, and I later discovered Met Éireann agreed. Storm Elin said hello on Saturday and her little brother, Fergus, visited on Sunday.

My priorities for Race 1 were:

1. to avoid infringing any person or rule. In fact, I was “heinously” fouled myself by a port tack RS300 as I approached the finish line and was too shocked to protest

2. to minimise my gybes. Easy – downwind tacking all the way!

3. not to tip in. For once, this was successful, even in the increasing gusts!

4. to sail the correct course – I wasn’t the only one to miss the gate, marked by a tiny blue buoy!

3 out of 4 wasn’t bad…

As we waited for Race 2 to begin, we were virtually all knocked over by the squall mentioned in the report and many decided now was the appropriate time to head ashore. Still not endowed with much sailing sense, I lined up with about a third of the original starters and got ready for some all-out survival “racing”. Upwind was fine (mucho sail flogging), downwind was properly scary, so much so that it took me 5 attempts (with 3 capsizes) to get round the bottom left buoy of the trapezoid!!! The race was understandably shortened and I was unsure if I’d actually finished…sooooo…I carried on trying to finish a course I had actually already completed. Eventually, after the boat and I were physically picked up and flung over sideways, despite my fully-hiked-out position and the sail just flapping, and the subsequent lengthy swim in the cold water, I noticed that I was the last dinghy out and then took another 30 minutes trying to get downwind to the landing area, not an easy task.

And how indeed does one land on a concrete lee shore in F7 gusts? Seemingly by getting 4 burly sailors still in wetsuits physically to pick up the boat and dump it onto its trailer, sail fully rigged and all! Help which was gratefully accepted, but then my halyard got jammed, the sail ripped itself free and, once finally retrieved, the wind had one more trick up its sleeve and decided a special gust was reserved hilariously to tip the boat complete with launching trolley up and onto the aforementioned concrete – great!

The Sunday dawned clear and still but the Heathrow forecast still 15kts gusting 25 in its forecast. Into my cold, damp wetsuit and all ready for day two. LITERALLY as I hoisted my sail, the wind machine was turned on and then yesterday’s postponed handicap Race 3 was underway at 1030; this time, I only managed 2 out of my 4 priorities. Once again, I was blatantly fouled by yet another port tacker (“you should have shouted “starboard” earlier” – really!?!) who didn’t then perform a penalty and I spotted/remembered the gate for lap two, but an ill-advised gybe-in-a-lull-that-wasn’t-a-lull led to the first swim (of several) of the day.

By now, my legs, arms and hands were getting a tad fatigued…but it was time for the Pursuit Race, just as the wind settled into its forecast range. 22 minutes of pre-start mooching about counting up the minutes behind the Topper didn’t help the tiredness levels, then off we went, K1s, Aero 7s and me. Big circuits of the reservoir followed over the next hour and 18 minutes with much flogging upwind, a 70%-successful gybe rate (100% swimming off the failed ones!), Musto Skiffs, RS 800s and foiling Wazps all zooming past, sort of in control, and then another case of “have I finished?” but a much easier recovery to shore this time in the now-southerly wind.

Then it was time to pack up, leave the boat in the compound with kind permission for a couple of days…and fly a plane to Kuwait through the night, as you do!

Overall, an “interesting” experience, literally a baptism of Fire (sail) and despite numerous dents, bashes and bruises added to my person, the kit stood up to the onslaught remarkably well – good job, Mr Hartley. I’ve certainly gained confidence in the boat’s ability to handle the rough stuff, even if I haven’t in my own – but I’m now ready to protest anyone who crosses my bow (on port!). Numpties beware!

Rupert Rhodes

Ebb & Flow

As a follow up from last week’s Final Straw Foundation piece, I have been told that they are collecting the tubs from sweets, and there are likely to be a good number of those around at this time of year. The Facebook short video can be seen at:

https://fb.watch/oWFPqcQ-xq/

or the text is below.

CAN YOU HELP? Following on from our exciting announcement about our new Education Station project, we now need your help!

Since it’s Christmas, most of us have tubs full of sweets (or maybe not so full ) ready to be enjoyed. If you have some, we’d love to take them off your hands in the New Year, once they’re empty of course!

We will take the Education Station to schools and organisations, teaching people how to grind the tubs down, which will turn them into little flakes, ready to be moulded into fabulous, new, sustainable, reusable items such as plant pots, carabiners and coasters.

We will share more details on collection points after Christmas, but please do keep them by for us if you can. Thank you again for your support – The Final Straw Team x

Funded by The National Lottery Community Fund

Merry Christmas

As ever, feel free to drop me an email at this address, it is always nice to hear from members. Any ideas of things to include in the Tidal Diamonds always most welcome.

Let’s be careful out there.

Paul Tansom
Tidal Diamond Editor
tidal_diamonds

Useful Links

• WebCollect: dinghies for more details.

Tidal Diamond 925

• Social Update
• Commodore’s Update
• Ebb & Flow
• Useful Links
• Diary Dates

Social Update

Tudor Christmas Party – 16th December

Let’s celebrate Christmas at Tudor! Enjoy an evening of eating, drinking, laughter and dancing to the sounds of a live band.

Christmas buffet provided. Ticket only event, only a few tickets left.

I look forward to seeing you all on the dance floor!

https://webcollect.org.uk/tudorsc/event/tudor-christmas-party

Sue Elson
Social Secretary
socialsec

Commodore’s Update

Compound Drainage

The drainage and surface in the central part of the compound is much improved thanks to the work recently carried out. As previously communicated, this was Phase 1 of the work. We will be undertaking further work along the East fence to improve the surface under the dinghies during the coming year.

Chain

If anybody has spare top-chain, please leave it in the small compound as we can use this to replace worn out chain on the slipway.

Cruisers – reminders

• Jet washing may only be carried out up until 31 December.
• Ensure all ladders are locked underneath your boat, or removed from the compound.
• Tenders must be kept underneath your boat – please do not encroach onto the pathways.
• Ensure that no oil/diesel is allowed to escape into the compound.

Recent Flooding

The recent flooding caused by the drainage issues to the north of the compound was likely contaminated with effluent. If you are using or cleaning your boat over winter, do take care – wash hands and consider using disinfectant.

Colin Thorpe
Commodore
commodore

Ebb & Flow

An item that may be of interest on the work of the Final Straw Foundation can be found at:

https://www.facebook.com/100068437748235/posts/pfbid02q88hDBiEES13G3GAVDDnjtC42N1SJrsFxiBVNQG9p7ADFQ3cbPC4QRhF6bpJJNdcl/

Given that the link is to Facebook, which not everyone has (although it can actually be read if you close the prompt to login) I will include the text (I couldn’t find the news on their website unfortunately, and I’m confident they won’t mind):

National Lottery Funding Award!

We are very excited to announce that we secured an award from The National Lottery Community Fund that will fund our brand new project, Final Straw Foundation’s Education Station!

The Education Station is an education and engagement project that directly reduces plastic waste in the local area, creates new products and raises awareness of plastic pollution and how plastics are linked to climate change.

The idea is simple – local people come together to reuse plastic waste that has been collected from beach cleans and public collection points which are then sorted, shredded and moulded into new reusable products!

Thank you to everyone who plays the National Lottery, you helped fund this exciting initiative that will directly benefit our local area.

As ever, feel free to drop me an email at this address, it is always nice to hear from members. Any ideas of things to include in the Tidal Diamonds always most welcome.

Let’s be careful out there.

Paul Tansom
Tidal Diamond Editor
tidal_diamonds

Useful Links

• WebCollect: dinghies for more details.

Tidal Diamond 924

• Ebb & Flow
• Useful Links
• Diary Dates

Ebb & Flow

It is the time of year when water based activities become thinner on the ground. For cruiser owners there’s plenty to do ashore, and although we have had a bit of a chilly spell, it is often warmer than it is after Christmas (I usually note this whilst regretting not making more use of the warmer time!). Cruisers wise it is worth noting that jet washing needs to be done before the end of December.

Water based activities are by no means non existent. There is the Frostbite series at the moment and the Icicle series coming up in the new year. The ever hardy rowers show no signs of stopping, and if you join the Paddlers WhatsApp group you will find some activity there as well. In which case this link from the RYA is worth taking a look at, not that Cold Water Shock is purely a winter based concern, the temperature difference in summer can still be a shock.

https://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge/safety/look-after-yourself/cold-water-shock

Another useful link is this one on the RNLI website on checking and maintaining your life jacket. Something worth doing ready for next season.

https://rnli.org/magazine/magazine-featured-list/2020/april/how-to-check-and-maintain-your-lifejacket

Tudor events wise there is Tudor Christmas Party on the 16th December. Tickets available at:

https://webcollect.org.uk/tudorsc/event/tudor-christmas-party

I’ll round off this short Tidal Diamod with something for your Christmas Shopping, and a reminder that you can sign up for Easy Fundrasing and raise some money for the club at the same time, details here:

https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/tudorsailingclub/

As ever, feel free to drop me an email at this address, it is always nice to hear from members. Any ideas of things to include in the Tidal Diamonds always most welcome.

Let’s be careful out there.

Paul Tansom
Tidal Diamond Editor
tidal_diamonds

Useful Links

• WebCollect: dinghies for more details.