Tidal Diamond 715

• Social News
• Boxing Day Race
• Rowing by Moonlight
• Diary Dates

Social News

Christmas Lunch

A big thank you to Sandra and all her helpers for yet again another amazing Christmas Dinner.
Thanks also to Lin and Chris for organising and running the raffle.

Friday 20th December Carol Evening 7.30 to 9.00

Get in the Christmas spirit and don’t forget to wear Christmas jumpers!

New Years Eve 8pm Start

Derek will be our DJ for the evening and we will be having an American Supper so please bring some goodies to share with friends!

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO RUN BAR NEW YEARS EVE ON A ONE HOUR SLIT BASIS OR MORE! COUNTS TOWARDS DUTY HOURS!

A big thank you to everyone for supporting and helping at these events!

Wendy Jones
Social Secretary
socialsec

Boxing Day Race

Thank you to everyone who has emailed me regarding the Boxing Day race. For this race to go ahead we just need a patrol boat crew. So if you are trained up and available then please do consider volunteering, especially if you are after duty hours. If you are interested in taking part in the race then please do email me so that I can make sure there is enough interest in the race for it to go ahead.

Mark Swallow
Dinghy Captain
dinghies

Rowing by Moonlight

Unlike other forms of boating our gig rowing continues all year round without a break due to its immunity to cold temperatures, wind, rough sea and lack of daylight. [Note: dinghy racing does continue through the winter months as well. Cruisers are only ashore because it is so much nicer working under the boat during the winter than taking advantage of a nice crisp winters day for a sail… not sure that one holds up actually! Ed.]

It is this last point “lack of daylight” that I highlight here.

The Freedom crew row at least one evening every week of the year which means that for several months we row in the dark, except that we don’t row in the dark, within 10 minutes of launching ones night vision builds up and even with a heavy cloud cover it is relatively easy to “see”.

I have done thousands of miles of night sailing but still enjoy the special pleasure of being afloat at night, removed from the comfort zone of daylight, the senses are heightened and even in the safe waters of Langstone a sense of adventure pervades the atmosphere.

Different phenomena such as a large full moon or the glory of the Milky Way add yet another layer of pleasure to the activity and it is the very physicality of rowing that not only keeps the cold at bay but due to the extra blood flow seems to pump up the pleasure level.

Attached is a pic. taken last week which reminded me of a night last winter, the water was glass smooth, not a ripple, the air was crystal clear without a hint of cloud and each and every star was reflected in the sea, it was if we were rowing through the night sky with stars above, below and all round, one of those small experiences in life that has the ability to plunge deep into the psyche and lodge there forever.

The level of afloat activity after dark is generally very low, however over this last 3 winters we have come across groups of sea Kayakers, in fact it has become a regular occurrence to spot their huddled group of lights traversing Langstone, they don’t respond much to our greetings, perhaps like us they are buried in the experience which chatter can spoil.

Because we row our own boat we are free of the club night rowing restrictions that had taken the cadets off the water, and so with their parents permission we are able take out the cadets who do an absolute Trojan job of coxing for us, it cannot be overstated how grateful we are to these young folk and their stoicism in withstanding the cold for our benefit.

However to offset the downsides of coxing in the winter there are great benefits to young sailors by being able to safely go afloat during the hours of darkness, the experience dissipates any trepidation that they will “blindly crash into stuff” and along with this positive realisation is the equally useful lesson in “Navigating by lights”, the novice sailor can be forgiven for thinking that navigating at night must be far more difficult than during the day, but in a lot of ways navigating by lit bouys and lighthouses is easier because the light patterns can be read from a far greater distance than any painted name. I am in no doubt that conning a boat at night brings the young sailor an increase in both confidence and seamanship.

For a gig rower all the seasons bring their pleasures but rowing under a “Winter Moon” takes some beating.

Ian Ducane

Diary Dates

Dinghy, Sailing, Cruiser

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Regards,
Paul Tansom

Tidal Diamond Editor
Tudor Sailing Club

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