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
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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:
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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
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to minimise my gybes. Easy – downwind tacking all the way!
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not to tip in. For once, this was successful, even in the increasing gusts!
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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
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Useful Links
- WebCollect: dinghies for more details.
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