News

Early Summer Newsletter

I am writing this on a Tuesday night when I should be sailing, but discretion became the better part of valour as 16-20 mph Northerly winds are gusting 30mph and its raining.

This Saturday there will be another Familiarisation day. This time we are going to start at 1pm instead of 9.30am. This is because the wind seems to go walk about first thing in the morning. Safety boat will be on the water until 4pm. If you just fancy a sail or want some help getting on the water then please come down. The weather forecast is much much better for Saturday. Honest!

Turn out on a Sunday and a Tuesday has averaged ten boats. We have had great racing; always competitive, but friendly. If you haven’t been down we would love to see you. Duties are going well. Thank you Juley for all your hard work. If you have not yet committed to a duty don’t worry we will advise you of your duty day.

With the warm weather and the rain I don’t need to tell you how fast the grass is growing. Please pop down and check your boat in the Dinghy Park hasn’t disappeared and bring a pair of shears just in case it has.

Shearwater SC website has been refreshed and has a new front page. Take a look! A big thank you to Pat for doing this. Facebook, weather forecast links; calendar and the latest news. If you have some photo contributions for the Gallery then please contact Pat.

Treasure Hunt. Friday 10th June 7pm starting at the Clubhouse. This has been organised by Juley Simmonds. See the Facebook entry and record your interest.

Tuesday night sailing will start at 6.30pm from June onwards. Hopefully the extra minutes will give more of you time to get down to the club and sail.

Can you spare a few hours on a Saturday to help spruce up the clubhouse and Dinghy Park can you let me know?

Fair winds.
Regards

Clive Chapman

Commodore’s Late Spring Newsletter

Hi all
April has brought us the usual variety of Spring weather. Winds have been variable both in direction and strength (what’s new I can hear you say). Fourteen boats on the water Sunday and ten last week. Well done the sailors!

Comet and Topper Open
The Comet and Topper Open was a great success. My thanks goes to all those involved in its organisation, both on and off the water.

Duties.
For those of you have not yet put your name down for at least two duties please do so soon. Look at the website and check all available dates. My thanks go to Juley for inputting all the duties . At the end of April if your name does not appear on Juley’s list then you will be notified by the club the dates you have been allocated. You have been warned!!
Quiz night A date for your diary is Friday 20th May. We are holding a Quiz night in the Clubhouse. This will be a fun quiz. If you are not a genius or a candidate for Mastermind then you are the people we want to attend. Tickets are £4.00 and this includes a ploughman’s supper. Bring your own drink and start getting your team together now. Fun begins at 7.30pm. To get the catering right will you please inform Lois or me that you are coming.

Familiarisation Saturday 7th May 10am to 12.30pm.
Familiarisation day is an opportunity for you to sail on our fantastic lake without getting in the way of any racing. There will a safety boat in attendance so that you cruise to your heart’s content. If you wont to improve some basic skills then some experienced helms will be on hand to help you. If it is some time since you have been on the water or are not sure how to rig your boat then bring it down and we will get it sorted. Always crewed and wont to helm? Then take out one of the Comet Duos with a supportive crew to help you. For this day to be a success all we ask is for you to inform a committee member of your intention to attend then we can have the right personnel on hand to help you. There are two more planned for the first Saturday in June and July.

Clubhouse improvements.
As the weather gets better we want to spruce up the inside and outside of the clubhouse. A small but enthusiastic work party will be needed. If you can lend a hand for a few hours on a Saturday in June will you let me know which days you are available and then we can plan it from there?

Tuesday Evening Series sailing.
A reminder that this starts on the 26th April at 6.15 pm. As the evenings get lighter we will start the races a little later at 6.30pm in June; July and August.

All in Series. Next series day is Sunday May 15th. Four short races. Two in the morning and two in the afternoon.

Regards

Clive Chapman
Commodore Shearwater Sailing Club

Shearwater Sailing Club Comet Open

Shearwater Comet Open 9th April 2016
Nine visitors joined two home boats for the Shearwater Open. As the current Commodore I welcomed the guests and confidently said the westerly wind we were experiencing was a good wind direction for Shearwater but the lake was always a challenging one. What I didn’t expect was that four seasons would visit us during the day.
Nic Cross the Race Officer set a course with five marks enabling all points of sailing to be experienced.
Race one a fluctuating breeze with the odd shower saw Henry Jaggers C800 of to a good start with Chris Hatton C48 chasing him who eventually overtook him on the second lap, and was to hold this position to the finish. Henry held off the challenge of Eddie Pope C804 who in turn kept in front of Chris Robertson C867. John Sturgeon sailing C400X came in fifth.
Race two saw Eddie get off to a good start in a dying breeze. As the race progressed the wind died almost completely. Being in the right place at the right time saw little zephyrs’ give some boats an advantage while others languished. Chris Hatton chased Eddie all the way to the line. Both sailors were excellent light wind sailors. John Coppenhall C532 made up four places on the last lap and came in third ahead of Henry Jaggers and Chris Robertson. With only three laps sailed it was in doubt whether a third race should be started but it was agreed to try.
Race three started again in a variable wind. The reason for the extreme lull in the wind in race two became apparent as squall after squall hit the race. Torrential rain; sleet and hail greeted the helms and a lively 40 minutes has had by all. Chris Hatton went into the lead followed by Henry and Ben Palmer C597. As the weather churned the lake up so the positions changed. The heavy weather specialists Ben Palmer and Chris Robertson came to the fore. Ben taking first place being chased by Chris Robertson and then Chris Hatton came in third with Eddie coming in fourth.
An excellent tea was followed by the prize giving. My thanks go to the Race Committee and the Safety crew, and to the galley for all their excellent work.
Ist Chris Hatton Severn SC
2nd Eddie Pope Ogston SC
3rd Chris Robertson Burfield SC
4th Henry Jaggers Beer SC
5th Ben Palmer Baltic Wharf SC
6th John Coppenhall Hunts SC
7th John Sturgeon Hawley Lake SC
8th Steve Gregory Frensham SC
9th James Welburn Shearwater SC
10th Clive Chapman Shearwater SC
11th Mike Parnell Bristol and Avon SC

Clive Chapman
Commodore Shearwater SC