2017 March,April, including drone footage. A fantastic start to the sailing season at Seasalter.
After a well supported work party (35+) to get the club in shape for our keen sailors many rigged their boats and enjoyed a leisurely sail around the Swale on Sunday in surprisingly mild calm weather for the 12th March. An early mist cleared with a gentle south westerly force 2 breeze, 9 boats, 12 sailors afloat enjoyed “seal watching” in the sunshine. A treat for everyone was the hot food arranged by our newly formed galley team, thank you everyone.
The following weekend was Race Officer and Patrol Boat training, the theory! Again, a full house comprising almost all duty teams, lured by good food and keen to be fully prepared for action. Reports afterwards from new members especially, confirmed how useful these sessions are, others benefited from refreshing their memories.
When we expected to sail the following weekend we were greeted with a force 6-7 north easterly wind, -5 degrees wind chill, and large waves breaking along our shoreline. With so many members at the club it was decided to use the weather to our advantage by running a Patrol Boat training “practical” session afloat! Many described their encounters with the challenging conditions but were nevertheless successful in completing all the manoeuvres required including “man overboard (a float!) “. Luckily many members were around to assist with launching and recovery of the PB’s.
April 1/2nd - at last some sailing for everyone. The start of the “Sally Forth” racing series and an opportunity to get afloat for those needing to test their boats for seaworthiness after repairs over the winter. Saturday saw a keen SW force 5 with flat water and gusts to keep 11 sailors plus crew alert! With a mix of craft from Tornado, Weta and several Sprint 15 catamarans to Picos and Laser dinghies spirits were high and keen competitive racing followed in Seasalter sunshine. There was also the chance for more gel-coating of hulls in the boat field as the weather was right for repairs too!
Sunday the breezes were a gentle force 2 from the north, so the ” Tornado boys” took the opportunity to tune their boat in the field and play with their new toy – a drone. You must see the fantastic sailing footage at SSC, also on the club’s Facebook site under “videos”.
More news to follow with the traditional “Ace Cup” over the Easter bank holiday weekend.
J