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Reports and Stories

Sailing trip from Lydney to Avon SC - David Harris & George Price 1998

Under sail on the River Severn from Chaceley Stock to Worcester  
Ray Newton and Dave Critchell

Sailing Trip, Bristol to Lisbon - August 1999 George Keighley

Weekend Sailing on Rutland Water 22nd to 24th October 1999 
Dave Worrall and Ray Newton

Diary of Ship's Cat "Harvey" on Board "Nanok" with My People, Brian and Angela (Them)

Sailing trip from Lydney to Avon SC - David Harris & George Price 1998

Having heard a lot about George Price sailing from Lydney all the way up the Severn to the Club last year, and that he was planning a repeat trip this year, I was only too pleased to accept an invitation to go along. As I had only ever sailed on the River Severn proper, this trip was bound to be different, and just how different I was soon to find out!

George's experience of the River soon showed through when in addition to a map, he produced a strict timetable. Leaving Lydney at 09:35 on the dot would give us only 10 minutes leeway at the point of no return, which was Newnham: miss the timing there and we would have to turn back....

I arrived at Avon SC. at 8 in the morning to be met by Dave and George. Leaving Dave's and my cars at the Club we drove via Upleaden, Newent and Coleford arriving at Lydney at 9am, where we meet up with Cliff who was busy preparing his Wanderer. The tide was already coming in at quite a rate of knots and the sandbanks were disappearing by the minute, so soon there was plenty of water and the boats were launched at 9:45 (the latest possible time). The morning mist was clearing and the opposite bank could just be seen, the river being 3/4 mile wide at this point.

The launch went well, if rather muddily, with Lydney pier providing a shelter from the increasing flood tide. The motor fired up and the sails filled, and with all this and the flood tide we were given an exhilarating turn of speed and Lydney soon receded into the mist. The river widened to over a mile and the morning mist cleared to reveal great areas of troubled water, where the force of the tide and the flow of the river causes much turbulence and a heavy chop. Then we met the first standing waves - a new experience for me - 3ft-high waves which were n’t moving anywhere, and which would appear and disappear within a few minutes. These are caused by the flow of the river and the rapidly rising tide over comparatively shallow water. However, we managed to miss most - but not all - of these mainly due to George's knowledge of the River and the navigable channel.

On reaching the "Noose", where the estuary turns left and starts to narrow down, George took the deep channel to the right, but Dave & Cliff decided to attempt the much shorter route to the left over the shallow water. At first this seem a good move, but a series of six standing waves appeared! The Wanderer rode high over the first five waves, but through the sixth, giving them an intimate feel for the water temperature. Then the shallow water proved just a mite too shallow, and the centreplate struck the sand. However, no gear was damaged and both boats proceeded through both heavy chop and calm waters to Newnham, arriving at 10:51, four minutes ahead of our schedule, a distance of 17km in just over an hour.

Newnham is the decision point, if we had been late we would have moored up and returned to Lydney on the ebb tide after a wait of about 4 hours. But all was well as we were just ahead of schedule. Many of the visitors to Newnham seemed surprised to see us: very few boats, especially of our size, are seen on the River here, and many cheery waves were exchanged.

Proceeding around Newnham and on towards Epney, after another 3/4 hour we had travelled about 1/2 mile as the crow files. The river is now not that wide, about 1/4 mile, but heavy chops and standing waves were still a-plenty. At this point both boats tried pure sailing without engine assistance, but there was insufficient wind to maintain the necessary speed, so we resorted to more motor sailing. Arriving at Epney where the river turns left and widens out proved interesting: workmen where busy building flood defences (do they know something we don’t, I wonder?) and standing waves appeared almost across the full width of the River. These gave the boat a good hammering but the 'Dayboat' proved more than adequate for keeping crew dry.

At this point the river narrows down to normal size and the speed of our progress really began to show. The "Severn Bore" pub hove into view and disappeared equally quickly; and the 33 kilometre mark came and went at Minsterworth church at 1215. The river now turns almost due South giving us almost a head wind, but by now we were 15min ahead of schedule. The rest of the journey to Gloucester proved easy, although we did turn the boat to face the flood tide to prove the engine could make headway against the tide.

Arriving at Gloucester is also a decision point: the short way is via Maisemore weir about one or 1½ miles away; the longer way via Gloucester although the weir is closer. Time was on side so we chose Maisemore. Lowering the mast to get under the bridges provides fast passage to Maisemore and onto the navigable part of the river. Here the race against time is finished and a more leisurely cruise upriver back home to Avon SC can be taken.

Under sail on the River Severn from Chaceley Stock to Worcester

Aboard the small ship Allegro from June 21st to 24th 1998 crewed by

Ray Newton and Dave Critchell

We departed at 1815 Sunday 21st June on a lovely and sunny evening. The wind was a strong South-Westerly straight up the River Severn. As we planned to moor up overnight at Lower Lode, we had a very pleasant sail under genoa only, arriving a bare hour later. The boom-tent, which was developed by Ray, was set up and proved to work well. It needed to, really, because the cockpit was utilised to the full for overnighting: the cabin is far too small for the baggage and sleeping gear for two large adults!

After a good roast dinner, washed down with very palatable beer, in the Lower Lode Hotel we proved the gas hobs and light with a resultant coffee and brandy. We turned in and had a good night's rest, except that Ray had to get up at 0330 to tie back the main halyard which had begun to slap against the mast! This task became a regular on succeeding nights and was done immediately on mooring for the night.

Monday 22nd June dawned bright and sunny with the very fresh South-Westerly still blowing. At 0900 we went through our first lock at Upper Lode, which, from water level looked a daunting prospect for first timers such as we. All through safely, however, and on our own, we hoisted sails and in the stiff breeze were soon at the confluence of the Severn and Avon - the emblem of our Avon Sailing Club burgee. We remembered to steer left - port for the purists - into the Severn. Mythe Bridge looked too low at first sight, but then we thought it just about navigable, so risked it. Looking up as we passed under at 1135 it seemed that the burgee had only a couple of inches clearance! The wind died at this point and we started the outboard [our wind-seeker] because the water flow is very much faster above the lock. After that the fluky wind conditions prevailed, due to the high ground and tall trees on either side. Later this was coupled with rain showers all the way to Upton, where we arrived at 1345 and moored up alongside a narrowboat on the ‘town mooring pontoon' for the night.

The hotel-boat ‘Oliver Cromwell' passed us at 1225 on the way up, and was next seen moored at Upton. We seemed to be the focus of a lot of interest of the passengers and we feature in many photos!

The rain stopped for a few hours - enough to walk around the town and have a meal and drinks at the Plough. But the rain came back in the night. We discovered that the tent cover was not as waterproof as it should have been and some drips came through, but luckily not enough to cause any serious soaking of the kit stowed in the cockpit. We got a new, smaller, sheet to supplement the first one and this completed the waterproofing. Luckily we also missed the Jazz Festival which was scheduled for the next weekend.

After a restless night, to awaken to the rain was a disappointment. However we made our breakfast with lots of warming coffee, and after swapping around again from nighttime mode to daytime we set off at 0900 on Tuesday 23rd.

The wind was still as strong and, as the banks are lower and clearer for the most part, we reached and ran very well all the way to Worcester; a very satisfying day's sailing despite the rain. We were passed again by the ‘Oliver Cromwell' on her way to her next berth at Worcester.

We went up through Diglis Basin lock on our own after the left-hand lock had disgorged the two narrow boats locking down. The lock-keeper was most interested in our sailing boat - he doesn't see many - and asked how far we were intending to go? I told him that we would like to get to Stourport and he asked whether I knew that the Worcester road bridge had a maximum clearance of twenty feet at summer low water level, but that the clearance was much less today. Allegro mast height is about twenty three feet! So, unless we could lower the mast, we’d need to forget about going beyond that bridge. We tied up to the upper pontoon and had a practice in lowering the mast down to the angle allowed by the cabin roof. Our estimate was that it was about four feet lower, but when we saw the bridge height clearance we knew that the mast would have to be more-or-less horizontal to get under. As we would have had a very short time to reach Stourport before returning we decided that it was not really worth the effort and the possible resultant problems and so remained at Worcester. We'll sail to Stourport another time.

We arrived at Worcester at 1630 and after circling to select what appeared to be the best place to moor up alongside, opted for a part of what looked like a ‘quay' on the South side of the river (Cricket ground side) near the bridge. In fact this is called Bromwich Parade, according to the plaque on the bridge, which describes briefly the ‘Severn Trow' vessels which plied cargo up until the late 18th Century. This area is also a Swan Sanctuary with a great flock of them. They seem smaller and not so healthy as our local families. We settled Allegro into her [now routine!] nighttime mode; had a good wash and, thoroughly refreshed with some on-board tipple, I set off to find a public toilet primarily to replenish our drinking water supplies containers. None to be had - all toilets locked for the night! Not a friendly place for small-boats to visit.

The ‘Old Replenishment House', on the north-side of the river stopped serving food at 1430, and there was only World Cup TV football and beer to be had there. They recommended the Star Hotel just along the road. The food which we had there was very good and inexpensive, and the young bar-lady most willingly refilled our water containers: we would recommend it.

Wednesday 24th morning was as dull and dismal as the evening before, but at least it was dry. As the river water was clearer we realized how lucky we’d been in tying up exactly where we did, which was on the down-river side of a tree bough which curved down to about two feet above the ‘quay' and out over the water. The reason? Because a boat length up-river of the bough, the water depth was only about six inches and Allegro draws eight inches with the centre plate fully up so we would havebeen aground. We were in the only bit which was some two feet deep!

After the usual preparations we cast off at 0840. This water was sheltered but the current took us down river quite quickly and again we provided a display to the passengers of the ‘Oliver Cromwell' when hoisting our sails for our return journey. The very brisk South-Westerly wind into which we were now beating got us to Diglis Basin very quickly at 0915, but the ‘Oliver Cromwell' still beat us to it! So we had to tie up on the pontoon to await the next ‘green light' but in fact it turned out to be very quick.

When we left the lock the wind was really screaming at us. We hoisted sails and had some very agile sailing until about 1030 when the mainsheet traveller rope broke. In the confused situation we ended up in a bush - but at least it was a windward bush! We quickly furled the main and backed off under genoa only and sailed thus for a few tacks. However, the wind and rain was really strong and coming directly up the straight stretch that we had reached and we could not hold the jib-sheet in!

As we were feeling the cumulative fatigue of restless nights sleep and the disappointment at the poor weather, we decided at 1100 to start the outboard and get back home as quickly as possible - even the coffee liberally laced with brandy did not change our minds. We tied up at 1205 for a lunch break and respite at Upton but then continued our journey at 1300. Passed under Mythe Bridge at 1400 and through Upper Lode lock at 1415 without any delay and arrived back at my landing stage/mooring at ASC at 1445.

It was a very interesting and unforgettable experience which taught us a lot. We shall do it again, when we have more time to spare, simply to go when the weather prospects are normally summery. To give ourselves more space we'll most likely follow our original idea to go in our own boats ‘in company'.

Ray and Dave

 SAILING TRIP, BRISTOL TO LISBON - AUGUST 1999 George Keighley

David Lynall from "Lynall Boats" has sold his interest in the Cheltenham shop and decided to sail around the world, his first objective being to meet his brother in the Seychelles for the New Year.

I was fortunate enough to be invited on the first leg of the trip with his brother Antony Lynall and David Burrows.

Preparations

The boat, a Moody 47, named Leopard Star, was purchased from a Hamble boat yard and brought in stages from the Solent to Bristol where it was to be prepared for its trip. I was on the leg from Falmouth to Swansea, but off Lands End two of the crew were very sea sick and we had to returned to Falmouth.

The two Davids worked and lived on the boat in Bristol Docks, and Heather and I helped provision the boat on the evening of 4th August.

7th August - Departure day

After a busy drive down the M5 ( Eclipse weekend ) we all met upon the boat in Bristol Marina at 9 in the morning. About 40 friends, including Avon SC members Jane & Peter Baston, Geoff & Jo Miller, Mat Buett, Peter & Heather Keighley all came to see us off ( to make sure we really went).

After refuelling with water & diesel, we departed to a rather emotional send off at 1315 pm. We then had a half an hour wait for the road bridge and lock to open, so we took the opportunity to celebrate our departure with a bottle of champagne. It was a relief to get off at last.

At 1445 we locked out of Bristol Docks into the Avon river with two other boats ( vintage motor cruisers) which were off to Barry for the weekend. We were soon motoring beneath the Clifton Suspension Bridge and under the M5 which was still clogged up with traffic. We had good views of the two Severn road bridges - a new sight for me.

1745- Little wind, motoring at 7.5 knots with 5 knots of tide between Flat Holm & Steep Holm.

The watches were split into 6 hour shifts with a new crew coming on duty every 3 hours This ensured there was always one person who understood the current shipping movements and one who was reasonably fresh .I did the 0300 - 0900 and 1500 - 2100 watches. The first watch passed uneventfully and I managed to get some sleep in the port peak bunk which was fitted with lee cloths.

8 th August

 

0115 - passing between Lundy Island and Hartland Point now motor sailing in a NE 2/3.

0620 - the engine off at last, full sail - 6 knots - wonderful, peace at last. We had a trailing generator to trickle charge the battery which enabled us to use the self-steering gear while it was not too rough. It also enabled us to use the radar to track the shipping movements overnight.

0810 - now very heavy rain, wind NE force 4/5, and we put the first reef in the mainsail. All a bit wet.

1400 - saw two small Sharks swimming off Lands End.

1500 - abeam Wolf Rock. Logged 166 Miles in the first 24 hours. We saw several of the Fastnet Race boats coming back under spinnaker, with the slower boats still beating towards Ireland.

9 August

A clear night, with no moon but with lots of shooting stars. David Lynall took the opportunity to practice with his guitar (is there no end to his talents?) Later the wind died, leaving us with a lumpy sea: difficult to steer or sleep very well in my bunk - crashing sea and engine noise.

0600 – wind got up to NW force 3 to 4. Full sail and sun -good sailing again.

1100 – the first 300 miles, already much further than I had sailed before in one hop. We are about 120 miles west of Brest. No ships, just sun, sea, and wind - perfect.

Antony starts fishing over the stern, so we slowed the boat down to four knots (the optimum speed for young fit mackerel). Caught four, so speeded up again. They were cooked with lemon, butter & fresh pepper. Very tasty - how well we live!

1200 - had our first Gin & Tonic -how can life get better (honest, we rationed ourselves to one drink a day!)

1230 - now sailing at 7.5 knots and four dolphins came out to play with us - a great sight!

Two reefs in overnight and a boom preventer. No boats sighted all night.

10 August

At dawn the wind eased and we shook out the reefs. The wind then dies to Force 2 and we motor sail. More dolphins.

0600 - motor off, sailing again.

1900 - cooked Chicken Korma & Rice for supper. Saw ships again!

1915 WSW 3/4 -5.5knots and a smooth sea , 500 miles under our belt.

2000 - 80 miles NE of Finisterre, sighted a 25-30ft whale.

Overnight we saw a vessel displaying, in addition to normal lights, a yellow flashing light: was it a fishing boat, a slow hovercraft, a submarine or a floating JCB, we wondered?

11 August

Little wind all day, hot and sunny. Some of the eclipse seen: it went a little colder, but it was a bit of a non-event for me.

Motorsailed down the Spanish coast (not that we were near enough to see it).

Saw pilot whales and more dolphins - a great lazy day.

Tried to phone home but Heather was out again. Later used the satellite phone as there was no signal from the mobile.

The wind came up at about 1830 - windy night, 3 reefs and not much sleep.

Made a bread and butter pudding out of some of the now-stale bread - yum yum!

12 August

 

Windy Northerly Force 5-6-7. From a previous shipping forecast there was talk of a new deepening low in the area, but could not get any subsequent future reports due to weak reception. David phoned the Bracknell Weather Centre who were most helpful. They advised us that the Force 6 we were getting at present would increase only a little and the low would then fill.

With 2 reefs in the main and only half a Genoa we hit 9.2 knots (off the crest of a wave).

Overnight we dropped the main and just ran under a bit of Genoa at 6.5 knots.

Not much sleep again, and although we had lee cloths, my head kept banging on the side of the bunk. Tried to line the bunk with bedding, but eventually like the rest of the crew gave up and came up on deck.

Cabin in a bit of a mess - David will have to store more securely for his World trip.

0500 - saw land for the first time since the Isles of Scilly, 5 days ago.

0900 - Safe water mark at the river entrance to Lisbon.

1100 - Sailed under Lisbon bridge and the sun is shining. We had a large G & T and a bottle of Champagne to celebrate.

1130 - Doca de Lacantra Marina, Lisbon. Stern-to-bow to buoy - 914 logged miles!

 

We tidied up the boat a bit and at 1400 we all went to bed for a good sleep.

Up at 1800 for a night on the town, and the rest is censored but involved an Irish Pub, a tattoo and the Cheltenham 4 singing group. The next day was spent sightseeing in Lisbon.

On Sunday, took a taxi to the airport and caught the 1800 flight home.

All in all, a very good trip and a wonderful experience. It may sound a bit dull at times, but it did have some memorable moments - like sitting in the cockpit at 3 in the morning under the clear night sky, watching all the galaxies complete with shooting stars: it certainly puts life into perspective.

Would I go again? Yes, without hesitation. Have bag, will travel. Any time, any boat.

George Keighley

 

 

Diary of Ship's Cat "Harvey" on Board "Nanok" with My People, Brian and Angela (Them)

 Friday 26th Feb 1998

"They" are rushing about filling the car with all sorts of rubbish - what the hell's going on? I was quite happy in my cottage with lots of garden to hunt in. Now "they" have shoved me into a box and put me in the car with all their bits and pieces. "They" don't look too happy, perhaps they are not sure what they are doing. Hours later in the pouring rain "they" put me on this thing that floats on water. I am very puzzled but I am finding lots of places to hide.

Saturday 27th Feb

"He" thought I was lost and went running up and down the pontoons looking for me, but I was just sleeping behind a backrest. Silly sod - as if I would get lost. I'm a cat!!!

Sunday 28th Feb

Thought I would have some fun last night, so I kept "them" awake half the night. This floating thing ("they" call it a boat) does a lot of creaking.

Monday 8th March

Getting to quite like the boat now - lots of hidey holes. Have been to explore some other boats near by - "they" don't like this very much and run about after me. Silly sods, they never catch me. I'm a cat!!!

Saturday 20th March

"They" are getting a bit clever. Got me this red harness thing with a bit of string attached so I can't go exploring so much, but I still go when "they" forget to put it on. "He" put it on me last night, which I forgot, so when I jumped off the boat I landed in the wet stuff. "He" hauled me out and "she" gave me lots of hugs and kisses. Ugh, horrid!!!

Thursday 1st April

Just got used to the boat when "they" started a big noisy thing and went out to what "they" call the sea. I stayed below!!! Then they stopped the noisy thing and put up big white things - "they" think it is great fun. Can't think why, but I'm just a cat!!! "They" made a right hash coming back to our moorings, ropes were everywhere and people running about. "She" was shouting at "him" and "he" was shouting at "her". I stayed below and had a sleep. I'm a cat!!!

Saturday 10th April

Lots of people have been to see us - Paul and Lin, Roger and Sue, Tim and Mitzi, Ray and Lyn, Woody and Hailey, all the family for Easter (the young one is still a pest), George and Heather, Paul and Fi with their little people who try to catch me for a stroke. They never do - I'm a cat!!!

Tuesday 20th April

Sometimes I get a bit cold on this boat thing, so I go into "his" bed for a warm. "He" thinks I am being affectionate. Silly sod - I'm a cat!!!

Friday 30th April

Those George and Ray people came back, they seem to like this boat thing. Yesterday "they" took me to the cat doctor. "He" was holding me whilst the cat doctor stuck a big needle in, so I bit "him".

Saturday 1st May

Popped up on deck to stretch my paws only to find we are at sea again. There is thick fog but "they" seem quite excited - something about crossing the channel. We are at sea for a long time and that Ray person keeps pinching my seat on deck but when he moved I was too quick for him. I'm a cat!!!

Sunday 2nd May

We are at a place called Cherbourg and some people around here speak a funny language. The "people" went for a French meal and wine tonight and left me in peace, thank goodness!

Monday 3rd May

We are on the move again to a place called Le Havre. The sea has big waves on it and the boat thing is going up and down. The "people" think it is great. After a while, my people come below looking very sorry for themselves - they are seasick. Silly sods forgot to take their pills. I'm OK, I'm a cat!!!

Tuesday 4th May

The George and Ray people left today so I don't have to worry about my seat. "They" went off to arrange for the big tall thing to be taken down. That's all for now, I'm going for a long sleep.Harvey, Ship's Cat 

Weekend Sailing on Rutland Water 22nd to 24th October 1999 
Dave Worrall and Ray Newton

Aeolian, Dave's Skipper 17 twin lifting-keel boat, is usually kept on her mooring at ASC, but Dave had taken her off early due to the high water level following days of heavy rain at the end of September/early October. All other boats had also been taken off their moorings.

Bearing in mind that insurance does not cover boats on moorings after the end of October, we wondered whether this was to be an early end to our sailing season? We didn't want it to be that way, so we put on our thinking caps to consider other sailing areas where we could give a good boat her head, and this led to the idea of looking at large lakes. The nearest is Rutland Water, a large reservoir outside Leicester, near to Oakham. When it was completed, some 20 years ago, it was the largest man-made lake in Europe, and we decided that Rutland was for us.

As this was to be a weekend to gain experience for future reference, we towed Aeolian with Ray's Autohome, setting off at 1510 on the afternoon of Friday 22nd. The journey was straightforward, but with traffic delays around Coventry we didn’t arrive until some 4 hours later. We overnighted in the car park and drove into the Water Sports Centre the following morning. After being relieved of £14 for two days parking and use of slipway, plus £4 to leave the boat there overnight, we were politely told that over-night camping or caravanning is not allowed! Poor rating for this limitation. The Sailing Club charges £37 but whether they allow overnighting we don't know. However, we were advised that if we patronized the local pub they sometimes allowed overnighting in their car-park - we did – and they did. In fact the ‘Noel Arms' in Whitwell is a very welcoming pub anyway, and well worth visiting. So that was to be our base for Saturday night – with the added benefit of being a very short walk "home" after lots of supping and a nice steak supper!

Launching is simple there, and we were rigged and canvassed and cast off at 1030 into a very brisk wind which was steady when compared with how fluky such a wind is on our Club’s water.

The wind strength increased all the time and was accompanied by some stronger gusts and rain showers. The sun did deign to show its face for a short while at around 1300, and as there aren't any shore-side pubs to aim for, we beached to have our lunch and a rest on the windward shore of the finger of land which makes the lake into a horse-shoe shape. There are safety boats on the water all day, and one was at our side within minutes enquiring whether we were all right- and shortly after that a cruising yacht also came close and enquired! As if river sailors would ever get into trouble!

It was a novel experience to sail in our small cruiser for 20 minutes or longer on a close tack instead of about 60 seconds on the river!... But, it has to be said, we both agreed that it is comparatively boring! What could be more testing of sailing skills than our river, tacking every minute or so, while needing to incorporate avoidance of motor vessels and/or anglers? And the activity keeps you warmer!

The clay, with which the lake (reservoir) is lined, is yellow, and is the consistency and tenacity of babies pooh (I’m not sure of the relevance of this description, but decided to leave it in, anyway: comments on the accuracy of the description will not really be welcome – Ed).

We sailed until 1630 and tied up on the pontoon back at the Centre. After asking, nicely, we were allowed to leave her moored to the pontoon over the Saturday night, as it was out-of-season and not busy. By the way, wooden slatted pontoons covered in Swans s... [stuff? mess!] are very slippery - Beware!

Later, as already mentioned, we drove to the Noel Arms and had a very nice steak dinner at reasonable cost, although the beer was expensive; Pedigree [bitter] £1.90 per pint compared to the West Midlands (Dudley area), where it is only £1.10.

We moved back to the boat at the Watersports Centre early on Sunday morning and had delicious grilled bacon baguettes for breakfast - a nice change from porridge for me [Stuff the diet!] We also grilled some lovely pork and apple sausages and put them into crusty rolls ready for our lunch.

The rain and wind were even stronger, with the latter backed from SW to ENE creating white cap waves which, without means of accurate measuring, seemed to be a top Force 4 with some gusting to top Force 5. (I know that South-westerly gale-force winds had been predicted in the SW sea areas, but we had not really expected them in the East Midlands!) At one time the wind gusted so strongly during a squall that our starboard run with spinnaker flying was suddenly curtailed by being pushed round to starboard - Ray was helming and couldn't overcome the weather helm - and the spinnaker was now on a beam reach and pulling us over - we were broaching! Fortunately Dave managed - quite quickly really, although it seemed an age at the time - to collapse the spinnaker and get it stowed. We did not use the spinnaker, which got very wet in the manoeuvre, again that day, even just to dry it out! Hairy, to say the least! But proof again of the sea-kindliness of Skipper-class vessels in general and Aeolian in particular. This was also borne out by the fact that five more Skippers were in the boat park. Interestingly, the cruising boats there are all trailer sailers - some fairly big ones too – due to lack of moorings facilities, we assumed.

In these very trying conditions we had more-or-less had enough by 1330, so decided to tie up and begin preparations for returning home. We calculated that we had sailed about 40 miles during the weekend. From the dam at the Eastern end to the sailing limitation lines at the Western ends of both sides of the horseshoe is 5 miles and we did the doubles four times each, plus some extra bits.

All in all it was an excellent weekend and we can recommend Rutland Water for sailing. We saw all sorts of sailing craft there: windsurfers, Toppers, catamarans, outrigger-monohulls (going very, very fast in the strong winds) all the way up to cruiser-racers. The class races which we saw had some 30/40 competitors, but whether these were all Rutland Sailing Club members or whether it was an Open meeting, we do not know. There were lots of anglers too, both onshore and in hired open motor boats, but there is plenty of space for all.

Where next? Perhaps to Windermere, because Dave, with his wife Chris, has sailed there before and there are several pubs to aim for!

Ray Newton