Winter blues

[PeterV]

Now the Autumn Saturday series at the club is coming to an end and the CVRDA events have finished for the year where do I get my next sailing fix? I don't want to wait until next spring, what do others do?

[roger]

Theres always thewinter handicap events..ie Tiger Trophy,Bloody Mary, Exmoor Beastie, Starcross Steamer.... the last two are spring evnts and a long way from you but very friendly.

[jpa_wfsc]

WSC just keeps steaming along - albeit numbers reduce!! - with a Sunday series. We only close for a few weeks in Feb - unless like this year when the lake froze over for a while longer.

So there is always the possibility of finding an inland club for the winter?

[Rupert]

Jan, not Feb, John!

I think ourracing numbers actually increase over the Autumn series, and if we don't freeze over, the Cold Bath series in the new year is better attended than many summer Sundays. Fewer cruising boats, though...

Surprised you've stopped already, though, Peter - must be somewhere nearby doing winter memberships?

[Nessa]

Hunts keeps sailing through the winter and of course I am also a member of Grafham. All this is just as well because this winter will see me finally able to get afloat again after two long years off.

[PeterV]

My club carries on sailing through the winter, the trouble is I only sail on Saturdays, and the Saturday racing only runs from April to October. I was better off at Baltic Wharf which raced on Saturdays all year round apart from January. SHSC is the only club I can find in striking distance that sails on Saturday at all.

[Rupert]

Sounds like you need to get some like minded souls together and keep the Saturday racing going for longer? What do the other Saturday racers do now?

[Ed]

Saturday Racing is so good, I really do wonder why there are not more clubs that race on Sat instead of Sunday.

If you are pressurised for time, then sailing Saturday still leaves you Sunday for family, church or whatever.

If you have lots of time, then sailing Saturday leaves you with the option of trailing away somewhere else on the Sunday.

It was just one of the reasons that made Baltic Wharf such a damn good club to be a member of.

eib

[Michael Brigg]

In Gosport we have a Model Yacht Club...

http://www.modelboats.co.uk/news/article.asp?a=4452

I confess I'm not a member as its an expensive hobby, and anyway I would prefer a CVRDA style thing running around the edge of the lake scattering swans and small children with a long boat hook to push the bows round.

Its fun to watch the keen ones going at it with thier radio hand sets, and a port/starboard incident or a crowded start line can sound a bit like rush hour on the london express with all the pintles talking apparently at thin air calling water on eachother.

[neil]

I confess I'm not a member as its an expensive hobby, and anyway I would prefer a CVRDA style thing running around the edge of the lake scattering swans and small children with a long boat hook to push the bows round.

These are more fun on a start line

http://rcmodelsubmarines.co.uk/

[Pat]

One of our reasons for joining BCYC at Cheddar as well as Shearwater was to sail all year round. Trouble was that last year the weed and low water went from end of Sept to start of Dec then everything froze for a couple of months so we didn't get the sailing in! This year the water level is better and we're planning to move the Alb there for winter - also the simplest way of storing it when Shearwater's closed. General sailing and training is on Saturdays and racing on Sundays - the downside is we've just been rota'd for RO and rescue boat on 18th December so I hope it isn't too icy or cold!

[Michael Brigg]

I confess I'm not a member as its an expensive hobby, and anyway I would prefer a CVRDA style thing running around the edge of the lake scattering swans and small children with a long boat hook to push the bows round.

These are more fun on a start line

http://rcmodelsubmarines.co.uk/

What a brilliant site, and great music as well.

Even more fun on a startline with some of those model torpedoes!!!

The nearst I came to this kind of thing was a clockwork tin toy submarine. You set the aerilons, popped it in the water (we are talking muddy green cornish estuary here,) and then waited for the toy to resurface.

It seemed the dog's bxxxxxxs at the time but might not be such a draw in todays electrical era.

[PeterV]

Ah, model yachting! I'm afraid I couldn't bring myself to buy a 'toy' Laser that cost more than my last real one ( and my Finn and my Enterprise!)

[alan williams]

Hi
I play model yachts and it's not that expensive. However I must say that my new Lintal IOM (International One Metre), built from a kit cost me about £650 complete. My Finn 424 cost me £600 and My New Finn 670 cost plenty. However racing these model boats is really good fun and very close. Peter you really do n't want to get an RC Laser as they are not very good (fast, handling is dreadful in a blow), and you could buy a really nice IOM for the cost of a complete RC LASER. Believe me I've been there. My previous IOMs cost me £300 and a really nice Gadget cost me £250 ex - transmitter, cost of which was £15 off e-bay.
Graham is just having a IOM finished for him Neil Witt has two and we are thinking of playing IOMS after racing during the year. So next time any of you are down you can have a go.
Cheers Al
Finn 424
Finn 670
Shark 41
IOM 3398

[Ed]

@alan think you just proved Peter's point!

eib