| 09/12/2007 |
Wet
and very cold, with a gusty SW wind and 4knts current; no one wanted to
sail and it probably wouldn't have been possible to make way against
the current. |
| 02/12/2007 |
Cold
and wet with some current but fairly breezy. The club was cleared up
after the AGM and Gordon Courtney went out in his cruiser with Tony
Hopkins as crew; their tiller broke. |
| 25/11/2007 |
A
fine day with 2kts of current but a NW (swinging from N to W) force 1-2
patchy wind was enough to make way upstream. It was difficult at the
marks and there were several penalties for touching them. This sail
made it worth while extending the season. |
| 18/11/2007 |
The
first Sunday of the extended sailing season. Quite a good S wind but
bitterly cold and rain in the afternoon. Only Gorden Courtney went out
in his cruiser with Tony Hopkins. |
| 11/11/2007 |
The
last sailing day on the program was fine although a bit cold.The
morning race had a NW gusty, shifty force 2 to 3 wind giving 7 boats a
good sail. The wind had change to a N force 1 to 2 by the first
afternoon race and unfortunately there was very little wind for the
last race. |
| 04/11/2007 |
Another
very fine day with very little wind. unusually there was no wind at the
veranda but there was a force 1 to 2 East wind on the water giving 10
minute laps for the first 2 races. But the wind died to zero during the
last race and only Charles Dennis and Pat Halling finished. |
| 28/10/2007 |
Absolutely
horrible with rain almost all day; fortunately it was only light. The
Southerly, sometimes, force 2 to 4 wind was extremely fluky and shifty.
As the clockwent back today it would get dark much earlier so the two
afternoon races were held back to back; tea and cakes were after the
2nd one. |
| 21/10/2007 |
A
brilliant day but not for sailing.There was no wind and some current.
Charles Dennis launched his Laser but no one else ventured out and all
races were cancelled. |
| 14/10/2007 |
Very
fine hot day BUT very little South wind and although very slight
current it was enough to make it difficult. Instead of the Fun race in
the morning there was an exercise in driving both the Patrol boats
around a slalam course of 6 bouys. In the afternoon there seemed a bit
more wind upstream so although there was a normal start the laps were
round 2 marks upstream of the club finishing at the downstream mark.
For the 2nd race the mark on the start line was also the downstream
rounding mark. |
| 07/10/2007 |
Although
there was only slight current there was very little SW variable wind
and it made going upstream difficult for the slower boats. Lap times
were shorter in the last race BUT but sailing was less good because the
wind was more shifty, fluky and variable; you seemed to struggle
beating upstream and you were still beating downstream after going
round the mark. |
| 30/09/2007 |
A fine and warm day with a force 1-2 NE to E wind giving a reasonble sail. |
| 23/09/2007 |
A
warm day with a SSW 2-3G4 that was all over the place. There was good
close sailing; in the last race (Sprint) there was an incredibally
close finish with a Graduate and four Bosuns finishing within 11
seconds of each other. |
| 16/09/2007 |
The
SW 3--5 gust 6 wind gave very exiting and hairy sailing. At the Ferry
Meadows Signet Open Meeting there were similar conditions giving some
very fast long reaches. Richard Cannon had the mast of ST368 fall down
when the shroud broke; he was in the lead at the time. Keith Hatton had
his thwart come loose. There were 11 boats but in the last race only 5
finshed. |
| 09/09/2007 |
It
didn't look good with NNW 1-3knt forecast. Fortunately it was mainly a
fairly steady NWW to W 4 to 6 knt wind, warm with very little current
and there was a pleasant sail. |
| 02/09/2007 |
As
OOD Nigel Knowles arranged perfect weather for the Signet Meeting at
Aquarius; warm with a force 2-3 gust 4 wind and only a light current
giving the best sailing at Aquarius for a long time. There were 6
Signets, 4 sailed by visitors, and 6 other boats giving very close and
crowded racing. |
| 27/08/2007 |
The
forecast for Bewl was no wind and when we arrived it was warm, sunny
but like a mill pond. The Regatta had been cancelled so there was no
racing. BUT by the time we launced there was a 10-15 kt North wind,
shifty by Bewl standards, that was superb for relaxed cuising to beach
at Dunsters Bay followed by a walk to the Bull pub. |
| 26/08/2007 |
There
was very little variable NEwind with the 1 knot current making it very
difficult to progress up stream. Down stream was a slalom course using
6 marks and there was very close sailing with a lot of rule
infringements and some penalties taken. |
| 19/08/2007 |
2knt
current and a fickle F0-1 WNW wind made it very difficult to progress
upstream in the morning. Much better F1-2 wind in the afternoon but
there was drizzle. The Signet Championships Week at Ullswater generally
had very good sailing in a SW force 3 to 5 wind. |
| 12/08/2007 |
S to SSW F1-2 very swirling around. Very difficult to progress against the 2knt current. |
| 05/08/2007 |
Still
2kts current with a shifty/fluky S 1-2 but it was possible to sail,
although hard to make way upstream. Hottest day of the year. The
afternoon races were long distance upstream but, apart from 2 Lasers
which reached the Channel Marker below Sunbury Court Island, boats
couldn't get pass the willows. Both patrol boats were used to tow 8
boats up to Sunbury lock and then there was a race back to the club. |
| 29/07/2007 |
A
fine breezy day but with 5 knts of current there was no boating. The
bushes at the top of the bank were cut down to the height of the fence,
strimming of the bank and the car park was done. Work was done on the
new patrol boat. |
| 22/07/2007 |
A
fine day BUT the Navigation Authority warned "Due to the very heavy
rainfall in the Thames valley on Friday 20 July, we are experiencing
very, very strong streams on the Thames. PLEASE STOP NAVIGATING AND
MOOR YOUR BOAT IN A SAFE PLACE, PREFERABLY IN A MARINA OR A RECOGNISED
MOORING." There was at least 5knts current. The importent Molesey
Rowing Regatta was cancelled and there was no sailing. I can't remember
ever having such a current during the summer. |
| 18/07/2007 |
A
steady W 2 wind gave super sailing for the 8 boats out for Wednesday
afternoon and evening sailing; the best sail for a long time. |
| 15/07/2007 |
A
big contrast to Saturday. Although there was little current at times it
was very difficult to make way upstream with force 0 to 1 SEwind.
During the first afternoon race the wind dropped to zero during a
thunder storm and the race was shortened to use the times for the
previous lap. |
| 14/07/2007 |
There
was a force 4 gust 6 NW wind giving very exiting and hairy sailing at
the Beds & Cambs Regatta, incorporating a Signet Open Meeting, at
Grafham Water. The water is 2 1/2 by 1 mile and the Grafham chop was 2
foot waves. There were many capsizes even during the sail out to the
start and the 15 minute sail from the finish back to the club; 25% of
the fleet didn't start in the afternoon races. |
| 08/07/2007 |
It
is very unusual to have a 2 to 3 knt current this time of the year and
with a variable SW wind of only force 0 to 2 it was nearly impossible
to make way upstream. In the 2nd race Bryan Clements was the only one
to complete 1 lap; after getting 1 metre from the finish line he
drifted back half way to Platts Eyot and took over 30 minutes to finish. |
| 01/07/2007 |
At
Hampton SC the 15 to 25 knt (force 4 to 6) SW wind was extremely gusty
and fluky. It was very exiting sailing with many capsizes; the 3 AQSC
boats managed to keep upright although water was shipped. Only the 2nd
race was a bit wet. Richard Cannon with Tony Hopkins was 3rd in the
handicap class. |
| 30/06/2007 |
The
forecast for the Hampton SC Regatta was very wet on both days but it
was better than expected. The 5-10 knt South wind was was very
different from that at Aquarius; although quite shifty it wasn't fluky.
There was quite a good sail although at times it was difficult to make
way against the 1-2 knt current. Only the morning race was wet. |
| 24/06/2007 |
Although
a bit more wind than yesterday it had gone round to SE to S and was
extremely fluky and patchy. It was raining at the start of racing,
cleared up for most of the day and was very wet at the end. |
| 23/06/2007 |
The
weather forcast was poor for the regatta week end and it was worse than
that. At first it seemed promising with a better West wind than
expected but it quickly died and it was very difficult to make way
against the 1 knt current. For most of the last race there was
torrential rain with thunder, and the very light wind was from all
directions. |
| 17/06/2007 |
Although
from the shore there seemed to be some wind there was very little wind
on the water and it was extremely fluky and patchy. Mainly S to W but
it could be from any direction and there was some current which made it
difficult to go upstream. When you stopped moving it was often because
it had changed from a beat to a run without you realising it. |
| 10/06/2007 |
Initially
forecast was for very light winds but it was revised to 5knts for
mid-day. Fortunally it was mainly East and there was a much better sail
than was expected, |
| 03/06/2007 |
Unfortunately
the weather forecast of very light wind was right and it was almost
impossible to make way against the light current. In the morning and
afternoon races only one boat competed a lap. The after tea races were
cancelled. |
| 20/05/2007 |
At
PLSC there was complete contrast to the previous day; hardy any wind
and it was very difficult to know when it had shifted 180 degrees.
Richard won. At AQSC conditions were very similar to Paxton with very
little variable wind with some current making it worse. |
| 19/05/2007 |
Richard
Cannon with Robert Britton and Mike Baker with Keith Hatton had
excellent racing at the Paxton Lakes SC Signet Open meeting. The SW 4
very gusty 5 was extremely shifty and slamming from any direction.
Richard and local helm Pat Overs were the only 2 out of the 10 Signets
not to capsize. Richard won the last race and was 2nd overall. |
| 16/05/2007 |
There
were ideal conditions for the first Wednesday sailing of the season
with a fairly steady W force 2 wind for the 5 boats sailing. |
| 13/05/2007 |
An
even worst forcast for the 2nd open day, very wet but not so windy. It
was very wet a lot of the time and even thunder, but not so continuous
as expected. There were about 9 visitors (45 in 2006) and 6 boats raced
in the afternoon. Tony Hopkins had his first sail in a Laser. |
| 12/05/2007 |
Terrible
forecast for the AQSC 1st open day, wet and very windy. not what is
needed to attract new members. Fortunately not as wet as we expected
but there were gusts of over 20Knts.There were only 7 visitors (20 in
2006) and only the Bosun sailed. |
| 06/05/2007 |
There was very good sailing in a WSW 8 to 15 knt wind; it increased as the day progressed. Surprisingly no one capsized. |
| 29/04/2007 |
There
was a ESE 5-7 knt wind for the short fun races over a slalom course.
There were pairs of races with the 1st doing the slalom down stream and
the 2nd doing it up stream. |
| 28/04/2007 |
There
was a 12 knt NE wind for the Mid-Thames Trophy at Desborough SC;
unfortunately this was a bad direction for DSC and it was extremely
fluky and patchy. |
| 22/04/2007 |
The
predomently SW wind was very light and shifty in the morning and
surprisingly there was still 1knt of current making it difficult to
make way upstream. The wind increased to force 1-2 in the afternoon and
there was a much better sail. |
| 15/04/2007 |
With
very little wind and 2 knts current there was no racing. But here was a
productive day with the additional patrol boat being launched for the
first time and work progressing on the veranda improvement. |
| 08/04/2007 |
Very
fine for the Easter Egg Trophy but not so good for sailing with a
moderate current and light West wind it was very difficult to make way
way upstream; in the 3rd race 2 boats managed 4 laps and the rest only
1 lap. There were 2 short races in the morning and 2 in the afternoon;
3 to count for Easter Eggs.There was a 5th fun race while the results
were being evaluated; this was by far the best sail of the day. |
| 01/04/2007 |
A
fine day with a very strong E wind; 4-5 gust 6.There were many white
horses on the river. Before racing started Nigel Knowles capsized and
inverted; he had great difficulty righting his Laser and found his mast
had picked up a tyre from the river bed. The patrol boat came to help
him and got the painter wrapped round it's prop so had to be paddled
back. The Fun race was cancelled. There were 4 capsizes in the first
race and 1 in the second. |
| 25/03/2007 |
A
few weeks ago we thought it unlikely that we would start sailing today
because the current was so fast. But the conditions were superb with
only about 1knt current and a E 10 to 15knt wind which gave an
excellent but exciting sail full of incidences. A rowing skiff, Pat
Halling, Charles Dennis, and Tony Hopkins capsized. Peter Carpenter and
Mike Baker ended up jammed into the Surrey bank and someone ran into
the patrol boat that was pulling Mike out of the bank. |