|
Not much to report since the last newsletter, but plenty of stuff forthcoming. Most significant recent event has to be Angie's concussion, brought on by a dodgy
capsize two weeks ago. This has prompted some of us to consider the safety procedures at the club, and to wonder if we can't make some efforts on our own behalf to improve matters. There are no
worthwhile conclusions to be offered yet, but in the mean time we would all like to wish Angie a speedy recovery.
We have to run the Miracle Open Meeting over the weekend of September the 11th / 12th , and possibly the club racing too. Please reserve the weekend for doing this.
Stuff Occurring
Miles and Steve Went to Bala and came 12th, a position which would have been better if it were not for the peculiarities of the scoring
system and some other chaps going quicker. For those who are interested, I am in possession of the race results, but have lost them
Sir Charles Barratt Pursuit race Won by me and Paul (cheers) with Pete 3rd and Miles 5th .
We went bowling
And discovered that 3 games are more than enough to wear your arm out, and that Alistair is a whole lot better at bowling than he is at keeping Fireballs
upright. Most of us were averagely bad, some of us turned out to be amusingly awful. Thanks go to Angie for organising a good night out.
The last day of an RYA level 2 course
Is a good time to show the trainees what you can do in a real boat. Thanks to John Tenny and Dene for attending the last one. 'Show them what Fireballing is all about', I told Dene as I pushed him and a beginner off in a sunny force 1- 2. Dene took this advice a little too literally, and 20 minutes later capsized, turned turtle, opened his leg up on the self bailer and had to go to casualty. Remarkably, the beginner said he rather enjoyed it and has since come back for more.
I could use a couple of volunteers to help indoctrinate beginners at the end of the next two courses on Saturday August 14th and Saturday August 21st.
We need to show a strong presence at these events if we are to attract new people into the fleet, so please come and do a bit.
Crash !
Well it was bound to happen. After my warning in the last newsletter to watch out for beginners in Fireballs in case they crash into you, it was our
own Fleet Champion Pete who crashed into John one week and then me three weeks later. From the former incident we conclude that one should avoid capsizing in front of Pete, from the latter we deduce that
Winder boats are stronger than Delange boats, and that Paul would rather dive overboard than be squashed.
And the beginners have crashed into ? - Errrrm, well, no-one at all actually.
Fleet Boat++
This is proving rather popular and probably gets more use than most other boats in the fleet, so we can call it a success for the moment. It's primarily there
for us to take beginners out in, but there aren't that many beginners around and I would much rather it got used than just sat on the bank. So crews with absentee helms, occasional Fireballers and
boatless people, please make use of it. Requests for use of the boat to me on 01788 544706, or to John Tenney when I'm not around. First go is free, donations of around £10 / day to fleet funds are
appreciated thereafter.
Thanks to Don for giving us a suit of rather nice sails to go with the rather nice spinnaker he gave us previously.
Fleet Boat --
Shortly after we acquired Firestarter, a very nice man donated his entire boat to the fleet. It being a bit run down, and us being a bit mercenary,
we promptly sold it to the highest (and indeed, only) bidder for the sum of £75. Proceeds go to fleet funds, and the boat should ultimately return to Draycote and swell our numbers a bit.
Fleet Membership
Appears to be at an all time low of 18 boats, but the ones that left were the ones that never got sailed anyway, so I doubt whether we'll notice the difference
(plus one or two of you seem to have 'forgotten' to register your boats). On the water we still look good with an average of 8 boats on a Sunday, and 5 or 6 on a Wednesday evening. A big hello to new
members Lawrence, Alistair and Dave (with the fabulous rebuild it as you go along boat). There are now enough 'floating' Fireballers that nobody should find themselves without a crew/helm on most
weekends, although actual boats are sometimes in short supply. On which subject, Richard Merkl wants to sell his boat; asking price £250 or make him an offer he can't refuse.
Techno-fear
If you want stuff like this emailing to you, let me know the address by sending me an email at mike.deane@iname.com requesting this service. Do not approach me at the bar with scruffy bits of old paper, as I will just lose them.
Forthcoming Events (Stick this bit to your fridge, because we won't tell you again)
A busy couple of months coming up:
Sunday September 5th
Fleet training day with BBQ after. Training is free, food is £7.50 per person if you want it. The emphasis will be on racing, but basic boat
handling skills will be part of the deal for those who need it. Sign up for this on the sheet on the noticeboard so we know roughly how many to expect.
Weekend of September 11th / 12th
Miracle Open Meeting
We have to run this, plus we may be running club racing too, so assume you are on duty this weekend until told otherwise. Pete Badham is PRO for the open. There will be no Fireball racing on the Sunday.
Sunday 19th September and Sunday 26th September
Marriott Mug event. This is a personal handicap race series, so anyone can win. Best 3 results to count out of 6 races, discards count in the event
of a tie, followed by the result of last race if still tied. Beach starts if windy. Slow boats start up to 15 minutes early so arrive early or you'll miss the start.
Weekend November 6th / 7th
Sunday November 14th and Sunday November 21st
If these events all look a bit squashed up together, that's because they are.
(Stop Press There were 10 boats in the morning race last Sunday fantastic !)
|
