And although we lost a couple of boats in April, we're pleased to welcome new members Rachel and Steve in 14870, Dave and Josh in 14336 and Paul and Julia in 14876. We also have high hopes for seeing a few old friends return to the fold in 2012.

Back in May/June we had our Firebowl event, which was won by Gordon and Richard in spite of the fact that Richard fell onto their boom sufficiently often to ruin it. Over the course of the summer, Pete Slack and Serena battled it out with me and Paul Roe for honours in the Wednesday evening series, which provided some pretty epic battles and a victory for the boat with the less attractive crew. The Sunday race series are ongoing, and at the time of writing it's too close to call who will be getting the shiny things for those. Come along to the Christmas party prizegiving bash to find out.

Our open meeting in September was small but perfectly organized by the Solo fleet. Thanks guys. Fewer boats, warmer weather and mostly light airs gave the event a more relaxed and laid-back feel than the usual high-octane massacre, and Pete & Serena were top placed Draycote boat, coming 5^th (cheers cheers).

The Marriott Bucket event was possibly the most postponed thing ever, and finally took place in November. Day 1 provided near perfect conditions and saw the usual levels of randomness and incompetence from all concerned, leaving it all to play for on day 2. To cut a long story short, Dave and Josh managed to win the last race, but Jane and Pat held on for 2^nd place which was enough to clinch the series. Helen and Paul were a close 3^rd overall - well done to all concerned!

Next up we have the two winter series, which run from November until the end of March or until the water runs out or goes solid. We like to keep sailing through the winter as a good alternative to metamorphosing into couch-potatoes…

If you were considering buying a Fireball and joining in with the silliness, the next few months should be a good time as resale values are always a bit depressed during the chilly months. Look out for white Winders for £4K or less, and composite Winders for less than £1500 – they're all well built and generally limited only by the person doing the steering. If you need any help with finding one, get in touch.