Nine sailors in seven boats launched on Sunday in flat calm conditions with beautiful winter sunshine. At the start gun, only the Osprey of Mike and Deanna and the Phantom of Nick Berridge made any progress towards the windward mark.   Slowly the wind filled in, enabling the rest of the fleet to cross the line with the two leaders already halfway up the first leg! At the windward mark, the wind remained light and the racers ghosted down the reaches, trying desperately to catch the front two runners. With the start of the second lap, it seemed that Mother Nature flicked a switch and graced the fleet with a steady force four straight from the south. With flat water and flat wire trapezing, the race was on!   The RS600 stormed upwind after the leading Osprey with the Phantom and Osprey of Paul and Anthea in tow. At the windward mark, Mike and Deanna did a neat crisp hoist of the spinnaker and were off on the planning reaches to the finish. Nick worked his Phantom hard and made good time to eventually take the win on handicap.   After the race, the whole fleet stayed out to make the most of the perfect conditions and when finally they returned to shore everyone wore a smile. Results: 1. Nick Berridge in a Phantom; 2. Mike Stace and Deanna Morton in an Osprey; 3. Mr. Commodore (Daniel Jackson) in a RS600; 4. Paul Evenden and Anthea Paterson in an Osprey; 5. Sian May in a Topper; 6. Alex Hamilton in a Topper. Many thanks to Dan Jackson for the above contribution to this week's article. Sailing as usual this Sunday with an 11 am prompt start.

Honda Rib Championship

A message to all junior members. The Honda rib championship training will get underway soon. Any junior who wishes to try his or her hand at handling a rib should contact Angelo Fecci on 0781 321 9096 (after 3.30) for further information.  

Darts

A complete annihilation by an excellent darting outfit! Brushed aside like leaves in autumn! Hung out to dry! We were put in our place in no uncertain terms! etc etc! Basically we were not good enough. At least we lost with dignity. Back to league duties this evening when we are at home to Diggers C to contest the final fixture of the season. Captain Terry Evans is on choral duties, so the captaincy passes on to vice-captain, Colin Parmenter, who has the unenviable task of rallying the troops after such a demoralising mauling. I understand Colin is confident of a good result.

Annual Subscriptions

It's that time of year. Would members please note that the annual subscriptions are now overdue. As an incentive, the club is offering potential new members nearly 40 per cent discount for the first year. Please contact membership secretary, Julia Dashfield, for further details.

Race Evening

The small number of 'racing enthusiasts' had a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Many thanks to Terry Evans for co-ordinating the event. Pool Championship and Games Evening

The inaugural club pool championship takes place tomorrow (Saturday). All members and friends are welcome. Who knows, we may have a budding world champion in the club?

Important Dates

Saturday, March 3 - Cawl and cheese evening; Saturday, March 17 - an evening of Italian cuisine; Saturday, March 24 - a '50s and '60s evening. This is a very friendly and welcoming club, which endeavours to involve all members in a variety of activities. If anyone would like to participate by joining, now is an ideal time, especially when the aforementioned discount is on offer. Contact any member who will be delighted to furnish you with further details. We look forward to meeting you.

GP14