Sunday Racing

After the excitement of Coppet Week, 11 of our sailors remained enthused to turn out for the club race on the Sunday following. With only a force 1-2 breeze, Alan Lambert and Peter Ordway set a smallish clockwise course using a patrol boat as the committee vessel, with a starting beat to the Amroth mark, then turning right onto a reach to the Pendine mark followed by another reach with a gybe back to the committee boat. All four leading boats obviously benefited from their practise during Coppet Week with Peter Bower (Phantom) first, Keith Jones (Streaker) second, Paul and Julia Griffiths (RS200) third and Paul Johnson (Solo) fourth. Mick Lightwood must have drifted away at the end of his race - mentally not physically - as sailing down wind towards the end of the race he completely missed the finish line! In the second race, the winning group was much the same with a reshuffle in the places with Paul and Julia taking first, Peter second, Keith third and Paul fourth. A Contender dinghy that remained behind from the previous week's racing, although not eligible for the club race points, also did well - coming third in the first race and winning the second.

The next two club races start at 10 am next Sunday.

Coppet Week Clubhouse Revelries

Coppet Week is noted not just for the sailing but also for the camaraderie and friendliness of the gathering. The clubhouse programme was a full and integral part of the event. Apologies therefore that the report on the social side of the week is being covered a week later, not because Skipper's Mate needed a week to recover from the revelries, but simply because of the large amount of news to be reported!

The typical Sunday Bank Holiday weather did nothing to dampen the spirit of a good crowd of race goers who gathered at the club to enjoy a 'virtual' Day at the Races. There were quite a few losers and several very happy winners, but everyone entered into the spirit and cheered on their own horses - and occasionally others by mistake - all the way to the winning post. Ivan and Rob with Liz as bookie's runner did a great job. Despite a few technical hitches, a very enjoyable and noisy evening was had by all.

With no racing possible on the Tuesday, the tasty pork roast supper provided alternative satisfaction and with the musical combo of MoJo and Mo for dessert it all added up to a fantastic evening's fun. A medley of hits took us from the present back to a time when some of us were young and had hair and maybe a trimmer figure too. Backing vocals provided by the assembled crowd were loud, energetic and occasionally in tune. Well done to our talented trio of musicians and thanks to all who participated and contributed to a great night's entertainment.

On Thursday, a dozen teams, some rather larger in size than others, battled it out to become Coppet Week's own Eggheads. Little grey cells were given a thorough workout and knowledge of a diverse range of trivia was demonstrated, with a number of adults, not just children, showing a surprising familiarity with the works of Walt Disney! Teams were given the choice of a short quiz or a longer one and opted for the longer one which meant that half of one team fell asleep before the end. 'The Jones Team' lived up to their name as the other teams didn't quite manage to keep up with them and they ran out eventual winners. It was a close call though with only a few points separating them from their closest rivals 'Bertie' and the not so aptly named 'And in Last Place' who tied for second!

In addition to the organised programme, there was of course the unlimited friendly banter and reconstruction of the sailing over the bar such that it would take something like Prism to unravel it all. Many good memories must have been taken home after the Event.

Harbour Treasure Hunt

If you saw people scurrying round the harbour earnestly peering at buildings and counting bollards during half term don't worry, they were just taking part in our Coppet Week treasure hunt. Teams had to solve clues, and most of them got most of their answers correct but only two teams managed full marks. Congratulations to the winning teams, Ruth and Gordon Evans (Fireball) and Robert Whitehouse (Laser), who obviously now have a very intimate knowledge of Saundersfoot harbour. (Not sure why I included their boats - everyone did do it on foot!) Everyone seemed to enjoy taking part and well done to all for your perseverance!

Saundersfoot Businesses Come Up Trumps

Local businesses and traders really pulled out the stops for us for Coppet Week with their generous support of donations, discounts and raffle prizes. Thank you very much to everyone who contributed towards the success of the event. It is very much appreciated.

Particular thanks go to our major sponsor St. Bride's Spa Hotel, and to Mr. Sharp, of Hafod Trading, for his generous donation. But we would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank all our supporters without whose help we would not have been able to make this anniversary Coppet Week quite so memorable: St. Brides Spa Hotel, Hafod Trading Ltd (The £1 Shops), Bayside, Bella Bella, Bronwen's/Mermaid Gifts, Christkindl, Chobbles, Gillian Collins Gifts, The Captains Table, The Chemist Inn, The Coffee Tavern, Dragon LNG, The Flower Girls, Frosts Home Hardware, The Gower Hotel, The Jewelry Box, Mr. and Mrs. D. Jones, Katie Marsh KLM Hair Designs, Mandy at Ocean Hair, The Mulberry, NT Colby Woodland Garden, Pebbles, Phil Odley, The Reptile Experience, The Royal Oak, Saundersfoot Glass Gallery, Second Gear, Silver Lily, Silver Strand, The Shoe Box, Spar, Sue's Pantry, Sutton's/Instrand, Tesco, The Village Wine Shop, Walk on Water.

Also to those who asked to remain anonymous.

Skipper's Mate