Return to the Living!

After relaxing under the hot sun in the beautiful surroundings of Sicily in May and lubricated with Prosecco for two weeks, Skipper's Mate is finding it difficult to reactivate to the busy round of activities back home and especially to motivate the pen to scribe SSC News! Thanks to The Hobbler for holding the fort and to sailing secretary Mick Lightwood for providing ready made write-ups of the dinghy sailing.

Race Officers and Coppet Briefing

The thrills and subterfuges of the duties of a race officer were outlined to a rather meagre audience last Friday night when the lure of a fantastic day perhaps diverted those who know they should have been there! John Griffiths entertained and informed as efficiently as ever, followed by Keith Jones who gave an update on Coppet Week duties, including safety arrangements.

Sunday Racing

Well here we go again, where else can you go to beat what we have here in Saundersfoot and especially at SSC? The sun always shines, the wind last Sunday was perfect and a turn out of 13 boats which included juniors, ladies, visitors and the regular old salts all made for a fantastic days sailing. Only downside was the tide time which stopped us having two races, but the one we did manage will take some beating. The course was a Monkstone/Amroth/Harbour mainly due to our missing Pendine mark, but it suited today. At the start, there was a bit of manoeuvring of the start pins to keep us out of the way of the harbour entrance and then they were off. There was some discussion about a few being over the start line before the flag, but the OOD did not see anything and the lovely Welsh Cakes supplied to the hut by Claire may have distracted him at the wrong time, but there were no complaints, it was too nice a day to worry. There was the added incentive of a trophy to win for this race resulting in some close competitive manoeuvring at the start - but of course no un-gentlemanly bumping or barging at all to gain an advantage! Whether size mattered or not, Peter Bower and his very capable crew Harriet in the Osprey secured the lead followed by the Solos and Streaker of David, Steve and Keith with the pair of RS200's of Paul and Julia and James and Morgan nipping at their heels. This bunch eventually split up and went their own tactical ways. Meanwhile, Harry and Steve in the Vision kept their cool along with Hywel watching closely from the rear of the pack. Everyone seemed to have there own ideas of best tactics to get to the first gybe mark before the pack descended and the possible chaos that could ensue. Three laps were completed with a few taking the shortened course route but eventually James Hayden (on the buoyancy of his new dad status) and his 'now becoming very capable' crew of Morgan Lewis took the honours of the trophy win to add to his new dad status! Dave Plester (Solo) was second with only a whisker between him and third place Keith Jones (Streaker) and fourth place Paul and Julia Griffiths (RS200). Hywel Jackson (Topper) gained the Junior Trophy for the race. We must not forget some very close contenders of Jo Musson (Laser) who came flying over the line at the end, with Harry and Steve Hinksman (RS Vision), Mark and Trish in the beast (Tazar) along with Steve Cavel (Solo). Thanks to James, Terry, Ben and Martin for a great job in the rescue ribs and race officers Phil Barlow, Claire assisted by Mick Lightwood. This being the last in the Warm Up Series, we look forward with relish to the overall series results which will be published later.

Coppet Week Programme

Like so many great events which seem distant for some time and then are suddenly upon us, the St. Brides Spa Hotel - Coppet Week 2014 commences this Saturday with the many local and visiting boats and crews registering from 9 pm. The week's programme is as follows: Sunday - Race 1, RNLI, 1530 start; Monday - Race 2, 1600 start; Tuesday - Race 3, 1630 start; Wednesday - Race 4, 1030 start; Thursday - Race 5, 1030 start; Friday - Race 6, 1030 start and prize-giving, 2100. In addition, weather permitting, there may be a Pursuit Race - suitably awarded, but not counting towards the Week's Championship. Pursuit Races are always a fantastic spectacle and nail biting events to see if the faster boats can catch the slower ones. Never seen one? Just keep watching the racing in the bay! At the time of writing, the forecast for the first race on the Sunday is for a good force 3 maybe 4 with skies clearing after earlier drizzle -so a great prospect to start a fantastic week. The racing on the water is fully support throughout the week with events in the clubhouse. Members please note we still have need of some help on the bar during the 9-11 pm slots.

Coppet Week Briefing

A final briefing will be held at 1pm on Sunday (before the first race) for all who are helping with the water activities. Please attend as we need to ensure everyone knows what they are doing and that all jobs are covered. If people can arrive by 12.30 to help Graham prepare the rescue boats, it would also be appreciated.

Skipper's Mate