A lovely sunny Sunday morning saw 10 boats take to the water for the latest in the club's summer series.

In division one were five Ospreys and an RS600; in division two a Vareo, Laser 8.1, a Wayfarer and a 420 contested the races run by Marc Shepherd assisted by Blake Shaw.

At the start of race one, the division one boats powered away on a beam reach which turned out to be too tight for the spinnaker flown on the Osprey of Ted Lewis and Matt Goldwait which was dropped halfway up the leg.

At the gybe, the two Ospreys of Ted and Matt and Mike Stace and Deanna Morton were neck and neck, with the RS600 of Jonathan Morris and the other Ospreys of Alistairs Mackay and Knibb, Anthea and Paul Evenden and Paul Redford and Steve Garvey in close attendance.

Gradually over the course of three laps the fleet spread, with the RS600 just ahead increasing its lead on the tight reach, but giving back on the following spinnaker reach. At the end, Jon took first on the water, but not far enough ahead to take the win from Ted and Matt on corrected time. The Alastairs and Paul and Steve both overtook Mike and Deanna on the final beat to take third and fourth, respectively. Paul and Anthea were delayed by a desire to test the early season sea temperature.

In division two, the Laser of Nathan Spiller took first after a good work out; second was the club Wayfarer sailed by Richard Sadler and Joe Lewis and third the 420 of Jamie and Hannah. Fourth was the Vareo, with Danny Owen finding the increasing south-westerly wind quite a handful.

For the second race, the fleet was joined by the newly-restored Fireball of Richard John, with Bill Ward crewing. Richard and Bill enjoyed some fast reaching to and fro, before deciding to test the vessel's buoyancy rather than race.

The second race then got underway on a windward leeward course. The Ospreys of Ted and Matt and the Alistairs made the running, with the RS600 right in contention. On the second lap, Ted and Matt threw their spinnaker pole overboard and took a detour to recover it; the Alistairs took full advantage and held the lead to the end of the race. The RS600 was second, but again not far enough ahead on corrected time to take second. Paul and Steve were fourth and Paul and Anthea retired to complete division one.

In division two, Danny decided not to compete in the rising wind and Jamie and Hannah in the 420 retired. Richard and Joe in the Wayfarer sailed well to take the win from Nathan in the Laser in second.

All in all, an excellent morning on the water in the best conditions of the season so far.

Come and Try Weekend

The uptake, compared with previous years, was very disappointing, with only three boats taking to the water. The sessions were thoroughly enjoyed by the trainees who are keen to join club racing as soon as possible.

Darts

As expected we did not win. The only successes of the evening came from captain Terry Evans and Marc Shepherd, with the remainder still looking for that elusive double. However, the evening was most enjoyable, with both teams entering a party spirit at the end of as long and tortuous season.

Howard

There is a club function taking place tomorrow (Saturday) evening. As a result, Howard will be catering this evening only. The fish pie is worth a visit!

Regatta Weekend

The Tenby annual regatta will take place on the weekend of June 9/10, with the famous round Caldey race taking place on Sunday, June 10.

Wine Tasting Evening

The eagerly-awaited wine challenge will take place on Saturday, May 26, commencing at 8 pm. How well do you know your wines?  Can you identify grape variety or country of origin without the label? Come along to our blind wine tasting challenge and have fun tasting, smelling and swirling some of our most frequently quaffed wines.  Clue cards and hints provided. Table nibbles available. Fun and prizes. Only £6 per person with payment in advance.

To book, contact Jane Stewart-Walvin (electronically) [email protected]">[email protected] or Jayne Shorter (by phone) on 07855 326834. Numbers are limited, so please book by tomorrow, May 19, to ensure a place. Members and friends welcome. Please note that the bar will be open to members as usual.

Junior Section

Conditions were such that only the more experienced ventured onto the water. The remainder were given land tuition and tested their skills on our newly acquired sailing simulator.

Thanks to Jane Stewart-Walvin and her entourage for feeding the masses.

Thanks also to the instructors and juniors who ventured out in the pouring rain. It was wetter out than in.

Subscriptions and Weekly Draw

It's that time of year. The annual subscriptions are now very, very, very, very overdue. This year we are running a weekly draw which can only be won if you are present in the club when the draw is made and you are a paid up member.

Weekly Draw

The 19th draw took place last Saturday which resulted in a windfall of £130 for Deanna Morton. The draw was independently verified by the draw master, Paul Redford.

The next draw takes place tomorrow (Saturday) evening at 9 pm when the prize will be £50. Please note - you must be present and have your membership card with you to claim the prize!

Humour

A woman was complaining to a friend that her husband was always repainting their wooden boat.

The friend asked, "How many times could he have painted the boat? Twice? Three times?"

The wife said, "A lot more than that! When we bought the boat it was a 19-foot speedboat. It's now a 21-foot cruiser!"

Website

Information on club activities etc. can be found on the club's revamped website. This is a very friendly and welcoming club which endeavours to involve all members in a variety of activities. Contact any member who will be delighted to furnish you with further details.

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