Reading Sailing Club

Pink days include informal training and fun sailing, to improve confidence and sailing skills. We start at 9.30am with breakfast cooked by our Pink Fleet chef, Paul, and aim to be on the water by 11am for games, races, or cruising.

Pink Fleet captain: Monica Beer.

Pink Fleet 14th January 2012.

While Monica migrated south with all the other old birds in search of warmth and sunshine, Pink Fleeters braved a beautiful winter morning to go sailing. The morning mist cleared to reveal a clear bright blue sky, frosty trees and ------ no wind. But Pinkies do not give up that easily. After a hearty Ł2.00 breakfast ( is there a better breakfast to be had in Berkshire / Oxfordshire) Ken went out and found some wind in the middle of the lake, and set a course.

Pinkies launched their boats. Steve was immediately disqualified for sailing without crew in a two handed boat. Paul and Jan were also disqualified for a pathetic start, which left Andrew in his Laser and young Hugh in his topper to fight for the Pink Fleet Cup. The cup was awarded to Hugh who wouldn't be deterred from sailing ( unlike some Pinkies still curled up in their warm beds! ) Hugh chipped the ice from his centre board, rudder and boom, and with the help of some hot water from the galley, poured over his boat by some willing helpers, launched his Topper and sailed after the early starters – well done Hugh.

Next Pink Fleet February 11th - Breakfast at 9.30am - Racing at 11am - Be there.

If you want brekkie e mail Paula at : paulajanescott@yahoo.co.uk by 10th February.

Pink Fleet Christmas Party

The day dawned very cold but sunny with the promise of a good breeze. The Great Turkey race consisted of a mixture of boats many decked out with Xmas decorations. Paul and Mike took the club Sport 14 and won the prize for the most Christmassy boat. It was a good course and everyone was 'on the line', almost...at the start. Elaine and Jerry were in one of the safety boats with Ken and Catherine in the other.

Santa arrived in a Laser to oversee the proceedings and with a sack of goodies!!!

Down the long run, we had to pick up floating ducks / turkeys from the water - there was a 'winning' number.....sealed in an envelope, so there was no possible cheating...!!!It was no. 90 and Jan won the prize for picking it out of the water. The standard of racing was very high and after we had all put our boats away there was some delicious mulled wine waiting for us in the club house...really tasty Paul. We were served a really scrummy buffet lunch by Paul and Barbara..... Ken's quiz was a lot of fun, with some of the question quite a challenge, but the youngsters, Alex, Simon, Colm, Robert, Craig and Amy were really 'on the ball' and put some of the oldies to shame with their knowledge.....

Lots of silly presents, all pink of course, were handed out to the winners and losers, in Pink Fleet style. Thanks, bottles of wine and flowers were handed out to Monica, Ken, Paul and Barbara. It was another great family occasion at RSC. The end of another year of the Pink Fleeters.

Next Pink Day Sat 14th Jan - come rain, ice, snow.......it will happen!!

November Pink day

WOW, what a great Pink Day we had. Paul and Barbara served 28 scrummie breakfasts and we all slowly rigged our boats hoping for the wind to arrive........it didn't. But 20 of us - great to see so many new faces - Curtis, Hugh, Dene and his family - took to the water in Toppers, Lasers and even the 505 and RS Vision, ably helped by Brian. It was a drift, with some very close sailing........

Monica was very naughty and paddled after the race had started and was duly disqualified and verbally castigated by Ken. Katie and Alice enjoyed staying close together so they could have a good catch chat...... Despite all the shenanigans on the water, Tracey, Mark, Ken and David making waves in the power and rocking us all about - no rescue to do, just towing us out and back, some of us managed to get around 2/3rds of the course in the hour's race. The usual disqualifications followed.. Alice for standing up, Carole and Chris for having a four legged passenger - I think Harry likes sailing now, though he did pop overboard for a quick swim......... Richard.......for being Richard......Sylvia for chatting to Peter in German during the race.....and lots more.......

The overall winner by a mile was Issy, who snuck into the lead at the second mark and just powered away from the rest of us and won the much coveted Pink Fleet Cup - well done Issy. It was a lovely day and several of us just sat around in the sun on the deck chatting all afternoon, it's Nov.....how bizarre!!!

Many thanks to all those who helped us Pink Fleeters to rig, find missing sails,launch, etc.

October Pink day

October Pink Day was a cold, blustery morning so Ken set a short course with a couple of gybes to keep the rescue boats happy.

Warmed by Barbara and Elaine's stunning breakfast, the sailors took to their boats. They were even more apprehensive after watching Audrey and Gordon being rescued from a pre-race sail having lost their mast. The good news is that Lynne and Steve didn't capsize, but most of the rest of the fleet took a dip - Catherine was particuarly pleased to keep her hair dry during her capsize.

There were the usual round of disqualifications - Jane's top was too loud, Catherine's boat was too new, Alice had too much writing on her sail, and Monica was obviously too scared of disqualification and didn't sail at all (or perhaps it was because she had two helpings of breakfast).

The day was really all about PINK rather than sailing. Pat was sporting a pink headband, someone was wearing a very pink watch and some of the ladies confessed to wearing pink pants especially for the occasion. The fashion accessory of note was by Amy, who won this month's cup for sailing the pinkest boat.

September Pink day

A nice fresh breeze greeted the breakfast bunch and no fewer than 19 boats where rigged and launched Pink Fleet Godfather Ken and his henchmen and henchwomen were on hand to mould the collected sailors into a a well ordered bunch of racers ( well something like that)

A race course was sort of set and soon helm's young and old where whizzing around the lake lead by Monica. Or should we say lead astray by Monica (!) who had different ideas on what made a good course. Inevitably this meant disqualification, not only for Monica, but also Steve, Dave and Mark and others for crimes such as standing up, sailing backwards , not smiling enough ,and just being Mark .

For those who made the first lap in tact Ken had devised the fiendish Rubber Duck Dunk where helms collected a toy duck or alternatively went swimming. It was noted that adults did more swimming than younger members. Naturally being first accross the line counted for little, and special prizes ( kissing Monica or Ken !) where handed out with abandon to those like Ivan who showed special promise.

This months coveted trophy went to Elaine for having the prizewinning rubber duck -well done.

August 2011 Pink day & Barbeque

The usual format of Pink Day was changed this month as it was the the annual barbeque.

There was no breakfast, and the racing started much later than normal. Ken's orginal plan of a downwind start was abandonned after much discussion for a more traditional start, the course was eventually agreed as Start, 5P, 2P, 6S, 7S.

The new pontoon was put to good use to launch the fleet of 17 boats. Given the gusty conditions, there was surprisingly little capsizing once the race actually started, although there were quite a few upturned boats as the fleet vied for position on the start line.

Ken gave up his place in the rescue boat to sail the commodore around the lake - but he was disqualified for unnecessary standing up. Monica made a fabulous start, and led the race throughout but was disqualified for not finishing the race (perhaps she got distracted by the camera). Alex became stuck in the mud twice in quick succession. The cup was won by the father and son duo of Nigel and Ben who sailed their Toppers in their first Pink Day race.

The race was followed by a wonderful barbeque. Thank you to all who helped.

Pink Fleet Report - 11th June

Saturday brought out a bumper fleet of sailors, along with spectators and helpers to cheer them on. Whether they were attracted by the sunshine and kindly winds, or by the thought of a cordon bleu breakfast, all were welcome. All in all over twenty boats took to the water to race for the ever popular Pink Fleet Cup.

Monica briefed the diverse list of contenders. Some where old Pink Fleet lags, others fresh off the RYA courses eager for more sailing, - pirates also infiltrated proceedings. A compact figure of eight course was set and tips and hints were passed around.

The start was exciting with half the fleet trying to be first over the line and the other half trying not to. Once the line shyness was overcome the first buoy proved the scene of much activity. Some insisted on their rights, others insisted their competitors go first and some just ploughed on through. By the second or third lap things settled down into a rythmn.

Some great performances were in evidence with Alice and Louise going well on the Topper and Comet. Keith and Maurice got to grips with Lasers and Gordon gave his Comet an outing. Paul and Mike had their ritual tussle and Simon caused a few raised pulses with his brash buoy rounding tactics. In the end it was Sally who had the best outing on her newly refitted Byte and was the deserving winner of the Cup.

With twenty odd racers it's important that now all sign themselves off on the sheet provided and put the details of their boat class and ,sail number. Otherwise the poor old race officer can't work out the results. Remember Monica is watching !

Pink Day 14th of May

Pink Fleet and Open Day WOW, and WOW again, what a Pink Day.

Just when we thought it could never get any bigger it did. 30 boats took to the water and such a crowd of spectators, helpers and visitors cheered them on. It was the Open Day too and the club was humming.

Our hearty breakfast was cooked by Pink Fleet chef Paul, resplendent in his chef's hat. A 'sensible' course was set by Ken with no gybe marks to catch out the unwary . There were boats of every class with reefed Toppers, Lasers, Wayfarers, and some full rigs as well. Lots of capsizes, port and starboard issues, but a lot of fun.

Monica and Kris, decided to show everyone how to sail a full rig Laser 2 up......they stormed off onto the lead, and sailed the wrong course, followed by the rest of the fleet ! Baa! As they didn't go through the start at the end of the first lap and were duly disqualified and Monica had to sit in the naughty corner during the prize giving. Atul was presented with the cup in the club's Pico for his grit and determination, he had so many capsizes, we lost count but got up to finish the race ,well done Atul!

The star of the race was Katie who won...well done Katie! Many thanks to our patrol boats with Ken, Elaine and their helpers who were kept very busy effecting rescues. Barbara and Andrea were kept busy clearing up the debris from breakfast and making drinks for all the visitors. Later Kris and Catherine joined in to make lunches....thank you all so much. Barbara went on to do some gardening around the club site with her shears!!! What a stalwart she is and never gets in a boat!! No sooner were the Pink Fleeters in the club house, when the club and patrol boat were off again under the instruction of Phil - his refresher course, which proved to be another great success ,improving our newly trained with some extra confidence and lots more competence...well done Phil. People kept coming and the whole day saw the club house packed with people making it the the busiest so far this year.

Pink Day 9th October

Pink Fleet 11th September

We had another great day on Saturday. Paul, ably assisted by Elaine, Barbara was on holiday, made 30 scrumptious breakfasts for us all, while we sorted out our boats. The 19 boats, with 25 of us, took to the water for our 1st ever Pursuit Race.....Monica and Mark explained how it worked and did all the flags and numbers - the slower Toppers started first and the faster Lasers started 5 minutes later. We had to watch the numbers which were held up on the shore, to make sure we started at the right time. We sailed for an hour and went right down to number 4 buoy, with Jan, Richard and Brian in the 2 big safety boats keeping an eye on us and helping us out at times - there were few 'mishaps...' There was even a big boat with a huge spinnaker! It was great fun!

Jane won the race and got the Pink Fleet cup with Ian and Mike in there Lasers coming 2nd and 3rd.

Thank you to everyone who helped and made it a fun time.

Pink Fleet BBQ report

Wow, what a day we had! It was fantastic to have Ken with us, in charge and organising a great 45 min race / drift in light airs....with a briefing on the deck, guns and flags as well. There were 17 boats on the water with 26 of us in them.....we jostled and juggled, got pushed and encouraged but it was Andy in a club Laser who won the race. Well done Andy, don't forget to keep it polished...! Kris was disqualified for standing up and of course Monica was disqualified.....what for this time? Going too fast....!! she was lapping some of us. While we were on the water, Mark, Barbara, Delia and their helpers, were hard at it getting the BBQ and all the salads ready for when we came in...there were 40 of us having lunch and what a feast we had with loads of booze as well. Then suddenly Stig - no one knew who it really was... - appeared and paddled a club Laser to the distance mark (red stripey pole) and back, setting a time of 2.36mins to beat. We had a lot a very wet fun trying to beat his time.....Adrian definitely needs some practice paddling a Laser before he buys one...well it was Katie and Andrew who won the bottle of champagne..their Mum Sarah was very pleased...!!

While we were vegging out, Steve did a bit of teaching on how to rescue capsized boats - it was very interesting and a bit scarey.... But the best bit was going out onto the water again and putting it into practice - capsizing in the rain with no wind....the water was so warm...we all had a great day and thank you to everyone who organised it,helped get everything ready and did all the clearing up.

Pink Day June 2010

Wow, what a turn out....Delia, ably assisted by Elaine in her pink spotty 'pinny' - nice one Elaine - did 26 'scrummy' breakfasts and Ken ran a proper race for 17 boats. Ken did a briefing covering the basic rules, port starboard, windward boat keep clear etc with some nice drawings on the board.....was he an artist in a previous life..??..and showed us the flags, explained the timings and demonstrated the horn - it's really loud when you are in the clubhouse....Joan a prospective member went / was encouraged / asked, to go in the safety boat with Ken, while Brian was seconded to do the flags, horn from the shore......and so we were off...for some of the Pink Fleeters their first race ever - some of us only had only just learned to sail.... But with a lot of encouragement, most of us finished without too much trouble, capsizing apart!

The results were as follows :- 3rd Izzy Todd, for sailing in her pink pyjamas, very cool Izzy! 2nd Thea Harland for sheer determination in the gusty winds, in her reefed Topper, well done Thea and 1st Chris Smith, winner of the Pink Fleet cup this month, who had only completed his RYA level 1 last Saturday, amazing Chris and 2 capsizes as well! Well done to everyone and many thanks to all the people who helped make it such a great day........oh, yes Monica was disqualified for wearing too much pink, but at least she stayed dry this time!!!

Pink Day May 2010

Wow, what a great day we had to day? Usual 1st class brekkie from Jamie & Delia - amazing how they can serve 30 + from such a small galley and with such style and panache!! thank you so much.
Then we had 'The Duck Race' - well even if I didn't win, it was brilliant race!! - 15 boats on the water - and many congratulations to the Rachel, Matt and Sam for such a high score and winning the Pink Fleet Cup. and of course to Ken for coming up with such ingenious games.......

Pink Day April 2010

It was a sunny spring morning with light winds for the approximately 10 boats that managed to take to the water. After a fine breakfast cooked by Paul, with help from Barbara, the Pink Fleet decided on a cruising day to brush up their skills. As Ken was teaching a power boat course, they set off on a triangular course to the far end of the lake - hoping not to need assistance from the safety boat crew eager to practise their drill. A challenge had been set by Monica, for the younger sailors to switch over boats by Tektona.... unfortunately a sail too far as winds and drifting made it too difficult! Maybe success next time.

Pink Day Christmas Party 12th Dec 2009

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Fantastic Fun at September 2009's Pink Day

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