Reading Sailing Club Members

Frostbite 9 – 27th Jan – Racing Pictures View photos    Download all You are invited to view Tracey’s album. This album has 14 files.

Anybody who wanted to race had to wade through the post flood mud and claw through the ice to rig their boat. Deep joy. Still a dozen intrepid ( is that the word ?) souls took to the water.  The OOd team kept them guessing the course until, well , a bit after the last minute. Maybe they where trying to remember how to actually do a race, it’s been so long waiting for the water to fall.

The gentle easterly breeze was never going to cause much of an adrenaline rush, and any white knuckles where purely a product of the wind chill.   A bit of close quarter jostling and the race got off with  Clay jnr & snr chasing Chris up the lake  and down the interminable rum to buoy 2.

Paul and Neville teamed up in the Ent but too much Xmas turkey meant they couldn’t hold off planing Laser jockeys like Mark on the reaches. Steve and Lynn got in some kite flying but their cunning plan of shortcutting the course didn’t go unoticed earning them a DSQ.  Steve consoled himself with some short dated mince pies in the galley, but Lynn went home to huddle up to a hot water bottle and thaw out her hands. So Steve ate her pie too. And her soup !

Might have to break the ice if you want to sail on Sunday.

Here is a useful link to water level guage at Sonning Lock:

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/riverlevels/136495.aspx?StationId=7132&Sensor=D&RegionId=0&AreaId=0&CatchmentId=0

Obviously the water is very high, and potentialy dangerous at the momemt.  New updates will be posted here.

The usual motley crew, ie Dave, Newton, little Dave, Mark and ‘her ladyship’ Monica, donned their dry suits and pumped up Dave’s little boat to get up to clubhouse. Not totally accurate, Monica didn’t have her dry suit on so she was allowed to ride in the boat, along with copious bottles of mulled wine and a ton of mince pies! Every thing was ok, a small area of grass was visible near the ‘Pirates’ log: so everyone pitched in tying up boats here and there, everything in the club house was put up on the tables, mats rolled up and all the lower cupboards emptied. Then it was time for a break and they settled for coffee and a mince pie, though they were tempted to sample the mulled wine….. Newton had kindly given Monica a piggy back up to the clubhouse as it was decided they didn’t need to open the gate and just tied the rubber duck up outside the gate and wade the rest of the way – but on the return trip – we don’t quite know what happened, but both Monica and Newton ended up lying in the water to every one’s amusement!!! so much for keeping the VC dry….. They made it back to the gate, wished everyone a Happy Christmas and departed. THERE WILL BE NO BOXING DAY RACE, watch this space as to when racing will resume….next Sunday possibly….???

Frostbite 5 – non-racing report View photos    Download all You are invited to view Tracey’s album. This album has 24 files.