Saturday 10 June saw another session of the club opening its doors to the public to give them the chance to experience sailing and hopefully encourage some to take it up as a hobby or sport. For the first time this year numbers were disappointingly low, but it did mean that those who did come had a longer time than usual afloat with near perfect conditions to take novices out – blue skies and moderate winds from the south west. The next taster session will be held at the club on July 8.
The race on Sunday did not see the kind weather continuing. Grey skies and winds gusting 25mph meant that Andrew Hewitt, the Officer of the Day, had a difficult decision as to whether or not to race in Rye Bay or on the River Rother. Safety first saw the race on the river for the first time since April.
Starts on the river are always tricky, the high winds left little margin for error with the added hazard of a narrow start line between the clubhouse and Harbour Master’s office.
John Powell managed to steal an early lead at the start which he was unable to maintain against Simon Marsh who, having moved into first place didn’t look unduly troubled as the race progressed. Mark Whitman had elected to sail a Scorpion Dinghy singlehandedly (a brave decision given the weather); this class of boat always looks a fine sight on the water and Mark managed to give a good account of himself.
Elsewhere there were capsizes aplenty and we saw the return of Sue Saich with Anna Knight in a Mirror Dinghy; Sue returning to the fray for the first time after injuring herself.
The course took the sailors down to Rock Channel and back to the clubhouse twice. Those using the Rye Watersports facility on the Camber Road could clearly see the tops of sails racing up and down the river. At the end though, Simon Marsh maintained his lead to take the race with John Powell second and Mark Whiteman third.
Photos: David Tomkinson and Grace Yates