Morning All,

Just a rallying call to the troops for a bumper turnout to the Warming Pan this weekend.  Call your mates, sort your crew and fob off anyone who wants you to do gardening, painting, plumbing, shopping or any other spurious use of a sailing weekend.

Good excuses might include, 'It's a three line whip from the Chairman', or if that sounds too much like pleasure seeking, 'I've got to go, it is the only Sea event until May, and we really need the practice..'.

I am sure you can think of some of your own...

Pat has organised a great format - follow the link from the homepage for details.

See you all there,

GGGGGGGGGGG

And I 've even bought a new jib for the occasion - any chance of the Chairman running his tape over it??? Usual fee!!!!!

And at least two brand new boats being launched - from what I hear Hamble can be an interesting spectator pleasure in that particular activity!  I'm itching to taste the salt already..

You know the dreams - the blue sea, force 4-5 waves yada yada yada.  Shame it's the solent in early march, but i'm sure it'll be similar!?

My advice is to try and avoid tasting the water down there!!

Scotty, always happy o be on the recieving end of 'the usual fee!'  Will be there sharpish Sat am - see you there!

? - tasting the water isn't so bad if you keep your teech clenched to filter out the worst of the debris!  The Hamble is a cleaner place than it used to be, Sunday mornings on the ebb tide were the worst, as the rafts of used condoms floated down to the open spaces of the Solent... none of them mine, worst luck!!

Oh, the good old days!

GGGGG

What are you on Chris?? Have you seen the forecast for the weekend?  If you return to shore with a full complement of limbs and appendages you will be lucky IMHO - however this is probably because I feel miffed at not being there meself

Looks like Mr Stewart could keep his wreckin’ record intact then.  Last time he launched a new boat there it had to go back to the builders.  Bloody hooligan.

Bloody Hooligan?  Is this a new design?

It wasn't just the ownership of most of the yards that caused the Hamble to be called "The Rank River".

Warning note to competitors - at the southern end of the start line there is a nice concrete jetty submerged for at least half the tidal cycle.  If you hit it going flat out for that end of the line it removes your transom very neatly if you have a fixed rudder.  Beware!!!

But Andrew, how do you know this?

Its been there since WW2 and most of us have hit it once!

By removing my transom 2y ago Mags.  Just after having the decks all redone.  Got a new one fitted by Linton (before he started all this flying Moth malarky) and then sailed twice before being hit by a large motor cruiser and having all the port side smashed up.  That was NOT a good year, finishing with what I'm sure was the coincidental decision of my then insurers that they would not cover Merlins any more!!!

Andrew

Maybe this event would be better renamed the "Warning - Pan your hull"!!!!

Sorry Andrew, couldnt resist a tease....

Forcast for weekend is Very Cold Strong Winds from North. So good luck boys and girls! I'll be enjoying Barbados.

Never down this before

How long a sail to the starting area ?

Guess we will have a gigantic Northerly with us

You launch in the start area unless they start yiu at sea in which case 20 mins max.

Weather doesnt look too bad, unless I'm not looking in the correct place...  10 knots N Westerly saturday and Sunday.  Bit chilly though - 7 degrees max.  Brrr

Sorry to belabor the point but its rathe warmer in Barbados.

The chilliness was the point Chris. Max temp is 7 degrees, min 1, and you have the wind chill on top.  Good luck!!

lads

you are not sailing on the sea.  the event is from hamble river sailing club.

you will wreck your boat on a mooring or a channel buoy.   You dont get channel buoys to hit when you at sea.

you might get to sail out of the river a la Salcombe style go round a couple of big channel buoys and come back in.  Its like sailing on the M25.

enjoy.

Forecast I have just seen says NW 3 for the morning becoming 3-4 for the afternoon. Perfect for a Spring shakeout of the cobwebs.  Allow about 20 mins to launch and be ready to start; programme is to start from the club line, sail out side and do a decent course and finish out there. Start race two immediately, sail round the outside course and then back into the Hamble to finish.

Don't be deterred by the doom mongers!  Go to the foot of the climb as my dad's great uncles cousin's friend used to say.

Looking forward to seeing hundreds, nay thousands, of Merlins there!  Pack the boat up tonight ready for a prompt start in the morning..

See you there

GGGGG

ps Stevie T, could you measure a jib for us, please?

GGGG

GGGGG

I will bring my measuring stuff.  (Don't tell anyone or I'll be doing it all day)

Andrew.  As a friend of mine is wont to say: there's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong kit!

Still going to be chilly though...

just received Silver Tiller guide - according to that the Warming Pan is 20/21 March  !!! Could be warmer by then !

Wouldn't want anyone to protest

Oh - bother and bum!

Looks like a bit of a cock-up on the proof reading front.
If you find any more mistakes Alan - keep them to yourself.

Pat

Anyone looking for a short notice crew?
I've just had a couple of beers after work and now I'm up for it (pending hangover) and after capsizing in the Thames last Sunday, I can't see the cold being a problem!
Brian

Thanks Joe - we had a good sail this morning.

Brian

My informants tell me it was at least warm, even if there was no wind on Sunday, we on the other hand were hot and had wind! (Flying fish for breakfast!)
But who won?

Many congrats go to Steve and Ally Tyler for their first Open Meeting win in 12 years! Their success was due to good boatspeed and an ability to consistently navigate correctly round the 'join the dots' (why is the picture always a dolphin?) course into and out of the Hamble.

Good sailing Sat and Sun am, but too sh**e and lifty for the PRO to get a course and start for Sun PM.

Good weekend - shame if you missed it!

GGGGGG

Chris Gillard has put a report on the HRSC site.
We will put full results and Merlin Report up soon - Eddie Mays is doing Y&Y. Dinghy sailing had their own correspondant out sailing in a Merlin.
Steve and Ally Tyler were by far the most consistent - well done!

If anyone has any photos - Alex Jackson is the reports guru, who will be making sure all events have reports and photos on the website this year.

Apparently there are some photo's on the Y+Y website.

if you think its cold you should be here in Sweden its snowing and the sea is frozen, good breeze though, hey ho off to the sauna

There are indeed - a great set of photos by Phil Plumtree.  Apparently my boat is getting the last bits done to it now, seeing the pics of what looks like a good blast on Saturday has made me even more keen to get Heaven Sent back and start sailing again.  Hope my negative comments about the weather didn't put anyone off, it looks as tho it was a great sail on the Sat, the Sunday not quite in the same league

Andrew 3511

I can wait no longer for the results

 Did Ross finish
 How many capsizes
 What broke

The public must be told  !!!!

Alan,
Ross didn't show.
John and Graham capsized twice, broke spinnaker pole on last one but still won the last race.
HRSC sailing instructions stipulated no discard if only 3 races - ST rules say 1 discard if 3 races sailed!
No big changes to results in report - Steve & Ally won, Anna & I were 2nd, John & Graham ahead of Willy Warren, then Colin Brockbank, Judith, Dave Winder, Dan Alsop, Graham Scroggie, Scotty,Andy Jones, Mike Stevens, Lou Johnson,Mark Waterhouse, Joe McLaughlin.....
Glen and Davo = last with dnf, rtd, dns!
I will post up to date ST results early next week - with Shustoke & Banbury included.

Still at it I se Alan:)

Was off skiing with the Yoof lot. If you must know I did finish the week, had plenty of crashes, but broke nothing!

See you at Easter Open next week

Ross

Afraid not Ross - I'm off skiing again but I look forward to seeing how your 1000 PY works

Thanks for info Pat - I wasn't expecting everybodies misfortunes to be described - thought Ross's would give you enough to write about !!