 |
|
|
           |
Cruising
The club runs several major events each year for offshore cruising sailors as well as a popular programme of rallies:
Cruising Captains Report 2009
With a lift-in as early as 27 March we hoped to get plenty of practice in for the Round the Island Race but the usual sequence of calms and gales prevented any action until the Mayday weekend when the MS&CC squadron of Fenna, Eliza Bee, Jemima and Sea-Pie was faced with a 30 strong fleet from Douglas and Peel (not Port St Mary), England and Ireland. It turned out to be a good day for our boys with sea-Pie winning division 1 and Eliza Bee (defdending the Coronation Cup) taking 2nd in Class. However we could not quite match the results from Glasson Sailing club who took the Isle of Man Times Squadron Trophy for the first time ever. Its always good to see an English or Irish club doing well here and long may they keep coming back to compete but more practice for our fleet will be laid on before next year’s race!.
The race marks went out in May and were paraded around by Sea-pie, Jemima and Eliza Bee when the weather permitted until October. Well done Eliza Bee for taking the Summer and Autumn series while Sea-Pie sneaked through to take the Spring series. Unfortunately we did not quite seem to reach the critical mass required to send a fleet out at every opportunity whatever the weather. A few more rough, tough racing yachters are wanted to keep racing going in Ramsey Bay then. These would also go down well with the Ladies Training crew who enjoyed a very pleasant couple of evenings or afternoons cruising around the Bay on Sea-Pie (with the assistance of a bit of muscle up on the foredeck). We will be continuing with the curriculum for this program next year by popular request. Quite a few members – Don Edwards and Phil Hardisty for instance, sailed on other yachts with success and Ed the commodore elect completed another Fastnet on the Humphreys 35 ft one design White Knight of Wessex, coming in just less than 100 places in front of the Douglas boat Cheetah Cub.
On the cruising side, we saw Manx Jig off in April heading for the Med via a Force 10/11 off Finisterre – read the log in the sailing club. They made it through with the help of several of the lifeboat crew moonlighting on board and are now happily parked out in the wine dark Aegean.
The old Millenium BVI bunch of Deans, Colmans, Wilsons and Packards went for a Sunsail cruise on a 43 ft catamaran in the St Vincent and Grenadines area (log will soon be released) and discovered the delights of swimming with turtles, winding up the rig on the cat to make it go 0.13 knots faster (racing effect cannot be erased) inventing new versions of painkillers, mending stubbed toes, catching skipjacks (not allowed to hit with the winch handle – had to put them back in) spotting flying fish and chasing dolphins.
Away racing, Sea-Pie went to West Highland Week and the crew of May and Prof, Ralph Kee, James Bishop Adam Beighton and Jerry Colman made 2nd in class and first Sigma 33 in a fabulous week with at least 20 knots every day, lots of sun and the usual quiet social round. Sea-Pie might well go back again next year.
Sea-Pie at West Highland Week
That was about it for 2009 – let’s see a bit more action for 2010 and roll on the Marina!
