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Welcome to any new readers of Tammy Matters

Scroll to the end of this e-mail to see the News articles

New information, particularly that concerning Covid-19 related requirements, will be on the Noticeboard and, at the start of each Tammy Matters, I will alert you to any additions or changes in the Notices or the Red Banner.

Link to the website Noticeboard by clicking here.  Tamesis Noticeboard

Sad News,  Leonie Steer, a Member of the Club for many years, passed away last Wednesday having battled against cancer for several years.  She was known to many at the Club and her occasional appearances will be sadly missed.  An Obituary will follow later in News .

Last Week  13th to 19th October.

On Saturday 17th October  The annual Royal Canoe Club Paddling Challenge took place successfully in what were, for them, ideal no wind no stream conditions.  They had asked to use our frontage to enable them to run this event within the constraints of the Covid-19 Regulations and it transpires that this has been the only event that British Canoeing has been able to hold this year.

Andy Harris was unable to run the Junior sailing session as the consequence of this event being run over a longer than scheduled timespan.

On Sunday 18th October the annual Trafalgar Trophy pursuit race was run in near calm conditions.  However, everybody managed to make some headway and it proved to be a Merlin benefit with the Trophy being won by Andy Harris, crewed by Matty Key, Peter and Richard Mason were second with Charlie Morgan crewed by Humphrey Dorrell third.  Well done to Henry and Ed Medcalf for taking on the difficult conditions.

Thank you to Rupert Fletcher for being Race Officer for this difficult race, assisted by Hugh McLaughlin and to Paul Jamieson and Stephen Lucas for manning the Patrol Boat.

This Week  20th to 26th October.

On Saturday 24th October we are hosting the Topper Open Meeting.  This event was well attended last year and entries have been good this year.

On Sunday 25th October the Royal Outrigger Canoe Club has a notified event with a River Restriction.  We have held discussions with them about timings and they are going to bring their starts forward so that they should all be clear by the time our Laser start is scheduled.  They will be returning to finish during our Winter Points Series 2 race time and our racing boats should take action not to impede them.

Looking Forward

On Sunday 1st November we will be running the Trowlock Trophy Race.  This event has been brought over from the Ariel calendar and is another Pursuit Handicap event.

On Saturday 7th November Kingston Rowing Club will be running their Kingston Small Boats Head and there has been a request that they would like to use our frontage to reduce the crowding at their own site.  Their use of our site will be controlled by Walbrook Rowing Club with whom we have a long-standing agreement about how our site is used.

On Sunday 8th November we will run the Winter Points Series 3 Races.

On Saturday 14th November Walbrook Rowing Club will be running the Teddington Head and again have requested the use of our frontage for launching boats.  There will be another influx of Portaloos which will be placed along the car park wall of the Changing Rooms.

On Sunday 15th November we will run the Winter Points Series 4 Races.  We need a volunteer to act as Patrol Boat Driver on this day.

On Sunday 22nd November we will run the Winter Points Series 5 Races.

On Saturday 28th November we should be holding our Prizegiving Dinner.  Sadly this is very unlikely to occur this year and the interruption to sailing which Covid has caused has severely reduced the number of prizes which can be awarded.

On Sunday 29th November the RCC has yet another event scheduled on the Reach Coordination about which I will make enquiries.  We will run the Winter Points Series 6 Races but will be starting later than normal.

We are running the Winter Points Series on the days scheduled for all Classes but using our established pandemic format with Starts for – Lasers 10:30, N18/Toppers/Handicap 11:00 and Merlins 11:30.  All start sequences will be notified by the low-pitched hooter.  All boat finishes will be notified by the high-pitched alarm tone.

During the period that we are running these abnormal race start times please do not sign-on to race at the Smithy (Race Box) if you rig your boat in the main Dinghy Park.  The OOD or their assistant will take the entries in the Boat Park as you rig your boats.  If you rig your boat in the area by the changing rooms or in the N18 area, please notify the OOD verbally that you intend to race.

For Winter sailing we are advising that those who have wet suits should wear them, particularly on blustery days and anyone planning to winter sail who does not have one is recommended to consider buying one.  Hypothermia is a dangerous condition.

Replacing the Smithy

The Smithy has withstood the elements, including floods, since 1935 and is showing its age.  We have decided that, with part of the Legacy left to us by Mike Goldsmith, we will replace it.  The work to do this will probably have to be spread over 2 weeks, with the result that a temporary Race Box may have to be erected or we may use the Old Starting Box on the Clubhouse roof.  The new Race Box will be slightly larger than the current one.

A potentially interesting Project (For the second and last time)

We have had a contact from a Mr. John G. Dangerfield from Ham and I reproduce his e-mail verbatim.

Would any of your members be interested in having an old clinker built sailing boat, any offer acceptable. It has no trolley and has been stored in the dry for many years. My father bought it in about 1957 and I think it is called a Twinkle 10. It would need to be seasoned in the open for 12 months or so and would need repair. It has oars, mast, sails (condition unknown) and buoyancy bags. There is also a small outboard motor but it would need a full repair.
I am on the other side of the river in Ham. It is a lovely boat but would need somebody with enthusiasm to take it on.

If any Member is interested in taking this on, please get in touch with me and I will pass you his contact details.

Running the Races –  ‘Dutyman’ allocation of Race organisation duties.

The staffing of the Race Management Team for each week is notified by the ‘Dutyman’ system and assists those who cannot do their allocated duty to swap with someone who can.

Although we have quite a good pool of individuals capable of filling the various functions, we need to expand this pool as much as we can.  We, therefore, invite both sailing and non-sailing Members to experience what the various jobs entail and, after shadowing and some instruction, to join the pool who can help run the races.  If you would like to help in this way please get in touch with us via the General Enquiry contact on the website and, in the short term, we will make the necessary arrangements on an individual basis.  For newer Members this could be a great way to get to know the more established Club Members and become a more integral part of the Club.

We will also, when conditions permit, run some Race Management courses.

Chris Pollard
Commodore

Welcome to any new readers of Tammy Matters

Scroll to the end of this e-mail to see the News articles

I have become increasingly aware that there is a lot of information which has, up until now, come up week after week in Tammy Matters.  We have created a Noticeboard so that this important/useful information can be separate from the Newsletter but readily accessible, either from this newsletter, using the link at the end of this paragraph, or directly on the website.

New information, particularly relating to Covid-19 related requirements, will be on the Noticeboard and I will alert you to any additions or changes in the Notices or the Red Banner, at the start of each Tammy Matters.

Link to the website Noticeboard by clicking here.  Tamesis Noticeboard

Last Week  6th to 12th October.

On Saturday – Andrew Harris ran the Junior Sailing session with the usual enthusiasm being evident.

On Sunday – We ran the initial races for the Winter Points Series for all Classes.  A steady Northerly breeze created good conditions and OOD Joe Woods set a straight up-and-down course with the Lensbury Mark a longish way down towards the weir.  Seven Lasers competed with Matt P-J winning by 7 seconds from Tom Low and with Peter Impey third.  No Toppers this week but two N18s raced with Henry Defries winning from Mal Warner.  Eight Merlins contested this race with Charlie Morgan beating David Baker to the line and Andrew Harris 3rd despite his picking up some weed and some tree branches en route.

It was noted that there were several boats out without masthead buoyancy.  While we are operating in a regime where we should not perform normal rescues, masthead buoyancy is required.

Thank you to Joe Woods as OOD, assisted by Sue Harris, for the running of the races, with Ken Thatcher and Marcus Chavasse manning the Patrol Boats.

As an addendum to last week’s Tammy Matters, I have to report that Marcus came third in the Laser Barometer Open Meeting.

This Week  13th to 19th October.

On Saturday 17th October  The Royal Canoe Club has its annual Paddling Challenge, for which it has a partial River Closure.  They have asked if they can use our frontage to enable them to run this event within the constraints of the Covid-19 Regulations.  Following a meeting to discuss their request and to appraise them of our requirements if they were to use the site.  They have produced a detailed plan of their proposed activity which is satisfactory.

Andrew Harris will be running the Junior sailing session at an adjusted time to take account of this event.

On Sunday 18th October we are scheduled to run the annual Trafalgar Trophy pursuit race.  Watch out for the Notice giving the start times for the various classes which will be published shortly.

Looking Forward

On Saturday 24th October we are hosting the Topper Open Meeting.  This event was well attended last year and entries have been good this year.

On Sunday 25th October  the Royal Outrigger Canoe Club has a notified event with a River Restriction.  We have held discussions with them about timings and they are going to bring their starts forward so that they should all be clear by the time our Laser start is scheduled.  They will be returning to finish during our racing time and racing boats should take action not to impede them.

As from last Sunday, 11th October, we are running the Winter Points Series for all Classes but using our established pandemic format with Starts for – Lasers 10:30, N18/Toppers/Handicap 11:00 and Merlins 11:30.  All start sequences will be notified by the low-pitched hooter.  All boat finishes will be notified by the high-pitched alarm tone.

During the period that we are running these abnormal race start times please do not sign-on to race at the Smithy (Race Box) if you rig your boat in the main Dinghy Park.  The OOD or their assistant will take the entries in the Boat Park as you rig your boats.  If you rig your boat in the area by the changing rooms or in the N18 area, please notify the OOD verbally that you intend to race.

For Winter sailing we are advising that those who have wet suits should wear them, particularly on blustery days and anyone planning to winter sail who does not have one is recommended to consider buying one.  Hypothermia is a dangerous condition.

Replacing the Smithy

The Smithy has withstood the elements, including floods, since 1935 and is showing its age.  We have decided that, with part of the Legacy left to us by Mike Goldsmith, we will replace it.  The work to do this will probably have to be spread over 2 weeks, with the result that a temporary Race Box may have to be erected.  The new Race Box will be slightly larger than the current one.

A potentially interesting Project

We have had a contact from a Mr. John G. Dangerfield from Ham and I reproduce his e-mail verbatim.

Would any of your members be interested in having an old clinker built sailing boat, any offer acceptable. It has no trolley and has been stored in the dry for many years. My father bought it in about 1957 and I think it is called a Twinkle 10. It would need to be seasoned in the open for 12 months or so and would need repair. It has oars, mast, sails (condition unknown) and buoyancy bags. There is also a small outboard motor but it would need a full repair.
I am on the other side of the river in Ham. It is a lovely boat but would need somebody with enthusiasm to take it on.

If any Member is interested in taking this on, please get in touch with me and I will pass you his contact details.

Running the Races –  ‘Dutyman’ allocation of Race organisation duties.

The staffing of the Race Management Team for each week is notified by the ‘Dutyman’ system and which assists those who cannot do their allocated duty to swap with someone who can.

Although we have quite a good pool of individuals capable of filling the various functions, we need to expand this pool as much as we can.  We, therefore, invite both sailing and non-sailing Members to experience what the various jobs entail and, after shadowing and some instruction, to join the pool who can help run the races.  If you would like to help in this way please get in touch with us via the General Enquiry contact on the website and, in the short term, we will make the necessary arrangements on an individual basis.  For newer Members this could be a great way to get to know the more established Club Members and become a more integral part of the Club.

We will also, when conditions permit, run some Race Management courses.

Chris Pollard
Commodore

Welcome to any new readers of Tammy Matters

Scroll to the end of this e-mail to see the News articles

Dear all, we are again faced with a change in Government policy which we have to try comply with whilst continuing to enjoy our sailing

The new legislation which has come into force is more restrictive and introduces fines for non-compliance.  The RYA interpretation of the impact of the new Regulations can be found at https://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/clubs/RYA%20C19%20gov%20guidance%20QAs.pdf?v=1.4.1 .  This has further links to information which will show you the complexity of what we are trying to cope with since these links provide further links to more advice.

Practices to be observed whilst at the Club can be seen if you click on the link in the Red Banner near the top of the Home page of the website.  Please read this new version of the Notice.

With the colder weather approaching, although the Clubhouse remains closed for the time being, we are actively working towards making limited access to it possible.  We will advise when suitable arrangements are in place.  We have, however, arranged limited use of the Changing Rooms in addition to access to the toilets.  Currently only 4 people can use the changing area at one time, one in each screened-off sector and although the showers are not yet in use we are working on that as well.

We are also advising that those who are planning to sail during the winter and who have wet suits should wear them, particularly on blustery days like this last Sunday.  Those planning to winter sail who do not have them are recommended to consider buying one.  Hypothermia is a dangerous condition.

Last Week  29th September to 5th October.

On Saturday – We ran the National 18 Inland Championships Open Meeting with the competitions for the Adelaide Cup and the Tamesis Anchor.  Whilst there had been gales for the previous two days, the wind was light but the stream was getting stronger.  Four races were planned but the second had to be abandoned due to inadequate wind to compete with the stream.  The third and fourth races did take place and Matt P-J and Kaan won everything with Charles Fox being the runner up.

Thank you to David Baker as OOD, assisted by Jim Green, with Onursol Soyer, Marcus Chavasse and Howard Thatcher on Patrol Boat.  A full report on the races by Carolyne Vines is in News

The Junior Sailing session was fitted into the gap between the second and third races of the N18s Championship during the mid-day interval.  See the report by Carolyne in News.

On Sunday – A gusty Southwesterly wind, a strong stream and persistent rain presented very lively conditions for the Laser Barometer Open meeting.  A fleet of 13 Lasers pitted themselves against the elements.  The combination of a shifty wind and strong stream made for very difficult conditions and in the end Matt P-J took the honours with Jon Redding second, Kaan was 4th and Nev Upton 5th.  See the report on the races by John Edmondson in News.

Thank you to Tim Medcalf as OOD, assisted by Valerie Hamill, for the running of the races, with Ken Thatcher, Andrew Horwitz, John and Zoe Adams manning the Patrol Boats.  Also thanks to Alexey Anatskiy who, although not rostered to assist, volunteered and did number of useful things during the day.

This Week  6th to 12th October and further ahead.

Saturdays until the end of October, Andrew Harris will continue running the Junior sailing afternoons.

From Sunday 11th October we are intending to run the Winter Points Series for all Classes but using our established pandemic format with Starts for – Lasers 10:30, N18/Toppers/Handicap 11:00 and Merlins 11:30.  All start sequences will be notified by the low-pitched hooter.  All boat finishes will be notified by the high-pitched alarm.

During the period that we are running these abnormal race start times please do not sign-on to race at the Smithy (Race Box) if you rig your boat in the main Dinghy Park.  The OOD or their assistant will take the entries in the Boat Park as you rig your boats.  If you rig your boat in the area by the changing rooms or in the N18 area, please notify the OOD verbally that you intend to race.

Looking Forward

On Saturday 17th October the Royal Canoe Club has its annual Paddling Challenge.  They have asked if they can use our frontage to enable them to run this event within the constraints of the Covid-19 Regulations.  Following a meeting to discuss their request and to appraise them of our requirements for them to use the site, they are currently formulating a procedure for us to sanction.

On Sunday 18th October we are scheduled to run the annual Trafalgar Trophy pursuit race.  Watch out for the notice giving the start times for the various classes which will be published soon.

On Saturday 24th October we are hosting the Topper Open Meeting.  This event was well attended last year and entries have been good this year.

On Sunday 25th October  the Royal Outrigger Canoe Club have an event with a River Restriction.  We are about to hold discussions with them about timings so that we can both realise our racing intentions.

Running the Races –  ‘Dutyman’ allocation of race organisation duties

The staffing of the Race Management Team for each week is notified by the ‘Dutyman’ system and assists those who cannot do their allocated duty to swap with someone who can.

Although we have quite a good pool of individuals capable of filling the various functions, we need to expand this pool as much as we can.  We, therefore, invite both sailing and non-sailing Members to experience what the various jobs entail and, after shadowing and some instruction, join the pool who can help run the races.  If you would like to help in this way please get in touch with us via the General Enquiry contact on the website and, in the short term, we will make the necessary arrangements on an individual basis.  For newer Members this could be a great way to get to know the more established Club Members and become a more integral part of the Club.

We will also, when conditions permit, run some Race Management courses.

Notices

For notices, please visit the website Noticeboard by clicking here.
Tamesis Noticeboard

A Reminder.  Joanne, the Pilates teacher who did the Monday classes at the Club, has set up an on-line class at 10:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays, £5 per person per session on Zoom.  If anyone would like any more information they can contact Nicky Johnson on nickyjohnsontamesis@gmail.com

Members are strongly advised to follow the Government advice on coronavirus avoidance techniques and to keep themselves fit  (Pilates group, Joe Wicks on U tube, etc.) for resuming normal life.

Chris Pollard
Commodore