Uncle Bob's Race

Uncle Bob's race is long standing tradition at Hamble River SC, Bob was one of the founding members and sponsored a junior's race. which some of the more senior club members can remember sailing back in their teens.

The turn out was fantastic and with such  wide age range the day was split into three groups, the older juniors, the "Uncle Bob's" sailing Picos out in the Solent, while the younger children "Cousin Bob's" and "Baby Bob's" sailing courses in the river. Below Richard manages to keep everyone's attention for the briefing.

Joseph was in Baby Bob's having just completed his RYA 1&2 a couple of weeks ago, seen here checking out some of the hot competition.

In his first heat he got off to  great start, and while I'd like to say he didn't look back, at least they didn't manage to catch him as he came in first.

In the final he didn't do quite so well, his friend Archie (right) streaked in first, but Joseph came in second beating Monty (No 5217) who came in third, despite the carbon spars and sponsorship.

It was a great day for all the kids and a good start to Joseph's racing career with  first place in his heat and second overall. Oops I'm starting to sound like one of those pushy parents.

Vital Spark

Alas not Para Handy's famous puffer, this Vital Spark is a Keyhaven SCOW on a mooring in the inner harbour.

It looks like a tidy and well used boat.

Not sure what I'm going to do once Erica's SCOW is finished I won't have an excuse to wander around Keyhaven taking pictures of boats - or at least I'll need to find a new excuse.

How fast can a houseboat go?

Pretty fast, even when it's still attached to the shore.

 

Seen in Salzburg recently.

Inspiring - 77 year old kite surfer

I rarely repost from other blogs but this film of a local kite surfer resonated very strongly. The film is set between Hill Head and Lee on Solent, adjacent to the Seafarers Sailing Club.


 

 With the prospect of my 60th year in the not too distant future I found this very inspirational.

Cricket on the Bramble Bank

In the middle of the Solent, the sound which separates the Isle of Wight from mainland England is the Bramble Bank, a sandy shoal. At low water during the extreme equinoctial tides the sand bank breaks surface for about 90 minutes.

In a demonstration of English eccentricity each year two local yacht clubs the Royal Southern and the Island Sailing Club have  held a cricket match on the briefly exposed sand.

We took the opportunity to go over as spectators on one of the  Hamble River Sailing Club ribs on what was an overcast, but hugely fun, Bank Holiday Monday evening.

These couple of panoramic shots hopefully convey the spirit of the event and the location of the pitch.

After all these year of living here it was great to actually see things first hand.

Lake Boats continued Part 3

Did I mention Dragons? Sorry they just look so great and can you think of a better place for daysailing than in this setting on Wolfgangsee

Of course being high in the mountains and with the summer high pressure winds can be light so the lakes also  provide a marvelous environment for rowing.

There was a fleet of what look like traditional rowing boats at a club near St Gilgen, we were passing by on the steamer so they were a way off, but looked not dissimilar to our very own Burlesdon Gig, I would guess about 15 or 16 feet in length..

And if competitive rowing isn't your thing, how about this? Perfect for getting out on the water and cooling down on what was a a very hot (34 degrees C) and windless day.

This traditional looking boat was tucked up behind the fire station, it's flat bottomed, abut 12 or 13 feet presumably used for fishing. I couldn't help noticing that it has a lot of similarity with fellow blogger Chris Partridge's Snarleyow Too over at Rowing for Pleasure.

And if rowing and sailing isn't your thing there were a few interesting motor boats, I just love that Chris Craft in the foreground.

Lake Boats continued Part 2

I drew a blank trying to identify this yellow boat, there was a fleet of them at St Gilgen on the Wolfgangsee, the hull has the look of a 12 Meter Sharpie, but the tall Bermudan sail definitely isn't.

Below, is this one of those classes that occurs around the world, each purpose-built for the specific location they sail in, ultra lightweight boat and with unfeasible large sail plan?

Needle thin and a towering mast presumably evolved for the relatively light winds and flat waters, it would be a blast to sail on one.

A modern interpretation on a similar theme the Esse 850, conceived to be sailed easily single-handed or by a small crew at fast speed without the ship heeling too much, the class became popular in the Swiss lakes and now has international fleets.

I guess there will be people saying it's a boat for middle aged men, I can see the attraction some fast, spirited sailing without too much drama.