Open Day visitors blown away by Blackwater Sailing Club
by Christine Brown 8 May 2019 17:18 BST
4 May 2019
Blackwater Sailing Club Open Day © Christine Brown
Two weeks after the warmest Easter for years, on Saturday 4th May Blackwater Sailing Club chose the coldest May Bank Holiday on record for their annual Open Day and RYA Push The Boat Out "Try Sailing in May" event.
This didn't deter more than 150 hardy visitors who came along to Club to find out what they have to offer. The day dawned dry and sunny, but after some deliberation a decision was made that it was too cold and windy to safely offer their visitors sailing taster sessions, necessitating a change of plan. Guests enjoyed tours of the extensive site finishing at the excellent seven acre training lake. Here many BSC cadets and adults were demonstrating their heavy weather and capsize recovery skills.
Wet and wild RIB trips around the lake were on offer and these were greatly enjoyed by all. Before hypothermia had set in, guests were taken to the warm clubhouse where food and hot drinks were consumed. They were then able to watch intrepid BSC sailors taking part in a club race. The storm clouds built rapidly before the start and winds quickly built to a howling squall with 40 knot gusts which soon flattened most of the fleet. This quickly passed and returned to a steady force 5-6 and the race was soon under way with some spinnakers flying.
Just after the race finished another squall hit causing more spectacular capsizes right in front of the clubhouse. Guests who had thawed out sufficiently were then able to take advantage of river trips on the Blackwater in one of the BSC RIBs or the launch. This gave them a close-up view of the action and they all came back with smiles on their faces, if a little wet. There were static demonstrations ashore of the various boats sailed at the club. All in all, a great day's entertainment at Blackwater Sailing Club with so much fun on offer. The Club would lke to thank all the visitors who came.
For more details about events like this see www.blackwatersailingclub.org.uk