The International Canoe

Hi All

Sorry, but I won't be able to make this weekend due to a family commitment. Hope that you all have a great time, see you somewhere, sometime soon.

Cheers




Maurice

Have a good time folks, wish I could be there:-(

Sorry to let you down chaps, but I've got to cry-off.

I have a room booked at the Premier Inn that's paid for, so if someone needs a room, go and tell them that you're me (or if you email or call me beforehand (07921 386740), I'll give you the booking reference).

Cheers

Bob

Thanks for all our visitors to Llandegfedd - old and new.

The event was declared a one day event on the Saturday to try and get the most from the forecast conditions.
Four races scheduled, two back to back then a spot of lunch before the final two. By race 3 the fleet were spent but some excellent racing from the two fleets.

I counted 13 boats which is an excellent start to the season.

Probably high force 4 peaking to 5 at times but a good northerly allowing a lengthy beat.

Congratulations to Robin Wood (AC) and Chris Hampe (IC) winning the 2012 Inlands and a good start to their season.

All the fleet attended a great night out in Tiffins to complete the first premier event for 2012.
Our thanks go out to all the travelers who make these events worthwhile.

I look forward to doing it all again in 3 weeks time when Ullswater WILL be kind to us!

Full report to follow and also an IC/AC timed comparison over the same course (Alistair & Chris were quick).

Thanks to LLandegfedd for a good event, had great sailing on the Saturday and it was good to catch up with friends old and new. Looking forward to seeing every one next (for me) at the Nationals/ Euros at Plymouth, just hope it will treat me kindly as I am covered in bruises from Saturday, seems that I am OK up to top end of a 4 but a few more mph then.... Perhaps some more practice is needed. Chris certainly showed the way in race 2 and 3, I think he only capsised once in all three races, while I was swimming the course by race 2. With a little kinder wind (hopefully) at the nats then we will get a good idea about the pros and cons of the differant designs, 5 or 6 different ones will be there? Depends on who makes it from Germany.
Alistair

Just driven past the lake on the way home............no wind, sunny and flat calm.....what a difference a day makes....there's a song there somewhere?????????

Thanks to all who came to support our event. We will no doubt be asked by the club if we want to hold one again next year by which time we should be showing off our state of the art club house.

A great night on Saturday too, good food, great company and Steve B even stayed clear of the red wine!!!

Cheers all,

Martyn

Congratulations to Chris and Robin, a just reward for Chris who is doing so much to organise the Nationals and the Europeans. I have entered already and if you see my post when doing so, you will see that Robin was well into winning as far back as 1987. Will he ever slow down?!

I was relieved to hear there was a good turn out. Before the event I was really quite upset to discover that Dave thought my remarks intended only to explain why this old foggy who is past his 'best before date' for canoe sailing has become a whimp, frightened off by big wind forecasts on gusty lakes, might have put off those less than half my age from coming. I kept well clear of all water last weekend. Here, even on the Saturday it would have been beyond my abilities to cope in the IC in my present state of unfitness. I am looking forward to reading the full report, will we hear more of Alistair's bruises!

Family responsibilities prevent me going to Ullswater so the next event I am likely to meet up with any Canoe sailors is during Coppet Week in Saundersfoot. My wife and I have owned and let out a holiday flat by the beach for the last twenty five years but, last October we put it up for sale as Barbara's health is such that we can no longer enjoy all the outdoor activities Pembrokeshire has to offer (apart from my sailing). The stairs up two floors to our flat are becoming a challenge for Barbara who's health is not improving at present. The medics have no idea what is now causing her health issues as her auto-immune problem seems to be under control. Letting out our flat from over 200 miles away was becoming a chore. Remarkably, in the present market, it is now 'sold subject to contract' at the asking price. If all goes to plan we will 'complete' on the final day of Coppet Week! So it just might be my last Coppet Week for a while, a lot will depend on being able to rent a ground floor flat in future years, assuming Barbara does not now stage a miraculous recovery just after we have sold the flat! She lives in hope and remains positive, concentrating on those things she can still enjoy, like choral singing; I am the pessimistic one who gets depressed at times. (We did have other tax saving reasons for wanting to sell now).

So, I am hoping for a good Coppet Week and that the dreaded Easterly winds will not arrive and make launching through the surf almost impossible. If really light winds are forecast I just might bring my Solution rather than the IC and battle it out with the Lasers. I bought this single-hander (a scaled down version of the Phantom, for the smaller man) as a boat to race on PY at Draycote when it is often too light for the IC and the better RS300s even beat me on the water. The Solution is not as much fun to sail as the IC but as I am increasingly needing to confine most of my racing to Draycote to be around for Barbara in the evenings (I now do all the cooking and housework) I get more boat against boat competition in the Solution with a PY almost the same as the Laser (a boat I am too small to sail at just 65 Kg body weight). The Solutions also have several one day opens at venues near home. In the right conditions I mange to beat everyone in the class in some races, so I am enjoying the competition but the challenge of the boat is no match for the Canoe. My best overall result was second at Rutland last year and third in the Inlands (at the club where Chris sails his IC on Hickling Broad). I have twice gone home with the Masters prize after the just two day Nationals they hold in this small class. Typically at opens we are lucky to get ten boats attending.

So I am not abandoning Wales as a venue this year! I hope to see some of the LLandegfedd and Tata crowd at Coppet Week.

Colin

Thanks for a great days sailing
and for those of you who don't buy yachts and yachting


Winners are Grinners by chrishampe, on Flickr

Good publicity pin up boy!

Colin