Cold rows

Langstone Cutters took out Bembridge on on an early tide for Emsworth where we stopped for organic coffee and only escaped organic cheese scones by running away.

We got to Emsworth just as some extremely small sailing boats were leaving. The sailors were dressed up like Michelin men, which was just as well as they will be sitting out in the wind and spray doing nothing but freeze. We put a bit of pressure on and kept nice'n'toasty for the trip down harbour and back to Langstone.
The GPS track is here.

When Mabel gets going, the tough change their underwear

The crew of pulling boat Mabel went out for our first training row today in preparation for the Great River Race in September. We didn't capsize, run aground, hit an iceberg or anything. It's looking good.
In the picture, Mark Taylor, Peter O'Sullivan, Carol Baptist, Dawn Thisby and Jenny Munns.
Go Mabel!

Hamble River Raid

Langstone Cutters put up two crews for the Hamble River Raid organised by the Sea Scouts today. We borrowed a couple of Bursledon gigs, which have three rowing positions and can be rowed by three scullers, six or four rowers, or randan, with rowers at either end and a sculler in the middle.
The boats started at two minute intervals off the beach, heading upstream to the Jolly Sailor and back.
Here is the Langstone A crew (Steve, Nigel and Steve) setting out for a quick practice. They elected to scull uncoxed, using the lightweight oars from the Cutters' Teifi skiffs. The B crew (Dawn, me, Mark, with Julia coxing) went randan.
This may have been a mistake as the oars we were supplied with were much smaller than the crutches on the boat, and the plastic buttons were extremely floppy so blades were continually falling through and having to be retrieved.
I was struggling at the sculling position, because you can't keep an eye on both rowlocks at once. At the end of the race my wrists were aching because the oars never stayed in the same part of the crutch and had to be corrected all the time.
The winners were Exocet, with four rowers, a crew that had youth, skill and training on their side. And carbon fibre blades in the correct size swivels with gates so they could put pressure on, which they were certainly doing as they passed us in style.
The winner of the 'odds and sods' race for non-gigs was Max Taylor in his single skiff.And here are the Cutters with the trophy for fielding the oldest crew, with a combined age of 205.
The sun was out (I am pink as a lobster), the hog roast was superb and the ale just right. We all had a great time.

Spot the Deliberate Mistake

Langstone Cutters held a spring regatta today, featuring events such as fetching the bars of silver from Hayling Island, rowing blindfold and this event. To a casual glance it looks as if Gladys and Mabel are rowing home, but look at the coxswains - they are both facing backwards. And indeed both boats are moving away from the slipway to the start line for the rowing backwards race.
I would not have believed how tiring rowing backwards is. Not using the legs must be the explanation, as my arms felt limp at the end and we only went a few hundred metres.
That's me at No3 in Gladys, and we went on to win, not that I am in any way competitive or anything.
Later on, I found myself so far abandoning my life-long aversion to racing, or exertion of any kind, that I volunteered for the Great River Race. What have I commited myself to?
(Thanks to Paul Zink for taking the picture)

Clovelly Scull at Langstone

Paul Zink brought the prototype Clovelly Scull to Langstone today, on high spring and a stiffish southerly breeze bringing up white horses in the harbour.
Last time I tried the Clovelly Scull on the Hamble, the water was mirror-smooth, so it was interesting to experience how stable she feels in a chop.
The wind also highlighted how useful the retractable skeg is. When it is fully retracted, the boat broaches to quite forcefully, but dropping it by releasing the conveniently-placed rope brings the boat back on track instantly.
The picture shows how difficult it is to photograph an interesting boat without getting a screen full of behinds.

Boat Blessing at Langstone

A day of blessings and cursings. Went to the Langstone Cutters' Boat Blessing service, and as we waited a huge GRP boat thing across the harbour was smitten by fire. A huge plume of smoke rose into the sky as firefighters pumped water over it from a rib, standing well away in case the fuel tank or gas canisters went up. I don't know whether the boat was cursed or not, but I suspect there will be mighty cursings when the owner's insurance company is informed.
The Langstone Cutters had polished their boats till they shone. Ribbons and flags fluttered in the breeze. The service started, appropriately enough, with that lugubrious hymn Those in Peril on the Sea. The vicar sprinkled the boats with holy water and we all got in and paddled round the harbour.
It is good to start the season by getting together for a ceremony, whether you are religious or not.

With Langstone Cutters

For the first time in ages I went rowing with my son Miles today. We joined Langstone Cutters for a trip round the harbour in their Clayton skiff Gladys, the first time Miles had rowed in a fixed seat four. Here he is coxing.