Horning Regatta 2015

[TheQ]

Forecast is looking dry, but with  light winds

 Almost time

 

 

Bump

[TheQ]

It's a the final bump time, I've got too much to do between now and 10 o'clock tomorrow, when I need to start getting the bouys out. I hope to see you safely down the river sometime.

Thanks

Q

[deebee29]

Hope all goes well Q

Will look in on the webcam from time to time

[BroadScot]

Hope all goes well Q

Will look in on the webcam from time to time

Agreed, wishing you a trouble free weekend!

 

 

Iain

[TheQ]

If there is anything interesting to say about the week I'll let you all know when I've recovered!!.

 Time to go off air for the duration..

 

Q

[NonTecky]

I am going to be brave and pick my way through on Monday afternoon! Please be kind

[ranworthbreeze]

If there is anything interesting to say about the week I'll let you all know when I've recovered!!.

 Time to go off air for the duration..

 

Q

Hello Q,

Please report back to us how the event turns out, pictures would be appreciated.

Any help with boats passing through/around your event would be appreciated by all river users.

Have a great weekend.

Regards

Alan

[TheQ]

I'm sorry, I had recorded each day a record of what had gone on on regatta week but I go to my record today on this tablet and it's disappeared so here goes again from memory (poor)

Saturday

On Black horse broad, starting from the Horning end of the broad an M shaped course starting on the left hand leg of the M. And then repeat.

We had a no rescues to do just a few boat to tow from the club to the broad and assist through black horse dyke.

We heard there was a coming together at the other end of the broad involving a broken bowsprit, but I have no other details

Evening function, a karioke night, not my scene so I can't report on that.

Sunday, raise the club flags at 08:00 exactly surprisingly to the strains of revalee being played on a bugle from somewhere down the street in Horning,

slightly windyer, but blowing across the broad from the river.

Starting from the main road /Horning corner, up to the broad entrance then turn right parallel to the river, back to near the start line them up to the main road / Hoveton corner the return to the start and repeat.

Due to the first short leg across the broad a lot of boats arrived at the first bouy together mean lots of water please, and starboard. But other than that quite routine sailing.

The evening doo

A Mad Hatters tea party, you bring a plate of food and wear a silly hat. There was plenty of good food and a few silly hats including a magnificent swan sat on one ladies head!

After which it was off to bed in the back of my landrover.

Monday on the river.

Up at 05:30, hit the shower block before the cleaners arrive ( Hornings only paid staff). Get the equipment out for the four dory's, radio, first aid kit, throwing line, paddles, boat hook, fuel the bouys for the course.

Put the kitchen boilers on,

Brush the bird c**p off of the decking, go in and have a coffee now the boilers hot.

Attach the flags to their ropes and wait for 08:00, raise the flags to the cannon firing. Time to put the bouys out

We have two gentlemen volunteers who no longer sail but still put out the buoys all year round Snowflake SC and Horning SC, I'm just the reserve for this.

09:15 First race series, three classes of dinghy's including the very beginners. Head up river to shout at motor cruisers to keep close to the bank.

Racing continues to till the last race start at 17:15 most races last an hour, the second, third and fourth series include all classes and we could reach over a hundred boats out!!of this there are a great many dinghy sailors being produced by our very successful sailing school.

So some time around 18:00 collect the bouys, return the dory to the club strip it of equipment and lock it up.

Tonight's doo

Piella and Pimms, £8 for the piella And if you want it £1.50 for the pimms. This was accompanied by the Norfolk Shanty Men.. To add to the international confusion, I decided to wear my kilt. I doubt many of you have tried to put a kilt on in the back of a landrover it's not easy, and then trying to keep some decorum getting out was difficult.

The event went well most enjoyable.

I have taken some pictures of the racing using this tablet computer ( there's no way I'm using the wife's camera on a little dory), these will follow part 2 of the text when I have processed them to remove large areas of water and my finger.

[ranworthbreeze]

Hello Q,

 

Thank you for your report, looking forward to the pictures.

 

Regards

Alan

[TheQ]

Tuesday,

Morning routine as per above,

Then out to the river to the first corner for the first series, then as as usual dydlers mill end for the rest of the day.

Had a couple of private boats totally ignore me the helmsmen stared straight ahead and refused to acknowledge I was there, and proceeded to drive down stream 20 to 30ft out from the bank.

Later on I spoke to a hire boat which was ou from the bank and travelling rapidly, they went into the bank for a bit, but then proceeded to do figure eights through the fleet. Giving the finger to a rescue boat further down. The boat number was taken and the boat yard said they would have words when they returned.

The evening event was a quiz night and do your own BBQ, (equipment supplied) which was very successful, we ran out of chairs people were digging chairs out from all sorts of hidy holes on boats, 19 teams of about 6 people each plus others not taking part.

Wednesday

A quiet day up the mill end until the wind got stronger, then I had two capsizes at the same time, both lasers, both young ladies, a few feet from each other. Once we had fished one from the river, the other didn't get her feet wet. getting two boats upright and under tow was difficult until assistance arrived.

Also one of them needed her inhailer which was of course back in the club house

The evening do was a bingo and hog roast night, again very successful, and there was plenty of loverly crackling.

Thursday

A very quiet at' mill, except for me shouting at boats, no rescues to do. Which was just as well, as we as usual for the Thursday we have a lot more boats.

Thursday is the traditional day, spoons are awarded, Tea spoon for third, middle spoon for second, and table spoon for first these you keep. Returnable are however are individual trophies awarded for and on the day, where as most other trophies are for the week and awarded at the end of season prize giving in October.

The evening do was a disco, and diy BBQ again, as I have never been TO a disco and at 57 still have my hearing, I went home, so how good it was I have no idea.

Friday,

I had to get up a bit earlier to be at the club for the usual morning routine. So off to my normal patrol areas, But there was very little wind and a strong tide, the boats arrived slowly and then turned were often slower. Leading to a build up of motorboats following the boats down stream.

Opposite to the normal instruction one of the rescue boats down had to ask the motorboats to go through a gap in the middle of the river to clear the traffic jams.

During the chaos a maximum size richos boat somehow managed to get its nose into a small dinghy dyke leaving nearly 30ft of boat sticking into the narrowest bit of the river. But the helmsman managed to extract himself before I got there to help.

At the end of racing for the week are two more races, starting just after 5pm for novices and a junior races. The very last boat in gets a double cannon firing. During the last bit of rescue boat duty I got thoroughly soaked by back wash from a motorcruiser.

After that it's glasses time, during the week you build up points for each race, once you get a certain about of points you get a glass. The number of point you need depends on how many races you can compete in. If you are really persistant you can win two glasses..

I am grateful to one club member who gave me one of his glasses for doing rescue boat duty..

After this we normally have water frolics, several silly games for the children where they get very wet. They were cut short as we were running very late but by this time I had gone to the landrover to get into dry clothes. So I became the only Kilted rescue boat driver the club or probably the broads has seen.

The evening do was a Jamaican event, jerk chicken, rice and beans. With the spangles steel band.

Again it went well and I enjoyed the band and food. They finished with American patrol(Glenn miller) which was strange but worked.

I forgot to mention that on Monday as I was picking up the bouys at then end of the day I told a fisherman in one of chalets that we were finished till 09:15 on Tuesday he was not happy, he was even less happy when I told him we were there all week.

Then later on in the week at the end of another days racing, he called me over I thought I was going to get an ear bashing. But instead he was asking how the great variety of boats could race together. So I spent half an hour explaining the rules , handicapping, the fact that it's the only sport I know of where an 80year old can race equally against an 8 year old and at all levels of fitness. Also I mentioned the history of the club and the is a history of racing at Horning Even pre 1900.

Well overall a good week, no major disasters, ( well there aren't any normally). The hire craft and private owners were for the most part well behaved. As were all but one I know of, of the competitors.

Most enjoyable.

Photos tomorrow if I can process them.

[NonTecky]

We came through about this time last Monday (1500hrs ish)... followed the advice given on here, stuck to the bank, nice and slow and al went welll... I didnt get shouted at or any hand gestures made so all was well.... oh one yacht did scare the c*%p out of my daughter who I dont think believed me when I said they would use us as the bank when tacking..... never seen her move so fast in my life from the port to starboard side of the sun deck! 

[TheQ]

Sometimes there are little obstructions in the river

[TheQ]

And sadly we don't provide many obstructions some times, this was the only entry into the Watermans trophy this year ( you must earn your living on the rivers and broads, eg sailmaker, river ranger, boatyard worker)

[TheQ]

This was during one of the races on the Saturday or Sunday on Black horse broad taken from the other end of the broad, the boats are at the Horning end.

[TheQ]

This was one of three Cruiser starts each lunch time, I think someone is over the line ( the yellow triangle in the distance, from a triangle just behind the camera.

[TheQ]

Ah this is what you love to hate,  form an orderly queue please, these boats are tacking round buoy three half way between Black Horse Dyke and Dydlers Mill. 

[TheQ]

Please keep to the 4MPH speed limit, not that you'd stand much chance of going faster in these crowds, some of the little boats join the big boys round buoy 2 outside black horse dyke

Edited August 12, 2015 by TheQ

[TheQ]

3,2,1 GO!! the view you really don't like, several large bowsprits heading towards you,

 seconds before the start of another cruiser race.

 Everyone else as you can see in the background is moored up for lunch

Edited August 12, 2015 by TheQ

[TheQ]

 Sorry for the delay in some pictures first the forum was being updated and then My home computer went to Windows 10, taking 2 hour to update!

All the above pictures were taken on a Tesco Hudl tablet computer, as I daren't risk SWMBOs camera, they came out better than I expected

[BroadScot]

Smashing pics, but, you do realise, Grace will now be hiding behind the settee for months! Wont you Grace....?  Grace!!! Where are you?

 

Iain

[ranworthbreeze]

Hi Q,

Great pictures well worth the wait, looks like you had a good time without too many issues.

Regards

Alan

[deebee29]

Photos and writeups are great thenks.

i do hope our poor Grace isn't too badly affected by the sight of all those "sailey thingies" .....just kidding Grace

[JawsOrca]

Thank you for sharing. It looks a brilliant day. Shame I missed it. Hopefully will witness soon.  

[Gracie]

 I'm here 

 

Beautiful photos TheQ, thanks for posting.................

 

Grace

[TheQ]

A couple of more pictures from a friend also on rescue boat duty,

First one for Grace;

 

mind the bowsprit!!