Launch of the HSSC New Generation
The first May Bank Holiday long weekend provided our 5 club boats with great sailing each day albeit in the usual mostly indifferent cold, wet, windy and some sunshine, weather conditions.
Aeolus (Gill and Rob Woodbridge, Robert Falk, Victor Newton and Neil Turner-Nash) together with Sea Dream of Hamble (Sandy and Avi Riegler, Alison and Stanley Saffer and Diana Bader-Clynes) enjoyed Saturday evening together at the Ship Inn Restaurant, Lymington. Meanwhile the new generation crews were getting to know each other with their own meet up, for an evening messing about in dinghies at the Folly Inn on the Medina River.
Sunday evening at Beaulieu and the Master Builder Pub was the venue for the grand meet-up of all 5 boat crews. Personally, I looked on with extreme enjoyment to see the Neumanns (aboard their new Southerly 36 Gallivant) and the Honeys (aboard the Bavaria 32 Starburst) once more in our midst again (after an 8 year pregnant pause) but this time with their children as their crew. 10 to 12 years ago we were introducing the Mums and Dads to the joys of sailing and racing and now here they were on Gallivant and Starburst calmly cruising the Solent with the HSSC’s new generation, all under the age of 9 years old. Despite the brisk weather conditions both boats were spotted with Jo Neumann serenly sitting with Anya and Zac on the foredeck whilst young Jesse helmed under Dan’s instruction with a F5 behind them and Michelle and Dan Honey’s Ethan and Sophie were seen to be making light work of guiding Starburst down the Beaulieu River.
Steve and Louise had the Tuckers and their young son Stephan with them aboard Yamma. All six children declared the weekend a great success and yes they definitely wanted to sail again, ‘so long as the other families were out sailing too’.
Diana Abramova sailed with the Honeys and Bryan Sheinman honoured us with a cameo appearance at the Master Builder.
Monday dawned grey, wet and windy with boats making a dart for their home ports. However, the sun came out and Aeolus (Hallberg Rassy 36) gave us a really terrific sail in a F7 gusting 8 – definitely plenty to be said for a heavier boat on these occasions !
Gill Woodbridge