So spring had almost arrived the clocks hadn’t quite changed but the days were definitely getting longer and thoughts of getting on the briny were starting to awaken in the hearts of the fair weather sailing fraternity. We salute those weather beaten hardened sailors amongst club members whose knarled knuckles never let go of the frosty tillers throughout the darkened winter months. The rest of us looked forward to the launch of the season with the “Skippers and Crew” annual gathering.

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Nanae & Phil were delighted to cross the Fastnet Race finishing line after Just over 123 hours and 695 miles of sailing.  You can read about their race in more detail on the Space Race website. 

Welcome back  Steve and Yamma, after twice crossing the Atlantic, cruising the Caribbean, the Eastern Seaboard, and much much more, we are so happy to have Steve Moss back safe and sound.

To see more pictures of  Steve, Louise and Yamma when they met up with HSSC members, click here.

A huge “well-done” and many congratulations to Phil and Nanae who aboard Space Race,  completed the Fastnet course today, (Friday 14th August 2009) in a corrected time of  5 days 09 hrs 54 minutes and 41 seconds. They were placed 49th out of 81 in class IRC 2, and in the sub class IRC 2A, placed 15th out of 30.

This is an outstanding tour de force by our 2 members, and a magnificent job of co-skippering on Phil’s behalf. We are very, very proud of you both.

I am certain all our members and friends would like to join me in  wishing two of our eminent sailors all the very best of British and Swiss luck as they prepare to take part in the challenging Rolex Fastnet race which will start from the famous Royal Yacht Squadron in front of West Cowes at 12.00 BST on Sunday 9th August. The race can be followed on the official web-site http://fastnet.rorc.org/ Phil is co-skippering their entry Space Race, a  Beneteau First 40.7,  and much more information about their progress can be found on the specially created web-site  www.spaceracefastnet.co.uk .There is a blog on the “As it happens!” page and there is a link to the tracker in the left margin.  You can also race against them with the Virtual Fastnet  – also a link in left column. Good Luck Phil and Good Luck Nanae… and all the crew of Space Race. Be safe and sail with fair winds!

For posts on their progress cllick here

Some HSSC members will be aware that I have been taking part in this year’s Royal Ocean Racing Club programme to culminate in the 2009 Fastnet Race. I am Co-Skippering the campaign and you can read more about the team, the boat and our race reports at Space Race Fastnet 2009.

From: Richard Brown, RYA Southern Region Secretary
From 1st April 2009, all Brits going to the Channel Islands will need to have their own health cover.
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It looked as if the July 2008 event would be no less damp and slightly inclement than the 2007 version of the same name, however, surprisingly to some, if not to the forecasters, the afternoon turned bright and intermittently sunny.

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The gathering of the tribes of Israel in the sailing fraternity of London on 4th November 2007 was a momentous event in the year’s calendar. Not all of our brethren managed to arrive for the AGM but it was a very efficiently run meeting with our commodore Sandy Kattan being aware that, as it was a Jewish event, the more important aspect of all such events were the starving and due weight had to be given to their stomachs.

The year was reviewed in all its dampness but also its very many highlights. Due regard was paid to the camaraderie and the high levels of enthusiasm that are actively driving the club to ever higher peaks of participation. The business in hand was got through in an atmosphere of enjoyment and the general overview was that the club was functioning very well. Read the rest…