On Sunday May 17 Rye Harbour Sailing Club (RHSC) successfully Pushed the Boat Out at The Point, Rye Harbour!
The day’s events began early with the club boats being checked over and rigged in preparation for those wanting to have a go taster sails. For the early part of the day there was almost no wind but that soon changed and as the tide came up, a stiff breeze came up from the south west. This made for a fast ‘reach’ for the dinghies as they sailed up and down the river. Some of the taster sailors were qualified to RYA Level 3 some were complete novices. The sun shone and it was wonderful to see the club thronging with, kids, teenagers and adults all enthusiastic at being at such a great location and having the chance to experience the fun of taster sailing.
All those who had a taster sail said they had had a great time. One family who had come down from London were thrilled to have been able to experience sailing for the first time. Ben aged 14 said “It was fun and exciting, and we are very keen on taking up sailing now. It’s something we have never done before and we hope our Dad will buy a boat so we can spend more time on the river”.
There were plenty of activities to hand. Julian Anderson treated us to an excellent demonstration on how to splice Dyneema Rope and Ian Foster held our attention with a demonstration of how to tie knots. Derek and Jean Phillips were on hand to answer questions on RNLI Sea Safety. To keep everyone going, there was a steady flow of tea, coffee and bacon sarnies being prepared in the galley.
The sailing cruisers also took part in the event by offering taster sailing with a Cruiser Short race in Rye Bay. Having had light winds at the start of the race the wind strengthened from the South West making for an interesting fast race. Sailing cruiser Mallard was narrowly first over the line beating Roxanne by 4 seconds.
After the boats had been brought ashore we ended the event with a superb BBQ. The Commodore Charles Bronsdon of RHSC said “I am proud that RHSC were able to Push The Boat Out. It’s been a great event and we hope we have attracted a new generation to join us and have fun learning to sail. It was great to see so many children, teenagers and adults all enjoying themselves at the club house and enthusing about dinghy sailing.”
Photos: Rye Harbour Sailing Club