2 A float - Weir Wood Sailing Club

Afloat Autumn/Winter 2009
18
G Much better without sails H
The Return of the Madness
The Ed
We celebrated the Mid Summer solstice again this year with
a return of the Madness. It was a rather overcast but warm
day with a nice light breeze. This year the event targeted the
Youth who turned up in good numbers to form four teams of
hyperactive highly experienced sailors who throughout the day
demonstrated that they had forgotten every basic essential of
sailing. Boats were propelled by anything but the sails; hand
paddling and rudder wiggling seemed to the most favoured.
And when you got fed up with that just jump off the boat with
your mates and hang out in the water having a chat.
Not that that deterred Simon who was masterminding the
circus. Races had been planned and races there would be.
This year teams used just Toppers to make the scoring easier
(insofar as it was possible to adjudicate which team had won
each event). So contesters had relay races, how many can you
get on a topper, a tug of war on the water and the most difficult
of all; climbing the mast. No one managed this (well there’s a
surprise!) but they had great fun trying.
Throughout the day the BBQ produced a record number of
burgers and sausages and bar sales rocketed.
A
Waterslide fun
Up the mast
A water slide proved a huge success and was appreciated by
the kids just as much as the crazy sailing. Another brain child
of our intrepid MC who with a sheet of builders polythene and
a high pressure water pump improvised a most efficient and
exciting ride which he (clearly a kid at heart) enjoyed as much
as everyone else.
The traditional picnic and proms rounded off the day with
another cracking performance by the Reigate Grammar Swing
Band followed by a Rhythm and Blues band.
Thanks Simon for all your efforts and everyone else who helped
out. Ideas please for next year welcome from anyone.
J
Sliding Simon
K
They're supposed to be on the boat!