Page 42 - Yachter Spring/Summer 2021

42 DINGHY REPORTS
TALES FROM THE
RIVERBANK
What a year! At the beginning of March, I returned from an antipodean summer via Hong Kong, a very different and much quieter place than normal with an airport ram packed with laid up East Asian planes.
Back in the UK stiff upper lip and pretend it is normal, that changed a couple of weeks later and we were locked down, but not before I had recovered my classic Axe OD dinghy from further restoration at Pete Williams’s yard in Fowey.That gave me a lockdown project to remove all the paint and varnish, thoroughly repair and prepare for a complete overall revarnish.About
400 hours work, not that I am counting, there are 11 planks per side, 19 ribs in total
giving 418 bays and 1,254 rivets, every part requiring the paint to be removed and rivets cleaned out – my left elbow still has RSI! Well lockdown was just long enough to complete the project.
Come June and the end of lockdown
our world started to reawaken, we were even allowed to day sail and Gins had been creatively reopened by Lauren and the team, we had the luxury of takeout pizzas for après sail, now that is living life.There was
a goodly spread of dinghies enjoying our fabulous Beaulieu River. Chris Brown and I managed to sail on six consecutive days; exploring with our sandwiches, up and down the river and through the marshes.
As soon as permitted, with the help of the Ropers and Tina, we scrubbed off the club dinghies and readied them for use. RSYC owns a Wanderer, a Gull, two Lasers and four Picos for club members’ use.We soon saw members making use of them and having fun on the river.The dinghies are there for all, you only need to prebook with Lauren to avoid disappointment, sanitise when you arrive and leave them as you would expect to find.
The Commodores of Beaulieu River Sailing Club (BRSC) and the RSYC along