Family weekend and 50th anniversary social
Saturday in the wind
If the mere fact of looking at something could wear it out, the wind indicator in the club foyer would be paper-thin after this weekend.
We all knew from various weather forecasts that Saturday at least was going to be windy but those who turned up that Saturday morning were hoping for the best and trying to hypnotise the anemometer into giving us a decent reading. Didn’t quite work...
Despite lively conditions, four Toppers went out on Saturday morning with Jim Davies, the RYA race coach who was visiting our club for two days. The Toppers practised involuntary capsizing, fast reaches and scary gybes then came back looking like drowned rats with a big grin.
Saturday afternoon, the waves crashing on the beach put off even the most hardened kayakists and the focus shifted to the beach.
In the general headquarters (also known as his beach hut), Dave Carter was coordinating events, writing down scores and enjoying the Power of the Megaphone.
 We played French cricket, where all the adults were hopelessly beaten by little people who can corkscrew their bodies into improbable shapes. "Pebble stack" was the following game, where competitors were stacking beach pebbles as high as possible on a kitchen tray. It required tactics, a good eye for stones and a steady hand to win!
Beach volleyball being out of the question if we didn’t want to pick up the ball in Shoreham, it was time for the treasure hunt. Following a trail of clues scattered all around the club premises, children gathered letters forming the secret code to access the treasure. Sweets and chocolate coins disappeared fast under the hands of the treasure hunters.
In the clubhouse, more and more people were gathering around the bar and the face painting stand was busy. Tigers, snakes, butterflies and a little pig were soon queuing up for the barbecue. With over 100 guests to cater for, the team organising the 50th anniversary steak barbecue pulled out all the stops and delivered glorious food. Lancing SC members who hadn’t been to the club for a while were catching up with the news while others entertained their friends, talked about the good ol’ days, made new friends.
Great times on Sunday
Sunday morning, the wind wasn’t so daunting and we were looking forward to water-based activities. The Topper relay race was very popular, with 20 participants of all ages taking turns in racing Toppers. The Lasers went for a "Beecham-and-back" trip that didn’t take too long in the force 4 south westerly.
 In the afternoon, the sun came out and more helms signed on for the "Guess the time" competition. After estimating perfectly the time they would take to do two laps of the course, Andy and Gemma Skipton-Carter won the prize.
Meanwhile, Jim Davies was busy giving advice and tuition to people on Fevas, Toppers and Lasers. The last series of fun races was a "Bang and Back" race, where all helms do a Le Mans start, race to the best of their ability towards a mark at sea. Once the first boat turns the mark, the rescue boat blows the whistle and the entire fleet turns round and goes back to the beach. The first helm to be back with the coach on the beach wins the race. This was so much fun that we did it three times!
On the beach, children were busy digging in the sandcastle competition, shortly followed by the Tug of War. There was only one go at it, as the rope was creaking ominously...
Finally, the prizegiving recognised everyone who had taken part and enjoyed the weekend. Huge great big massive thanks to all involved in the preparation and delivery closed that wonderful weekend of fun for our Lancing SC families. Give me a bit of time to recover and we’ll do it again!
To remember most of the events of those two busy days, have a look at the photo-gallery of the weekend in our Galleries page.
|
