Fleetwood Schooners Wednesday
by Tony Wilson 13 Aug 2016 14:12 BST
13 August 2016
The weekly Schooner bash at Fleetwood © Tony Wilson
The weekly Schooner bash at Fleetwood ©Tony Wilson
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Pirate ships, Clippers, gaff rigs, big boats with multiple sails, these are all the things that come to mind when someone mentions schooners. Every Wednesday at 2pm the Fleetwood Model Boat Club have their weekly bash with the Schooners.
On formal race days with the other club classes, you will rarely ever see more than 10 skippers - not so with the Schooners. Each Wednesday there must be at least 30 club members milling around the boatyard, either tinkering with their prize possession or at the busy end airing it for an afternoon outing on the lake.
Depending on hull length, boats are categorised into 3 classes A, B and C the lady class with a strip of different coloured ribbon. Rules are, rudder servo only allowed, no winch. For some this must be a bit of a headache in knowing how to trim your boat, with trying set your sails to beat up the lake and some sort of compromise for the return when on a run.
For many years this class has been the backbone to the great success and comradeship of a good club.
The procedure for the day is to sail as many laps in your class within 1 hour.
The same 2 buoys are used each week at either end and a central mark midway at the side to add a bit of variety. Some skippers prefer this method of sailing as it's not as intense as the usual man on man racing and you can just mellow in your own little world while walking up and down the pathway, while trying to beat and improve on your own lap record each week.
At the end of the session, scores are collated, boats are rinsed off and a quick chat over a cuppa back in the clubhouse.