Cruising Forum Report

Over sixty of the Club's cruising members met at Knightsbridge in January, partly as usual to renew old friendships and tell taller tales of exotic places visited last year, but mostly to take a look at the program for 2009 and future years. The 2009 major events are the Turkish rally (Derek Wright/ Jonathan Beard) in June and the Vancouver rally (Rufus Gilday / RVYC) in September.

The Turkish rally is shaping up to be great fun. Most of the senior cruising renegades are going, some in owners' yachts, some in chartered yachts and gullets. The RCC has been invited to join us, and some locally-based RCC members are expected to do so. For those of you who are thinking about participating, charter yachts need to be booked right away, before availability becomes a problem. Or you can come individually, joining other Club members on a Turkish gullet.

Vancouver is simply stunning! Our host club, the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, has sent over a DVD which shows sailing scenery which ranks amongst the best in the world. The rally is limited to 25 yachts overall, so if you are considering going, please register immediately with the Sailing Secretary, or you may find yourself excluded.

Closer to home, the regular Solent events have one key addition, the Cumberland Cruise. This will follow immediately after the Cumberland Regatta, running from 28 June to 4 July. Simon Lavers and John McMonigall have put together an easy program running down to Weymouth, with some diversionary entertainments on the way. An ideal way of setting off for those intrepid souls heading further West or to the deep South, or indeed for those who would simply enjoy a week of sailing in the fine company of other Thames members.

The Far Out Program for 2010 to 2014 was a subject as ever for much discussion. The world has so many desirable sailing locations, and your committee regularly wrestles with the decision as to which event should go where. In theory the process is a democratic one, and we are very keen to identify what members would like. A Feedback Form is available to download HERE, and we strongly request all members interested in joining any of the Club's cruising events to complete the form and return to the Sailing Secretary.

One other snippet of news concerns communications at sea. The Royal Thames has a diverse membership, with many yachts spread throughout the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, as well as around the UK. We are investigating investing in an internet-based system of tracking participating members' yachts, and of communicating between them through a "blog" service.  This could become a simple and cost-effective way of itinerant members keeping in touch. We are very excited by the potential and hope to be able to make a full announcement shortly.

Fair winds and fine weather to you all in 2009, and remember, in this year of depressing recession, THE WIND IS STILL FREE!