Raggie and stinkpot in harmony shock
Despite some challenging weather conditions over the weekend (12-13 April) the RYA’s joint power and sail spring muster was hailed a great success.
Around 25 power and sail boats from across the South Coast gathered at Cowes Yacht Haven on the Isle of Wight for a busy weekend of on-water and shorebased activities and master classes.
New to the muster schedule for 2008 was the whipping and splicing master class courtesy of Aladdin’s Cave.
Proving extremely popular, the session allowed participants to get hands-on practice.
The crew of Summer Toy, a Squadron 58, took full advantage of the session by having their mooring lines spliced, something they had wanted to do since buying their boat.
Sarah Black, project manager of The Green Blue, was also on hand all weekend providing ‘green health checks’ on board individual boats.
Crews were given tips on ways to reduce their environmental impact, from learning that cigarette ends can take more than five years to breakdown in the marine environment to how to deal with refuelling spills.
The power and sail practical boat handling and taster sessions provided by the Sealine Sea School and Hamble School of Yachting were busy throughout the weekend.
Sailors were able to try out powerboats and vice versa.
One of the participants was Graham Dindol, who had attended the event having left his boat back in Brighton due to bad weather.
However he took full advantage of the boat handling sessions, saying: “I wouldn’t normally go out in these types of weather conditions so being able to go out with an experienced skipper has given me the confidence and some useful advice to do so.”
For the kids there was the opportunity to take the controls of some model boats down in the marina in the afternoon, with day one wrapping up with a life raft and ‘Jon Buoy’ demonstration from Ocean Safety.
In the evening there was a drinks reception, buffet and disco at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.
Grey skies did nothing to dampen spirits on Sunday morning when it was over to the RNLI to round up the weekend with a Survival Workshop, in which the group were taken through some of the dos and don’ts of sea survival.
Andrew Norton, Motor Cruising Projects Manager said of the event: “It’s really nice to see some new faces here at the muster this year and our old friends too.
“It is encouraging that all the master classes have been extremely well attended as people wish to further their knowledge.
“As always we are delighted with the support we have received at the muster from across the industry, events like these give us a great opportunity to work together.”
