A little over 20 years ago, Pingewood-based Island Sailing Club received an invitation to sail with the Goring on Thames Sailing Club.
This required different skills from sailing at the lake, such as currents and dodging pleasure cruisers on the river. The invitation was readily accepted and enjoyed, resulting in the Goring sailors being invited to a reciprocal sail at Pingewood.
Not only that, but the two days were turned into competitions with a trophy for each event and that remains today.
It must be admitted that in recent years the team from Goring had taken the honours at the Pingewood lake competition, held at its Sears Farm Lane base, nd this year it seemed that they might be doing so again in the races held earlier in June, when Tim Wakefield (sailing a Laser) and Donald Francis (Finn) both Goring club, took first and second places alternately in the two races.
The Island’s first past the post was James Scott who swapped third and fourth places alternately with Goring’s Rob Jones (both sailing Radicals) for the two races.
However, it was a handicapped team race, and it was due to the positions of the sailors lower down the results that gave the Island Sailing Club a welcome narrow victory.
DICK SAWDON-SMITH
