Boat Handling Day - Ashore and Dry!!

The 2023 Programme promised a Boat Handling Day and an Easter Weekend Cruise, unfortunately, the Commodore forgot to mention that to the British weather and the River Thames, both of which behaved with the unpredictability of which we are all familiar!
 
The Boat Handling Day had to take account of unexpectedly strong winds on the day and thus became a landlocked training day which included a knot tying refresher followed by a CPR demonstration and training in the use of the club’s Defibrillator.  A tasty lunch was also included courtesy of the Commodore and Hon Treasurer.  Thanks are given to Tony for the knot tying session, David for the CPR and Defib training, and Sharon for the tasty lunch.  
For anyone interested, the Boat Handling Day is still expected to go ahead this year, date to be confirmed.
 
The planned cruise over the Easter Weekend was thwarted by the River Thames being completely Red Boarded from top to toe!  But once again Tony, our Commodore, managed to create a very enjoyable Plan B, which was marina based and supported by most club members.
The Weekend commenced on Friday evening on board Ginista, as Tony and Sharon hosted a delicious supper and light-hearted card games.  On Saturday and Sunday, there was a full programme of games, activities, snacks and buffet lunches, produced by Sharon, all of which were set up on the grass near to the PHYC in full view of the marina.  Chris & Lin kindly lent their gazebo and set up the Albany stand.  
The games and fun activities included a blind hot cross bun tasting session, whereby we had to match on a score card, the shop which sold the bun, its cost and description.  There were four options and marks given for each element.  As the winner, Geraldine gained an incredible 12 out of 16 marks.  Egg decorating provided more entertainment and attracted a number of passers by who opted to join in with the fun.  Various resources were provided to aid the decoration including bits of fabric, pens and jewels.  Lin’s Bride & Groom won 1st place.  Geraldine’s Bride achieved 2nd place and Robbie’s Donald Trump egg was 3rd.  
After lunch, we divided into two teams of ladies versus the gents, to play raw egg croquet.  The key challenge of this game proved to be how not to break the egg before it reached the end of the course!  Ernie, the Labrador proved to be a great asset as he obligingly cleared up all the eggs that got broken on the grass.  The afternoon finished with light refreshments before everyone departed to get ready for an enjoyable evening meal at the clubhouse, which was attended by 14 club members.  
On Sunday, the activities continued under the gazebo on the grassy area next to the PHYC, with an unusual version of Pass the Parcel, a fascinating Easter Quiz and making Easter boxes filled with mini chocolate eggs.  The festivities were finally wound up after lunch and the site cleared away.  
To conclude, having thwarted our originally intended Easter Cruise, the weather had proved to be pleasantly warm and sunny and combined with Plan B, the resulting weekend was a great success.
Thanks are given to Tony, Sharon, Chris and Lin and everyone else who contributed to make this a very enjoyable weekend.
 
Sally, Zephyr
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