Royal Air Force Yacht Club

Attached an email update from Paul Oliver

Hi guys

Last weekend's RAF Yacht Club rally to the Folly Inn was a tremendous success. It was a hard slog over to Cowes in 24 mph of wind on the nose and cold too, but was it worth it!

Upon reaching Cowes we motored quietly up the Medina. The wind dropped and the sun came out. There were around 40 boats in all, with 90 people joining in the fun. The afternoon cocktail party on the pontoon was blessed with brilliant sunshine, with a wide variety of cocktails, wines, beer and a feast of snacks and party food on offer. As is usual (apparently) the pontoons became submerged in places whilst all 90 of us were in full flow, I suspect only being held up by the boats moored to them. Sea boots and wellies were very well judged footwear for the many. It was a shame to bring the party to an end but with 70 booked in for dinner at the Folly Inn, people needed to get ready (sober up a bit?) to go ashore at 19.30.

 Now if you have ever been to the Folly Inn you will know that it is, a)  big, and b) probably the liveliest pub/restaurant venue on the IOW. Mix this with 70 or so well disposed sailing folk, a hen night and a stag do, and you get a very riotous evening. There was live music and dancing, with the dancing not restricted to the floor. Several tables served as additional dance areas which added enormously to the entertainment, especially as a couple of them were populated by the girls on the hen night. The commodore's wife and a few other RAFYC members, although not part of the hen night, thought it only polite to join in. I am a little hazy about exactly when the evening ended, but well past midnight, with some scrambling aboard the last water taxi around 01.00am. I can appreciate why the water taxi has very sturdy hand rails to guide and assist passengers.

 Breakfast was taken in leisurely fashion the next day.

 The next morning we slipped Calsara from the pontoon in glorious sunlight at around 10.30. I needed my dark glasses. With both the sun and wind on our backs we sailed back to Hamble with a smile on our faces and wondering why we had left it so long before going with the RAFYC to The Folly Inn. What a great way to meet people and have fun.

 This weekend sees a two night rally to Bembridge on the IOW. How are we going to cope? There are a couple of berths still available on Calsara if you fancy a bank holiday weekend with a difference.

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