We have again been honoured to join the Royal Engineer Yacht Club at their Lymington Meet, recognising Boleh’s role of Sail Training Vessel for the Junior Leaders Regiment, Royal Engineers in the 1960’s. This annual get together features REYC racing round the buoys in the morning and a challenge race against the Royal Lymington Yacht Club, host for the event, in the afternoon; this is followed by Dinner and Prizegiving in the Clubhouse. Boleh’s contribution is to ‘hoist the Gin Pennant’ (picture) with refreshment for returning crews on the pontoon.
Weather this year made for cracking sailing conditions on both legs of Boleh’s weekend with Lead Skipper Richard in charge: a muscular beat to Lymington on the outward leg and a gusting ‘soldiers wind’ driving Boleh at 8 knots plus on the return to Gosport. In contrast, fog delayed the start of racing on the Saturday before Boleh was able to slip and watch the competing yachts. With time in hand, the weekend concluded with Man Overboard (MOB) drills within Portsmouth Harbour – a vital procedure when a recent survey shows time is very limited and that almost half of MOBs from pleasure craft result in a fatality.
