Jock Wishart, intrepid explorer, sailor extraordinary and good friend of the club has sent us greetings. Like the rest of us, he has had a pretty quiet season and has never had his Thames Rater on the water. He has not even got any yachting in since January, when he and redoubtable Sandy Mair acted as race officers in Barbados.
The Thames Rater in the picture is 26 feet long and sports a 44 foot carbon mast and a 6 foot centreboard. She's a bit of a beast he says! The apparently disproportionate rig was designed to cope with the fickle winds and clutter on the river banks when racing on the Thames. As they are the second oldest class in the world, the carbon fibre used for the mast is a relatively recent adoption. It was originally bamboo and then aluminium. They were originally a lug rig, then gunter and finally Bermuda. Over the years, the masts got taller and the booms shorter giving the configuration seen in the photo.
As with everyone, Jock's plans are a little hazy but he hopes to pay us a visit when he can. You're always welcome Jock.
Lindsay Tosh