Sunrise to Sunset 9th May
In the proceeding days before the event Brogborough windsurfers gathered in the Clubhouse .
I seem to remember it was Mr Rivett who suggested that we should all partake in the event (he has a lot to answer for). But the suggestion was made, liquid refreshment reached the places that tended to cloud the mind and the idea for some reason seemed to appeal even more. The though t of launching our crafts as the sun rose over the horizon and sailing until it finally left the sky in the evening for pastures new, appealed more and more as the evening progressed. It was soon apparent that there was going to be quite a fleet of windsurfers gathering on the shore as the sun rose on a balmy warm spring morning.
Being aware that as far as I was concerned 5.37am in the morning is the middle of the night, I and many others decided to rig the previous night. After a few beers(well I think it was a few) we headed for bed aware that things were not going according to plan , lightning flashed across the sky, the heavens opened, the temperature plummeted and it was now hailing very hard.
But surely it was bound to be better at dawn?
Dawn came, well when I say dawn came it was a bit difficult to tell, the storms of the night had subsided to a steady heavy drizzle, the warm spring morning had reverted to a wintry 8 degrees. Looking on the bright side (which was difficult) well at least we had wind! So it was off shore (what do you want perfection!)
I will give credit to everyone that despite the horrific conditions 14 of us stood on the shore rigged and ready to go sporting winter wet suits, hoods , gloves and thermal boots, if we were going to die of hyperthermia at least it would be slowly!
The dawn Hooter went and off we went. Finally releasing ourselves from the Brogborough off shore wind shadow we all reached the bottom of the lake to find a force 3/4 . Planing was intermittent and it was soon apparent that some of our personal challenges were going to be exactly that. They varied from 20 miles in a day to 100 miles in a day and unless the wind picked up a bit, one or two of us might have a problem. Fortunately the wind did increase, so did the rain and joy of joys it was actually getting colder, I was beginning to wonder whether the rain might yet turn to snow.
As the day progressed, a few more joined us, some a little worse for wear due to the considerable amount of beverages consumed the previous night. With now 21 boards on the water Barry Rivett had achieved his goal, it had taken a tremendous effort, cajoling and blackmailing to get people to partake, but somehow and for some reason we were all out there giving it our best.
I won’t go into the finer details of the day, the pain barriers some of us went through are best forgotten lest it scars us for life and we refuse to take part again next year.
What I will say that, with Barry driving us on, all of us met our targets and the Brogbough bunch raised over £7000 for Cancer research.
I guess we all deserve a pat on the back and thanks to everyone who sponsored us.
I’m sure we all learned from the experience and perhaps greater challenges lie ahead.
Will Mike George now consider crossing the Atlantic on a windsurfer, surely after doing 100 miles at Brogborough it would be a doddle?
Will Jo Edwards be able to get new hands on the NHS to replace the wrecks on the end of her arms?
Will Simon Robinson grow his hair to ankle length, more hair seemed to improve his sailing?
Will Richard McKeating ever stop shaking?
Will the Lake Manager resign and move to Tenby next May? Probably!
Will Rusty the club dog raise even more next year high diving off the jetty after a ball?
Will Barry Rivett take up blackmailing as a full time profession?
Will any of us ever be the same again?
See you ALL next year; don’t forget 5.37 on a balmy spring morn
OK, before I reveal the final figure, here is a little update....
I hoped to get 4 people to launch at 05:37 but by 05:38 there were 16 people windsurfing on Brog.
If you were one of those heroes who camped in puddles of mud, slept in vans, braved the club house spiders or drove through the night.... Thank YOU... you should be very proud.
The role of honour :
Everyone was amazing.... No bitching, moaning or discontent. Mike sailed 100 miles in a day (New Brog record), Andre sailed over 9 Hours...at speeds I dream of.. Annette, Pam, Mark, Steve and Phil sailed their hearts out and ran a water taxi service for the exhausted and frozen. Will was annoyingly good at Croquet but still lost... Pauline kept us fed, warm and jolly. Jo had blisters like holes in her hands... so she put on gloves and sailed another 11 miles... Eeyore Phil’s new sail tore in the cold and he still smiled... Simon sailed dress as a Rastafarian for 9 hours... James sailed a 1988 Alpha 130.. just like one I had... 20 years ago ! The list goes on and will be in Brogborough legend... Neil, John, Sandra, Richard, Pete, Tony, Zara, Dave and all others you were equally EXCELLENT! Have we told Stuart Cockerill he won a boom... I can’t remember... It was him I think...? (please someone confirm) It all got a bit much for little me! Neil, I’m sorry about the T shirt you won... but it is a real RRD one...
For those who got sponsored... I need your sponsorship money, leave a cheque with Tony made payable to Windsurfing For
The first 30 minutes are squeezed into 30 seconds in the attached video...
Rusty inspired people and raised around £500... he can still be sponsored at http://www.justgiving.com/Brogborough-Lake
Oh... yes...
The estimate....
£ 5,200 !
F’in Hell ! Wow! I’m gobsmacked...
So.... let’s make it £6,000 Knowing that Rusty and his chums got up at 5am and braved cold water must be worth something !
http://www.justgiving.com/Brogborough-Lake
Does he ever give up ?
Thanks to all
Barry
