Cruiser Picnic and Seal Safari at Yokesfleet 25 Jul 2016

OK, “Safari” may be pushing it a bit, but hope was abundant when the Cruiser fleet embarked on the traditional trip to see the seals with picnic goodies aboard on Saturday.

In glorious and balmy conditions, 11 boats made the trip and it was great to see some new faces and boats join in the fun. Class Captain and organiser Chris Nolan led the way on Zelda with his wife Chrissie and they were joined by regulars Spangle and Good Hope.

Simon and Sarah Sanders took out their new Dufour Classic 32, Voyager, for their first cruiser event and Scarlet (Sarah Brown and Zoe O'Connell with crew) also with a new boat this year, enjoyed swimming and kayaking in the apparent warm water (I will take their word for it!).

Other attendees were Odjob, Bargoose and Girl Friday. Also out to enjoy the day was Sine Timore, a new boat for Bob and Coral Tranter who looked blissful as they dangled their feet off the bathing platform.

Many opted to visit other boats to admire and enjoy the wealth of hospitality. George Winder, with the Heasleys, was on hand in Sprite to offer the occasional taxi when he wasn’t taking photos and eating his hearty picnic. The Club RIB (Mark Eagling) took time off from being the Club launch to bring out Steve and Katherine Barham (Verlette) and was also on hand to take people round to see the local sights and wildlife.

The seals were out to see and wave to as they basked on the sun baked banks of the Roach, so many were happy. It was a fabulous day all round that ended up back at the club for the Bistro and more sunshine on the balcony.