DARTMOUTH REGATTA

incorporating

SnoTGAT. Snot Rag. Sonata Express and Sonata Fanciers Weakly

Sonata regatta reportage from aboard a piano!

LADY PIANIST / LEAD SOPRANO FALLS OFF THE GRAND PIANO. Big gybe and big seas upset the balance of the orchestra aboard apiano! at the start of the first regatta race. Cushioned by the soft waters of Start Bay, prima donna Emily Chrystie ( camera in one hand and phone in the other ) was heard to scream “WHERE ARE MY SUNGLASSES” to the astonishment of the rest of the crew. Why the location of the Ray bands should be important in the moment of crisis no-one yet fathoms. The “boffin” swung the little vessel into irons and the mermaid was dragged aboard by the strong arms of the owner – too shy to want to be mentioned in despatches. Ms Chrystie was rubbed down in the en-suite of the forward state room and re-attired in a pristine matching set of apiano! oilies. She resumed her duties as second-spinnaker-getter-downer. You will be delighted ( and a little surprised) to hear that later in the same race the sunglasses mysteriously appeared on the aft port deck, by a Jacuzzi, as if secreted there by a denizen of the deep…. Such is the romance of the sea that a certain Hemmingway E. made a packet out of this kind o’ stuff by padding it out a bit with really good writing…. Your Sonata Correspondent is away ….in Sway. Dartmouth 27 Sept 2009 Next week penultimate SWSII

FORMATION SONATA SAILING IN 2010 TO BE SUPPORTED BY RED ARROWS AND COLDSTREAM GUARDS. Following a dazzling display of parallel sailing on Saturday 29^th Sept in Dartmouth Royal Regatta the Sonata syndicate in Geneva has been asked to spice up the tired, old show the Red Arrows are putting on. Subject to a financial package being agreed with RDYC this may be the centrepiece of next year’s regatta. Winco Biggles is said to be devastated but not surprised as the ginger seems to have gone out of the choreography of late. Simon Cowell is rubbing his wallet in glee. Blues Breaker and apiano! managed to sail from the start line nearly to the shore in perfect formation. Spectators on shore and fellow competitors cheered with approval as the two contestants stayed only 4 feet apart for several nautical miles. “It was as though they were attached by an invisible force field.” A Nutter, Dartmouth Finally a piano let off some clew tension by mistake, accidentally dropped the traveller down the track and gradually overhauled the BB. From then on it was game over for the highly talented Blues. The previous race was the obverse so honours even Competition time : Acronyms for the sonata formation sailing team. S’not Arrows. The best Ed. Red Sonatas. Sonata Formation Team. SOFT? Sonata Hydrobatic Interpretation Team Sailing. Contrived or what? Formation And Nice Neat Yachting. Synchronised Yacht Sailing Team. Sonatas In Line Yachting. Like it. Ed. Anyone coining an acronym which is witty, pertinent and sounds rather rude to a child will win! Winner of our first competition wishes to remain anonymous. The odd one out was the hamster as it is a small furry rodent often found inside a “pet shop”( sorry St Tom de Furz - the robin was a mistake made by some tit in the photo department). Mr Coote – you can eat a beaver…Ed. No correspondence! PASSAGE RACE MARRED BY WINDS FAILING TO 25 KNOTS. The 2009 Dartmouth Passage Race was postponed to allow the bigger yachts to sail round to Dartmouth in heavy air. The 4pm start ensured that only the faster boats could make the Homestone before the gales abated. M Reads waited till the Froward point wind sock dropped to about horizontal before allowing us (them - Ed.) to battle it out. One Sonata 7 took part in the race. She had a really cool “practice start” with IRC2 boats and, having sailed back to the start line, set off again surrounded by boats of her own class. Sadly apiano! ran out of wind on the last leg and was unable to fly her ‘kite’ thus suffering second overall by 28 seconds. Man of the match – D Woolcock for being a good sport when his right leg nearly fell of at the top. Man with three names was – as ever – tight faced and ashen lipped. Sadly BB had sailed around the day before and missed the fun. The pippin and cootie were nowhere to be found……? The brilliantly helmed 33 foot Firefox – skippered and owned by Christopher John Thorpe of BYC - swept all opposition aside. From an excellent start she sailed away from the PY fleet under her enormous spinnaker never to be seen again by the fleet.