by Tom Whittingham

It was definitely a weekend to two halves as the Open Water Lions Swim endured relentless rain but fortuitously mostly light winds.   By late afternoon, fair weather was with us and a brisk breeze had built up; cue the windsurfers who appeared en mass like vultures waiting for things to develop and they did.   Sunday was also champagne swimming and sailing conditions and the racing was well supported. 

Back to the big swim! It was a massive effort for the Lions and the Club to deliver a safe event with over 180 swimmers registered for the race or challenge distances. We contributed with 4 safety boats and safety coordination along with the Swindon Sea Scouts providing close cover by canoe – it was a very wet duty.   There were many familiar faces from our Bowmoor swimmers including the indomitable Swimblers who went the extra distance to complete a 1km swim with grace and elegance,  and Tim undeterred by a wetsuit failure at the outset proving anything is possible with gaffer-tape ably applied by the St John's First Aid Team.  The estimate for the money raised of Prospect is £6000 and that is stunning.   Glad to be part of that.    A report from the Lions is below along with a few photos.  

Two polite reminders, first to whoever borrowed the green jerry can from beside the fuel store; please return it. It was out there to be refilled and is needed to keep our safety  boats fuelled and available.  Second, the Clubhouse deck is a smoke-free zone; if you do need to light up, please do so well away from all buildings.   

On behalf of Lechlade Lions and Prospect Hospice, we are truly grateful for the generosity and support shown by Bowmoor Sailing Club, the Safety Boat crews, Swindon Sea Scouts, Fairford Event Support Team (FEST - First Aid), Hackett’s in the galley, local company Arval, Lakes by YOO and our local Olympian Cassie Patten for their support of this event. There were 180 swimmers registered for our race and challenges.  This support made the whole event magic despite the adverse weather, the club house was packed during registration. There were 57 competing in the 3 km race which won by an incredible 18-year-old Jess Miller averaging 4km/hour (photo Jess with Cassie Patten). Over 100 people rose to their own challenges in the 3, 2 and 1 km events and 12 people tried open water swimming for the first time.

The final tally is not certain but it looks like, with some generous donations, a very significant amount of money ( over £6k) was raised for the Prospect Hospice.

Once again thank you to Bowmoor, all those that helped on the day and those that braved to elements to swim!

Mike Read

Wind surfing courses are available during the summer for juniors and adults.  Please see the link for details and booking. 

While we have a blanket ban in place October to April on during on grassed areas to avoid chewing up the ground, we do need members to consider the conditions at other times.  With standing water in the car park and in some grassed areas it is better to walk or at least not continue to create deep muddy tracks as show below.   Who's going to sort this one out?

Monday 7th - Thursday 10th August

09:00 - RYA SailingCourses

Wednesday 9th August

19:00 - Handicap Racing

Saturday 12th August

09:00 - Safety Boat Course

11:00- Cruising Saturday, Ladies who Launch, Social Sailing

Sunday 13th August

11:30 - Handicap Races 

13:30 - Handicap Races

15:15 - Personal Handicap Race

Wednesday 16th August

19:00 - Handicap Racing

Saturday 19th August

09:00 - Safety Boat Course

Sunday 20th August

11:30 - Handicap Races 

13:30 - Handicap Races

15:15 - Personal Handicap Race

Monday 21st - Thursday 24th August

09:00 - RYA SailingCourses

Wednesday 23rd August

19:00 - Handicap Racing

Saturday 26th August

09:30 - Youth Regatta

Sunday 27th August

11:30 - RNLI Cup

13:30 -  RNLI Cup

15:15 - RNLI Cup

Monday 28th August

11:30 - Pursuit Races

13:30 -  Pursuit Races

15:15 - Pursuit Races