As a member of the Royal Southampton, you may well be used to the exhilaration of participating in the Club's racing programme on the Solent or Southampton Water. But just imagine practicing those skills on ice.
Thursday's (October 2) speaker carvery supper at Ocean Village will provide just the opportunity to hear more about this fast, equally exhilarating and potentially dangerous winter sport which has caught on in more than 20 countries.
Our guest speaker is Chris Williams, Secretary for the ice skating authority in Europe, a member of the sports' governing board and the UK team manager.
The sport had its foundations in the Netherlands in the 18th century, and currently there are more than 2,500 active racers of the most popular one-design class in Europe, and over 1,000 in North America.
He says the sailing technique is similar to that of catamaran or sand sailing and the two race course marks are set directly up and downwind approx one mile apart. The course to be raced is three times round both marks leaving everything to Port. The essential conditions for this type of sailing are access to a lake (or sea bay), with an expanse of safe ice of minimum thickness six inches, wind and minimal snow. In the UK it is run in Scotland on Loch Morlich and Loch Insh. Speeds of up to 60 mph are not unusual.
To hear more about the excitement of this unusual form of yachting, join us for the Thursday evening carvery supper this week, from 7pm.
Chris Williams is due to speak at 8.30pm.
Cost for the carvery: £8.75