Waiting
However, in 2006 during an inspection it was discovered that the dam was once again about to go and needed urgent repair. The local council had to fund the repair due to it being within their jurisdiction and so in 2010 Chasewater was drained of almost all of its water with only a small pond remaining. The repair was going to take two years to complete and they were estimating up to five years for it to fill back up. During this time Chase sailing club still kept running but at a reduced level, trending more towards social events to keep things ticking over.
In 2012 the work was finished, and now we just had to wait for the predicted long process of the reservoir filling back by the same means as when it was originally built: the little streams from the local hills. Up to five years the experts said….Well to everybody’s astonishment the reservoir was full up that year thanks to record rain fall. It is one of those times when you hope the experts got it wrong, and are glad they did.
This brings me to the start of the story of sup at Chase. Around the time after the repair sup was starting to become very popular in the UK and the rest of the world, in particular there was an inland explosion with sailing clubs across the country getting involved. It was decided by the club to allow members to join the sailing club to sup. In the last year we’ve seen that sup membership is the fastest growing. Upon becoming a member of the club you are able to paddleboard almost 365 days of the year (excluding special events like the Ironman) and you can go out on you own any day of the week and at any time, even during the night if you wish. But the really unique benefits are found elsewhere…
