Whitstable Yacht Club
Welcome to WYC
Whitstable Yacht Club is one of the oldest and largest sailing clubs in England. The Club is situated on the north coast of Kent where the Thames Estuary meets the North Sea. WYC offers sailing in sheltered waters at all times of the tide for catamarans, dinghies, and windsurfers with yachts in nearby creeks which dry out.
Contact Us
Whitstable Yacht Club, 3-4 Sea Wall, Whitstable, Kent, CT5 1BX
Tel: +44 (0)1227 272942
office@wyc.org.uk
Or:
Click here to receive email alerts when news is posted
Follow @whitstableyc on Twitter
Follow @WhitstableYachtClub on Instagram
Like our page on Facebook or join our Facebook Members Group
2024 WYC Sponsor:
Upcoming WYC Social clubs, Events and Meetings
Click here for the WYC bar opening times, and click here to book social event tickets.
Laser and Flying Dutchman Fleet Christmas Dinner
Date: Fri 06/12/2024
Curry, Prizes, DJ and Dancing – this will a fun and memorable event.
Still a couple of tickets remaining, then we have our 36 sold out places. £25 a head.
Please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Winter Series Prize Giving
Date: Sun 08/12/2024
WYC Christmas Social
Date: Sat 21/12/2024
Come and join us for mince pies and a glass of Glühwein.
Get into the festive season and mingle with fellow members.
NEW YEARS PARTY 20:00 to MIDNIGHT
Date: Tue 31/12/2024
Featuring WYC’s incredible homegrown band “The Dead Pelicans” with a fabulous party set list, dance and sing your way into the 2025, followed by watching celebrations on the beach. £10 a ticket/wrist band which includes a glass of bubbly at midnight and a donation to RNLI. Last year was sold out quickly, so please secure your wristbands early. Wristbands for sale from the bar from Saturday 16th November.
There will also be 5 VIP tables (3x4persons+2x6persons) available for £18 a head. This will include a bottle of wine between 4, nibbles, antipasti and very exclusive souvenir GOLD wrist band! Book your table from the bar from Saturday 16th November with your wine choice: Red wine - Soldiers Block Shiraz/ Les Olivers Merlot/Cotes Du Rhone/Altitude Reserva Carmenere, Rose wine – Alianca Casal Mendes Portugal / Cuvee Jean-Paul France, or White wine – Sauvignon Blanc / Pinot Grigio or Prosecco.
Talk “Wearing the Red Trousers; Sailing across the Atlantic”
Date: Sat 18/01/2025
WYC Laser Sailor Paul Kelly (PK) lived for seven years on a 37ft ketch sailing around the East Coast of US, across the Atlantic, around the Mediterranean and elsewhere. He has many tales to tell, and lessons learnt!
Talk – “Crab and Winkle Railway”
Date: Sat 01/02/2025
WYC Wanderer Sailor and Historian Richard Maltby will present his history of the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway. There are many Firsts about the C&W, the 1st steam powered integrated transport system, combining the engineering genius of Thomas Telford (the harbour), George Stephenson (the railway) and son Robert (the locomotive). The Crab and Winkle was the 1st steam passenger railway, had the 1st tunnel and sold the 1st season ticket (for sea bathing). The Invicta loco was also a revolutionary design for 1830. It opened ahead of the Liverpool and Manchester railway, which followed 3 months and a change of reign later. The 6Nations Ireland v England match will be shown on the big screen in the Sea Room 16:45-18:45. Come and support your team, have a takeaway and then stay for Richard’s talk.
Talk “Banksy National Treasure or Common Criminal?"
Date: Fri 21/02/2025
Andrew Ashton will visit WYC again following on from his well-received talk on Beryl Cook, with another presentation on Banksy, a look at the artists life and work. As before Tizzy Lambert will be catering for lunchtime snack, and therefore there will be £5 charge for this talk.
Talk “Defending the Swale”
Date: Fri 21/03/2025
Adam Taylor will take us on a journey of discovery along the Swale Channel and coast of the Isle of Sheppey. We will take a closer look at air, sea and land defences through time, and the birthplace of British aviation where Winston Churchill learnt to fly.
Tuesday Nights - Games Evening
Every Tuesday from 7pm, Mexican train dominoes, cribbage or bring your own - come and join us! Bit of luck, bit of skill, bit of a laugh, bit of wine!! Or bring your own game.
Wednesday Nights - Pool League Games
From 8pm - Pool league games played by WYC pool teams. Feel free to come and support, or enquire at the bar to join a team!
2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month - WYC Book Club
We currently have two groups that meet on 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month, If you’re interested in joining the WYC Book club get in touch with Kellie Gray on 079 6604 6693, it’s a lovely way meet new members whether you’re a sailor or social member.
Thursday Night - Open Pool Nights
From 7pm - open pool night. All over 16’s welcome. Free table, winner stays on unless players present want to change.
1st and 3rd Monday of the month - Art club
Starting on the 5th December - Its a fun get together and learn new skills with others, you will need to supply your own equipment. Meet in the sea room between 10:30 and 1:30pm for more details contact Tizzie on 079 2026 2673.
1st & 3rd Thursday of the month - Music Club
Meet 1st & 3rd Thursdays of the month 7:30 to 10pm. We pick some songs to rehearse beforehand and get to play together as several bands. Welcome guitarists, singers, keyboards, drums, percussion, flutes, fiddles… anything with a tune! We put on a gig at the club every quarter, aim to showcase 24 songs. Contact: Andrew Provan 07899662412
Coffee Club - Every morning
Coffee club - meet every morning from 10.30 in the sea room, this is open to all WYC members
Whitstable Yacht Club news
Mad Hat Dinner & Dance
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Mad Hat Dinner and Dance at the Marine Hotel on Friday night. Fine food, a great band, lots of dancing, and some very special hats made it an evening to remember!
And if you missed out, keep an eye on the website for upcoming social events. We have the Rugby Union Autumn International matches on the big screen in the Sea Room, a Christmas Social on Saturday 21st December, and to round off the year, the WYC New Years Eve Party featuring WYC’s incredible homegrown band “The Dead Pelicans”! Share›
Great Fire of Whitstable 1869
An interesting bit of Whitstable history, before WYC, but involving buildings that once stood on our site:
www.kentonline.co.uk/whitstable/news/blaze-raged-so-hard-it-lit-night-sky-like-it-was-midday-315583/
Share›
2024 Prize Giving
The 2024 WYC prizegiving took place on Sunday October 19th to recognise the great performances of the year both racing and in support. Thanks must go to our sponsors Holidaycottages.co.uk and all of our committed and regular volunteers who ensured that 102 races were held in the year to date. It’s pleasing to see that the number of boats starting races this year is about 10% above 2023 reflecting on the strength of our club.
A full listing of the prizes awarded can be found below but mention should be made of the adults and cadets awarded Holidaycottages.co.uk bursaries that provide support for further tuition. Also worthy of mention are our ‘serial’ winners: Joe Barton in his Topper, Dickie Ledger and Sarah Oliver in their Dart 18 and Steve and Mei Baker in their Tasar. The special award winners are sometimes those who work behind the scenes in support of our racing and sailing – of special note are ‘Most Deserving Member’ Peter King, ‘Good Sportsmanship’ Donna Hender and ‘Contribution to Sailing’ Matt Young. Download the full list of prize winners here: 2024_Prizegiving_Edited.pdf.
Our racing season continues with the Winter series, the weather can be relatively mild and the sea is still warm so lets finish the year with some great turnouts!
Share›
WYC Winter Talks
A big thank you Richard Maltby for his talk on Saturday 19th Oct on the build up to Trafalgar, and why it was so important. It was very well attended and we all were all rewarded with a tot of run to toast Nelson! This was the first in our Winter Talks planned for the next 5 months. There was as a lot of interest in the planned future talks and so below are diary dates for you to note:
Thursday 14th November 7:30pm – Talk “Flying Dutchman at WYC”. The Flying Dutchman was the double-handed Olympic racing dinghy from 1960 to 1992. WYC was key in establishing this iconic class from hosting the 1959 World Championships, through to numerous National and European championships. There was a sizable fleet at WYC over the years with many stories to tell. Louise and Andrew Provan will present some of the tales of these E-Types of the Seas at WYC, as well as the chronicle of repatriating their own boat from Bordeaux.
Sat 18th January 2025 – 7:30pm Talk “Wearing the Red Trousers; Sailing across the Atlantic”. WYC Laser Sailor Paul Kelly (PK) lived for seven years on a 37ft ketch sailing around the East Coast of US, across the Atlantic, around the Mediterranean and elsewhere. He has many tales to tell, and lessons learnt!
Sat 1st Feb 2025 – 7:30pm – Talk “Crab and Winkle Railway”. WYC Wanderer Sailor and Historian Richard Maltby will present his history of the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway. There are many Firsts about the C&W, the 1st steam powered integrated transport system, combining the engineering genius of Thomas Telford (the harbour), George Stephenson (the railway) and son Robert (the locomotive). The Crab and Winkle was the 1st steam passenger railway, had the 1st tunnel and sold the 1st season ticket (for sea bathing). The Invicta loco was also a revolutionary design for 1830. It opened ahead of the Liverpool and Manchester railway, which followed 3 months and a change of reign later. The 6Nations Ireland v England match will be shown on the big screen in the Sea Room 16:45-18:45. Come and support your team, have a takeaway and then stay for Richard’s talk.
Friday 21st Feb 2025 12:30pm - Talk “Banksy National Treasure or Common Criminal?". Andrew Ashton will visit WYC again following on from his well-received talk on Beryl Cook, with another presentation on Banksy, a look at the artists life and work. As before Tizzy Lambert will be catering for lunchtime snack, and therefore there will be £5 charge for this talk.
Friday 21st March 2025 – 7:30pm – Talk “Defending the Swale”. Adam Taylor will take us on a journey of discovery along the Swale Channel and coast of the Isle of Sheppey. We will take a closer look at air, sea and land defences through time, and the birthplace of British aviation where Winston Churchill learnt to fly.
Share›
Whitstable Pearl - Season 3
The third series of Whitstable Pearl is out next week, on AcornTV from Monday 21st October. This series was filmed from March to May 2024 in Whitstable, Reculver and Halstead at many local businesses and residences (including Whitstable Yacht Club!), and according to the Kent Film Office contributed an estimated £300,000 to the Kent economy! Its a great watch, especially to spot all those familiar locations, and if you want a preview (including a few bits of WYC) check out the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tup4rQwDkUk
Share›
AUTUMN UPDATE
It's noticeable that the weather has changed as we head toward the end of the season, and I’d like to update on a few issues:
1) We have some rough weather forecast for this week – please make sure that boats are tied down securely on the beach.
2) Slotty has been moved to Conyer to avoid the bad weather and may not return this year – that means races will be managed from the club line. We don’t have Assistant Race Officers scheduled for the next two weekends, so if you are available to help and learn from an experienced Race Officer, please advise Sally or myself.
3) There have been a few situations where members scheduled have failed to turn up for their race duty. We appreciate that sometimes duties have to be changed for personal reasons but please advise your class captain and Sally of any issues and they can assist where necessary.
4) The Meeting of Sailors will take place on October 11th at 13.00 after the morning race – if you have issues that you wish to raise, please advise me beforehand.
5) The Annual Prizegiving will take place on October 20th at 16.00 after the afternoon race – we look forward to seeing you there to congratulate our worthy winners!
The Autumn and Winter series very often deliver some of the best racing of the year, so we look forward to some great turnouts and competitive races.
Good sailing!
Stephen P Gray
Rear Commodore Sailing
Read More› Share›
John Todd
We regret to report that John Todd passed away on 23rd August. Those that sailed Cadets and National 12s in the 60s and 70s will remember John, and the service sheet for his funeral service on 11 September included this photo of John sailing his Cadet "Shag": https://www.wyc.org.uk/images/uploads/John_Todd.jpg 
Share›
2024-25 MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS HAVE BEEN ISSUED
Membership renewals are now due for the 2024-25 membership year. If you have not received an email containing renewal information, please contact Sally (sailing.secretary@wyc.org.uk). Alternatively, you can complete the form online and send payment via a bank transfer directly to WYC via this link:https://www.cognitoforms.com/WhitstableYachtClub/WYCMembershipForm. Renewals are due by 31 October 2024, latest. We look forward to receiving your renewal. There’s still plenty of the season left to look forward to. Share›
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 3 NEW SENIOR SAILING INSTRUCTORS
Following an exacting and exhausting week of an RYA course held at the Club, WYC members Katie Berrington, Angelyna Gheur and Harry Wilson passed to become Senior Instructors with great accolades from the RYA. Congratulations must also go to Ruth Oliver, Club Training Manager, for the time and effort that she has put into their training. Share›
CadetFest 2024 Report!
Cadetfest 2024 - what a week, 38 children, 16 instructors, and force 8 winds! A cruise to Seasalter sailing club via Sand End, a cruise to Tankerton for an ice cream, windsurfing, beach and on the water games, recycled regatta, raft making and a fish and chip social to end the week! Thanks to all who made it possible including our sponsors HolidayCottages.co.uk, the cadets had a fabulous week! Share›