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News at Whitstable Yacht Club

Club News

WYC Chief Sailing Instructor qualifies as RNLI Lifeboat Helm!

Congratulations to Ruth Oliver (who has the roles of Chief Instructor, Training Administrator, RYA Onboard Officer and Co-Bosun at WYC), for passing her qualifications to become Whitstable RNLI's helm for their Atlantic 85 Lifeboat, the first female helm at the Whitstable station! Ruth joined the Whitstable RNLI crew 5 years ago, and has been on around 100 calls since then, including one which was featured on the BBC’s ‘Saving Lives at Sea’ programme.
Whitstable Lifeboat Operations Manager Mike Judge said “Ruth qualifying as helm is the culmination of a considerable amount of effort on her behalf all given in the cause of voluntary service and her new position as helm will enhance this station's role in the RNLI's mission of saving lives at sea by providing us will an additional member of the station capable of taking command of the lifeboat at sea”.
Photo by Andrew Hastings/RNLI. For more information, see https://rnli.org/news-and-media/2023/january/29/ruth-takes-the-helm-at-whitstable-rnli.

2023 schedule now available on the website

The 2023 Sailing Schedule has now been uploaded to the website at wyc.org.uk/on-the-water/schedule, and the Google Calendar has been updated with the dates. Please note, if you've previously added the Google Calendar to your account, you'll need to do it again as the calendar link has changed.
Now is also a great time to check for your 2023 duty and add it to your diary!

John Kelly

We regret to report that John Kelly passed away on January 11th.
John had been a member for over 40 years, sailing an Enterprise with wife Eve for many decades. More recently John was a Laser sailor known to be friendly and approachable, though not necessarily one for the limelight.
Whilst John didn't race his Laser regularly, every now and again he would turn up, rig his distinctive black and white Laser and put in an amazing performance which would leave the mid-fleet warriors for dust! He was very supportive to the club and class when he could, helping out at many of the Laser Class events.
More recently John’s son and family have joined the club with a Topper – our thoughts are with them and John’s wife Eve at this time, and we hope to see them at the club during the season.
John’s sailing friends are welcome at his funeral on February 16th at Eltham Crematorium, followed by a Memorial service at St Alfege church in Greenwich. If anyone wishes to attend, please get in touch with Eve via E.Mitleton-Kelly@mitleton-kelly.org.uk for further details.

Barry Bishop

We regret to report that Barry Bishop passed away on Thursday. He died peacefully in his sleep.
Barry joined WYC in 1977, and was a member until he moved to France in 2012. He became fairly prominent in the Club and was known for being something of a character, being described by the late Dr Dan Davis as the "the youngest old man you are ever likely to meet" as he always looked a lot older than he was! He sailed Condors and Merlins, as well as larger yachts including Colin Grundon's motor sailer "Louina" and 3/4 tonner "Uforia", and was active in helping out on the sailing and social side.
His funeral will be in France on Monday.

Prize Giving 2022


The annual end of season prizegiving took place in the Sea Room last Sunday Nov 20th and despite the raw weather reducing the day’s racing fleet to six hardy Lasers there was a fine turnout to see who was taking home the silverware.
First to receive their bursary prizes sponsored by Original Cottages were three extremely enthusiastic cadets: Isabella Topping, Rhys Johns and Oliver Low. The bursaries will cover the cost of their level 2 and 3 courses next year so many thanks to Original Cottages for supporting these young sailors.

Prizes were awarded to winners of the various series and major club events as listed below – most notable multi-trophy winners were Robert Govier and David Figgis in their Tornado (3 x Big Cat series), Charlie Campion (3 x Laser series, Wed evening handicap and highest turnout), Alistair Gould (4 x Asymmetric series), Phil Emery and Pheobe Paine (3 x Merlin series, August regatta handicap, Merlin helm and crew of the year) and John Cooper and Hilary Bradshaw (3 x Merlin series).
You can view the full list of prize winners here: WYC_Prize_Winners_2022.pdf. If you weren't able to attend to collect your prize, please contact Sally in the club office to arrange collection.
You may be interested to know that there were 91 club races (with 3 winter series races to go) from a possible 115 with 27% abandoned. A total of 1639 boats have started a race this year giving an average start of 18.

WYC Social group updates

Art club - 1st and 3rd Monday of the month starting on the 5th December - It's 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.
Book club - We now 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.
And don't forget the Coffee club which meets every morning from 10.30 in the sea room, this is open to all WYC members.
For details of the bar opening times and all the social clubs and events at WYC, see http://www.wyc.org.uk/about/social

WYC 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 0789 9662412

Upper Rigdens Shed - movement sensors fitted to lighting

Lighting movement sensors are now operational in Upper Rigden Shed. If the lights go out - just move and they should come back on.

Mast Storage

A reminder that masts should be taken down over the winter months. Please note that WYC’s equipment storage policy now states that due to health and safety constraints masts are not to be stored in upper or lower Rigden Shed. Masts can be stored on top of dinghies/catamarans or underneath boat covers where possible. To view the latest WYC Boat Parking, Equipment and Windsurf Board policy – 2022/2023, go to http://www.wyc.org.uk/members/Club_Rules#BoatParking. It was also sent out by email to members in September with membership renewal forms.
If you think you may have masts, spars or other equipment stored in the roof space in upper Rigden, please could these be removed as soon as possible. Please take great care for your own and others safety when removing items and seek help if you have any difficulty accessing your kit. We will be organising a working party before the end of the year to clear the roof space and any unclaimed items will be placed outside the Rigden shed behind the sea wall from where they can be collected.
If you plan to continue sailing throughout the winter and would like to keep your mast up, please inform your Class Captain and Sailing Secretary.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS DUE BY MONDAY 31ST OCTOBER 2022

Dear Members, if you have not already done so, membership renewals are due by Monday 31st October 2022. Membership forms can be downloaded from our website and payment via a bank transfer is preferred. As previously indicated, if preferred, members are able to pay via two instalments, the first due now and the second by the end of next March. If you have any queries, please contact Sally Gostelow by email: sailing.secretary@wyc.org.uk.

Autumn Series now all-in handicap for non-Lasers

The Sailing Committee has decided that the results for the Autumn Series will be based on all-in handicap racing for non-Lasers. This is a change to the published programme, and has been applied to the results for races completed so far.

Bar Opening Hours updated for Autumn

The club bar's opening hours are being adjusted from 1st October. See http://wyc.org.uk/about/social for the updated times.

Her Majesty the Queen

Whitstable Yacht Club is saddened by the loss of Her Majesty the Queen who was a long standing supporter of yachting and Patron of the RYA.
The Royal Family has a long history of seafaring. Over the centuries the Monarchy has sailed aboard 83 royal yachts, including the most recent, HMY Britannia, which often hosted the RYA Council meetings during Cowes Week.
Sailing and racing at our club will continue as scheduled this weekend. However, as a mark of respect, Saturday’s race starting sequence will be formally postponed by two minutes, during which time the AP flag will be flown. Members on the water may wish to heave to during this period.
Andrew Jackson, Commodore.

Roz Harnett

We regret to report that Roz Harnett passed away on Sunday morning. She died peacefully in her sleep.
Roz was wife to Martin, who was an active Enterprise and Laser sailor. Roz was known for her work in the ladies committee and the running of the cadets as well as a regular recorder on the bridge.
Mother to Dan, Richard and Louise, sailors at the club. Grandmother to eleven grandchildren, with five active sailors past and present, Meia, Elin, Mali Drystan and Joe. Roz will be sadly missed by all.
Her funeral will be held on 14th September. If you would like to attend mass, it is being held at 10 AM at Our Lady Immuculates church, Whitstable. CT5 2DE. This will be followed by committal at Barham Crematorium, Canterbury. CT4 6QU. All then welcome at 1pm to celebrate Roz’s life at Whitstable castle.

Whitstable Week 2022 Report


A full week with decent winds, racing every day, some epic socials and generally great weather made Whitstable Week 2022 one to remember!
The week started with challenging F5/6 winds on Monday which saw some epic downwinds (and capsizes) but 8 valiant finishers, headed by Rick and Sarah Perkins in their Tasar. There were much lighter winds on Tuesday which increased the entry to 35 boats across a whole range of classes – at the front end of the fleet Team Perkins and John Cooper/Hilary Bradshaw scored a 1st and 2nd each, with great battles throughout the fleet. Wednesday saw a return to windier conditions and 2 wins for Team Perkins, now being challenged by Charlie Campion, Nigel Brown and Kevin Hall in Lasers. Thursday saw another breezy day and the arrival of Dickie Ledger in his Dart who promptly won both races followed by Team Perkins and the first 3 Lasers. The last 2 races on Friday were held in milder conditions with wins shared between Rick/Sarah and Dickie.
Overall winner was Rick and Sarah in their Tasar with just 9.5 points (there was a dead heat in race 8!) counting 5 wins from 9 races. In 2nd place was Charlie Campion, followed by Nigel Brown and Kevin Hall in Lasers. Stephen Nation and Julie Puckett in their Tasar in 5th, returning ex pat Mark Holweger in a Laser 6th and first Merlin Jon and Phillipa Bloice in 7th. First Cadets were Angelyna and Harry in the RS 500 who was 10th overall counting a 7th on Monday and an excellent 2nd in the last race on Friday.
It can be safely said that the socials were enjoyed by all who attended – a quiet start with vinyl night on Monday was followed by a lively open mic on Tuesday with excellent organisation from Andy Provan and team, and the discovery of great talent in the club. Wednesday was Commodore’s cocktails (thanks to Tizzie and team) and the Commodore Andy Jackson’s excellent band. Thursday saw the return of the ever-popular Phil and Ian’s laid-back quiz, which wasn’t at all competitive (?), and thanks to David Lowes for a great BBQ setting the scene for the last night party with band Coco.
With 46 boats racing during the week and 13 completing 7 or more races it was an excellent week of competition and fun – and the weather helped too!

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