Whitstable Yacht Club - News

Club News

A Different sort of Sailing

Posted: Tuesday, 15 September, 2015

Imagine, no count down to the starting gun, no flogging round the buoys, no one shouting "Starboard!" or "Room at the mark!". Thanks to Richard Maltby and to Pete Gowing, for organising something different, just a pleasant sail in company to a planned destination - a dinghy cruise to the Swale on Friday 11th Sept.
Five boats gathered on Friday morning at around 1000, and after a short briefing we launched and set out for the Swale, on a rising tide, with a force 3 wind from the ESE behind us. We headed first for Shell Ness, quite a "rock and roll" ride, and once over the Pollard Spit bank we gybed and headed up the Swale for Sand End buoy, and thence to Faversham Spit North Cardinal. We sailed up Faversham Creek (making sure to keep in the buoyed channel), and moored to the bank near the Shipwright's Arms pub.
High water was too early to continue up the creek to Faversham Town Quay, and risk getting dried out for 12 hours, so we had our sandwich lunches, accompanied in some cases by a pint of "Shipwrecked" best bitter, and when the tide had turned and the ebb set in, we cast off and set out back to Whitstable. The ebb carried the little fleet down the Swale, and level with Shell Ness we tacked onto port, crossed the bank and headed home, being careful to keep in sight of each other and ready to render assistance if needed (luckily none was). The wind had risen by now, and it was wind against tide, so quite a hard and bumpy ride, but great fun. We reached Whitstable about 1530 after a great day's sailing.
Those taking part were: Wanderer 1561, Richard Maltby and Roger Warren (cruise leaders); Wanderer 1098, Ian and Glenda Nevill; Wanderer 1282, Gavin Barr and Mark Skipper; Wanderer 598, Ian Hay and Kate Ahern; Miracle 4055, Peter Heyes and Jo Phillips.
Good fun, dinghy cruising, why not give it a try next time?
Gavin Barr (Wanderer and General Handicap Class Representative)

What a (Forts) weekend!

Posted: Monday, 14 September, 2015

The Vattenfall Forts Race Weekend was held on 12th and 13th September at Whitstable Yacht Club. The premier catamaran long distance race was held on the Saturday, in a shifty F3-F5 southerly wind, giving the 20 catamarans taking part some tricky conditions on the initial tight kite leg out to the Red Sands Forts in the middle of the Thames Estuary. Nicholas Barnes and Neil Bladry were early casualties when they flipped their viper in a strong gust. They proved the benefit of carrying flares in a long distance race when one of the team was separated from the boat, to be picked up by Peter Wilson and Steve Hodges in their Tornado. Once returned to their boat, they righted it on their own, but headed for home.
Grant Piggott and Stu Smith were the first boat back to the gate at Whitstable Yacht Club in their foiling Nacra 20 FCS, narrowly beating Will Sunnucks and Chris Neal in their Flying Phantom Foiler. The race then headed out to a buoy off the newly finished Vattenfall Wind Farm extension , which actually started to generate electricity for the first time during the race! The Flying Phantom Foiler suffered gear failure on the way out to the Windfarm buoy, and had to retire, allowing the Nacra 20 FCS to lead the way for the rest of the race and take the Vattenfall Trophy for line honors.
In the non-foiling boats, the Shockwave F18 of Simon Northrop and Simon Fraz Farren separated early from the pack to build up a lead on the water of over 12 minutes on the next placed boat over the following 2 legs, to Herne Bay Pier, and out to Spile Buoy. The Tornado of Paul Mines and Stu Smith chased them around the course, but couldn’t quite catch them up, coming home third on the water. Further back, Peter Wilson and Stephen Hodges lead the main pack in their Tornado after returning to the race following their rescue of the Viper sailor. Robert Govier and David Figgis in their Capricorn F18, Ghislan Melaine and Greg Crease in their Cirius F18 and Richard Ledger and Tom Bruton in their Nacra 17 had a close race for the next place, regularly swapping places on the water. After falling back on the Herne Bay leg, Robert and David managed to catch up and overtake the other two boats on the final punishing leg out to Spile Buoy, to come in fifth on the water, with the Cirius in sixth and Nacra 17 in seventh.
On corrected time, Simon Northrop and Simon Fraz Farren came first overall in their Nacra F18, with Grant Piggot and Adam Kay in second on their Nacra 20 FCS, and Paul Mines and Stu Smith in third on their Tornado. Forth boat, and first Whitstable Yacht Club boat was Peter Wilson and Steve Hodges on their Tornado, and Robert Govier and David Figgis came in fifth on their Capricorn F18
In the ‘Short Race’, six Dart 18s set off to do the Forts and Wind Farm legs, with three making it around the two legs. After 2 ¾ hours on the water, less than 5 minutes separated the boats on the water, and only 16 seconds between 2nd and 3rd! Mark Robson and Kerra Pearce lead the group round to take line honours, with Mark and Stephanie Howleger in second place, and Tony Dod and Lugh Horner in third.
The finishing boats on the full course had raced on a course over 47 miles long, with the leading boat finishing in just over three hours, and the last placed finished taking a little over 4 hours, sailing at all wind angles in a mix of sea states from very choppy to almost flat, and got to see all the sights in the Thames Estuary off the Whitstable coast. The Dart 18s racing the ‘Short Course’ covered over 26 miles in 2 ¾ hours.
On Sunday Whitstable Yacht Club hosted a shorter single lap race around the Ham Gat buoy, in very light conditions. The conditions didn’t suit the foiling boats, and the race was won both on the water, and on corrected time, by Simon Northrop and Simon Fraz Farren on their Nacra F18.
A great time was had by all, including those who had to cut their race short. There’s nothing quite like sailing to a point on the horizon at full speed under race conditions, and the race is set to return in September 2016. For the full results, see wyc.org.uk/on-the-water/results. Photos will be posted shortly at championmarinephotography.co.uk.

Unpaid kit

Posted: Sunday, 13 September, 2015

The kit listed below has been identified as either abandoned and/or unpaid for. It is currently situated on Reeves beach and unless claimed and/or paid for it will be removed and disposed of in accordance with the club storage policy using the RYA recommended process, 3 months from the date of publication of this notification.
Road trailer
Laser launching trolley with damaged wheels - this could be associated with the road trailer as it is stacked on top but may be a separate item
Blue trailer with suspension (appears home built)
Yamaha Seahopper (orange)
Laser (yellow)
Photographs are available here, and will also be displayed on the club noticeboard in the Sea Room.
If you recognise the kit and wish to claim it please contact the sailing secretary to arrange payment. If you have have queries regarding the process please contact either the Sailing Secretary or the Beachmaster. More ›

Well done to Iggy McNally, sailing at the RS Tera Nationals last weekend!

Posted: Sunday, 06 September, 2015

Whitstable Yacht Club Cadet Iggy McNally took part in the Magic Marine RS Tera Nationals at Weymouth Portland National Sailing Academy last weekend. 9 year old Iggy was the youngest competitor in the Championship Fleet, and had a great time competing amongst the top Cadet sailors in the country, taking home the Selden Trophy for 1st competitor under 10! There's a full write up, with results, at the RS Tera UK Class Association website.

20 days to go!

Posted: Tuesday, 01 September, 2015

Bart's Bash 2015 Wow, it's now just 20 days until Bart's Bash on 20th September 2015!! There are already 1112 sailors signed up from 377 clubs in over 48 countries, covering all inhabited continents, but by the time you read this, the figures will be out of date because each day the numbers signing up are increasing! Sign up for the race at Whitstable Yacht Club at my.bartsbash.com/registration to tell everyone you're going to be sailing, and come down to the club on 20th September to be part of the World's Largest Sailing Race! For more information, see wyc.org.uk/on-the-water/events.

Reminder: 3pm race starts this weekend

Posted: Tuesday, 01 September, 2015

The Autumn Series starts this weekend (5th & 6th September), and due to the late tides, the start time for both races is 3pm.

Merlin Rocket Nationals 2015 - Final Day #MerlinRocket

Posted: Friday, 28 August, 2015

Friday saw the final day of racing in the 70th Merlin Rocket National Championships at Whitstable Yacht Club, and Whitstable turned on the glamour, with bright sunshine and a breeze building to force four providing champagne sailing conditions! Congratulations to Ben Saxton and George Yeoman from Grafham Water Sailing Club who came in first position overall for the week, with a strong 12 point lead over the second place. Tom Pygall was the first WYC sailor, crewing with Stuart Bithell from Hollingworth Lake in 15th place overall, and Mark Barnes and Phillippa Daniels were the first WYC boat at 27th overall. Thanks to all 71 boats who took part in the week, and to all the WYC staff and volunteers who made the week a success!
You can see the full write up from today at Yachts&Yachting, and the photos from today here.

A bit of Merlin Rocket history at Whitstable Yacht Club

Posted: Friday, 28 August, 2015

It's the 70th Merlin Rocket National Championships at Whitstable Yacht Club this week, and there's a strong history of the Merlin Rocket dinghy at the club. Ian Wild and Richard Davis sailed together in the first ever "Champagne Race" at the Merlin Rocket Championships in 1967. Here they are together again launching for this year's Ranelagh Trophy on Thursday. They are sailing Richard's 33 year old "Herbie" (3315) which he has had since new. Both Ian and Richard have been Commodores of Whitstable Yacht Club, and Richard was one of the top Merlin Rocket sailors in the 1970s, taking 3rd place twice in the days of racing in 150 boat fleets.

Merlin Rocket Nationals 2015 - Day 4&5

Posted: Thursday, 27 August, 2015

After racing was abandoned on Wednesday in 30 knot winds, the competitors were presented with a full day of sailing on Thursday. Two races were sailing, including the 'long distance' champagne race sponsored by Winder Boats. Conditions were perfect with a SW Force 3-5 with sufficient shifts to ensure it was not a one-way track. Yachts&Yachting have the full reports for Day 4 and Day 5, and photos from Thursday can be viewed here.

Congratulations to the Yacht Club B Pool team

Posted: Wednesday, 26 August, 2015

Congratulations to the Yacht Club B Pool team who have just won the Division 2 Whitstable Pool League to gain promotion to Division 1 next season with a game to spare. The last game of the season is this evening, Wednesday, against the Yacht Club A team so come along and have a drink, a sing on the Karaoke with the Merlins and enjoy some exhibition Pool! Well done to Robin and the team.

Merlin Rocket Nationals 2015 - Day 3

Posted: Tuesday, 25 August, 2015

Another great day on the water for the Merlin Rockets at Whitstable Yacht Club, and this time they even got some sun! See the full write up on Yachts&Yachting, and check out the photos from today here.

Merlin Rocket Nationals 2015 - Days 1&2

Posted: Monday, 24 August, 2015

It's been an eventful start to the Merlin Rocket National Championships 2015 at Whitstable Yacht Club, but the competitors have taken it in their stride, and the 144 sailors from 72 boats entered are having a great time on and off the water, despite the unseasonable weather! Yachts&Yachting have all the details and latest results in the reports from day 1 and day 2, and you can see the photos taken by Alex Cheshire on the course on day 1 and day 2.

Forts Race Weekend - Only three weeks to go

Posted: Friday, 21 August, 2015

It's only three weeks to go until the 2015 Forts Race weekend (12&13th September), and there's only 10 days left to take advantage of the early bird entry offer to save £20, thanks to our sponsors at Vattenfall. Once the discounted entries are gone, or after 31st August, the full price entries will be at a (still very well priced!) £60. We're looking forward to our best Forts Race ever, so make sure you're there. See the Forts Race web page for full details at wyc.org.uk/on-the-water/forts-race

Topaz Uno Nationals - New photos!

Posted: Thursday, 20 August, 2015

We had photographer Nick Champion from Champion Marine Photography out with us on the Sunday of the Topaz Uno Nationals, and he took some great shots. See the full set at championmarinephotography.co.uk/

BBQ Monday 31st cancelled