Whitstable Yacht Club - News - 2016

Club News - September

Bar price increases

Posted: Wednesday, 28 September , 2016

Prices at the bar will be increased slightly from Friday 30th September, 1st increase since 2012. Increases will be on draught Lagers, Cider & Wines. Spirits, bitter & soft drinks have not changed.

The Magnificent Seven – Wanderer Cruise to Conyer on Sunday 18th September

Posted: Friday, 23 September , 2016

Saturday’s gales had meant a day’s postponement but we were blessed with perfect conditions for Sunday’s cruise to Conyer. The Swale sail had been advertised to the Wanderer Class Association and two visiting boats joined the hard core WYC Wanderers, making seven who set off about 11.00 on a flooding tide with favourable winds towards the mouth of the Swale, Gavin Barr and Mark Skipper leading the fleet.
Making steady passage and mindful of the many oyster beds, obstructions and wrecks of the Pollard Spit we beat offshore until assembling for a broad reach to sail up the Swale channel. Avoiding the shallows of Horse Sands, we resisted the temptation of The Shipwrights at Hollow Shore and continued towards Conyer Creek, past Fowley Island and into the marked channel. Seals were spotted and there were seabirds flocking around the island. Only the sound of the sea, the birds and nature all bathed in that wonderful autumn light.

Until.........
Cruising like this always raises the question of whether or not to bring outboard engines – there are obvious pros and cons. The two people stuck on a speed boat initially with its engine stuck in astern, then becoming a very dead engine, must have been mightily relieved that we’d plumped for taking outboards as the fleet circled and made a rescue plan. Ian started the tow before Richard downed sails and took over, delivering the stranded pair and their noisome craft safely to Swale Marina. Having – as we were later told - also raised the alarm with the Coastguard, our rescued speedboat friend forgot to cancel his emergency. The staff and guests at Swale Marina were soon joined by Whitstable RNLI inshore lifeboat, who were less-than-pleased that their search was in vain.
By this stage other Wanderer crews had gathered to enjoy their packed lunches and most wonderful cake produced by Kate in the pretty surroundings of Swale Marina. By now, the wind had decreased but with some spinnakers flying we were greeted by Allan and Laura on the WYC RIB. A couple of boats touched ground on the Horse Sands opposite Faversham Creek, where they were entertained by feeding time for a pod of grey seals.

All enjoyed a pleasant, if slightly slower than ideal, passage home. Returning to the beach after a fine day of Bart’s Bash sailing, the Wanderers felt that we had put up a good effort for the wider sailing community. With a falling tide, the efforts of Mick and Ian using the dumper to drag boats up the beach were much appreciated.
Probably the last Wanderer cruise of this year but another great success and a perfect way to spend a warm autumn Sunday.

Report by Jo Phillips and Wanderer visitor Tim Last, photos by Laura Carney and Kate Ahern.

KSSA Regatta 2016 Report

Posted: Tuesday, 13 September , 2016

Last Saturday (10th September), Whitstable Yacht Club hosted the Kent Schools Sailing Association Regatta. The windy conditions ranging around force 4 made it a challenging yet great experience! The number of cadets from around Kent who came to our club made the sea front bustle with excitement. KSSA arranged four races, the fourth of which was cancelled due to the high wind strength. When we returned to shore, the KSSA organisation and the food provided by Cadet committee was excellent.
Our cadets achieved some impressive results, taking three of the prizes:
Max Sellar - Laser - Royal Temple YC trophy, 1st overall and 1st singlehanded.
Alexander Wilson and Madeleine Byran - WYC RS Feva - Cranbrook trophy for 1st school or club owned boat.
Emily Blaxhill - Topaz - Prelude Plaque for first sailor in the competition of entrants sailing in the Regatta for the first time.
Altogether ten WYC cadet sailors sailing nine boats were placed in the finishing order of 26 boats. All sailed well, raced well and showed great spirit and determination in the strengthening wind. The full results can be seen at kssa.co.uk/91Results/old_results/2016/KssaRegatta2016.htm.
I personally learnt a lot from the day and would recommend more cadets from Whitstable try the regatta next year.
Report by WYC Cadet Emily Blaxill, Photos by Nick Champion of Champion Marine Photography.
WYC KSSA Regatta 2016

WYC Bake Off!

Posted: Sunday, 11 September , 2016

Thank you for all the delicious cakes entered for the WYC Cadet Bake Off on Saturday. After a lot of cake and deliberation by our guest judges Cllr Tom Gates and Marion Gates, the winners were -
Parent category, Rachel Watson for her scrumptious Courgette, Lemon & Poppy Seed Cake.
Cadet category, William & Madeline Olivier for their fabulous very light cupcakes adorned with sea butter icing and wonderful sails.
There were no soggy bottoms in the tea bar at at least!! Thank you again for your contributions which were sold to raise funds for the Cadet sailing!

Forts Race 2016 Report

Posted: Tuesday, 06 September , 2016

The Forts Race was sailed on Saturday 3rd September, and once again produced proved why it's the UK's premier catamaran long distance race, with top national helms showing up to prove themselves and their boats over the course around the Thames Estuary. 18 boats took part this year, from the extreme end of the catamaran racing scene of Will Sunnocks' Vampire Project foiling custom build, to the 40-year-old class Dart 18 catamarans! Will Sunnucks and Mark Smith on the Vampire Project took line honours, despite gear failure reducing it's ability to foil to a single tack, and the overall winner on handicap was Simon Northrop and Aaron Reynolds on an F18. In the Short Course results, Whitstable Yacht Club's Mark Holweger and Max Sellar took first place on their Dart 18. For the full report, see catsailingnews.com/2016/09/the-forts-race-2016-whitstable-yacht.html, and check out the Forts Race Facebook Page for more photos.