Happy New Year, Whitstable Yacht Club family!
What a start to 2024! Last night was nothing short of spectacular, with our club buzzing with the energy of 120 friends and members at a completely sold-out event.
As the music filled the air (thanks to the Dead Pelicans!) and laughter echoed around, the night culminated with all of us on the deck, marvelling at a breath-taking fireworks display.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to everyone, especially our incredible bar staff. Their hard work and dedication were the backbone of this amazing evening. Their tireless efforts in keeping the drinks flowing and the spirits high truly made this celebration possible.
This unforgettable night was made even more special by the warmth and camaraderie of each of you, truly embodying the spirit of our club.
Here’s to a 2024 filled with great sailing and more memorable events at the club!
#WhitstableYachtClub #NewYearsEve2024 #CelebrationOnTheWater
Thanks to Debbie Clifford for the photos

Go to https://wyc.org.uk/news/2023-season-roundup to read the report.

We regret to report that Jon Blunt, father of cadets Tom and George and wife to Naomi, has passed away following a severe illness, which he bore with immense inner fortitude while continuing to take as active an interest as possible in club and cadet activity.
Jon was an ever helpful contributor to WYC cadets, supporting Tom and George in sailing their 420, at the club and away at 420 class events, volunteering to drive and crew safety boats for cadets and club races. Even when terribly ill he took pleasure supporting the Topper Nationals in May.

Max was crowned European Champion in the Great Grand Masters age group at the ILCA (Laser) Masters European Championship held in Douarnenez, France. Max posted a remarkably consistent set of results to beat world champion Vanessa Dudley from Australia by a single point.
WYC hosted the Kent Schools Sailing Association annual regatta on September 16th with a turnout of over 50 youngsters racing in tricky light conditions that tested competitors and race organisers alike. The day was won overall by Finn Crockatt from WYC who won the last race and ended with just 3 points to beat the Topper of Sam Macnamara from Chipstead and 420 of Jacob Websdale and Winter IIhan from Margate. WYC claimed 8 of the top 20 places with 15 cadet members taking part. Thanks also to all the WYC members who helped out in making this event a success.

Ten Wanderers gathered at Whitstable during the last week of August and the first weekend of September. Wanderer East, a series of cruises up the Swale and over to the island of Sheppey was held during the week. On Saturday and Sunday the boats competed for the Ian Proctor Wanderer Nationals and Gavin Barr trophies over four races.
For the full report on the event go to www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/266251/Wanderer-Nationals-at-Whitstable.

We regret to report that Susan Barnes passed away on 29th August at home.
She was a long-standing member of WYC and wife of the late Brian Barnes (ex commodore).
The funeral will take place at All Saints Church Whitstable on Friday 22nd September at 1.30 pm to celebrate a much loved lady.

Whitstable Yacht Club’s biggest event of the year is Whitstable Week, which this year ran from Wednesday Aug 2nd to Sunday Aug 6th. The format for the event is a ten-race series with two races per day and socials each evening which included a cadet night, a quiz night, an evening that started with commodore’s cocktails followed by the amazing WYC music group, and a Summer Ball with canapes and fizz supported by a further band ‘Betty and the Swingtones’. Whitstable Week was sponsored by Holidaycottages.co.uk who have kindly supported WYC’s major events in 2023 and WYC’s growing cadet fleet.
Returning to WYC from his recent emigration to the USA was Race Officer John Boorman, who ran an excellent race series when the weather allowed. Such dedication to Whitstable Week earned John the ‘Spirit of Whitstable Week’ trophy.
Wednesday was forecasted to be wet and windy which sadly proved to be correct with 25mph gusts resulting in racing been abandoned for the day, but fortunately the bar opened early so all wasn’t lost!
The fleet were keen to make up the lost ground on Thursday with a light northerly wind as they launched. The wind then went southerly, south easterly, and just as the RO was considering binning the day, a NE force 4 sprung up under a dark raincloud. The first race was won by Rick and Sarah Perkins from WYC in their Tasar followed by Paul and Bronwyn Ridgeway from Australia and also in a Tasar. Chris Marsh who is a WYC member but sails his Laser/ILCA for Thailand finished third to set a somewhat international tone to the results for the week. Chris won the second race of the day from Rick and Sarah and Millie Lewis from Medway YC in her Laser/ILCA radial.
There were medium breezes on Friday, but rain made for a rather cold and unwelcoming racecourse. The one race held was won by Chris Marsh, with Millie second and the Ridgeway’s third.
Saturday saw more wind and rain which failed to diminish the fleet’s enthusiasm. The 1-2-3 was the same in both races with Paul and Bronwyn finishing ahead of Rick and Sarah and Chris Marsh on corrected time. Most notable were Adam Whitehouse and Mike Hanson who borrowed Adam’s Dads Fireball for the event, capsized with the kite up in race 1 putting Mike through the mainsail, but with the split taped up took 4th place in the 2nd race – not too shabby for a scratch crew!
So, coming into Sunday the points were tight between the leading Tasars and Chris’s Laser/ILCA, however Chris had departed to compete in the Under 21 ILCA Open Europeans which left the Tasars to tough things out. Conditions were described as ‘a proper foam up’ with a brisk northerly onshore wind giving some big waves which made launch and recovery something of a challenge. A single race was held which resulted in a further win for the Ridgeway Tasar followed by the Laser/ILCA of Harry Newton and the Laser/ILCA Radial of Max Hunt both from WYC.
Overall, Paul and Bronwyn took the week and the Tasar prize by just two points from Rick and Sarah with Chris Marsh third overall also taking the Laser and first cadet trophies. Millie Lewis came 4th overall and took the Laser Radial trophy, the Fireball of Adam and Mike the General Handicap class and 10th overall (and submarine trophy for most spectacular capsize), and cadet Joe Barton took the Topper and slow handicap prizes at 14th overall.
It was a tough week of racing supported by some amazing parties which stretched the brain with a challenging Quiz, showcased the depth of talent in the club’s music group and showed that WYC members can scrub up well for Saturday’s Summer Ball!
Thanks must go to John Boorman the PRO and his team of volunteers, especially the safety boat crews who braved the worst of the weather whilst keeping an eye on the fleet. Thanks also to our sponsors Holidaycottages.co.uk who supported Commodore’s Cocktails and the live band, and Laser supplier Sail and Sport who provided the fizz at the Summer Ball, and perhaps just the odd fuzzy head the next morning!

Congratulations to WYC youth member Christopher Marsh, who made it into the Gold Fleet and got a very credible 30th place at the ILCA 6 Youth Europeans 2023 at Gdynia, Poland last week. Great to see our young sailors making a name for themselves in the global sailing circuit, a remarkable achievement and a testament to his talent and hard work in sailing!

Whitstable Yacht Club has been running Laserfest since 2017 as its Laser focused weekend of racing and socialising with the objective of getting as many WYC Lasers racing as possible and sharing the fun with other local clubs. For 2023 Laserfest was rebranded as a sprint event and generously sponsored by Holidaycottages.co.uk and local Laser agent Sail and Sport. There was a target of five races of day of 20-minute duration, with quick turnover between races to keep the Laser racers focused! For the full report, see www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/263905/Laserfest-Sprints-at-Whitstable-Yacht-Club.