Thorpe Bay Yacht Club - Newsbuoy 13 - Winter 2015 by TBYC

The magazine of Thorpe Bay Yacht Club

www.tbyc.org • Edition 13 • Winter 2015

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Beverly Warrington Commodore

I thought I would write to introduce myself to you all. Some of you may already know me through my children, some of you through my husband Howard, and some may have never met me before. This I will endeavour to rectify in the coming months. So, here goes... I first joined Thorpe Bay Yacht Club when I was 18 and used to help out on the rescue boats, whilst watching Howard sail. We then moved away for a couple of years and re-joined in 1999 when my eldest son, George, was 5 and was asked to go sailing by John and Chris Richards (George is now 21!). He then got the sailing â&#x20AC;&#x153;bugâ&#x20AC;? and was joined later by his two brothers out on the water. As I seemed to be permanently at the Club I decided to take on the task of Cadet Rep, which I held for three years. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in this role and got to meet a lot more members. My background is in administration and I worked in London for many years as a PA for a loss adjusting company, until I left to have my children. I am currently employed at Southend Wheelchair Service part-time as an administrator. I have been travelling the country for the past eight years following my sons on the cadet fleet and have had the opportunity to visit many yacht and sailing clubs. It is always interesting to see how other clubs run and hopefully this knowledge will help me in my new role. Two of my children have now left home to go to university, so I have time on my hands and made the rather mad decision to run for Commodore! I have some very big shoes to fill, looking at the names on the board of the past Commodores. I am looking forward to the challenge of being the first Lady Commodore of Thorpe Bay Yacht Club! Luckily there are a number of members staying on the Committee, which is helpful, and there are a few new faces which will bring some new ideas to the Club. We are all volunteers and if you would like to help out around the club or have any great ideas for social and sailing, please contact any of us. We would love to hear from you. On behalf of the General Committee for TBYC I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year and good sailing for 2016. Keep warm on the water! Beverly Warrington Commodore

Are you a snapper? We’re always looking for photos for this magazine and the annual Racing Calendar. Earlier in the year we announced a photo competition, and here are some of our favourite entries. The winner was Rupert Snow’s

“Sandhoppers at Rest” [above]. Please continue to send your photos in to secretary@tbyc.org. Unfortunately the 801ft power station chimney on the Isle of Grain that we know so well and is

in the back of Rupert’s photo is being demolished in 2016. A new, more efficient power station has been built on the site. Maybe if we find out that actual date, we can sit on the balcony and watch it disappear.

Kingsnorth Power Station (opposite Canvey at Hoo St Werburgh) holds the record for the tallest chimney in the UK at 850ft and is due to be demolished in 2017.

Your Committee Commodore Beverly Warrington Vice Commodore Michael Lloyd Rear Commodore Racing Gary Burrows Rear Commodore Cruising John Williams Treasurer Tony Padbury Cadet Rep • Jeremy Sandford House Rep • Anthony Blower Sail Training Officer • Nick Cotgrove Social Rep • Michael Lloyd Sailing Secretary • John Casson Membership Officer • Will Daly Honorary Secretary • Margaret Kennedy Secretary • Janet Willsmer Dinghy Park Rep • Robert Manging Support Boats – Ribs • Tony Clark Support Boats – Displacement • Toby Speller Windward-Leeward Mono • Dave Ayre Fast Cats • Struan Wallace Lasers • Wes Absolom & Richard Sands Slow Cats • Paul Morgan Sandhoppers • Mark Robinson Picos • Andras Gal Fast Mono • Paul Beasley Albacores • John Payne Fevas • Nick Alston Race Results • Graham Dare Newsbuoy • Paul Morgan

It was a wet and moderately windy Bank Holiday Monday (no surprise) and although I had promised my daughter that we would sail to the start of the Clipper 2015-16 race at the end of the pier, I am not one to want to get wet (rain soaked) - funny, when my hobby is sailing - and was losing interest. She had however talked me into going and my son was now kayaking out with my cousin, who has recently joined TBYC. As I set up the boat, I watched Nick Cotgrove who was going to join us on his Dart 16 leaving with a decision to walk to the end of the pier, my mind could still be changed. A year ago the race had started on a workday Monday and so there was less interest and I had also walked to the end of the pier, although when I watched then I felt that it would have been nice if the Estuary could be more like the Solent, where there would be plenty of support on the water. These 70ft Clippers, capable of 35 knots, were only just being sailed for a second circumnavigation, having replaced some smaller ones that had previously been used. The design, reasonably technical for the crew, many who generally come with no previous experience of sailing. To be fair they all pay a lot for the experience and must do the mandatory training course at just over £10,000 but I think this does also include some appropriate clothing which they will then use on their journey. Many do not go right around the world but just join for legs at around £8,000 each. If you are mad enough to go all the way, the package is in excess of £45,000 (I think you get a discount). Neil Hurrell, a friend of Thorpe Bay Yacht Club, came to us at the club soon after the start, to tell us about his experiences so far in the training and run up events in St. Katherine’s Dock. He was sporting a Clipper Crew jacket that, in a way, he had paid a lot for, but to have one you have to be in the race. Neil did so well at the training (26 days, 23 on the water) and with his sailing experience, he was asked to do the extra Watch Leaders unit which will allow him to take over from the Skipper. He spoke about the family life he had been giving up to do it, although his wife joined us and is supporting his dream. One of his shocks was all the clothes and sundries he

has to pack into the smallest of bags for such a long period. He was definitely getting a buzz from the experience... maybe for many of our own club members it’s a dream for to be able to eat, sleep and drink "sailing" 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On the internet go to www.issuu.com and search for "Clipper Race Crew Manual" and you can see everything that the crew members goes through. It's definitely the biggest insight (only 176 pages), if you want to go and do it.

So the race started on time from the end of the pier. Ellie and I pulled in the sheets and headed east on a fairly fast Beam Reach. For a while we were going as fast as the lead boat and don't know if it was us slowing or the fleet of Clippers getting up to speed, but watched them keep up with us and then start to pass. When you are sat on a Sprint 15 looking up at these boats, they are so large. The wind was 90 degrees to the fleet but many were keen to get there kites up, maybe not the best move as some

did or came close to broaching after getting passed the Mulberry Harbour. The sound of these large sails are unforgettable when they are lifted. Sandhoppers dream to grow up. We were joined by Club Lasers, Contenders, Sandhoppers and Hurricanes. It was worth not being at the start of club racing. Still, all good things come to an end and we returned to shore to dry off and start watching the fleet on the internet race tracker. I was able to go home and warm up, something that we can do. The Rainbow family and many other members went to St Katherine’s Dock and went on one of the Clippers (I am sure they could tell you more). If you look at their photos you will see that there is no such warm escape for a crew member sharing bunks around 30 days at a time, especially when sailing (very cold) in the Southern Oceans, lovely.

..but where’s my bunk? Now all I wanted was the opportunity to be in a photograph sailing next to one of these beasts. I have seen many photographs and each time I can say, "I was just out of shot". I found one, taken from the beach and we are a small dot against the large fleet of boats. I mentioned my son and cousin, where had they been, well they had managed to get in nearly every photo opportunity at the end of the pier, at one point talking to the crews whilst they sat on their Kayaks.

The Clippers are now on race number four, racing south of Australia from the South West around Tasmania towards Sydney. The fifth race takes them to China. Neil joins his boat for race six from China to Seattle, USA in March. He then goes on to finish the circumnavigation in Race 7 and 8 (the glory leg), being joined by another club member Elliotte Ashcroft. I am sure we all wish them good luck and they may just read this before they go. When Neil returns we hope he will come and visit us again to finish off the stories of their ventures at sea. Fair winds to them all. I will encourage everybody to be at the start in 2017. Hopefully it will still be at the end of Southend Pier. Although maybe you’re ready to get yourself on one of the Clippers for a ride of a lifetime. Paul Morgan

Warning: imagine if you will, the lowest form of red top gutter press; stories with unreliable sources mixed with poor journalistic research. Shady plots hatched on yacht club slipways, carelessly crafted with falsehoods and pure fantasy. Yep, it’s all here, and that sound you can hear is the editor of Newsbuoy scraping the very bottom of the TBYC barrel in a desperate attempt to fill the column inches. If I were you, I would turn to the next page where things are altogether less seedy but if you insist, here is a round up of the TBYC SUP season...

Where’s the water?

Basically, nothing much happened in our home area. Why, you may ask (as if you care!) Well, one of my dodgy sources, whom we shall call Peter Thompson told me it was one of the windiest summers on record, not wind strength but consistency, there were very few windless days which are the bread and butter type weather for long distance paddle boarding trips. On the plus side though, Toby Speller reported SUPs being used heavily during cadet week, mainly by competitive parents haranguing the kids with instructions whilst they were trying to enjoy the sailing! (I may have made that one up). So what else has happened? You may be wondering, what more rubbish can he possibly write? SURFING!! Yes that’s right, you can surf the waves on paddle boards - only thing is you need to go somewhere where there ARE waves. During the summer several of us went down to the West Country on our various holidays, including Rupert Snow [pictured below and left], the great, great grandfather of SUP. Oh, how we relished his detailed accounts of every single wave he so much as looked at, let alone attempted to surf. Gosh, the thrills and spills! The adoring crowds on the beach (i.e. his poor long suffering wife Linda) gasping at his astonishing prowess at falling off in every conceivable direction. He spent the entire summer holidays down there and returned with a five-second clip of himself actually surfing on a

Ride the, er...

wave that everyone else in the line-up rejected as being too small! With luck there should be a still taken from his video somewhere on this page, also there’s a picture of one of his more spectacular dismounts, whilst grimly holding on to his hat. In fact, Ru has told me he is so taken with SUP surfing, that one day, when Linda is out shopping, he’ll hang his old longboard on the living room wall as the focal point of the room, to remind him of the wasted decades trying to surf on it! As for me, I went to Devon and pulled off some incredible gymnastics: man and SUP welded together in total harmony with the wave face. Unfortunately I have no pictures of this, so you’ll have to take my word for it (ahem). The good news is you’ve now passed the low point of this Newsbuoy edition, the other stories are bound to be more inspirational and uplifting. Well done, you. Cheers, Chris

Bar opening times

Once again, it’s time to share with you the exploits of the cruiser section’s summer season! First, here’s Nigel Campling cruising in the Channel Islands with in his yacht “Dutch Courage of Cowes”.

Colin Keeling continued his Baltic cruising in his yacht “Topaz” which is now out of the water in Stockholm ready for winter. (The Baltic sailing season is shorter than ours).

Nigel Campling, just off the coast at St. Peter Port

John and Nesta Williams tackled the tricky entrance of Le Touquet in France with their yacht Southerly Gem to become the first visitors of 2015 to the marina at Etaples. They don’t get many visitors because of the tricky entrance!

Topaz in Stockholm

Arriving in Etaples

High and dry in Le Touquet..

The TBYC “Holland Cruise 2015” came about immediately after Cadet week when two TBYC yachts based at Fambridge Yacht Haven Summer Solstice owned by Michael and Mary Lloyd; Southerly Gem and the charter yacht Mojito from Nieuwpoort in Belgium, crewed by Howard and Bev Warrington, discovered they were all going to the same places at the same time! A great time, mostly involving food and drink was had in Nieuwpoort, then onto Oostende, Middelburg, Kortgene, Goes, Willemstad, Bruinisse and Zierikzee along with several island stops around Zeeland where we swam and paddleboarded. Several cadets were on the trip too, so well done to Tommy Waiting for a bridge lift on the Walcherengracht! Holmes, Alex and Ben Warrington, and Matt and Katy Lloyd for taking part.

The Raymond at Bradwell

Hylton and Gaynor Thompson sailed the East Coast in their yacht “The Raymond” out of Bradwell Marina this year. They also made a trip to St Katherine’s Dock marina in London as mentioned in Paul Morgan’s article elsewhere in this edition.

The cruiser section events, both sailing and social, are mostly arranged on Tuesday evenings at the Club. It’s what we call our Noggin and Natter but it’s a normal club night, so come along some time and see what goes on. And don’t forget to look out for our social activities advertised on the cruiser notice board or the club website. John Williams Rear Commodore (Cruising)

Graham Herve and I have had a wonderful time with family and friends this season. Day sails, fishing trips and weekends away have been fantastic fun. Learning the ropes, buying new sails, dodging buoys, trying not to get stuck on the mud too often, Kent side, enjoying the kind hospitality of the Medway sailing club, filming the Seals in the Swale River, drinking too many beers at Queenborough, trying to row against the tide at the concrete hard at the Harty Ferry Pub, pulling stranded sailors in a tiny fishing boat off the mud and enjoying the quaint streets at Upnor... just a few of the Kentish delights. We recently made a heading for Conyer Creek, at the east end of the Swale river, crossing the Thames at 7am in thick fog, light winds and it was an experience that I shall not forget.

We came across this floating caravan, but the Top Gear presenters were nowhere to be seen

With huge tankers at anchor appearing from the gloom, we slowly motored across the shipping lane on the falling tide, only to confronted by a motoring tanker coming from the west. We changed course quickly and all was well. “Those things are moving faster than you think”... I’ve heard that many times. It’s been a huge and most enjoyable learning curve for me, having being in the past crew, suddenly to be the skipper in effect, I’m learning fast! 2016... who knows? Maybe Australia... Nick Cotgrove

Having just sailed Bartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bash at the time of writing, that's the end of my season this year. It has been a pretty good year in the Sandhopper class. There has been some fantastic close racing throughout the field, everyone giving it their all wherever they are in the fleet. My favourite was being one of four boats near the back of the fleet, all within a second of each other on the line in a very close-fought finish. Our club Sandhopper Primo was sailed in anger for the first time this year, and has been both raced and cruised several times. Thanks again to Peter Thompson for all the work he did to get Primo ready instead of preparing his own boat. Once launched Peter took it out early on in the season and showed that although it's not the best equipped boat in the fleet, it can still be up there in the right hands! Feedback has been great from the sailors using it and we plan to carry out further upgrades over the winter to make it easier to rig and sail in 2016. Both Tripod and Sandpiper changed hands last winter with Matt and Liz renaming Tripod as Disco Inferno and Mick Ragan is the new owner of Sandpiper. Welcome to the Sandhopper fleet! In July five Sandhoppers (with Chris in his Hawk) headed out on the early morning tide to sail to the Red Sands forts. We had a great day out accompanied by Paul Farrell's cruiser and Martin Swindon's RIB. Although we didn't get ashore for a pint at Queenborough we did join Paul and Lisa along with first mate Tony Padbury on the cruiser for a late lunch washed down by a beer before sailing back to TBYC in time for the club racing on the late tide. Thanks again to Martin for giving up his sailing to

support us and to Paul for providing the ladies with "facilities". The Sandhopper Nationals took place at TBYC in September with, twentysix boats taking part including a visitor from Maylandsea and our own Gary and Tracey Haylett in club boat Primo. Tom Dayes had trailered SH15 Emma down from Maylandsea and launched with great aplomb on Friday, only to have his rudder bracket fail before the first race forcing him to retire before he started. Showing much determination Tom managed to get it welded at Dauntless and was back on the water for Sunday's races.

Tony and Paul

Paul and Allen

After the first day there were three contenders emerging for the title all with equal points. Rupert and Peter Snow in Zeus took the first race, with Allen Burrell and Paul Beasley in Obsession taking the second while close on their heels Peter Thompson and Paul Dell in Prey took two seconds. On the second day Obsession took another first in the third race with Zeus and Prey falling away slightly, leaving Allen and Paul just needing Zeus to not finish first in the final race for them to pick up the trophy. Allen showed Rupert a few tricks he'd picked up from his mate Ben, and it was in the bag. So well done to Allen and Paul who are Sandhopper National Champions for a second time. Thanks to all who supported the weekend and to Hyde Sails for their support with prizes. There will be a full report in the next Sandhopper Newsletter shortly! Mark Robinson SH26 Cracker

Comments by Sara Speller, Outgoing Social Secretary

It’s been another fantastic year for TBYC’s social calendar, as these pictures show. The Club operates a programme of all-year round entertainment, and there’s always something for everyone. There really is no better way to spend a Saturday night in Thorpe Bay!

“In June we held our usual Annual Ball, this year’s theme being ‘Vintage Hollywood’. Everyone embraced the theme and looked absolutely wonderful.”

We have seen regular musical appearances from Jason West and Wildwood Jack. We may see them returning, Jason more regular as he has joined the club with his family.

“In May we held a free wine tasting evening for members which was very well attended and we really were spoilt with the array of wines on offer! The wines voted as the best on the night became our new wine list.”

Oliver Tabor put on a brilliant magic show, doing both close-up magic and a more flamboyant stage show. “Members of all ages came along (including some of our older cadets) and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.”

“Last year the General Committee agreed that we should hold some free entertainment nights for the members roughly once a month on a Saturday evening when there is no club event or private bookings. So far we have had four – they have all been very well attended.” More of these are being arranged for 2016.

So don’t forget to support your favourite Club again in 2016. Even those of us who aren’t sailors can enjoy the benefits of belonging to TBYC all year round - a warm welcome is always assured! Share your pics of TBYC events - we’d love to use them in a future Newsbuoy! Use the hashtag #lovetbyc on your favourite social network!

give better thermal and acoustic qualities. The white finish looks great without any holes left by drawing pins, hopefully we can keep it that way. We have a new PA system installed too, with speakers sunk into the ceiling tiles which enable us to switch off the speakers in each bar independently, thanks to Paul Morgan. The building exterior has been repainted and now the decorators have moved onto the interior. Hopefully all will be nearly completed by the time you read this. In recent Newsbuoy editions I have reported on the re-wiring of the clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s electrics, the Gentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; changing rooms redecorated, the renewal of the flat roofs, refreshed balconies and new heating boilers for the upstairs. The last of these, our treasurer is pleased to report, is saving the club money, just in this first year.

Well, I have enjoyed my three years as house representative but feel it is time to pass the job on to someone else and so this will be my final Newsbuoy article - for now! So from me, a huge thank you to all the members who have During my term as House Representative, with the help of an army of committee members too numerous to name, we have achieved a great deal and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for the support I have received. Among the most recent of these achievements are the recently replaced ceiling in both the Commodoreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Main bars which

helped tirelessly in keeping our club and grounds ship shape at the work parties, and a special thank you to Barbara and her team for supplying endless tea, coffee and biscuits whatever the weather. Rob Bailey Outgoing House Representative

I have to thank Rob for all the improvements that have been completed over the last few years. But I am glad to say it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop as he leaves us. The decorating will be completed, refreshing the whole public space on the first floor. The Commodoreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bar will have a slightly different theme to the Main bar. I will continue with the decorating sub-committee that have been running with the project to deliver floor and window covering, something that we hope will be able to stay in good condition for the next 15 years. It has been over fifteen years since Alan Willis and his committee spent time with the internal decor that has lasted us well. Things unfortunately have just now started to wear which allows us now to add a modern flair, but keeping some of the past. I look forward to all your help at the work parties, the first of these is scheduled for Saturday 2nd April. I know we need the help from everybody, and by working together we can deliver more before we start the new sailing season. Anybody visiting will be able to see us at our best. In the next few months I would like to be able to take the opportunity to have a drink with you at the newly refurbished bar, knowing that it has been a job completed well. Anthony Blower House Representative

We introduced the ‘New Cadet Racing’ and training this season to bridge the gap between Pico and full adult racing. The races included a Cadet buoy as the windward mark, shortening them to about 50 minutes, just right for our upand-coming young Thorpe Bay sailors. The results were then sub-divided, awarding a Junior and a Senior trophy, giving all ages a chance of winning a prize. The coaching team (John Laliberte, Nick Elmore, Howard Warrington and myself) supported the youngsters with a briefing before the race and from a Rib on the water, helping them to feel confident and secure. We would like to build on the success of this year and extend this further next season. Congratulation to all those who took part including the prize winners: TBYC Cadet Series (Senior) 2015 1st Teddy Elmore sailing in a Laser 2nd Greg Watson sailing in a Laser TBYC Cadet Series (Junior) 2015 1st Charlie Elmore sailing in a RS Tera 2nd Nathan Sands and Alex Paxman sailing in a Pico We also introduced the Junior Bart’s Bash this year with a good turnout of ten boats. After a short briefing the Cadets were off the beach sailing to the committee boat with the adults for a mass start. I remember saying to them that they should not be worried about the number of boats on the start line, but to just do their best. Well, I didn’t need to worry; there they were on the line, ready to reap the reward of clean air. The conditions could not have been better for our light crews with medium winds and sunshine, leading to some good racing. The winners were: 1st Charlie Elmore sailing in a RS Tera 2nd Henry Petty-Mayor and Lara Noden sailing in a Pico As the season was coming to a close, the Cadets needed to defend their title as 2014 champions of the Interclub Team Race, Cadet Class. The silver cup with its unusual three-handled design was first awarded in 1926. This year, the race was hosted by Thames Estuary Yacht Club and we entered our TBYC Cadet team; Peter Snow, Millie and Vicky Little, Greg Watson and Jacob Allard. Three Lasers and a RS200 left the shore in challenging condition on 27th September and were escorted around the pier to the start line. In an increasing wind the team prepared their starts and took their positions. Millie and Vicky in their RS200 made an excellent start leading the Cadets at the windward mark. Meanwhile, Peter was steadily moving up the fleet, taking the lead by the end of the race. Greg and Jacob also performed well and as a team retaining their title, as Interclub Team Race, Cadet Class champions for the second year running. There is no doubt that we have many competent and talented Cadets at our club. We also have many up-and-coming youngsters, who can enjoy getting involved with our dedicated Cadet racing and training home and away. Next year, we hope to have even more opportunities for our Cadets to enjoy the excitement and challenges of being competitive at a club where we really want to support our young sailors. Nick Alston

This year Cadet Week blew... and the spectacularly breezy conditions were thoroughly enjoyed by all in Shark Group! The early racing on Monday was relished by all and rivalries established as Shark chased hard on Shark. It became clear on day one that we had a competent and suitably gungho group capable enough to attempt pretty much anything - which was just as well as we were all going to be asked a lot by the weather on Tuesday! We gathered under a threatening sky, promising squally winds that would push just beyond 30mph before we would reach the safety of the Island Yacht Club. Naysayers gathered at the top of the slip with dire forecasts of doom. Accounts of Southern Ocean-style disasters were shared to enlighten the Shark community, but fortunately most teenagers know not to listen to adults on the whole and the stalwart Sharks remained un-fazed. The water was warm, the wind was onshore and we had three rescue boats and the trusty hulls of SS4, as well as a keen desire to get to Canvey for the traditional overnight camp, which would definitely not have felt the same without the sail to get there! Sensible decisions were made by some with extreme boats (including the RS500 and the Contender) who then jumped onto other boats, or supported the rescue crews. We arrived off Canvey to find the whole of Essex YC cadet fleet having tea on the lawn leaving very little space on the cramped pontoon. Fortunately the TBYC Sharks knew what to

do and ‘helped’ move some boats (accidently letting one drift off) so very soon the Essex cadets got the message and were waving farewell to us as they returned to the safety of their mothership HQS Wilton. A massive thank you to everyone at Island Yacht Club for their fantastic hospitality, particularly Sheila, who once again fed us all until we were, in naval terms literally ‘back teeth awash’! As the cadets awoke from a long and dreamfilled sleep (why are they called sleep-overs?) they found their dinghies, the ribs and SS4 had been moved by magic (no... that would be by the hand of sleep-deprived adults) to the Ray. After breakfast, striking camp and saying farewell, we set off to reunite ourselves with our craft. The walk out to the Ray over the salt marshes (which provided a tasty snack

for some), across cockle-shell banks and turgid mudflats intersected with small but slippery streams (was hot and steamy in the warmth of a wonderful day. Finally we flopped into the Ray to cool off and spent the next few hours paddleboarding, windsurfing, sailing and doughnutting. Food arrived on the south bank of the Ray having been walked out along the causeway from Toulouse by three intrepid natives, who looked a lot more native by the time they returned, chased home by a rapidly rising spring tide. After lunch we watched the seals slide off the shrinking sandbanks, hopped back into dinghies, deflated the paddleboards and the doughnut and set off for the long sail home. It is true to say that it was an exhausted group that arrived back at the TBYC slip, but boats were landed and stowed efficiently by the

Sharks and the beaming smiles told the story. Thursday saw more localised races completed and an exciting Sharks conclusion to the series. Friday saw other groups join in for the ‘End of Week’ race, the results of which are still awaiting compilation onto HALS. This will be resolved soon and the presentation will take place at the TBYC prize giving. Every one of the splendid cadets in Shark group tackled every challenge with enthusiasm and determination. I was consistently impressed by the whole group - you really proved to be the best of the best! There is a huge list of adults, without whom it would simply not have been possible to accomplish what we did and experience the splendid experiences we shared. So thanks to Peter Thompson (Wetsuit Outlet) for the stand-up paddleboards, windsurfers, prizes, sponsorship - and some seriously invaluable advice on the estuary West of the pier; to Barry and Mick Duce for their invaluable support on the water and advice on all things pertaining to IYC and the intricacies of Smallgains Creek; John Laliberte for his encouraging enthusiasm, advice, SS4 handling and Canvey. Our eternal gratitude also to Simon Boygle and Adrian Bunting for brilliantly manning SS8, Canvey support, sleep loss and support boats, advice, energy and enthusiasm! Nick Elmore and various crew with for highly effective support in his own RIB; Vicky Casson, for all her support on the Island, sleep deprivation and help on SS4; Alex Watson and Alex Warrington – support boat / cool / fast / sunglasses. By no means least thanks also to Linda Snow, Debbie Kilkelly, Lee Watson, Amanda Laliberte and Karen Shields, our race officers and friendly natives. Lastly, thanks to the weather. Whatever you think, ‘tis better to need to take in a reef than to burn your lips whistlin’ for the wind!’

Stingrays

We had our biggest Stingray group ever this year, with 63 cadets enjoying windy conditions throughout the week. The wind was predominantly southerly, which didn’t help the children getting off the beach. We had fun as always with various beach games and even had Mr Collis, the local minister from St Augustine’s Church, judge our Compass in the Sand competition looking splendid in his cream linen suit and Panama hat! The model boat race this year was the closest finish in years. This involved adults (some of the children also got involved) designing and building model sailing craft out of bits and bobs given to them. They then had to let them sail under their own steam over a straight course and first to finish was the winner, lots of cheering and great fun! The Stingray Treasure Hunt was fun packed with lots of squirty foam, nasty things to eat and lots of clues spread around the beach. The big race of the week was the Le Mans race, which was won by Matt Rainbow’s black team.

Sullivan families for lending us their Oppies for the week which allowed us to have two boats in each group. A big thanks to Pete Thompson for donating the brilliant paddle boards, which allowed the team helpers to coach the cadets from. Well done also to Jack Morgan for helping out everyday on the beach. Mike and Janet looked after us and kept us safe all week on Sea Safe 7. As Cadet Rep I would also like to thank everyone involved in making Cadet Week 2015 a success. We had 157 Cadets this year and I would like to say a big thank you to the Cadet Committee: Rupert Snow, Penny Allard, Scott Weller, Matt Waters, Toby Speller, Liz Moody and Garry Ellis. Thanks also to Donna and her team behind the bar, Steve and team for feeding us, including Maddie and Zak; the Lloyds, Elmores and Swindons for the Ribs; Nick Cotgrove for the use of his cruiser and all the Guard boat crews who volunteered throughout the week. The Club cleaners are in fact always the unsung heroes, and all the extra work they have to do, it is much appreciated. Thanks also to Annie Stapleton, Dan Bailey, Paul Morgan, Amy Duce and all who helped out with taking the photos and producing the photo discs. Thanks to everyone who helped Liz run the activity night on Tuesday and all who volunteered for a duty such as the Bosun’s Hut and road crossing. I would also like to thank Kyle Stoneman for supplying the clothing and all the sponsors who supported Cadet Week this year, including Strategic Network Consulting, Wetsuit Outlet, Honeycomb Nisa, RDP Newmans, Johnson Gillies Ltd, Harrison Holgate Insurance, Merenda Insurance, Jerry Bell Hairdressers, Robinsons Solicitors, Dedman Gray and The On Crowd. Matt Waters does a great job every year in generating local sponsorship, which helps maintain, purchase and replace vital cadet equipment. A final big thank you to my own family for all the help and support they gave me, and hope you all had as much fun as I did.

The highlight of every day still seems to be the ever popular Cork Race. I am very aware of being lynched if I ever forgot! The paddle board race involves the children running along six unstable paddleboards held in the water and trying to get the whole team to the end in the fastest time, which is always entertaining to watch. The fire engine turned up on Thursday and we had great fun sliding down the grass bank on a very wet plastic sheet and a lot of water from the firefighter’s hoses. The overall winning team this year was Blue team by just 2 points with Green team coming a close second. The 2015 Stingray most improved Cadet was Henry Duddridge, well done Henry and all who took part in the Stingray group this year. Thanks also to all the parents who helped out and especially the Gillies and

After 12 wonderful years in the Stingray group and over three as Cadet Representative, I stood down at the AGM in November and thank Jeremy Sandford for taking over, it is a fantastically rewarding role within the Club. Many thanks for all your support over the years. Mark Petty-Mayor

Piranhas

Piranha Group had a challenging week this year with a very breezy start to the week! Sharks and Barracudas may well have woken up saying “Yippee it’s windy”, but for us in Piranhas, it was more a case of “Ooooh, that looks interesting!” However, aided by some excellent instructors, including our extremely able senior cadets, everyone got out sailing every day and came back smiling. We saw some real improvements over the week, and by Friday everybody was out sailing without an instructor on board. This year, all the instructors were armed with water pistols to focus concentration, but as the cadets improved, they too were awarded water pistols and were able to get their revenge. This led to some serious weapons arriving for Friday when we took on Barracudas to capture the rafts! There were a few who deserved a special mention over the week, Robyn Murdoch and Heidi Edwards won the award for the most tows during the week, after they were dismasted on Tuesday and then had no wind at all on Wednesday and Laurence Prince helmed his pico with an adult as crew during the exceptionally windy weather on Tuesday. We had a fantastic week and sailed to Halfway for icecreams, had a trip to the Mulberry on the RIBs and learnt how to race too. The leaders race was won this year by Ollie Ellis and the

This was my second year as Barracuda Leader with a total of 40 children and 20 boats. Monday and Tuesday brought strong winds which tested all of the group’s sailing skills, to which they all did very well. I was even more impressed and proud on Tuesday when all of the group turned up and wanted to sail and once again they were excellent.

Barracudas

The Wednesday brought nicer weather so we did something new and raced to the Mulberry and back then continued with some short racing including a race to Halfway Beach for ice creams. Thursday again was great sailing weather for us and started the day with some very good and impressive racing followed by the Seamanship Race to which all boats and crews finished, well done. The winning crew this year was Henry Petty-Mayor and Alex Downer, well sailed boys. Also on this day there was a rumour that I fell off our Committee Boat - I’d like

Piranha trophy was won by Harriet Turbin and Kate Williams. 2nd place was taken by Joe May and Toby Goddard with 3rd place going to Megan Driscoll and Samantha Edwards. We were extremely well looked after by the crew in the beach hut, who made endless cups of tea, coffee and hot chocolate, whilst giving the Great British Bake Off a run for its money with a constant supply of homemade cakes. In fact, I think next year we need an additional trophy for the Great Beach Hut Bake Off! All in all, it was an amazing week and I look forward to more fun on the water next year! Penny

to clarify was true and I hadn’t even been drinking as the kids kept pointing out! All the Barracudas were supposed to enter the End of Week race on the Friday, but due to light winds I decided to only enter four boats, sailed by Nathan Sands, Alex Paxman, Charlie Elmore, Ollie Grant, Katy Lloyd, Lara Noden, Max Stapleton and Daniel Smith all of whom finished with the top Barracuda crew being Nathan and Alex. Well done guys. With the rest of the group we loaded up the Ribs and motored out to the Mulberry where the kids had great fun swimming and jumping off. Overall winners this year were Charlie Elmore and Ollie Grant. Good sailing, lads. The winning group was the Red team and finally the most improved Barracudas went to Max Stapleton and Daniel Smith whose improvements were progressive throughout the entire week. Once again a massive thanks goes out to all of the unspoken heroes without whom Cadet Week would undeniably able to proceed, their time and efforts I will be always be extremely grateful for: Graham Slack, George Warrington, Andy Noden, Nick Cotgrove, Jenny Epps, Sue Boygle, Rosie and Katy Weller, Laura Cotgrove, Ben Stapleton and Bev Warrington One final thanks to Nick Cotgrove for the loan of his yacht all week as our Committee Boat; and to Martin Swindon and Michael Lloyd for the loan of their Ribs. Scott Weller

Hopefully your off-season maintenance is progressing well, with decks getting sanded and hulls getting scrubbed. Those of you planning to wait until the last minute should note that due to an early Easter, Sandhopper lift-in will be on the 19th March this year, with the season kicking off on the 25th with the Spencer Cup. I expect to see much activity in the boat park come early March! Regatta This year’s TBYC regatta will be held from Saturday 28th to Monday 30th May. Following a recce at last year’s event, I’m delighted to report that we have been contacted by the Lightning class event’s organiser. He has requested permission to run their Saltwater championships in conjunction with our even. Consequently, the Lightnings will join the slow monohulls on the start line for our normal schedule of races. Remember, our annual regatta is free to enter for both TBYC members and sailors from other clubs. Please do invite your friends to join us for this event. Also remember that it’s an opportunity for classes that wouldn’t normally hold an open meeting at Thorpe Bay to stage a less formal event. Nationals and Open Meetings In addition to our usual busy sailing programme, we have scheduled four open meetings for the year. It is especially pleasing to invite the Hurricanes back for a second consecutive year. Clearly, our fantastic facilities, sailing waters and race management go a long way to promoting our club. Safety Boats You may already know but we have had Seasafe 8 (one of the original Olympic boats) for sale during the year, as the club has found it hard to launch and recover during heavy southerly swells. It could be a good boat for a few members to own (maybe as a group) that won't require it to be launched in all states. The details are on Apollo Duck, however if you call Janet, she will give you more information. In replacement we hope to purchase something similar to Seasafe 5 or 7, which have been demonstrated to be recoverable even without a tow, which would mean we are not dependant on a member with a vehicle and a tow bar being available. With this RIB change we have had a team of members that have been designing new trolleys that would be particularly good for hand recovery and creating plans that will allow them to be stored in the dinghy park. I will let you know how this progresses, although the main decision is with the Council. Many of the radios in the RIBS and the Displacement are being replaced as they have deteriorated over time. So this will be a noticeable improvement for the new season. A team led by John Casson and Toby Speller have been working on getting the Displacements and the Committee Boat into an operable state for when they get relaunched. I think the weather has been mild helping this work, however we would like to thank them for all the hours they have put in. Gary Burrows Rear Commodore (Racing)

Following a very successful Sprint 15 Nationals at Thorpe Bay in 2014, Mike Thomason and his company Sunripe offered to donate some trophies specifically for the Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sprints. This was very welcome as we have been within the club for as long as some classes and hadn't built up any trophies, apart from one that I carved from a nice piece of mahogany (some people may be correct when they say it was a doorstep) and is given out regularly to the Best Seasons Improver.

Many of our sailors are active racers but on a nice day often like to visit some other clubs for a Club Crawl. Many are within easy reach of us. In 2015 we visited Leigh Sailing Club and found the beach clear and the bar open in their converted station building. In fact any slow cat is invited especially as Nick Cotgrove purchased a Dart 16, he is always easy to see behind us (or in front, I think is depends on a downwind kite) with the big yellow hulls. My son, who used to crew for me, has now moved onto Kayaks but it was a surprise for all of us when he was seen paddling past the Wilton, home of the Essex Yacht Club. So he had joined us and a fair way to come, unfortunately the bad news for him was he had to go all the way back.

With over 35 Sprints within the club, some very good class racing can take place, so a new race series was created. This is over approximately ten Sunday races throughout the year and is named the "Sprint15 Sunripe Super Sunday Series" or, as youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see in the programme, "Sprint 5S". Twenty-one boats from our fleet raced during the year within the series.

Now I have returned as Sprint 15 Captain we have loads of plans for 2016, including Training, Racing, a TBYC Club Open in July but we will definitely be doing some Cruising, maybe even Kent this year.

There are some good second hand Sprint 15s for sale, and we look forward to people joining us that want to the fun of a Cat but maybe not the full excitement of a Hurricane. We want to have more fun sailing than the Cadets. Come and see me if you are interested.

Paul Morgan Sprint 15 and Slow Cat Captain

The silverware that was purchased is already several years old but is in fantastic condition, a little like many of our Sprint Sailors. A large cup being given to the winner of the series and who this year was Jim Bowie. A smaller cup "Endeavour Trophy" which is given to the person that has put the most in during the series and this year was won by Colin Rigg. Apart from the racing, the Sprint 15 is a reasonable good platform to go cruising around the Estuary on. I think it was Duncan Ford who termed the name "Cruising, Racing And Pottering" section several years ago. The acronym is humorous, however the aim is correct.

Just recently we have had a break from Woodfordes whilst we had some guest ales from Greene King, which included Gangly Ghoul, St. Edmunds and Elgoods CXXX. The ales currently on tap should be those with tasting notes here. We understand London Glory and Old Speckled Hen often have a similar following, so please let us know at the bar the one you prefer the most. Hopefully in 2016 we will see the return of Woodfordes Wherry as it was popular. It is nice to have an ale with a true dry hopped background that adds that delicate hop aroma. We continue to stock a wide range of draught lagers and bottled ciders, such as San Miguel, Fosters, Kronenbourg, Bulmers Original and Kopparberg Fruit. See you at the bar! â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Beer Hunterâ&#x20AC;?

12th December 2015

Michael Lloyd New Social Secretary

“Slipway” by Margaret Kennedy

I am proud to inform you that the following members have completed for Stage 1 and 2 this season: Stage 2 (April) Donna and Keith Gibbs , Zoe Jewell, Jenny Epps, Hannah Taylor, Steve Churchyard, Sarah, Emily and Archie Bagnall. Stage 1 (May) Calypso and Hector Bailey, Jerry and Adam Jones, Richard and William Green, Antonia Burrows, George Friday, Ethan Manning, Eleanor Herve, William and Sean Harman, Alex and Gary Stewart, Stan Ferris, Eleanor Johnson, Lydia Stevenson and Joe Frost. With members’ ages ranging from eight to 56, we have some entertaining and sometimes challenging days on the water! Again, the weather during the 2015 season was testing and a few days were lost due to high winds and inclement weather, but I know that this did not deter our instructors, with all the boxes being ticked at the end of the stages, which saw skills such as survival swim ashore (often in cold waters) first solo sail, and being under a capsized boat completed by the candidates with flying colours. The feedback that we get is always enthusiastic, and this is down to our band of patient and committed instructors, who give up their time to assist new members, to make sure the skills required are completed, and that the members are able to sail with control and confidence. So as ever I would like to extend my gratitude to our cadet and adult sailing instructors Sophie Boygle, Peter Snow, Garry and Oliver Ellis, Mike and Alex Thomason; Sam and Olivier Petty-Mayor, Teddy Elmore, Laura Cotgrove, Matt Lloyd, Scott Weller and Penny Allard.

Once each stage is completed, it’s important to put the new sailing skills to use, and race in the Pico series, as this is when you really start to learn and have fun, which of course is what it’s all about! If any of you think that you could give some time, and get involved in becoming a sailing instructor at TBYC, I would be pleased to discuss this very rewarding aspect of membership at our club with you. It gives you an opportunity to put something back into the club. Nick Cotgrove, Sail Training Officer nick.cotgrove@talktalk.net

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