Could all those cadets that won the following trophies at last year’s Cadet Week please return them either to me or Lorraine in the office.

Walley Cup
Eyre Cup
Dedman Most Improved Senior Shield
Waitrose Most Improved Junior Shield
Race Group Trophy
Elmore Seamanship Trophy
Stingray Le Mans Trophy

Many thanks.

Beverly Warrington

Chris and I are Duty Race Officers on Sunday 27 July and need to swap . We are available on any of the following dates

30 amd 31 August, 13 and 14 September, 27 and 28 September

30 Finns gathered at Thorpe Bay Yacht Club for this years’ National Championship and were greeted by sunshine and a light 6 knot breeze for Fridays first race.

The line up included some of the world’s top young Finn sailors in Giles Scott the current World Junior Champion, Jonathan Lobert the French Olympic reserve, recent European Junior Champion Mark Andrews and Mark Andrews from the Skandia Team GBR squad.

Scott soon mastered the fitful breeze, beating against the tide to secure the first win after Jonathan Lobert ( FRA) had lead for most of the race before making an error at the bottom leeward gate and had to unwind himself before re-rounding correctly.

Mark Andrews recovered from a slow start to finish in the top 10 but was ‘persuaded’ by the race officer that it might be better to retire when he was spotted without a lifejacket aboard.

Club sailor Simon Hoult from Weston SC was the first of the non-Olympic sailors with a very impressive 4^th, followed by local ace Allen Burrell in 5^th. Just to prove that you can just jump in a modern Finn and be fast, Martin Binnendijk from the host club came 6^th in a borrowed boat and showed good speed upwind. Continue Reading »

Notice of Races and Sailing Instructions for the Thorpe Bay Yacht Club Regatta 2008 below.

TBYC Regatta NOR 2008 [PDF File]

TBYC Regatta SIs 2008 [PDF File]

In 2008, the Sprint 15 una-rig National Championships are being held at Thorpe Bay Yacht Club, in the warm waters of sunny Southend-on-Sea. It is a special year for the Sprints because 2008 is the 30th anniversary of the boat and it is also the 60th anniversary of Thorpe Bay Yacht Club.

We have every reason to celebrate. Not only do we have a versatile boat, we continue to have strength in numbers. Being such a significant anniversary, a big entry is in prospect. This is a fitting tribute to all those that have contributed to our growth over thirty years.

It is also fitting that Thorpe Bay is hosting these Nationals. TBYC has a fleet of 24 boats and has become a major club for Sprints. It is good to be recognised in this way, especially as there is going to be a high local entry.

A special programme of events has been planned, as you will see below. We are celebrating our 30th anniversary and encouraging the younger sailors to take part by offering free entry to Sprint 15 Association members who are under 23 and in full-time education provided they pre-enter. Continue Reading »

Last weekend on the Saturday, three Hurricanes from the club turned up for a blast at Stone SC. Pete Sherwin lent his boat, to help out an Irish crew who flew in specially for the open. Just shows how dedicated some sailors are for a good pint and a fleet of 22 boats to race against. Chris Hull and Mark narrowly beat Pete and myself in the second race by crossing the finish line upside down while we limped home with no Tramp to speak off after a capsize. The weather was the usual, high winds with gusts up to 30 odd kts and lots of damage to the fleet. Andy Webb was rubbing his hands with glee but has offered to come to the club for a training weekend, to again show how it should be done and give tips to all cat sailors, further on that later. I hadn’t realized how bad it was till hitting the beach when we were greeted with half the fleet already home sorting out and repairing boats. the last race off the day was canceled. Continue Reading »

Hi all, yet another frustrating day in the dingy park waiting for the wind to drop still 30 – 40knt gusts!!!!

Only to have the second day cancelled again.

All I can say is that the race officers had it right. As some of the good guys decided to take the bladeridder FX demo boat out for a sail this lasted approx 3 mins before the boat spectacularly folded up!!!

Moths obviously don’t sail in 30knts!!!

Hoping for some racing tommorrow

keep you updated Steve

The Hornet is a fast spinnaker and trapeze dingy and the class usually get 30 or so boats at their National meeting.

The Hornet National meeting this year is on 10th to 15 August 2008 at Stone SC on the Blackwater ( only 45 minutes drive from Thorpe Bay).

If anyone is available and interested in crewing with me for that week, please contact me on:

Graham Dare 07946 413923 or [email protected]

A big thank you to all those who assisted with the Finn Nationals this weekend. 

A number of people took a day’s holiday on Friday to ensure things ran smoothly.  Yesterday we had the added ingredient of a particularly strong onshore breeze making launching and recovery a tricky affair for boats with fixed rudders. 

Particular heroes were Samantha Husk, Robin Foster-Taylor, Barry Duce, Paul Farrell, Keith Persin, Kevin & Lesley Iles, Theresa Ryall, Martyn Ellis and Glen Ratcliffe, all of whom at times were neck-deep assisting Finns launching or catching them before they hit the beach.  Many others helped with trolleys and hauling boats over the shingle.

I would also like to pay tribute to all those who responded to our emergency with slick efficiency.  I’m pleased to say I saw him later in the day looking much better than he was when he was brought ashore.

A big thank-you to all involved in the running of the Finn Nationals,without your support we couldnt run this type of event.

Thank you

Spratty