Yourpassion Yourfriends Yourmagazine YourTBYC

The magazine of Thorpe Bay Yacht Club www.tbyc.org • Edition 13 • Winter 2015

Beverly WarringtonCommodore

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I thought I would write to introduce myself to you all. Some of you may already knowme through my children, some of you through my husband Howard, and some mayhave 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 helpout on the rescue boats, whilst watching Howard sail. We then moved away for acouple of years and re-joined in 1999 when my eldest son, George, was 5 and wasasked to go sailing by John and Chris Richards (George is now 21!). He then got thesailing “bug” and was joined later by his two brothers out on the water. As I seemedto be permanently at the Club I decided to take on the task of Cadet Rep, which I heldfor three years. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in this role and got to meet a lot moremembers.

My background is in administration and I worked in London for many years as a PAfor a loss adjusting company, until I left to have my children. I am currently employedat Southend Wheelchair Service part-time as an administrator.

I have been travelling thecountry for the past eightyears following my sons onthe cadet fleet and havehad the opportunity tovisit many yacht and sailingclubs. It is alwaysinteresting to see howother clubs run andhopefully this knowledgewill help me in my newrole. Two of my childrenhave now left home to goto university, so I have timeon my hands and madethe rather mad decision torun for Commodore!

I have some very big shoes to fill, looking at the names on the board of the pastCommodores. I am looking forward to the challenge of being the first LadyCommodore 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 areall volunteers and if you would like to help out around the club or have any greatideas 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 HappyNew Year and good sailing for 2016.

Keep warm on the water!

Beverly WarringtonCommodore

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CommodoreBeverly Warrington

Vice Commodore Michael Lloyd

Rear Commodore RacingGary Burrows

Rear Commodore CruisingJohn Williams

TreasurerTony Padbury

Cadet Rep • Jeremy SandfordHouse Rep • Anthony Blower

Sail Training Officer • Nick Cotgrove Social Rep • Michael Lloyd

Sailing Secretary • John CassonMembership Officer • Will Daly

Honorary Secretary • Margaret KennedySecretary • Janet Willsmer

Dinghy Park Rep • Robert MangingSupport 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 MorganSandhoppers • Mark Robinson

Picos • Andras GalFast Mono • Paul BeasleyAlbacores • John Payne

Fevas • Nick AlstonRace Results • Graham Dare Newsbuoy • Paul Morgan

We’re always looking for photosfor this magazine and the annualRacing Calendar. Earlier in theyear we announced a photocompetition, and here are someof our favourite entries. Thewinner was Rupert Snow’s

“Sandhoppers at Rest” [above].Please continue to send yourphotos in to secretary@tbyc.org.

Unfortunately the 801ft powerstation chimney on the Isle ofGrain that we know so well and is

in the back of Rupert’s photo isbeing demolished in 2016. A new,more efficient power station hasbeen built on the site. Maybe ifwe find out that actual date, wecan sit on the balcony and watchit disappear.

Kingsnorth Power Station(opposite Canvey at Hoo StWerburgh) holds the record forthe tallest chimney in the UK at850ft and is due to bedemolished in 2017.

AArree yyoouu aa ssnnaappppeerr??

YourCommittee

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It was a wet andmoderately windy BankHoliday Monday (nosurprise) and although Ihad promised mydaughter that we wouldsail to the start of theClipper 2015-16 race at the

end of the pier, I am not one to want to getwet (rain soaked) - funny, when my hobbyis sailing - and was losing interest. She hadhowever talked me into going and my sonwas now kayaking out with my cousin,who has recently joined TBYC.

As I set up the boat, I watched NickCotgrove who was going to join us on hisDart 16 leaving with a decision to walk tothe end of the pier, my mind could still bechanged. A year ago the race had startedon a workday Monday and so there wasless interest and I had also walked to theend of the pier, although when I watchedthen I felt that it would have been nice ifthe Estuary could be more like the Solent,where there would be plenty of supporton the water.

These 70ft Clippers, capable of 35 knots,were only just being sailed for a secondcircumnavigation, having replaced somesmaller ones that had previously beenused. The design, reasonably technical forthe crew, many who generally come withno previous experience of sailing. To be fairthey all pay a lot for the experience andmust do the mandatory training course atjust over £10,000 but I think this does alsoinclude some appropriate clothing whichthey will then use on their journey. Manydo not go right around the world but justjoin for legs at around £8,000 each. If youare mad enough to go all the way, thepackage is in excess of £45,000 (I think youget a discount).

Neil Hurrell, a friend of Thorpe Bay YachtClub, came to us at the club soon after thestart, to tell us about his experiences so farin the training and run up events in St.Katherine’s Dock. He was sporting aClipper Crew jacket that, in a way, he hadpaid a lot for, but to have one you have tobe in the race. Neil did so well at thetraining (26 days, 23 on the water) and withhis sailing experience, he was asked to dothe extra Watch Leaders unit which willallow him to take over from the Skipper.He spoke about the family life he had beengiving up to do it, although his wife joinedus and is supporting his dream. One of hisshocks was all the clothes and sundries he

has to pack into the smallest of bags forsuch a long period. He was definitelygetting a buzz from the experience...maybe for many of our own clubmembers it’s a dream for to be able toeat, sleep and drink "sailing" 24 hours aday, 7 days a week.

On the internet go to www.issuu.comand search for "Clipper Race CrewManual" and you can see everythingthat the crew members goes through.It's definitely the biggest insight (only176 pages), if you want to go and do it.

So the race started on time from the endof the pier. Ellie and I pulled in thesheets and headed east on a fairly fastBeam Reach. For a while we were goingas fast as the lead boat and don't knowif it was us slowing or the fleet ofClippers getting up to speed, butwatched them keep up with us andthen start to pass. When you are sat ona Sprint 15 looking up at these boats,they are so large.

The wind was 90 degrees to the fleetbut many were keen to get there kitesup, maybe not the best move as some

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did or came close to broaching after gettingpassed the Mulberry Harbour. The sound ofthese large sails are unforgettable whenthey are lifted. Sandhoppers dream to growup. We were joined by Club Lasers,Contenders, Sandhoppers and Hurricanes. Itwas worth not being at the start of clubracing.

Still, all good things come to an end and wereturned to shore to dry off and startwatching the fleet on the internet racetracker. I was able to go home and warmup, something that we can do. TheRainbow family and many other memberswent to St Katherine’s Dock and went onone of the Clippers (I am sure they could tellyou more). If you look at their photos youwill see that there is no such warm escapefor a crew member sharing bunks around30 days at a time, especially when sailing(very cold) in the Southern Oceans, lovely.

Now all I wanted was theopportunity to be in a photographsailing next to one of these beasts.I have seen many photographsand each time I can say, "I wasjust out of shot". I found one,taken from the beach and weare a small dot against thelarge fleet of boats. Imentioned my son andcousin, where had theybeen, well they hadmanaged to get innearly every photoopportunity at theend of the pier, atone point talkingto the crewswhilst they saton theirKayaks.

The Clippers are now on race number four,racing south of Australia from the SouthWest around Tasmania towards Sydney. Thefifth race takes them to China. Neil joins hisboat for race six from China to Seattle, USA in

March. He then goes on to finish thecircumnavigation in Race 7 and 8 (the

glory leg), being joined by anotherclub member Elliotte Ashcroft. I

am sure we all wish them goodluck and they may just readthis before they go. WhenNeil returns we hope he willcome and visit us again tofinish off the stories oftheir ventures at sea.Fair winds to them all.

I will encourageeverybody to be atthe start in 2017.Hopefully it will stillbe at the end ofSouthend Pier.Although maybeyou’re ready to getyourself on one ofthe Clippers for a rideof a lifetime.

Paul Morgan

..but where’s my bunk?

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Warning: imagine if you will, the lowest form of red top gutterpress; stories with unreliable sources mixed with poor journalisticresearch. Shady plots hatched on yacht club slipways, carelesslycrafted with falsehoods and pure fantasy. Yep, it’s all here, andthat sound you can hear is the editor of Newsbuoy scraping thevery bottom of the TBYC barrel in a desperate attempt to fill thecolumn inches. If I were you, I would turn to the next page wherethings are altogether less seedy but if you insist, here is a round upof the TBYC SUP season...

Basically, nothing much happened in our home area. Why, youmay ask (as if you care!) Well, one of my dodgy sources, whomwe shall call Peter Thompson told me it was one of the windiestsummers on record, not wind strength but consistency, there were

very few windless days which are the bread and butter typeweather for long distance paddle boarding trips. On the plusside though, Toby Speller reported SUPs being used heavilyduring cadet week, mainly by competitive parents haranguingthe kids with instructions whilst they were trying to enjoy thesailing! (I may have made that one up).

So what else has happened? You may be wondering, whatmore rubbish can he possibly write?

SURFING!! Yes that’s right, you can surf the waves on paddleboards - only thing is you need to go somewhere where thereARE waves. During the summer several of us went down tothe West Country on our various holidays, including RupertSnow [pictured below and left], the great, great grandfatherof SUP. Oh, how we relished his detailed accounts of everysingle wave he so much as looked at, let alone attempted tosurf. Gosh, the thrills and spills! The adoring crowds on thebeach (i.e. his poor long suffering wife Linda) gasping at hisastonishing prowess at falling off in every conceivable

direction. He spent the entire summer holidays down there andreturned with a five-second clip of himself actually surfing on a

Where’s the water?

77

wave that everyone else in the line-up rejected asbeing too small! With luck there should be a stilltaken from his video somewhere on this page,also there’s a picture of one of his morespectacular dismounts, whilst grimly holding on tohis hat. In fact, Ru has told me he is so taken withSUP surfing, that one day, when Linda is outshopping, he’ll hang his old longboard on theliving room wall as the focal point of the room, toremind him of the wasted decades trying to surfon it!

As for me, I went to Devon and pulled off someincredible gymnastics: man and SUP weldedtogether in total harmony with the wave face.Unfortunately I have no pictures of this, so you’llhave to take my word for it (ahem).

The good news is you’ve now passed the lowpoint of this Newsbuoy edition, the other storiesare bound to be more inspirational and uplifting.Well done, you.

Cheers, Chris

Ride the, er...

Bar opening times

Once again, it’s time to share withyou the exploits of the cruisersection’s summer season!

First, here’s Nigel Campling cruisingin the Channel Islands with in hisyacht “Dutch Courage of Cowes”.

John and Nesta Williams tackled thetricky entrance of Le Touquet in Francewith their yacht Southerly Gem tobecome the first visitors of 2015 to themarina at Etaples. They don’t get manyvisitors because of the tricky entrance!

Colin Keeling continued his Balticcruising in his yacht “Topaz” which isnow out of the water in Stockholmready for winter. (The Baltic sailingseason is shorter than ours).

Nigel Campling, just off the

coast at St. Peter Port

88 High and dry in Le Touquet..

Arriving in Etaples

Topaz in Stockholm

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The TBYC “Holland Cruise 2015”came about immediately afterCadet week when two TBYC yachtsbased at Fambridge Yacht Haven -Summer Solstice owned by Michaeland Mary Lloyd; Southerly Gemand the charter yacht Mojito fromNieuwpoort in Belgium, crewed byHoward and Bev Warrington,discovered they were all going tothe same places at the same time!A great time, mostly involvingfood and drink was had inNieuwpoort, then onto Oostende,Middelburg, Kortgene, Goes,Willemstad, Bruinisse andZierikzee along with several islandstops around Zeeland where weswam and paddleboarded.Several cadets were on the triptoo, so well done to TommyHolmes, Alex and BenWarrington, and Matt and Katy Lloyd for taking part.

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

Waiting for a bridge lift on the Walcherengracht!

The Raymond at Bradwell

The cruiser section events, both sailing and social, aremostly arranged on Tuesday evenings at the Club. It’swhat we call our Noggin and Natter but it’s a normalclub night, so come along some time and see whatgoes on. And don’t forget to look out for our socialactivities advertised on the cruiser notice board or theclub website.

John Williams Rear Commodore (Cruising)

Graham Herve and I havehad a wonderful time withfamily and friends thisseason. Day sails, fishing tripsand weekends away havebeen fantastic fun. Learningthe ropes, buying new sails,dodging buoys, trying notto get stuck on the mud

too often, Kent side, enjoying the kindhospitality of the Medway sailing club,filming the Seals in the Swale River,drinking too many beers atQueenborough, trying to row againstthe tide at the concrete hard at theHarty Ferry Pub, pulling strandedsailors in a tiny fishing boat off themud and enjoying the quaint streets atUpnor... just a few of the Kentish delights.

We recently made a heading for Conyer Creek, at the eastend of the Swale river, crossing the Thames at 7am inthick fog, light winds and it was an experience that I shallnot forget.

With huge tankers at anchor appearing from the gloom,we slowly motored across the shipping lane on the fallingtide, only to confronted by a motoring tanker comingfrom the west. We changed course quickly and all waswell. “Those things are moving faster than you think”...I’ve heard that many times.

It’s been a huge and most enjoyable learning curve forme, having being in the past crew, suddenly to be theskipper in effect, I’m learning fast! 2016... who knows?Maybe Australia...

Nick Cotgrove

We came across this floatingcaravan, but the Top Gear

presenters were nowhere to be seen

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Having just sailedBart’s Bash at thetime of writing,that's the end ofmy season thisyear. It has beena pretty good

year in the Sandhopper class. Therehas been some fantastic close racingthroughout the field, everyone givingit their all wherever they are in thefleet. My favourite was being one offour boats near the back of the fleet, allwithin a second of each other on theline in a very close-fought finish.

Our club Sandhopper Primo was sailedin anger for the first time this year, andhas been both raced and cruisedseveral times. Thanks again to PeterThompson for all the work he did toget Primo ready instead of preparinghis own boat. Once launched Petertook it out early on in the season andshowed that although it's not the bestequipped boat in the fleet, it can still beup there in the right hands! Feedbackhas been great from the sailors using itand we plan to carry out furtherupgrades over the winter to make iteasier to rig and sail in 2016.

Both Tripod and Sandpiper changedhands last winter with Matt and Lizrenaming Tripod as Disco Inferno andMick Ragan is the new owner ofSandpiper. Welcome to theSandhopper fleet!

In July five Sandhoppers (with Chris inhis Hawk) headed out on the earlymorning tide to sail to the Red Sandsforts. We had a great day outaccompanied by Paul Farrell's cruiserand Martin Swindon's RIB. Althoughwe didn't get ashore for a pint atQueenborough we did join Paul andLisa along with first mate TonyPadbury on the cruiser for a late lunchwashed down by a beer before sailingback to TBYC in time for the clubracing on the late tide. Thanks again toMartin for giving up his sailing to

support us and to Paul for providingthe ladies with "facilities".

The Sandhopper Nationals took placeat TBYC in September with, twenty-six boats taking part including a visitorfrom Maylandsea and our own Garyand Tracey Haylett in club boat Primo.Tom Dayes had trailered SH15 Emmadown from Maylandsea andlaunched with great aplomb onFriday, only to have his rudder bracketfail before the first race forcing him toretire before he started. Showingmuch determination Tom managedto get it welded at Dauntless and wasback on the water for Sunday's races.

After the first day there were threecontenders emerging for the title allwith equal points. Rupert and PeterSnow in Zeus took the first race, with Allen Burrell and Paul Beasley inObsession taking the second whileclose on their heels Peter Thompsonand Paul Dell in Prey took twoseconds.

On the second day Obsession tookanother first in the third race withZeus and Prey falling away slightly,leaving Allen and Paul just needingZeus to not finish first in the final racefor them to pick up the trophy. Allenshowed Rupert a few tricks he'dpicked up from his mate Ben, and itwas in the bag.

So well done to Allen and Paul whoare Sandhopper National Championsfor a second time.

Thanks to all who supported theweekend and to Hyde Sails for theirsupport with prizes. There will be a fullreport in the next SandhopperNewsletter shortly!

Mark Robinson SH26 Cracker

Paul and Allen

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Tony and Paul

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We have seen regular musicalappearances from Jason West andWildwood Jack. We may see themreturning, Jason more regular as hehas joined the club with his family.

It’s been another fantastic year forTBYC’s social calendar, as thesepictures show. The Club operates aprogramme of all-year roundentertainment, and there’s alwayssomething for everyone. Therereally is no better way to spend aSaturday night in Thorpe Bay!

“In June we held our usual AnnualBall, this year’s theme being‘Vintage Hollywood’. Everyoneembraced the theme and lookedabsolutely wonderful.”

Comments by Sara Speller,Outgoing Social Secretary

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

“Last year the General Committee agreed that weshould hold some free entertainment nights forthe members roughly once a month on aSaturday evening when there is no club event orprivate bookings. So far we have had four – theyhave all been very well attended.” More of theseare being arranged for 2016.

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

So don’t forget to support your favourite Clubagain in 2016. Even those of us who aren’t sailorscan 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 usethem in a future Newsbuoy! Use the hashtag#lovetbyc on your favourite social network!

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Well, I have enjoyed my three yearsas house representative but feel it istime to pass the job on to someoneelse and so this will be my finalNewsbuoy article - for now!

During my term as House Representative, with the help of anarmy of committee members too numerous to name, we haveachieved a great deal and I would like to take this opportunityto thank them for the support I have received.

Among the most recent of these achievements are the recentlyreplaced ceiling in both the Commodore’s and Main bars which

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 speakersin each bar independently, thanks to Paul Morgan.

The building exterior has been repainted and now thedecorators have moved onto the interior. Hopefully all will benearly completed by the time you read this.

In recent Newsbuoy editions I have reported on the re-wiringof the club’s electrics, the Gents’ changing rooms redecorated,the renewal of the flat roofs, refreshed balconies and newheating boilers for the upstairs. The last of these, our treasureris pleased to report, is saving the club money, just in this firstyear.

So from me, a huge thank you to all the members who havehelped tirelessly in keeping our club and grounds ship shape atthe work parties, and a special thank you to Barbara and herteam for supplying endless tea, coffee and biscuits whateverthe weather.

Rob BaileyOutgoing House Representative

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I have to thank Rob for all the improvements thathave been completed over the last few years. But Iam glad to say it doesn’t stop as he leaves us.

The decorating will be completed, refreshing the whole publicspace on the first floor. The Commodore’s Bar will have a slightlydifferent theme to the Main bar. I will continue with thedecorating sub-committee that have been running with theproject to deliver floor and window covering, something thatwe hope will be able to stay in good condition for the next 15years.

It has been over fifteen years since Alan Willis and hiscommittee spent time with the internal decor that has lasted uswell. Things unfortunately have just now started to wear whichallows us now to add a modern flair, but keeping some of thepast.

I look forward to all your help at the work parties, the first of these is scheduledfor 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 BlowerHouse Representative

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We introduced the ‘New Cadet Racing’ and training this season to bridge thegap between Pico and full adult racing. The races included a Cadet buoy as thewindward mark, shortening them to about 50 minutes, just right for our up-and-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 aprize. The coaching team (John Laliberte, Nick Elmore, Howard Warringtonand myself) supported the youngsters with a briefing before the race and froma Rib on the water, helping them to feel confident and secure. We would liketo 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) 20151st Teddy Elmore sailing in a Laser 2nd Greg Watson sailing in a Laser

TBYC Cadet Series (Junior) 20151st Charlie Elmore sailing in a RS Tera2nd Nathan Sands and Alex Paxman sailing in a Pico

We also introduced the Junior Bart’s Bash this year with a good turnout of tenboats. After a short briefing the Cadets were off the beach sailing to thecommittee boat with the adults for a mass start. I remember saying to themthat 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 theline, ready to reap the reward of clean air. The conditions could not have beenbetter for our light crews with medium winds and sunshine, leading to somegood racing. The winners were:

1st Charlie Elmore sailing in a RS Tera2nd 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 as2014 champions of the Interclub Team Race, Cadet Class. The silver cup with itsunusual three-handled design was first awarded in 1926. This year, the race washosted by Thames Estuary Yacht Club and we entered our TBYC Cadet team;Peter Snow, Millie and Vicky Little, Greg Watson and Jacob Allard. Three Lasersand a RS200 left the shore in challenging condition on 27th September andwere escorted around the pier to the start line. In an increasing wind the teamprepared their starts and took their positions. Millie and Vicky in their RS200made 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, asInterclub Team Race, Cadet Class champions for the second year running.

There is no doubt that we have many competent and talented Cadets at ourclub. We also have many up-and-coming youngsters, who can enjoy gettinginvolved with our dedicated Cadet racing and training home and away. Nextyear, we hope to have even more opportunities for our Cadets to enjoy theexcitement and challenges of being competitive at a club where we really wantto support our young sailors.

Nick Alston

This year Cadet Week blew... and thespectacularly breezy conditions werethoroughly enjoyed by all in Shark Group!The early racing on Monday was relished byall and rivalries established as Shark chasedhard on Shark. It became clear on day onethat we had a competent and suitably gung-hogroup capable enough to attempt prettymuch anything - which was just as well as wewere all going to be asked a lot by theweather on Tuesday!

We gathered under a threatening sky,promising squally winds that would push justbeyond 30mph before we would reach thesafety of the Island Yacht Club. Naysayersgathered at the top of the slip with direforecasts of doom. Accounts of SouthernOcean-style disasters were shared toenlighten the Shark community, butfortunately most teenagers know notto listen to adults on the whole and thestalwart Sharks remained un-fazed.The water was warm, the wind wasonshore and we had three rescue boatsand the trusty hulls of SS4, as well as akeen desire to get to Canvey for thetraditional overnight camp, whichwould definitely not have felt the samewithout the sail to get there!

Sensible decisions were made by some withextreme boats (including the RS500 and theContender) who then jumped onto otherboats, or supported the rescue crews. Wearrived off Canvey to find the whole of EssexYC cadet fleet having tea on the lawn leavingvery little space on the cramped pontoon.Fortunately the TBYC Sharks knew what to

do and ‘helped’ move some boats (accidentlyletting one drift off) so very soon the Essexcadets got the message and were wavingfarewell to us as they returned to the safety oftheir mothership HQS Wilton. A massivethank you to everyone at Island Yacht Clubfor their fantastic hospitality, particularlySheila, who once again fed us all until wewere, in naval terms literally ‘back teethawash’!

As the cadets awoke from a long and dream-filled sleep (why are they called sleep-overs?)they found their dinghies, the ribs and SS4had been moved by magic (no... that wouldbe by the hand of sleep-deprived adults) tothe Ray. After breakfast, striking camp andsaying farewell, we set off to reunite ourselveswith our craft. The walk out to the Ray overthe salt marshes (which provided a tasty snack

for some), across cockle-shell banks and turgidmudflats intersected with small but slipperystreams (was hot and steamy in the warmthof a wonderful day. Finally we flopped intothe Ray to cool off and spent the next fewhours paddleboarding, windsurfing, sailingand doughnutting. Food arrived on thesouth bank of the Ray having been walkedout along the causeway from Toulouse bythree intrepid natives, who looked a lot morenative by the time they returned, chasedhome by a rapidly rising spring tide.

After lunch we watched the seals slide off theshrinking sandbanks, hopped back intodinghies, deflated the paddleboards and thedoughnut and set off for the long sail home.It is true to say that it was an exhausted groupthat arrived back at the TBYC slip, but boatswere landed and stowed efficiently by the

Sharks and thebeaming smiles toldthe story. Thursdaysaw more localisedraces completed andan excitingconclusion to theseries. Friday saw other groups join in for the‘End of Week’ race, the results of which arestill awaiting compilation onto HALS. This willbe resolved soon and the presentation willtake place at the TBYC prize giving. Every oneof the splendid cadets in Shark group tackledevery challenge with enthusiasm anddetermination. I was consistently impressedby the whole group - you really proved to bethe best of the best!

There is a huge list of adults, without whom itwould simply not have been possible to

accomplish what we did and experiencethe splendid experiences we shared. Sothanks to Peter Thompson (WetsuitOutlet) for the stand-up paddleboards,windsurfers, prizes, sponsorship - andsome seriously invaluable advice on theestuary West of the pier; to Barry andMick Duce for their invaluable supporton the water and advice on all thingspertaining to IYC and the intricacies ofSmallgains Creek; John Laliberte for his

encouraging enthusiasm, advice, SS4handling and Canvey. Our eternal gratitudealso to Simon Boygle and Adrian Bunting forbrilliantly manning SS8, Canvey support, sleeploss and support boats, advice, energy andenthusiasm! Nick Elmore and various crewwith for highly effective support in his ownRIB; Vicky Casson, for all her support on theIsland, sleep deprivation and help on SS4; AlexWatson and Alex Warrington – support boat/ cool / fast / sunglasses. By no means leastthanks also to Linda Snow, Debbie Kilkelly,Lee Watson, Amanda Laliberte and KarenShields, our race officers and friendly natives.

Lastly, thanks to the weather. Whatever youthink, ‘tis better to need to take in a reef thanto burn your lips whistlin’ for the wind!’

1177

Sharks

We had our biggest Stingray group ever this year,with 63 cadets enjoying windy conditions throughoutthe 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 andeven had Mr Collis, the local minister from StAugustine’s Church, judge our Compass in the Sandcompetition looking splendid in his cream linen suitand Panama hat!

The model boat race this year was the closest finish inyears. This involved adults (some of the children also

got involved) designing and building modelsailing craft out of bits and bobs given to them.They then had to let them sail under their ownsteam over a straight course and first to finish wasthe winner, lots of cheering and great fun! TheStingray Treasure Hunt was fun packed with lotsof squirty foam, nasty things to eat and lots ofclues spread around the beach. The big race ofthe week was the Le Mans race, which was wonby Matt Rainbow’s black team.

The highlight of every day still seems to be the everpopular Cork Race. I am very aware of being lynchedif I ever forgot! The paddle board race involves thechildren running along six unstable paddleboardsheld in the water and trying to get the whole team tothe end in the fastest time, which is alwaysentertaining to watch. The fire engine turned up onThursday and we had great fun sliding down thegrass bank on a very wet plastic sheet and a lot ofwater from the firefighter’s hoses. The overallwinning team this year was Blue team by just 2 pointswith Green team coming a close second.

The 2015 Stingray most improved Cadet was HenryDuddridge, well done Henry and all who took part inthe Stingray group this year. Thanks also to all theparents who helped out and especially the Gillies and

Sullivan families for lending us their Oppies for theweek which allowed us to have two boats in eachgroup. A big thanks to Pete Thompson for donatingthe brilliant paddle boards, which allowed the teamhelpers to coach the cadets from. Well done also toJack Morgan for helping out everyday on the beach.Mike and Janet looked after us and kept us safe allweek on Sea Safe 7.

As Cadet Rep I would also like to thank everyoneinvolved in making Cadet Week 2015 a success. Wehad 157 Cadets this year and I would like to say a bigthank you to the Cadet Committee: Rupert Snow,Penny Allard, Scott Weller, Matt Waters, TobySpeller, Liz Moody and Garry Ellis. Thanks also toDonna and her team behind the bar, Steve and teamfor feeding us, including Maddie and Zak; the Lloyds,Elmores and Swindons for the Ribs; Nick Cotgrove forthe use of his cruiser and all the Guard boat crewswho volunteered throughout the week.

The Club cleaners are in fact always the unsungheroes, and all the extra work they have to do, it ismuch appreciated. Thanks also to Annie Stapleton,Dan Bailey, Paul Morgan, Amy Duce and all whohelped out with taking the photos and producing thephoto discs. Thanks to everyone who helped Liz runthe activity night on Tuesday and all who volunteeredfor a duty such as the Bosun’s Hut and road crossing.

I would also like to thank Kyle Stoneman forsupplying the clothing and all the sponsors whosupported Cadet Week this year, including StrategicNetwork Consulting, Wetsuit Outlet, HoneycombNisa, RDP Newmans, Johnson Gillies Ltd, HarrisonHolgate Insurance, Merenda Insurance, Jerry BellHairdressers, Robinsons Solicitors, Dedman Gray andThe On Crowd. Matt Waters does a great job everyyear in generating local sponsorship, which helpsmaintain, purchase and replace vital cadetequipment. A final big thank you to my own familyfor all the help and support they gave me, and hopeyou all had as much fun as I did.

After 12 wonderful years in the Stingray group andover three as Cadet Representative, I stood down atthe AGM in November and thank Jeremy Sandfordfor taking over, it is a fantastically rewarding rolewithin the Club. Many thanks for all your support overthe years.

Mark Petty-Mayor

1188

Stingrays

1199

This was mysecond year asBarracuda Leaderwith a total of 40children and 20boats. Mondayand Tuesdaybrought strongwinds whichtested all of thegroup’s sailingskills, to which theyall did very well. Iwas even moreimpressed andproud on Tuesdaywhen all of the

group turned up and wanted to sail and once again theywere excellent.

The Wednesday brought nicer weather so we didsomething new and raced to the Mulberry and backthen continued with some short racing including a raceto Halfway Beach for ice creams. Thursday again wasgreat sailing weather for us and started the day withsome very good and impressive racing followed by theSeamanship Race to which all boats and crews finished,well done.

The winning crew this year was Henry Petty-Mayor andAlex Downer, well sailed boys. Also on this day therewas a rumour that I fell off our Committee Boat - I’d like

to clarify was true and I hadn’t even been drinking as thekids kept pointing out! All the Barracudas weresupposed 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 andDaniel Smith all of whom finished with the topBarracuda crew being Nathan and Alex. Well doneguys. With the rest of the group we loaded up the Ribsand motored out to the Mulberry where the kids hadgreat fun swimming and jumping off.

Overall winners this year were Charlie Elmore and OllieGrant. Good sailing, lads. The winning group was theRed team and finally the most improved Barracudaswent to Max Stapleton and Daniel Smith whoseimprovements were progressive throughout the entireweek.

Once again a massive thanks goes out to all of theunspoken heroes without whom Cadet Week wouldundeniably able to proceed, their time and efforts I willbe always be extremely grateful for: Graham Slack,George Warrington, Andy Noden, Nick Cotgrove, JennyEpps, Sue Boygle, Rosie and Katy Weller, LauraCotgrove, Ben Stapleton and Bev Warrington

One final thanks to Nick Cotgrove for the loan of hisyacht all week as our Committee Boat; and to MartinSwindon and Michael Lloyd for the loan of their Ribs.

Scott Weller

Piranha Group had a challenging week this year witha very breezy start to the week! Sharks andBarracudas may well have woken up saying “Yippeeit’s windy”, but for us in Piranhas, it was more a caseof “Ooooh, that looks interesting!” However, aidedby some excellent instructors, including our extremelyable senior cadets, everyone got out sailing every dayand came back smiling. We saw some realimprovements over the week, and by Fridayeverybody was out sailing without an instructor onboard. This year, all the instructors were armed withwater pistols to focus concentration, but as thecadets improved, they too were awarded waterpistols and were able to get their revenge. This led tosome serious weapons arriving for Friday when wetook on Barracudas to capture the rafts!

There were a few who deserved a specialmention over the week, Robyn Murdochand Heidi Edwards won the award forthe most tows during the week, afterthey were dismasted on Tuesday andthen had no wind at all on Wednesdayand Laurence Prince helmed his pico withan adult as crew during the exceptionally

windy weather on Tuesday. We had a fantastic weekand sailed to Halfway for icecreams, had a trip to theMulberry on the RIBs and learnt how to race too. Theleaders race was won this year by Ollie Ellis and the

Piranha trophy was won by Harriet Turbin and KateWilliams. 2nd place was taken by Joe May and TobyGoddard with 3rd place going to Megan Driscoll andSamantha Edwards.

We were extremely well looked after by the crew inthe beach hut, who made endless cups of tea, coffeeand hot chocolate, whilst giving the Great BritishBake Off a run for its money with a constant supplyof homemade cakes. In fact, I think next year we needan additional trophy for the Great Beach Hut BakeOff!

All in all, it was an amazing week and I look forwardto more fun on the water next year!

Penny

Piranhas

Barracudas

2200

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 shouldnote that due to an early Easter, Sandhopper lift-in will be onthe 19th March this year, with the season kicking off on the25th with the Spencer Cup. I expect to see much activity in theboat park come early March!

RegattaThis 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 beencontacted by the Lightning class event’s organiser. He has requested permission torun their Saltwater championships in conjunction with our even. Consequently, theLightnings will join the slow monohulls on the start line for our normal schedule ofraces.

Remember, our annual regatta is free to enter for both TBYC members and sailorsfrom other clubs. Please do invite your friends to join us for this event. Alsoremember that it’s an opportunity for classes that wouldn’t normally hold an openmeeting at Thorpe Bay to stage a less formal event.

Nationals and Open MeetingsIn addition to our usual busy sailing programme, we have scheduled four openmeetings for the year. It is especially pleasing to invite the Hurricanes back fora second consecutive year. Clearly, our fantastic facilities, sailing waters andrace management go a long way to promoting our club.

Safety BoatsYou may already know but we have had Seasafe 8 (one of the original Olympicboats) for sale during the year, as the club has found it hard to launch andrecover during heavy southerly swells. It could be a good boat for a fewmembers to own (maybe as a group) that won't require it to be launched in allstates. The details are on Apollo Duck, however if you call Janet, she will giveyou more information. In replacement we hope to purchase something similarto Seasafe 5 or 7, which have been demonstrated to be recoverable evenwithout a tow, which would mean we are not dependant on a member witha vehicle and a tow bar being available.

With this RIB change we have had a team of members that have been designingnew trolleys that would be particularly good for hand recovery and creating plansthat will allow them to be stored in the dinghy park. I will let you know how thisprogresses, although the main decision is with the Council.

Many of the radios in the RIBS and the Displacement are being replaced as they havedeteriorated 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 theDisplacements and the Committee Boat into an operable state for when they getrelaunched. I think the weather has been mild helping this work, however wewould like to thank them for all the hours they have put in.

Gary BurrowsRear Commodore (Racing)

Following a very successfulSprint 15 Nationals atThorpe Bay in 2014, MikeThomason and hiscompany Sunripe offeredto donate some trophiesspecifically for the Club’sSprints. This was verywelcome as we have beenwithin the club for as longas some classes and hadn'tbuilt up any trophies,apart from one that Icarved from a nice piece ofmahogany (some peoplemay be correct when theysay it was a doorstep) andis given out regularly tothe Best Seasons Improver.

With over 35 Sprintswithin the club, some verygood class racing can takeplace, so a new race serieswas created. This is overapproximately ten Sundayraces throughout the year

and is named the "Sprint15 Sunripe Super Sunday Series" or,as you’ll see in the programme, "Sprint 5S". Twenty-one boatsfrom our fleet raced during the year within the series.

The silverware that was purchasedis already several years old but is infantastic condition, a little likemany of our Sprint Sailors. A largecup being given to the winner ofthe series and who this year wasJim Bowie. A smaller cup"Endeavour Trophy" which isgiven to the person that has putthe most in during the series andthis year was won by Colin Rigg.

Apart from the racing, the Sprint15 is a reasonable good platformto go cruising around the Estuaryon. I think it was Duncan Fordwho termed the name "Cruising,Racing And Pottering" sectionseveral years ago. The acronym ishumorous, however the aim iscorrect.

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

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

Now I have returned as Sprint 15 Captain we have loads ofplans for 2016, including Training, Racing, a TBYC Club Openin July but we will definitely be doing some Cruising, maybeeven Kent this year.

Paul MorganSprint 15 and Slow Cat Captain

2211

2222

Just recently we have had a break fromWoodfordes whilst we had some guest alesfrom Greene King, which included GanglyGhoul, St. Edmunds and Elgoods CXXX.The ales currently on tap should be thosewith tasting notes here. We understandLondon Glory and Old Speckled Hen oftenhave a similar following, so please let usknow at the bar the one you prefer themost.

Hopefully in 2016 we will see the return ofWoodfordes Wherry as it was popular. It isnice to have an ale with a true dry hoppedbackground that adds that delicate hoparoma.

We continue to stock a wide range ofdraught lagers and bottled ciders, such asSan Miguel, Fosters, Kronenbourg,Bulmers Original and Kopparberg Fruit.

See you at the bar!

“The Beer Hunter”

12th December 2015

Michael LloydNew Social Secretary

I am proud to inform you that the following membershave completed for Stage 1 and 2 this season:

Stage 2 (April) Donna and Keith Gibbs , Zoe Jewell, JennyEpps, Hannah Taylor, Steve Churchyard, Sarah, Emilyand Archie Bagnall.

Stage 1 (May) Calypso and Hector Bailey, Jerry and AdamJones, Richard and William Green, Antonia Burrows,George Friday, Ethan Manning, Eleanor Herve, Williamand Sean Harman, Alex and Gary Stewart, Stan Ferris,Eleanor Johnson, Lydia Stevenson and Joe Frost.

With members’ ages ranging from eight to 56, we havesome entertaining and sometimes challenging days onthe water! Again, the weather during the 2015 seasonwas testing and a few days were lost due to high windsand inclement weather, but I know that this did not deterour instructors, with all the boxes being ticked at the endof the stages, which saw skills such as survival swim ashore(often in cold waters) first solo sail, and being under acapsized boat completed by the candidates with flyingcolours.

The feedback that we get is always enthusiastic, and thisis down to our band of patient and committedinstructors, who give up their time to assist new members,to make sure the skills required are completed, and thatthe members are able to sail with control and confidence.So as ever I would like to extend my gratitude to ourcadet and adult sailing instructors Sophie Boygle, PeterSnow, Garry and Oliver Ellis, Mike and Alex Thomason;Sam and Olivier Petty-Mayor, Teddy Elmore, LauraCotgrove, Matt Lloyd, Scott Weller and Penny Allard.

Once each stage is completed, it’s important to put thenew sailing skills to use, and race in the Pico series, as thisis when you really start to learn and have fun, which ofcourse is what it’s all about!

If any of you think that you could give some time, and getinvolved in becoming a sailing instructor at TBYC, I wouldbe pleased to discuss this very rewarding aspect ofmembership at our club with you. It gives you anopportunity to put something back into the club.

Nick Cotgrove, Sail Training Officernick.cotgrove@talktalk.net

“Slipway” by Margaret Kennedy

2233

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