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The magazine of Thorpe Bay Yacht Club www.tbyc.org • Edition 12 • Spring 2015

Mike ThomasonCommodoreWelcome to the Spring edition ofNewsbuoy!

There has been some fine tuningwith the General and SailingCommittees over the winter. I ampleased to welcome John Williamswho has taken over the Flag

Officer role from Derek Wellings as RearCommodore Cruising. I would like to thankDerek for his valued input with the running ofthe club and for initiating the revival of the cruisersection. Long may this continue under John’sleadership.

Our new Sailing Secretary John Casson has comeon board, bringing a wealth of experience indinghies and cruisers. On the Sailing CommitteeChris Tillyer has joined Steve Healy in running thehuge Sprints section; David Ayre is now runningthe Windward Leeward Mono fleet and GarryEllis has taken the helm of the Pico class.

Inhouse we welcome our new Chef Steve andnew assistant bar manager Heather. The club cannow victual all the hungry and thirsty sailors andmembers. Sunday Roasts are back on theagenda, so mums and some dads can be given awell earned break from slaving over the stoveand sink.

A warm welcome to our new members who havejoined us in the last six months. This year we arelooking to expand our membership over all agecategories, with the usual emphasis on the familymembership. All members can do their bit inpromoting our great club to family, friends andwork colleagues. Quite simply, we need to boostmembership numbers on and off the water toreplace those that leave us to enable ourrefurbishment programme to progress.

The New Year started off with what is becomingthe traditional New Year’s Day Bash. The kitchenwas expertly organised and run by MartinSwindon with invaluable help from the GeneralCommittee and their families looking after theserving and washing-up.

So far this has been a fairly good winter with asuccessful pre Christmas winter series. The winterSaturday series saw 42 entrants and 46 for theSunday series. Well done to everyone for takingpart and also to the ROs and support boat crewsfor making this happen.

At the time of writing this article we havemanaged to sail the New Year Icicle series on allof the planned race days even though winds havebeen on the most part at the top end of the “dowe” or “do we not go” scale. Chris Boshier putin a fine performance in taking the top spot atthe Leigh Brass Monkey.

The Southend Lifeboat Crews Dinner was heldon 6th February at the Cliffs Pavilion. It was goodto see a large support of members from the clubattending this dinner to thank the crews for theirdedicated service and to raise some well deservedfunds for our local station. The event is alwayswell attended with good wholesome foodfollowed by a raunchy comedian and an auctionof various items to raise funds for the RNLI. Formy part, I was caught up in bidding for a rathernaughty gnome – much to the disgust of thewife. Overall, an excellent evening.

The winter months will soon be behind us and wecan look forward to longer days and the start ofthe main season for all to enjoy. Our sailingcommittee have put forward their proposals forthe various Series, Trophy races and Nationals forthis year and Toby Speller has as usual juggled allthe requests around to produce another fantasticprogramme. In addition, Graham Dare hasensured we are fully compliant with the new EUmaritime health and safety rules covering eventsin the Thames Estuary. The warm up race will beheld on Friday 3rd April, immediately followed bythree consecutive days of racing over Easter.

Nick Alston with his team of adult volunteers hasintroduced a new Cadet series as a go-betweenthe Pico Series and main club racing, and more onthis topic will follow.

Our Sail Training commences in April so any

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CommodoreMike Thomason

Vice Commodore Paul Morgan

Rear Commodore RacingJeremy Sandford

Rear Commodore CruisingJohn Williams

TreasurerIan Murdoch

Cadet Rep • Mark Petty-Mayor House Rep • Rob Bailey

Sail Training Officer • Nick Cotgrove Social Rep • Sara Speller

Sailing Secretary • John CassonMembership Officer • Will Daly

Honorary Secretary • Margaret KennedySecretary • Janet Willsmer

Dinghy Park Rep • John LaliberteSupport Boats – Ribs • Tony Clark

Support Boats – Displacement • Toby Speller Windward-Leeward Mono • Dave Ayre

Fast Cats • Struan Wallace Lasers • Rick Paxman & Wes AbsolomSlow Cats • Steve Healy & Chris Tillyer

Sandhoppers • Mark Robinson Picos • Gary Ellis

Fast Mono • Paul BeasleyAlbacores • John Payne

Fevas • Nick AlstonRace Results • Graham Dare

Magazine photography:Linzi Swindon and Irina Tretyakova

Newsbuoy is made in Essexby Estuarine Design.

www.madeinessex.co.ukNewsdesk: tbyc@madeinessex.co.uk

Back issues are available todownload at http://issuu.com/tbyc

© Thorpe Bay Yacht Club 2015.All rights reserved.

MADE INESSEX

YourCommittee

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member who is interested in coming on-board will need to contact NickCotgrove to book their space on the courses.

Our Vice Paul Morgan has introduced a new initiative of a Crew / Helmslist on the club website. It’s all a far cry from the ‘60s and ‘70s, whenbudding cadets kept a close eye on the noticeboards, waiting for thepostcard contact details of unsuspecting female crews. Severalrelationships ensued, with one common goal of course – to go sailing.

Rob Bailey is busy drawing up plans for the refurbishment of the clubhouse starting with the ceiling replacement, followed by a completeredecoration inside and out.

John Laliberte has finalised the dinghy park plan and there are only ahandful of spare spaces at present. This is the least number I canremember for this time of the year and it is a good indicator as to howthe season will progress. If we become oversubscribed for space thenthose dinghies that do not move during the season will be placed on thetop racks to make room for those who wish to go sailing. On the subjectof the racks, we seem to have a multitude of windsurf boards which haveaccumulated over the years. If you are the owner of one (or more) ofthese boards then please advise Janet in the office - pay your storage feeand write your name on the board. During the summer we will beclearing out unidentified boards by following the RYA abandoned boatprocedure.

There is a plan to look at the possibility of Rib storage in the dinghy parkto make launching and recovery that much easier.

Fleet Captains will be busy again this year in encouraging their fleets totake part in the club racing and social events. All of us often need thatreminder to take part, so expect a barrage of e-mail nudges from yourfleet captains. The Laser 1 fleet continues to expand – currently at 25 witha host of cadets taking up the challenge of this single hander. Our uniqueone design Sandhopper Class has attracted new owners and the Sprintscontinue to battle it out in the strong winds when most of us prefer toretire to the bar. The Pico fleet still remains our largest class at 67, withseveral boats changing hands over the winter. We expect to see somegreat close inshore racing from cadets and adults in Picos during thisseason with loads of coaching and training sessions to enable all novicesto take part.

The social committee under the leadership of Sara Speller has a fabuloussocial programme with something for everyone this year. With our newchef, I can see this being a great year for the social side of the club.

Finally, do please check the Dutyman on the main web site for yourrosters. If you are not listed for duties you can always volunteer at anytime by dropping an email to Graham Dare. The more volunteers wehave, the more time we can all spend on the water having fun.

Happy sailing.

Mike Thomason

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At long last the days are getting longer and we can start to come out of hibernation!

Since my last article there has been lots happening, including a wonderful new chef joining us –Steve Bullus. Steve has really made an impact in the few weeks he’s been with us and his foodis proving very popular. This all means exciting times ahead for our events!

We had a wonderful festive season of celebrations, including the Adult Christmas Party withtraditional party games, New Year’s Eve and of course the now traditional New Year’s Daybrunch which was organised and run by Martin Swindon and Paul Morgan. Many thanks tothem and all the helpers who came on the day to make the event such a success – it really waslovely to see the Club heaving with happy diners!

Looking towards the warmer weather and longer lighter days, we have plenty planned to keepyou entertained.

The Sailing Supper this year will be on Saturday 4th April (Easter Saturday) to coincide with thefirst race of the season (please note that it is listed in the sailing programme as 11th April, but it’ssince been decided that 4th April would work better for dinghy and Sandhopper sailors due to

tide times, etc. The Cruiser Lift-In Supper however will remain as 11thApril). We will be having a 3-course meal and tickets are now on salepriced at £15.00. Please see posters and the Club website for fulldetails. Ticket order forms are available as usual from the websiteand in hard copy on the bar. Let’s kick off the new sailing season instyle and have a great night together!

The Thorpe Bay Regatta party this year will be on Saturday 2nd May –please look out for posters nearer the time with details of the menuand entertainment plus how to book.

This brings me neatly to the annual Summer Ball which will be onSaturday 13th June. The theme this year is “Hollywood” – thinkAudrey Hepburn, Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor, Clark Gable,Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra... the list of classically elegant,glamorous and stylish ladies and gents from a wonderful bygone erajust goes on and on. We hope this gives you some great styleinspiration for choosing your look!

I am delighted to announce that we will be welcoming a great locallive band to entertain us into the wee small hours with some upbeatand classic songs – something for everyone!

Tickets will go on sale on Saturday 9th May priced £35 per personand initially will be for members and their partners only. On 30thMay, if any tickets remain they will then be available for non-member friends to purchase. Tickets will be issued strictly on a first-come-first-served basis and will only be issued once the bookingform AND payment has been received – please note that under nocircumstances can tickets be reserved. All ticket requests must bereceived by Saturday 6th June at the very latest to allow Steve, ourchef, to organise his supplies.

Please look out for posters nearer the time on the club website andaround the club house for more details of the menu andentertainment. We will also send the usual e-mail out to allmembers in advance. We are sure the evening will be one toremember!

tbyc:socialtbyc:social

I am now able to reveal some very exciting news!

The General Committee have asked me to organise a series of FREE(yes, you did read that correctly!) entertainment nights for membersroughly once a month to begin with – this will be a mixture of livemusic, quiz nights, magic, and hopefully a race night which is alwaysso popular. You will be able to just turn up and enjoy a greatevening of entertainment! These events will be on a Saturdayevening and it is hoped the first of these will be held on Saturday18th April, so keep an eye out for more details which will becirculated in the usual way.

Finally, I would like to introduce my Social Committee for this yearwho have agreed to help me organise everything. They are SharonHadley, Fiona Strachwitz, Barbara Hervé, Theresa Ryall, PennyAllard, Nesta Williams and Michael Lloyd. Yes, you will have noticedthat at long last we have a gentleman amongst in our gang to keepus on our toes! Thank you to you all in advance – your ideas andenthusiasm are very much appreciated.

Wishing you all a great summer – let’s hope it’s a lovely long hot onelike last year!

Sara Speller

Don’t forget the TBYC SUMMER BALL! Sat 13 June

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In October 2012 I left for Palma inMajorca to get my first experience ofworking on one of these amazingsuperyachts. My job for the last twoyears has been working on a

schooner (two masted, main at the back) sailing boatcalled Adela. At 180ft (55m) long and 26ft (8m) at herwidest point, and with a total permanent crew of 9,she is certainly not one of the biggest.

To say the least, this has been one of the most amazingexperiences I have ever had in my life. I have metamazing people and seen places I would only dream ofseeing in a lifetime. It’s like a big kids’ playground, withno parents watching you and keeping you in line. Notalways a good thing!

Adela has recentlygot in to theracing scene.Once we hadfinished up inPalma we set sailfor my firstAtlantic crossingto Antigua,which was tobecome mywinter homefor the nextfive months.Here we setup for racingthe boat inthe threeCaribbeanregattas: The

Super Yacht Challenge,RORC 600 and St Baarths Bucket. That season Adela had her

greatest success winning all three regattas in its class, the Bucketbeing a very prestigious regatta to win and we won it overall.

We then had the drag of having to pack ourselves up for asummer in Alaska! Wow! We had the company of a veryfriendly pilot giving us a detailed story and tour of thePanama Canal, then an incredible cruise up the west coast,stopping at Papagayo in Costa Rica, Cabo San Lucus inMexico and Victoria BC Vancouver in Canada. Then it wasthrough the inside passage to Ketchikan and onwardsnorth for another two months touring the coast and small

villages of Alaska.

The owner andfamily wereonboard periodicallyand my “work” nowincluded fishing forsalmon, halibut andcod and being onthe trail of brown,black and grizzlybears where we alsosaw eagles andotters, and in theocean crabs andwhales - all washeddown with a beer ortwo!

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On our return we had to take a pit stop first to Seattle to killsome time before proceeding onward to San Francisco for theAmericas Cup.

We were joined by 15 or so extra crew plus Paul Campbell-Jamesas tactician and a few freebee Prada crew, to take part in theAmericas Cup Super Yacht Regatta and so we enjoyed our 4thvictory of the year. 2013 - by far Adela’s proudest year.

Again with similar stops back down the west coast we madeour way through the Panama canal once more and back toAntigua for another winter season of racing. Despite our newsquare top main and foresail, new staysail, main staysail and afew other toys, we did not, unfortunately, have as much successas before, (handicap comes into play a lot with super yachts).

We then returned across the Atlantic to its second base inPalma where we had to be available for guests trips around theMediterranean, (unfortunately no racing) visiting the south ofFrance, Monaco, Italy, Corsica and Ibiza. This is where my timecame to an end. I took the boat once more back to Antiguaand was flown home.

People ask me why I left, well.. don’t. Its a great life. Theguys on deck are busy maintaining the boat, keeping itlooking good, readying it for guests or charters. Thestewardesses organise the interior, do a lot of cleaning,provisioning etc and service when the guest are onboard.There is also a chef, engineer, captain, first mate, bosunand one other deckhand. The general day to day jobs varymassively from maintaining the safety of all equipmentonboard, to being on watch on a delivery or taking the kidsout sailing or wake boarding, or even helping putdecorations up in the captain’s house. But let’s not forgetthe distance you are from your loved ones, the Christmasesyou miss and the family or friends’ gatherings or weddingsyou have to sacrifice for the pleasures of seeing the worldwhile earning money.

I was very fortunate to get this job. My dad knew someonewho knew someone who introduced me to a very wellknown ex-Americas Cup racing boat Ranger, and so mystory began. But really, even without the contacts, you cansell your sailing experience or your personality and go walkthe docks with your CV and hand them out to boats inplaces like Palma, Antigua or Antibes. Captains areeverywhere and always looking for crew, not to mentionthe massive amount of recruitment agencies out thereavailable to help.

Hope you enjoy my pictures.

Ollie Hervé

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Followed by a dedicated rescue boat, theywill start with the slow handicap fleet sail butsail to their own inflatable windward mark(Sp), then back to the slow mono andSandhopper leeward mark before crossingthe Start/Finish line to complete their lap.They will continue to lap this course until theS flag is flown and they are finished witheveryone else (the Slow Monohull course (A-B-C-D) is displayed on the stern of thecommittee boat, with the Cadet coursebeing Sp-D.)

In response to the quality of courses andvisibility of marks it was agreed by thecommittee to make marks 2, 4, 6, 9, 12 and 14 orange,different to the rest of the yellow Norefloat R150 racemarks. New adhesive race course cards are availablefrom the bar.

To provide the Race Officers with a closerchoice of angles when choosing thewindward mark, the pattern of marks will becondensed in slightly from the west. This willbe reviewed as the season progresses.Remember to feedback to your ClassCaptains’ aspects of racing you enjoy as wellas improvements we could consider to makethis season as enjoyable as possible for all.

At the Sailing AGM it was also decided to trya different format for Prize Giving this year,but there was no clear view with differentpeople wanting different kinds of events.Over the next couple of months take sometime let us know how you would like tocelebrate this year’s sailing at the end of theseason.

Jeremy Sandford, Rear Commodore (Racing)

The start of the season ishere and your SailingCommittee are busy puttingyour views into action.

At last year’s Sailing AGMthere were three main

points that became clear as themeeting progressed. The most significant ofthese was the need to provide cadets with away into normal club racing, and to providea link between the Pico series and the bigrace course we all enjoy in club racing. Thesolution was to introduce a cadet class intothe club racing. The class will have their ownsmall course and results.

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You may have noticedover the past few years aproliferation of people onpaddle boards, and thenumbers of paddle-boardowning members at TBYChave also grown.

There are many benefits toStand Up Paddle Boarding(SUP) that marry well withsailing, and the aim of this article is to highlight these.

First though, some history: The father of SUP at TBYC isRupert Snow. I remember him animatedly burblingon about a new sport, where you stand up on anovergrown surfboard and paddle it along. “Eh, what’sthe point of that?” I said, as a dyed in the woollongboarder – anyway, I couldn’t get any sense out ofhim, then he started going on about Celts and Iceni orsome such thing, so I put it down to too much sun, orbeer, or Ru just being Ru! Roll on a bit, and a videoappears on YouTube, where Barry filmed Ru surfingoff the wash from an inappropriately used SeaSafe 2and it actually started to look good fun. (Check out thevideo, it’s had thousands of hits: http://is.gd/TBYC1201)

I had also seen Ru and now Peter out enjoying calm,easygoing paddling while the rest of us were millingaround at the top of the slip ‘cause there was no wind. SoI took the plunge and to be honest it’s been such goodfun, adding a whole new dimension to TBYC for me. Wehave done some epic day trips in the past and have plansfor more this year. A couple of last year’s highlights forme were an early morning paddle though the sand banksoff East Beach with the sun burning through the morningmist, it was so peaceful. Also a full-on cruise from Basildoncreek, behind Canvey, lunch at Leigh seafront then on tothe club, some 23 kilometres!

So on to the benefits of SUP and how it dovetails so wellwith sailing:

- If you turn up at the club for a race and the wind hasdropped, fine, go paddle boarding instead, you can enjoythe beautiful calm day on the water.- What muscles do you need to hike out and gain thoseextra few inches on your big rival in the fleet? Your coremuscles, which is exactly what SUP works when you’re outthere.- You have to think about, and be aware of, trim andbalance when on your board, something that should befamiliar to dinghy sailors in particular.- No Polly to run you out to your mooring? No problem,use your paddle board. Complete independence and aninflatable SUP (iSUP) is gelcoat friendly.- An iSUP can be taken on holiday with you, though Ithink you’d be pushing your luck taking it as handluggage!- A good place to check out SUPs is wetsuitoutlet.co.uk,they have both new and ex-demo equipment. If you needfurther advice, Ru is the font of all knowledge!

Chris Maloney

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As I wander through the dinghypark, the smell of fresh anti-foulingmixed with the sound of sandingand the odd curse is a reminder thatwe won’t have long to go beforewe’re all back on the water enjoyingthe great sailing area and facilities atTBYC.

Looking around, most boats are nearly ready, whilea few are clearly relishing the thought of thetraditional last minute panic / rush and gamblingwith the unpredictable March weather. Of course,by the time you read this the sailing season will havebegun in earnest with hopefully kinder winds thatlast year when we seem to have had strong winds orno winds at all for much of the time. For example atthe Sandhopper Nationals in June last year (when wetried an earlier date in the hope of better weather!)we had a first day where the second race had to beabandoned due to no wind and so ran three races onthe Sunday, concerned that the forecast light windswould be a problem, only to get extremelychallenging conditions in the last two races resultingin a few breakages and early retirements.

Overall though, the 2014 Sandhopper Nationals werea great success with a different winner in each raceand close racing throughout the field along withsponsorship from Hyde Sails, One Sails and Heinekenplus a great club dinner on the Saturday night.Sandstorm came through to win with Chris Clarkeand Dan Henderson crowned as 2014 champions! Itwas also great to see some non-Sandhopper sailorsborrowing boats and joining in again – if you fancyjoining us this year please let me know and we willsort you a boat to borrow. The Nationals this year willbe on 12 / 13th September.

Leading up to the Nationals,which is now back to its

traditional spot in early September, we have plentyof things going on to make 2015 another great sailingyear. Tony and Janet kicked things off in Februarywith the annual Sandhopper Quiz night. A funevening enjoyed by all – can’t remember which teamwon but I’m sure they very worthy! Tony puts a lotof work into the quiz which is what makes it so goodand Janet into the organisation as you will know, soa big thank you to them again – don’t forget to buythem a drink if you see them at the bar!

By the time you read this, hopefully you will haveenjoyed the spectacle of another successfulSandhopper Lift In with Jason and Roger effortlesslydropping the boats at their moorings – always greatto watch from the bar if you are not on the workparty – and be well into the sailing season proper.

Despite a false start last year, our training boat Primowill definitely be launched this spring and beavailable for the club’s Sail Training and for loan byclub members who would like to try Sandhoppersailing – just form an orderly queue behind MarkPetty-Mayor!

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Thanks again to Robin Foster-Taylor for funding and all who helped withthe refurbishment and bits to go on the boat – with Peter Thompsononceagain leading by example!

The Sandhopper Sunday Trophy will again be awarded in the bar aftereach Sunday race so listen out for the bell! And if we can find it theGolden Anchor may also be awarded for the best / funniest momentson the water. We also have several long distance two-tide races/sailsplanned, starting with a trip to Queensborough for lunch via someof the old forts out in the estuary. Again, if non-Sandhopper sailorssee these advertised on the website and want to join in please letme know – you may even like it! And we may even get to awardthe Sandhopper Long Distance Trophy this year.

A Sandhopper training day will take place on Sunday 10th May,run by Dave Hall from Hyde Sails – hopefully this will help closeup the field a little and help out the new owners in getting togrips with their new pride and joy!

And talking of new owners I’d like to welcome Matt andLiz Abbiss who are proud new owners of Tripod followingRobin’s defection to A Class cats and Anthony Blowerwith Spider reducing Peter T to just the one boat.

Finally, if you do fancy trying out a Sandhopper orcrewing just let me know. Or if you would like to joinus there are two boats up for sale at the moment –see website – so don’t leave it too long in case theyget snapped up once the good weather arrives orPeter T misses having two boats...

Wishing all classes great sailing in 2015.

Mark Robinson SH 26

We are introducing a new series of Cadet Racing thisseason to bridge the gap between the successful Pico seriesand full club racing. We also see a huge number of childrenat Cadet week and those attending the TBYC sail trainingsessions at Stages 1, 2 and 3, who would enjoy a shorterrace, more inshore and supported by a team of coaches.Our aim would be to help our young sailors gain theconfidence to move forward and to compete with those ofsimilar age and abilities. We also want to encourage ourmore advanced cadets to participate to gain moreexperience of tight courses and will provide separateprizes, so that there is something to strive for at all levels.

We have a variety of classes at our club; Picos, Cadets, RSTera, RS Fevas, RS500, Darts / Sprints, Lasers to name but afew. These excite youngsters of all ages who wouldbenefit from races with more laps and opportunities todevelop their tactical and manoeuvring skills. Keeping theraces shorter should sharpen their concentration and allowtime for some individual and group feedback.

As a ‘RYA Championship’ Club, we have gained thesupport of Paul Wren, the RYA High PerformanceManager (British Youth Sailing) who will supply us with atop coach for two weekends during the season. We willadd our own training sessions to build a great programmeof exciting new events during the year.

So going forward, therewill be Cadet racing on allSundays when there isnot a Trophy Race. Theraces will follow a shorterwindward/ leewardcourse, introducing anew Cadet Buoy and canbe sailed in any class ofboat. There will adedicated member of theCadet coaching team tohelp with advice on-shoreand from a support Ribon the water. Our aim is to help theCadets gain theconfidence to make thetransition from the Picoseries to Club racing andpossibly further.

We are keen to encourage the full age range and abilities,giving prizes to our under-13 members, increasing tounder-16s and progressing to include our oldest and mostexperienced Cadets. This will allow all Cadets at every levelto compete on similar terms, with as much support as theyrequire.

Do not hesitate to contact any member of the team if youwould like more information for your child, or just turn upon the day like any club race. Times and details are in theTBYC programme and will be also published on thewebsite.

Let us make 2015 a great year for our TBYC youngsters.

Cadet Coaching TeamNick Alston nickalston@icloud.comNick Elmore nick@elmoregroup.co.uk Howard Warrington hwarrington@btinternet.comJohn Laliberte aandj@laliberte.co.uk

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Eton vs TBYC team

Well, after all the excitement of last year and the successesof our sailors, we start again with qualifications to theWinter Training Squads. Alex has now come to the agewhere Cadet sailing comes to an end. With a limit of 17years old, the Cadet Class is the only true three-sail juniorclass. After three world teams as a crew and two as a helm,he has thoroughly enjoyed his time with the class. He has

had some tremendous training from the various squad coaches andfinished his cadet career on a high. Alex has now joined the growingTBYC Laser Radial fleet and putting all that he has learned in the Cadetto good use. Incidentally, the current leading 3 Laser Radial sailors are allEx- Cadet sailors....

So this leaves us with Ben Warrington and Katy Lloyd still very keen tofollow in his footsteps and keep the class alive at TBYC. Ben and Katycompeted in the RYA Zone Champs at Dabchicks in September 2014.Unfortunately the wind gods had taken the weekend off and only a fewfickle races were sailed. They managed to finish 14th overall with 30entries, so not a bad result considering the conditions.

The next squad qualifier was the Cadet Inland Championships atGrafham Water. Better conditions prevailed and this was also combinedwith our own Bart’s Bash race. 54 entries meant that the competitionwas tougher and the pair finished in the top 30. So with the culminationof these results and the qualification criteria met, they were awarded aplace in the Intermediate Development Squad.

With car and boat loaded and rib in tow, we have enjoyed some greattraining sessions at Farmoor SC near Oxford, Weymouth & PortlandSailing Academy and Datchet SC. Training finishes in March again atFarmoor.

We are then on to the season proper. With the main three eventsmaking up the selector series for this year’s World Team, who will sail inthe 2015 World Championships in Lake Garda? The first selector is 3/4April at Rutland; 2nd is 2/3 May at Brightlingsea and the 3rd at WPNSA.

So we have a busy year ahead! We are still very excited about this classand would strongly recommend to any Pico Sailor looking for the nextmove to come and try the Cadet. We have boats available to try andcoaching ready and waiting.

As part of the new TBYC Cadet Racing initiative, we are keen to help anyof our cadets to learn to race and improve their sailing skills. It’s not allabout travelling, you can sail the Cadet here at TBYC to great effect,learning those all important skills to set you up for a lifetime of sailing atclub or international level. Be inspired and come and try a Cadet today.

Howard Warrington and Mike Lloyd

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The RS Feva youngsterstrained hard last year on thewater as well as on-shoreand regularly competed inclub races throughout theseason.

Our training sessionswere pitched high,preparing them to

manoeuvre their boats togain tactical advantage and of course, be on that startline. They enjoyed success at club level in theirindividual boats and ‘away’ as part of a team.Without exception, the youngsters made progressduring the season, displaying some exceptional skills.

The RS Feva Squad represented TBYC several timeslast year including at the British Schools (BSDRA)

Championships, Southend Inter-Club and at Eton College.

In September, we entered the Inter-Club Team Race at Leigh on Sea.Our cadet team of three Fevas and one double-handed Sprint, set offfrom Thorpe Bay’s beach, being escorted around the pier to LeighSailing Club, to compete against local young sailors. The race proved tobe very exciting and our TBYC team made good speed throughout therace, with faultless control and ruthless determination. There was oneboat from Essex Yacht Club that was proving difficult to pass. However,on the last reach the ‘Little’ girls took the lead, giving us 1st, 3rd and 4th;a winning combination. They proudly received the cup at the Inter-Clubpresentation, putting TBYC cadets firmly at the top. Team: Millie and Vicky Little, Teddy Elmore and Henry Petty-Mayor, Harry Boygle and Olivia Petty-Mayor

and Sam Laliberte and Jacob Allard.

The season closed witha Team Racing matchagainst Eton College inSeptember. They hadto transfer their boatskills to sailing Firefliesand had to work as ateam in a match of fiveshort races. Well, theydid us proud, winning5-0 in an increasingwind. Their preparedtactics and good startshad proved successful.

Moreover, it was much more than justwinning; they had to communicate on thewater, play the rules and even make aspeech while having afternoon tea, howcivilised! It was a perfect day for the team’sconfidence and a truly deserved win.Team: Harry Boygle and Jacob Allard,Millie and Vicky Little, Sam Laliberte andGenevieve Bailey.

Maybe a way to judge the success of theclass is to be delighted when many of yourolder cadets, who have outgrown theFeva, have progressed with the skill,enthusiasm and confidence to move intolarger and faster dinghies. Now is the timeto encourage and support the nextgeneration of youngsters at TBYC.

The RS Feva represents a fantasticopportunity for young sailors, agedaround 12 to 16 years, to progress and learnthe essential skills of sailing in an excitinghigh performance asymmetric boat,designed specifically for their needs. Weare keen to promote the class andcontinue to support our young sailors toenjoy their time on the water and have theopportunity to compete with others. It is agreat boat to progress to from a Pico, andwith our new Cadet Series there is nobetter time to join the squad!

Nick Alston

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Two Nationals and an OpenWe are holding three open events at the club this year; the four-day HurricaneNationals in August, our own Sandhopper Nationals (pictured) in September and aFinn and Contender Open in September. These events have been agreed becausethey are all in active classes at TBYC and are being organised driven forward by activesailing members at the club.

As we have shown in recent years with the Feva Worlds 2013 and the Sprint Nationals2014, we can put on a great event at TBYC, but only with the help of membersvolunteering to do jobs and take responsibility for areas that help these big eventsrun as well as they do. The Hurricane Nationals in August is a big four-day event, withover 30 boats expected. There will be a range of different entertainment andactivities each evening, all of which members are welcome to attend and support freeof charge, so please make the most ofthe weekend. If you are able to lend ahand and support, please contact me,and I will be grateful for all you can do,however big or small. Watch thewebsite for more information, we could not do it without you.

Jeremy SandfordRear Commodore Racing

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The cruiser section has been running through its early season series of talksand suppers. These events have been mostly on our usual Tuesday nightmeeting but some have been Saturday events.

We started the year with a Saturday trip over to the White Hart in Burnhamon Crouch for a lunch and an afternoon of Sea Shanty singing. Our first talkof the year was entitled “Finnish Lakes and Channel Islands” presented byTBYC members Colin Keeling, Vic Davies and Roger Anderson. OurSassenachs Burns Night followed with an evening of haggis eating, whiskydrinking and poetry. One member even sported a fine kilt and sporran.

Alan Wilson was invited from Tollesbury to give us a talk on his cruise to the“Frozen North”. He showed a slide presentation and film footage of hisNauticat 33 yacht sailing around Iceland and amongst the ice floes in thefjords of Greenland. We have just enjoyed John and Monica’s quiz night andas this magazine goes to press we are looking forward to our pie and mashevening on the 17th March. This will be followed by our “Lift in Supper” onSaturday 11th April where members that missed the Sea Shanty singing inJanuary can enjoy it for themselves, as we have arranged for some afterdinner singing. Our final spring event will be St George’s Bangers and Mashon the 21st April. We then look forward to a great cruising season.

The cruiser section events are open to all members so look out for the adverts on the cruiser notice board, TBYC website and Facebook.

John WilliamsRear Commodore (Cruising)

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The following members have applied for Stage 1 and 2 this season so far:

Stage 2 April: Donna and Keith Gibbs, Sarah, Emily and Archie Bagnall , Zoe Jewell,Jenny Epps, Hannah Taylor and Steve Churchyard

Stage 1 May:George Friday, Ethan Manging , Richard Green, William Green , AntoniaBurrows, Calypso Bailey and Hector Bailey

And they are all very welcome. With members ages ranging from 8 to 54, it makes forentertaining and sometimes challenging days on the water! but I know that with ourexperienced instructors, all the boxes will be ticked at the end of the sages. Survival swimashore, first solo sail and being under a capsized boat are just a few of the skills to becompleted.

The feedback that we get is always enthusiastic, and this is down to our band of patientand committed instructors who give up their time to assist new members, to make surethe skills required are completed, and that the members are able to sail with control andconfidence.

I am very grateful to the following Cadet and Adult Sailing Instructors who assisted lastseason - Sophie Boygle, Peter Snow, Garry and Oliver Ellis, Mike and Alex Thomason,Olivier Petty Mayor, Teddy Elmore, Laura Cotgrove, Matt Lloyd, Scott Weller and Pennyand Tim Allard - for their continued support and instruction.

Once each stage is completed, it’s important to put the new sailing skills to use, and getout on the water and race in the Pico series. This is when you really start to learn, andhave fun, which is what it’s all about!

If anyone is interested in becoming an instructor at TBYC, I am pleased to discuss this veryrewarding aspect of membership at our club with you.

nick.cotgrove@talktalk.net

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These great pics were taken on the return from a fantastic stopover at Island Yacht Clubduring Cadet Week, 2014. Abigail and Laura Cotgrove are pictured here with the famousRadio Caroline ship “Ross Revenge” in the distance. She is now at her new moorings on theRiver Blackwater, having left the Thames at Tilbury on 31 July 2014.

The MV Ross Revenge was constructed in Bremerhaven in 1960, and initially served as acommercial trawler, notably taking part in the cod wars of the 1970s. Following herdecommissioning, she was purchased by Radio Caroline and outfitted as a radio ship,complete with 300-foot antenna mast and 50kW transmitter. Broadcasts began on 20 August 1983 and ended in November 1990. She finally ran aground on the Goodwin Sands, bringing the era of offshore pirate radio to an end. She was, however,salvaged, and is now maintained by the Caroline Support Group, a group of supporters and enthusiasts.

Our thanks to everyone that helped make it such a fantastic event.. “Not arf, pop-pickers!”

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It was highlighted that the Winter storage fees for boats remainingin the boat park had become muddled and unfair – with some boatson flat rate fees not increasing as percentage increases applied toother boats year-on-year.

It was proposed and unanimously agreed at the October 2014General Committee meeting that for the next winter, boats would

be charged by length and width and according to category. This was ratified by amajority vote at the November 2014 Annual General Meeting.

Note that Sandhoppers have their winter storage included in their annual fee. Also,the 2014/15 figure includes the early payment discount. Plus, those that entered theWinter and Icicle series have their storage fees included in the sailing fees.

This table shows how some other popular vessels will be affected.

I believe this to be a fair apportionment of the limited space in the boat park. It willbe much fairer when percentage increases for inflation are applied in the future. Wehave a large spreadsheet of the lengths of very many sailing vessels so the correctcost can be quickly calculated.

Ian Murdoch, Treasurer

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The new season is upon usand we are all looking forward to some good sailingthis year. We have some new sprint owners in the fleet,

so welcome to Matt Walters, Nick Alston,John Laliberte and Keith and Donna Gibbs.

As we all know, buying a different boat isalways a learning curve to get it sailingquickly and a Sprint is no different. Theyhave their little quirks, like all boats. In anattempt to draw the fleet closer togetherwe are rolling out some ongoing trainingwhich we are calling pro-am. The idea is

that the experienced sprinters train the not soexperienced. As we stand at the moment I have aroundten am’s, who have requested to be involved and I havematched them to our best ten.

We will choose specific races and days and the pro willstay with his/her am for the first lap of the race. Uponcrossing the line the pro will then ‘go for it’. My hope isthat the more competitive amongst us will take extratime with their am’s outside of this one lap, as it will bein their interest to get their am to the line first givingthem an advantage. So if you see us sailing around arace in pairs shouting at each other this is what ishappening! This is not a new idea, I took it fromGrafham where it was used extensively and if you lookat the club trophy we won last year at the Nationals youwill see Grafham won it for about ten years in a row. Itis in the trophy cabinet. Don’t take my word for it, havea look!

The Sunripe Sprint Super Sunday Series Following the success of last year’s Sprint Nationals at TBYC,Mike Thomason’s company Sunripe kindly donated moneyfor a new Sprint Trophy. In an attempt to draw the majorityof the sprint fleet into a series Chris Tillyer came up with thisidea. We will run a race every month through the yearwhich piggybacks onto series/Trophy racing. We will runthis on Sundays and have called it The Sunripe Sprint SuperSunday Series. This is a bit of a mouthful and doesn’t fit inthe sailing programme very well so we shortened it to the5S Trophy. This series will have two trophies, one for firstand one for highest placed mid-fleet boat – we haven’tworked this out yet. It will probably depend upon the resultsat the end of the year.

So, all you Sprinters, we will expect to see maximumnumbers on the water for this series and so you know thereare only two discards for the whole series!

Steve Healy

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Well, 2015 is here and hopefully a good year forsailing with plenty of time spent on the water. Abig thank you to everyone who turned up for thework party, where we managed to accomplishmany tasks. I have been given the mammoth taskof redecorating both the Main and Commodorebars. I must say thank you to Theresa Ryall,

Anthony Blower, Paul Morgan, Claire Morgan and Sarah Bailey whomake up the subcommittee taking on this task along with yourstruly!

We will be replacing the ceiling tiles, carpets, curtains, painting wallsetc to give the place a fresh modern feel. Over the next few monthsthere might be some disruption in the bar areas, we apologise forany inconvenience caused to anyone but it will all be worth it in theend. At the moment I am looking into replacing the hot waterboilers for a different system, but it’s very early stages yet. Goodnews, since the heating boilers were replaced last year our gas bill inJanuary is down £500 from last January, with savings like that wewill soon have recouped our money.

See you on the water - and happy sailing!Rob Bailey

Whether you are a competitive silverware pot hunter, love to compete andthe excitement of a mass start to a Trophy race or just admire the trophiesin the trophy cabinet you may, like me, have been looking in to the cornersof the shelves and wondered werethey all came from, what were theyawarded for and what is theirhistory.

This year with the help of themembers, I would like to organisethe silverware on display and puttogether some of the history. If youknow who donated one of the oldtrophies, and for what it wasawarded, then please jot it downand pass it to a member of thecommittee and let’s make sure ourhistory is not lost, or forgotten.

For those of you who are keen to bepart of the big events and get yourown name engraved into the TBYChistory books I have compiled a listof the main events here. Put thedates in your diary and be part of it!

Jeremy SandfordRear Commodore Racing

Silverware History

Make The Galley Kitchen your next port of call!

Catering is once again fully operational.Home cooking freshly prepared by

our own chef Steve Bullus.

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Margaret Kennedy, “Sailing”

Bar & Kitchen opening times

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Wow, what a start to 2015.. our fleet isnow the fastest growing in the Club!

The last few races have seen our numbers on the water increasing from 5 to 6then 10 to 12 and the last race had thirteen - and that is still with a couple ofregulars not out there! I was even stopped by a man at the top of the slipwayon Sunday and asked if it was a Laser Open Meeting! It’s really good to see allthe teenagers on the water with the 4.7 and radial rigs, which just shows thatwhatever your ability or size there is a rig that is suitable. At this point it wouldbe good to ask the parents of Savva Tretyakov and Alex Warrington to keeptheir boys in Radial rigs for as long as possible, as we elders are struggling tokeep up with them. Lord knows how far in front they would be with full rigs!

As the weather improves for the spring we hope to see some of thehibernators from the winter turn up too, at this rate we could apply to theSailing Committee for fleet status. “Aussie Nick” the Kiwi has purchased one ofthe radial cut full rigs from Laser (not legal at present) and has suddenly foundhimself at the front of the fleet again (that’s why they are illegal, Nick) but forclub racing they are fine.

A big congratulation goes out to Wesley and Catherine who snuck off to NewYork and got married on the quiet. Best wishes for your future from us all.

A few people are going to Grafham Water for the Masters Inland Nationals on11th & 12th April, so watch the website for results.

Following on from the Open Meetings we attended last year, I have contactedmany Essex and Home Counties sailing clubs to see if they are hosting anyevents. Among the ones that have responded so far are:

Aldenham Sailing Club; 7th JuneFishers Green Sailing Club; 27th JuneWaldringfield Sailing Club; 2nd August Broxbourne Sailing Club; 30th AugustHarlow / Blackwater Yacht Club; 12th SeptemberTollesbury Sailing Club; 27th September

These are all one day events, and you can speak to myself or Wesley if anyoneis interested so that we can confirm numbers.

Keep an eye on our notice board for any upcoming events, and look forwardto seeing more and more out there

Rick Paxman / Wesley AbsolomJoint Laser Fleet Captains

Lasers

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Only a few changes in theBar and Catering, HeatherFord has joined us as ournew Bar Supervisorreplacing Natalie, andSteve Bullus and his teamhave now taken on theCatering. I am sure you willmeet them soon if you

haven't already and wish them the best ofluck.

Interestingly my column is historicallynamed Vice Commodore’s View, and sincethe balcony has been renewed with all itsglass and chrome splendour, I often getasked what can be seen in our vista. Wealways have a couple of pairs of binocularson the bar so you can enjoy it in moredetail.

Of course, on the right days our manysailors will be out racing in the hope ofwinning within our race area, marked bythree rows of five racing marks spread in aline from the Coastguard station in the Eastto the Halfway House in the West, eachmark being a third of a mile from eachother.

One of the most prominent features is alump of concrete which people call theMulberry Harbour. This has been anamazing playground for the older cadets,that during cadet week can be seenclimbing and jumping from it. Someintrepid even take the opportunity to sailthrough the break. It is actually a part of aMulberry Harbour, of which 212 were builtand our section is called a Phoenix, one ofmany that were being towed to the FrenchCoast and sunk, creating an artificialharbour for use in the D-Day landings. ThisPhoenix unfortunately didn't make it; as itwas towed from the Humber it started totake on water and so detoured into theEstuary where after being moved around alittle ended up grounded where it is now,1½ miles from our clubhouse.

Just to the left but all the way over on theKent coast three masts can be seen,

surrounded by warning buoys. This isthe famous shipwreck full of explosivethat, it is said, could blow out thewindows in Southend. I think weshould just double check our buildinginsurance. Named the SS RichardMontgomery, it was a liberty ship builtin Florida during the war as a cargoship, carrying a small crew but a largeamount of explosives. It originally hadover 6,000 tonnes when it sankhowever was reduced to 1400 tonnes- just so you don't feel so concerned!Unfortunately she grounded whilstbeing on a mooring that was reallytoo shallow for her, having beengiven orders to moor there by ThamesNaval Control at HMS Leigh, whichwas Southend Pier. Cargo wasremoved to try and refloat her but shecracked her hull before then. Manyactions have been taken to ensure thecargo remains safe. The wreck and itscargo are still owned by the USGovernment. Our sailors often see thewreck closer during the Nore Race. Iam sure Rupert Snow would be ridingan explosive wave on his paddleboard.

Out to the east we often see a lot ofkite boarders enjoying the shallows ofShoebury East Beach, stopped fromentering the MoD land by theShoebury Defence Boom. The boomalso dates back to WWII where itreached out to the deep water. Therewas also a boom on the Kent side andstrung between the two would be aanti-submarine net. The boom wasalso more than the wooden piles thatyou see now, and would have held

anti-aircraft guns and searchlights - allin place to protect the anchoredshipping in the Thames. There are stillmany large ship anchorage mooringsjust outside the club and seen oncharts, where they wait for the righttime to go to the docks. This doesallow us to sail up to some very largestationary ships, just past the MulberryHarbour.

To the west of our play areaboundaries is the world’s longestpleasure pier, built around 1830 andprone to fire and boat damage;always in need of maintenance butstill with us. There have often beenplans to straddle it with marinas andreclaimed land, but nothing has everhappened.

Around the whole view you can see afair few dock cranes but none as big asthe ones past the pier and just pastCanvey Island, in the new deep waterport of the London Gateway As theport develops we will see more largerships and probably a few more cranesappearing.

I just recently heard somebody sayingat the bar that “there is nothing moreinteresting and fun than the ThamesEstuary”. Most coastlines you only seewater with the occasional passingboats. On a sunny day Thorpe BayYacht Club keeps the Estuary colourfuland exciting. I am glad we continue tobe a part of that history.

Paul Morgan

Designed and produced in Essex by Estuarine Design • www.madeinessex.co.ukMADE INESSEX

www.tbyc.orgPhotos in this issue by kind courtesy of Irina Tretyakova and Linzi Swindon