Deben Yacht Club Newsletter

Summer 2017

Commodore’s Notes p.2 More Leisure Sailing p.3

Dinghy Racing p.4 Yacht Racing p.5

Improvers’ Sail Training p.6 An Improver’s Point of View p.7

Galley News and Fundraising p.8 Walks and Talks p.9 Junior Regatta p.9

Working Party p.10 Storm Doris p.11 Stop Press p.12

New Members Tea 18 June Try Sailing Day 25 June

Junior Regatta 15 & 16 July Regatta Week 9 - 13 August

the channel when there are cruisers and big yachts passing through and remember the safety boat crews must be obeyed at all times. They often see risks that you may not be aware of. Don’t forget to keep the 9 to 13 of August free for our annual Regatta. Five days of concentrated sailing and a good chance of winning a chocolate prize of some description. And if chocolate is not your thing then I am sure that we will have a beer challenge after the success of the Ghost Ship Run last year. Let us make 2017 a year to remember for all the right reasons so that when we get to the end of this sailing season we can all say “that was a good year and I’m glad I made the effort to get out on the water!” David Watson Commodore Front cover: Chris Tyndale-Biscoe with his Laser Vortex and Paul Driscoll in his Laser 1. Below: David Watson and Charlotte Norrbom

Remember at the end of last season you said to yourself “Where did that year go? I wish I had sailed more!” Well here we are a third of the way through and now is the time to commit to getting out on the water and enjoying yourself. We have got plenty of events in the calendar for you to join in and if not then just go sailing by yourself. The river is so beautiful at this time of year. Already we have had some great sailing and lovely days messing around in boats. There is always room for more people racing and no need to be nervous. If you have not raced before then there are plenty who can offer advice and support. But even if you are not serious about too much competition then actually taking part in races with a defined course is a really great way to improve your sailing skills and boat handling with the comfort of safety cover. Someone once said to me “I never used to be competitive until I started winning!” So give it a go you really have nothing to lose and lots to gain. A good way to appreciate what is going on is from the safety

boats and we are always ready to welcome new crew members. There you can observe the finer details of racing and you will soon realise that it is not quite as chaotic as it first appears. I want to thank all of the volunteers who make this club so special. There are too many to name individually but we all know that there are some people who do more than their fair share so if you can do a bit more to spread the load then please do. Leisure sailing is really on the up and our Lazy sailing events have been so successful that sometimes it gets a bit crazy on the ramp and the river. Don’t forget that we only provide the opportunity to get out and enjoy yourselves the rest is up to you. Some of the youngsters throw themselves in at the deep end (literally!) so all you parents please remind them of the risks and reinforce the message that it is great to have fun but respect other river users and also club and other peoples boats. Try not to capsize in

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Commodore’s Notes

DYC Newsletter

More Leisure Sailing

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So the 2017 DYC Dinghy Sailing Programme is well and truly underway! By the time you read this we’ll have already completed the Tune Up Series, the Spring Points, the Joan Doble Cup, the RNLI Evening Cup and the Weekend Series, not to mention Safety Boat Refresher courses, a Beginners Sailing Course and an Intermediate Sailing Course!! But don’t fret: we still have a whole lot more sailing to do before we hang up our wetsuits for another year! In line with the wishes of you, our members, we’ve made a number of changes to the sailing programme this year, most notably to introduce more opportunities for leisure sailing, supported with safety boat cover. So in addition to the mid-week dinghy flotillas organised by Mark and Mel, we’ve introduced a number of Weekend Flotillas. These are intended to give people the opportunity to develop their sailing skills but without the pressure of a race: the plan is to start with a briefing at the Club House when we’ll agree the day’s sail, including where we might moor up for tea and cakes (please bring your own, but we’ll happily carry it in the safety boat!). The plan is to try and stick more or less together (after all, it is a flotilla!), but the format will be relaxed, and we just ask that if you want safety cover you stay within sight of the safety boats! Our ever-popular “Lazy Sailing” events remain a feature of the programme: the idea behind Lazy Sailing is to provide members (adults as well as teenagers and children!) with an opportunity to “mess about in boats”, whether it be their own, or one of the club boats (Toppers, Qbas, Fevas and Wayfarers) which are available for use, free of charge, by under 18s, or for the regular hire fee for adults. This year we’re hoping to introduce even more fun by organising some sailing-based games to the evenings, which will also give people the opportunity to improve specific aspects of their sailing. Our next Lazy Sailing will be on 18 June, don’t miss it! Of course the programme remains central to our calendar: all the favourites are back including cup races such as the Kingfisher (11 June), the James Bibbings Pursuit (when the slowest boats start

Summer 2017

first) 23 July and the Sulivan Cup (29 July) and the various Series and Points events. However we’ve also introduced the Summer Cup Novice Racing series during August to give those who are new to racing the opportunity to find out what it’s all about. We’ll be giving extra advice, guidance and coaching at these events, so if you’ve not raced before, they’re an ideal opportunity to dip your toe in the water! Last but most definitely not least, we have our Junior Regatta (15/16 July) and our main Regatta back again from 9 – 13 August. Why go on holiday when you have the Deben on your door-step!? With up to 80 boats competing in different classes, the DYC Regatta is a not-to-be missed event, guaranteed to be a memorable occasion, full of laughs, whilst also a great way to improve your sailing. Get it in your diary now! Graham Seabrook Vice Commodore

Graham Seabrook in his Laser Vago

Hi all, well the sailing season is underway now with the Tune up series, Joan Doble cup and Spring points completed. At the finish of the Joan Doble Cup, Barry and Ali Garrod (pictured top right) decided to entertain the spectators by capsizing near the finish line, then trying to right the boat with the spinnaker still flying. Graham Seabrook has been keeping a check on the water temperature with his various capsizes while trying to tame his Vago and Kevin Connolly has been mastering his Hadron H2.

I have just bought a Laser 1 so I can join in with the fleet racing and I have also just renovated a Laser which was kindly donated to the club by a member so this is available for any member who wishes to hire it. It would be nice to get some more of the Lasers out that are sitting in the dinghy park; we could have some fleet racing!

The slow handicap fleet seems a little quiet, but now the weather is warming up it would be good to see the Fevas and Toppers out in force, remember we have plenty of club boats for hire so no excuse guys. If you’re worried about racing just come along and follow the fleet round; there are always racers about to help with any issues you may have.

Don’t forget the DYC Regatta Week August 9 to 13, 2 races a day with a fun day/prize giving on Sunday 13. The Junior Regatta is 15 and 16 July which coincides with Woodbridge Regatta on the Sunday when there will also be a race for over 35s, a ladies race and yacht racing, so lots of fun. Before the Regattas we have Lazy sailing, leisure sailing/flotilla trips which will allow sailors to go further down river with support boat cover.

Check your sailing programme as there are various Cup races and series scheduled so don’t be shy, join in!

If you have any ideas or suggestions about racing please let me know, I am normally around the club on race days or you can email me. I look forward to seeing you on the water.

Alan Grant Club Captain

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Dinghy Racing

DYC Newsletter

Yacht Racing

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Ann Jackson’s lifting keel Sonata, Spinaway, sporting new sails, getting across the line first. It wasn’t long, though, before Mel and Julia Ringer in their fixed keel Sonata, Con-certo, began to pull ahead and stayed there up to the fin-ish, though not far enough ahead to beat the vagaries of the handicap system despite the valiant efforts of the crew! Roger and Michael Hanes’ Sapphire was also sporting new sails but in the conditions, couldn’t use them to full ad-

vantage – we will need to watch out when there are lighter condi-tions. Clouseau, helmed by Jon Bell with crew Jess Bell and Steff Beliowski went well on its sec-ond outing and was

second overall on handicap. There was a lot of close racing with boats near enough together to engage in friendly banter….. ! Everyone agreed that it was a cracking sail de-spite a few bruises..! Full results of all our races are on the club website http://www.debenyachtclub.co.uk/wp_dir/sailing/race-results-2/ As a way of getting a more varied race programme, we have re-introduced some ebbtide races for this season. The actual course for these is dependent on weather but we aim to start early and go downriver, perhaps out to sea, and return on the rising tide with a stop for rafting up and refreshments before getting back to our moorings. If anyone is interested to try yacht race please get in touch with me – it is done in a very relaxed way and really is fun! Chris Cobb Yacht Racing Captain

Summer 2017

As the last yacht racing report was written before the last yacht race of 2016, it may have been ill advised even to suggest that, for 2017, the so called terminal race be re-named. The wind blew in abundance, gear broke, and, after what was an exciting race, the yacht racing captain, attempting to pick up Tarakihi’s mooring, under sail, made a bit of a hash of it! Unfortunately, the result of the misjudgement was damage to Tarakihi’s bowsprit and, more importantly, to a moored motor cruiser – thank goodness for insurance! So, it was with some trepida-tion, that it was decided to call the last race of the season after the cup that is awarded – Yachts Eden Dickson Cup Race. The first race of 2017, Yacht Evening Race 1, was not well attended, there being only 2 boats. This was not surprising as the evening was cold and windy and some of the regular racers had decamped to warmer holiday locations or had other plausible excuses for not braving the elements. However, the race was memorable in that it was the first outing of Clouseau – Darren Gee and Jon Bell’s Sadler 25 – and the hot meal after the race which was much needed; thank you galley team. The Spring Race was a different matter – there were five boats racing and the weather was sunny and bright for the most part with a good westerly wind; the course was a beat to buoy 9 from a start at buoy 14 and a reach down river to 8, then beat to 5 and back to 12. Anyone familiar with our racing will know that this type of course is the mainstay of those sailed.

There was much jostling at the start with Mike and

Tarakihi following Spinaway in the 2017 spring Race

DYC Newsletter

Improvers’ Sail Training

Another year, another sail training course. All the planning, starting in November, has been done and we’re ready to meet the new group. Always nice to see some familiar faces – people who’ve done a course with us before and seem happy to come back and have another go. Such resilience.

Mid-April, the boats are all looking lovely, despite the best, no – the worst efforts of Storm Doris which led to the DYC Working Party having to source and install 2 new Wayfarer masts. But we had a gentle start with session 1, getting afloat about midday. Everyone feeling a bit nervous as it’s probably the first sail of the season. Weather was kind – mild, 13 knots with gusts to 22. Nice way to blow off some cobwebs and remember where the sharp end of the boat is. Figures of eight, some triangles, picking up moorings. Ready about!

Session 2 was a mini adventure. We set off at about 11 and didn’t stop till we had reached The Rocks on our downriver day. Lunch on the beach, yum. Bit cooler today but much lighter winds; 5 to 6 knots NE. Lots of opportunities to practise close manoeuvres including tight triangles and man overboard. Some trainees finally managed to get rid of their instructors and tried sailing on their own. I’m sure having less ballast helped a lot. Lovely sail back, not too technical. Sun on the moorings, smiles.

The last session was a bit of a contrast. Weather mild, wind 17 knots ESE gusting to 30 ! We’d been hoping the wind forecast would drop in the days before but it was not to be. Intense discussions on the day but everyone was keen to get out there for the challenge. Rigged the boats, heavily reefed, and had an exciting session. No-one asking ‘where’s the wind coming from?’ today. ‘Gust coming!’ ‘Starboard!’ Super stuff. And some lucky trainees even had the joy of a capsize recovery drill to finish off. We’ll try the dry ones some other time.

Despite some people having to miss some sessions they all felt they learnt a lot and seemed keen to get back on the water at the earliest opportunity. That’s one of the advantages of doing the training early in the year – we started on 14 April. Even doing the last session on 3 June means that we’re all warmed up nicely to make the most of the club’s summer season. Keep sailing, keep learning.

As ever, thanks to so many people, including: the trainees for being such a cheerful bunch (even though surprising quiet when being asked theory questions) – Matt Driver, Helen Duncan, Bob Edney, Joe

Finch, Alfie Hughes, Jon Llewellyn, Alice Thomas, Karen Whittingham, Orla Whittingham, the instructors, who give their time, expertise, patience & humour: Tim Game, Graham Seabrook, Matt Thompson, Mark Cresswell, Seb Garfield, the support boat crews: David Hayhow, Chris Norfolk, Charlotte Norrbom, Mick Sheppard, Bob Entwistle, Duncan Russell; and of course the galley staff – many thanks. Steve Scholey Training Team / Chief Instructor ‘Congratulations go to Graham Seabrook and Charlotte Norrbom - they both successfully completed their RYA Dinghy Instructor qualifications this Spring.'

First Flotilla this Year 28 boats took part in our first flotilla with 44 sailors on the water and with the safety team and galley the total was 52

First Lazy Sailing Session On the 3 June 53 people went lazy sailing and a few also went swimming, well it was a lovely, warm day.

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Summer 2017 Page 7

‘Improvers’ in the context of dinghy sailing is, I’d say, a term somewhat open to interpretation. Nine people brought together to get better at sailing. We were of various ages, and safe to say, varying ability. A few of us had done the DYC Beginners’ course last year but most had come with other experience from other rivers, lakes and seas.

For many, this seemed to be the first time sailing in a crewed boat. For me this offered both reassurance and some trepidation. Someone else to learn from but

also possibly someone else to dunk in the cool April water.

However, we were quickly reassured that our Wayfarers were extremely difficult to capsize. At the start of each session we were paired up, briefed on the wind, weather and activities for the day, introduced to our instructors and set off in a RIB to rig our boats.

The first session was on Good Friday and what a splendid way to start the first Bank Holiday of the year. It was a calm and mild day and we were able to get back to practising our

tacking and gybing and sailing a triangular course. The final session was the windiest and coolest. Our sails were well reefed to allow us to go out and we finished, perhaps somewhat cruelly, with capsize practice.

The best session was the second – the downriver day. The weather and wind were fine, an audible sigh of relief from instructor Tim let us know we had safely navigated the expensive Waldringfield boats, and we made it down to the Ramsholt mussel beds. As we prepared to return, the sun pushed out from the

clouds and we sailed back up to our moorings in that enchanting late afternoon Suffolk light. I can’t wait to get back out, and I think I’ve improved.

A very big thank you to all our instructors and the safety boat team for getting us safely and successfully on and off (and out of) the water every time.

Matt Driver Left; with instructor Mark Cresswell Below; Lunch at the rocks.

Next Sail Training Course

Tuesday 25 July - Friday 28 July This is for Beginners or

Improvers.

Please contact John Prevett to book a place :

ryatcprincipal@debenyachtclub.co.uk

An Improver’s Point of View

Galley News

DYC Newsletter

After a series of once a month lunches at the clubhouse over the winter months for our working party team (some say they only go because of the food), our regular galley sessions started at the end of March. Since then, the galley team supported the very successful brunch in aid of The Samaritans – about 90 cooked breakfasts were provided.

The Samaritans of Ipswich & East Suffolk are based in Ipswich and have their telephone lines manned all day and all night to answer calls from people in emotional distress. Christine Holding offered to organise a fundraiser for them on the 6 of May after seeing their signs by the railway crossings in Woodbridge. Christine was able to obtain most of the food supplies locally, so many thanks go to The Cake Shop for the bread, Creasey (the butcher) for sausages, Marks & Spencers for the eggs and East of England Co-op for the tea. They also asked local companies for raffle prizes and received donations from the Woodbridge Greengrocers, Barretts of Woodbridge, Adnams Brewery, and Riverside Theatre. The other prizes were donated by Samaritans volunteers. The total raised by the brunch was £610 and the raffle raised £150.

Recently, some members of the galley team have completed Food Hygiene Training. This is needed every 3 years so that they can refresh their knowledge of food safety and continue to help carry out and encourage best practices.

We have 2 events this summer when we are open to the public These are:

Woodbridge Regatta Day – July 6 Maritime Woodbridge – September 9 & 10

On all of these occasions, we will need extra volunteers to help in the galley for a short time on a rota. We cannot run these days without your help so, please look out for the sign-up sheets that will be posted in the clubhouse.

After several comments, we have now put a Recycling Bin in the “pound” by the exit gate. This is for clean folded cardboard/paper, rinsed tins and plastic/milk containers only please.

Many thanks to all the volunteers that give their time to help – we really value your support.

If anyone has any suggestions/comments to improve operations, please let me or one of the Galley Team know.

Di Cobb Galley Lead

Above; Samaritans Branch Secretary Hilary Wilkinson and volunteer Moira.

Above from left: Liz Bubb, Christine Holding, Sally Watson, Di Cobb and David Hayhow washing up. Right: Guests tucking in.

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Summer 2017

Winter Walks

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Thanks to some of our more intrepid members, the club was offered three very different walks to keep us fit over the winter:

14 January 2017 Newbourne Waldringfield Circular Walk; a crisp walk with lovely views overlooking the Deben, finished off with a welcome lunch at the New-bourne Fox.

18 February 2017 Upper Fynn Valley. After a rainy start, we enjoyed this walk in different countryside and returned to a good lunch at the Moon and Mushroom, Swilland.

25 March 2017 Wolverstone/Pin Mill; a walk in fine weather alongside the Orwell, culminated in fine food at the Butt and Oyster.

Thank you to Frances and Steve Alexander; David Hay-how and Anne Moore for arranging these walks. Next time why not take some photos too!! If you have a favourite walk, why not share it with other members, we will be looking for volunteers to arrange walks, check out the Autumn issue later this year.

Jenny Shaw

The Club normally organises a few talks during the winter months. Last winter’s talks were all well attended and we are very grateful for the speakers tak-ing the time to prepare and deliver the talks which cov-ered: Sam Simpson and Paul Constantine - The Waterfront developments Sam explained the work that has gone into The Kings River celebration (performance to be 11-15 July 2017) and Paul described plans for building the Sutton Hoo ship in Woodbridge. Tony Allwood – Wild Goose to the Baltic. Three members of DYC (Tony Allwood, Julian Taylor and Tony Wilman) described the more interesting parts of the cruise they (together with wives and other crew) made in the summer of 2016 from Woodbridge to Fehmarn in North Germany. John White – The Deben Ferrymen. John explained some of the history of the ferry to Bawdsey, showing a number of interesting old photos and recounting a number of anecdotes.

Winter talks cover a variety of topics and of course generally follow a nautical theme. We are always on the lookout for speakers for the winter - if you know of any local person or organisation who might be able to deliv-er a talk of interest to the club, please send details to the Secretary. Pat Morgan

Junior Regatta

This year for the junior regatta, we have muddy fun planned for those that like mud wading. You can come along at low water in the morning and wade across to the other side of the river and back...if you dare.

For those that prefer to keep clean, there will be some more interesting knotting and exciting rope work to fiddle with. On the other morning, we will repeat our scrapheap chal-lenge and get you to make a win-ning boat design.

Winter Talks You can test your skills on the boat pond to see how your naval architect skills are progressing. During both afternoons, we will have sessions/races on the water. Don't be afraid if you haven't raced before because eve-ryone's ability is considered. All you have to do is know how to sail! The weekend will include snacks and lunch in the price, so get your friends together and come along.

Jo Masters

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Further to my report in the Winter DYC magazine I remain very grateful to the band of trusty members who have applied themselves throughout the winter on many and varied maintenance and improvements to building, grounds, equipment and of course to our club dinghies and safety boats. In addition to the usual cleaning, tidying and ground clearance the following specific repairs and improvements should be highlighted

• The wind vane, wind speed

anemometer and racing blackboard were all refurbished

• A new shed was built to house

all the extra spars and equipment for our club boats

• A mast rack was installed to hold

club Topper sails during the sailing season

• Rotten wood to top of ramp way

was replaced

• A pontoon was saved by

replacing a worn out anchoring plate.

• Rotted outboard locker lids on

the pontoons were replaced.

• A downriver race starter horn

was installed on Nimbus

• The club bar has been

brightened up and more shelving space installed

• Some veranda planking plus a

supporting beam had rotted and were replaced.

Please contact myself (01394 382233) or Chris Cobb if you feel you might have time next winter to help us.

Mick Sheppard Rear Commodore

house, where we’d sweated blood clearing away some earth next to the access slope. That was too close to the sea wall for the Environment Agency who told us we’d have to apply for a bespoke permit for which the guidance notes covered a mere 85 pages! We’d also have to make conservation and flood risk assess-ments, develop a management pro-cess and pay a substantial fee. How-ever, the Suffolk Coastal planners were happy for us to put the shed in its present spot as a “minor change”. This all took time and so it was not installed at Christmas time as we hoped but in early April. The shed makers phoned Mick several times to ask why there was so much delay. David Hayhow Secretary

DYC Newsletter

Working Party

We’ve got another New Shed!

I’m sure you’ve spotted our new shed in the Dinghy Park. If you haven’t then here’s a picture.

It will probably never look this tidy again! Now the club has so many boats for hire, we need storage space for spares and foils, spars and sails over the winter. It also means that we’ll have a very small dry workshop space for the Winter Working Party when they’re busy. We also have a naming problem; for years we’ve had a key labelled New Shed to open the big shed and so to stop us having to label another key “Newer Shed” we are going to have to number the keys. Mick Sheppard specified and ordered it and then we found out that while a shed in a garden needs no planning permission, local government must approve one in a Dinghy Park. So, we applied to Suffolk Coastal who then passed information to Suffolk County Council’s Highways team to see how we would affect their traffic projec-tions, population changes and waste management plans. We had intended to place the shed closer to the club-

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On Thursday 23 February, Storm Doris wreaked havoc across the East Coast of England, the storm lasted for several hours and well into the evening. A keen member, Michael Galbraith, checked the dinghy park the next morning and reported the damage to club officers.

Most of the boats in the park had been moved around by the storm and some club boats had sustained damage.

Many boat covers were ripped to pieces by the wind; make sure that your boat is decently covered.

Two club Wayfarers had broken masts and in Michael’s words “one Topper had made it over the fence”.

The working party got to it assessing damage and repositioning boats. David Hayhow sought out suitable suppliers and obtained two quotes for replacing the masts, whilst I asked our brokers AJ Gallagher to alert the insurers to a possible claim. Once all the information was gathered I submitted the claim and obtained agreement from insurers Groves John Westrup the very same day.

Thanks to the excellent service by the broker and insurer we were able to place the order promptly with Seamark Nunn who in turn expedited the order so that we received the masts within a week!

The hulls of the Wayfarers had just been painted ready for the new season when the storm struck which meant that maintenance work was set back weeks. But after a sterling effort by the working party the boats were ready just in time for the first sailing courses. Well done to everyone involved for keeping the show on the road!!

We've just had a tree surgeon visit to trim back the willow by the Dinghy Park gate to stop it removing burgees from boats going past. He also did a little trimming of the tree by the Mirror storage area.

Jenny Shaw Treasurer

Summer 2017

Hi everyone, my name is Charlotte and I’m the new publicity officer. As Jane Bradburn decided to retire from the post after five years of doing an excellent job I’m trying to fill some of the gap she’s left. I’m completely new to this kind of work so it’s both interesting and a bit daunting. This is my third season at the club and I like it a lot, sailing here is lovely. I nor-mally sail one of the club boats or some-times crew for someone, (that’s me crewing for David Watson in the photo on page 2). I’ve enjoyed putting this newsletter together and I hope you like reading it. I would like to say a big thank you to both Jane and to Jenny Shaw who’s been helping me get to grips with things.

If you’ve got some fun thing or an inter-esting story to share in the autumn news letter, send it to me: publicity@debenyachtclub.co.uk

Charlotte Norrbom

Storm Doris

Thursday 22/Friday 23 June & Friday 14/Saturday 16 July

This follows the RYA syllabus for powerboats. Each two-day course will run from 0900 to 17.00 on both days, most of the time will be on the water. The members’ fee is £80.00 but places may be available for non-members. If you are interested please contact John Prevett: ryatcprincipal@debenyachtclub.co.uk

Powerboat Level 2

It is now possible for anyone to add a post to the web-site. This is a great opportunity for you to help keep members up to date with activity at the club by pub-lishing a photo and a few words. It is not quite as sim-ple as adding a post to a service such as Facebook, but you don’t need to be a computer scientist to succeed – just follow these simple steps:

•Log on to the DYC website (in the same way as you do to hire a club boat)

New Publicity Officer

•Go to “The Club” -> “User Posts Page”

•Enter the words and pictures

•Click on “Submit Post”

•(Your post won’t appear immediately as someone will check it before publication)

Any problems or help needed, please contact webmaster@debenyachtclub.co.uk or phone Pat Morgan on 01473 831252

Adding posts to the DYC website

Deben Yacht Club www.debenyachtclub.co.uk

'Buddy a Beginner' Starting to sail is exciting but it can be daunting for the beginner.

The club is starting a new initiative 'Buddy a Beginner' to help new members get out on the water by teaming them with experienced helms. This will be launched at our Try Sailing Day on Sunday 25 June when people who have enjoyed the sail will be offered the opportunity to crew on the next 4 leisure sailing days:

Tuesday 27 June

Wednesday 12 July

Saturday 27 July

Monday 24 July

We need volunteer experience helms who are willing to take out a beginner and become their buddy, helping them to feel part of the club and gaining con-fidence.

To make it simpler to decide whether to join the club or not they can come to these sessions as a temporary member for just £5. If they then decide to join, they can sign up for the beginners course which runs from

Tuesday 25 July to Friday 28 July.

If you can help, contact John Prevett: ryatcprincipal@debenyachtclub.co.uk

Club Toppers

We’ve made a few changes to the way that we store our Toppers so they’re quicker and easier to rig and put away. The Winter Working Party has built a magnificent rack so we can leave sails rolled round the masts ready to use. Please try not to lose the shock cord ties that keep the clew corner of the sail wrapped up tightly; why not put it round the mast or kicker. We will leave booms and spars on the boats under the covers.

Stop Press

New Club Laser

Thanks to a generous club member donating his Laser to the club and Alan Grant‘s super skill in doing it up we now have another beautiful club dinghy available to members. It has a full rig and also a radial rig which is good for sailors up to 75kg. Here are some before and after shots.

Thanks to Alan again for all the dinghy racing photos including the cover. If you have a photo that you would like in the newsletter, send it to: publicity@debenyachtclub.co.uk

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