Weymouth
Sailing
Club

In September, you might have noticed an epic day of sailing from ‘Dawn til Dusk’. A sponsored sailing event, where non-stop sailing was undertaken in various dinghies in a relay fashion. Continuing into the evening with Squib racing. It was organised by Cadet Captain Emma Stevenson with the help of her mother (Caroline) and sister Alexandra to raise funds to be split equally between the Will Mackaness Trust and our own YOBs. A staggering £1,000 was raised by the youngsters, with the generous sponsorship from family, friends and club members.

The new official Weymouth and Portland Edition MONOPOLY board is now on shop shelves - virtual and actual. There are very many regional twists and turns on this brand new official board, with - in all - 22 property landmarks like Weymouth Beach and Portland Bill passing GO after the public was invited to vote for the landmarks earlier in the year.
Amongst them is Weymouth Sailing Club. Spot the club burgee with its bright pink square alongside the Harbour and Weymouth FC.

Yet again Sunday proved to be an excellent morning's racing, with a gusty W5 providing an interesting guessing game on the inshore beat to O mark. An excellent course from Jim Chalmers allowed boats to choose their own path back upwind from M, leaving out Z; as it happened, the right-hand side tended to pay more and more, though careful covering was needed to make sure no-one found a little something others didn't.

A bright chilly morning with a shifty 10 knot NNE breeze, and two and a half hours to race in - what's not to like? The second race in the IRC and PY Autumn series was well supported and keenly contested, even though 'Rocket's' start with the previous class was rather too keen to be allowable! Confined to the inner bay by the Merlin Open and an RYA training event, the course nevertheless had crews scurrying below for a bigger piece of paper, with no less than three windward marks in the sequence of upwind/downwind legs.

There cannot be many Sailing Clubs in the UK that run a September evening series. The idea of Weymouth Sailing Club Squib Class Captain, Alan McDine, was first tried last year and has proved to be a great success. The event is self-organised by the Squib Fleet and uses a gate start. The only Club resource required is the safety boat which lays any additional marks that may be required, acts as guard boat for the gate Squib and finishes the fleet at the windward mark after about an hour and 15 minutes of racing. The start time is 17.30 and the course and countdown is announced to the fleet with great clarity by the safety boat driver Euan McNair.

The 10th November sees the start of the biggest boat race in the world. Around the world single handed in a powered up Open 60 without stopping. Twenty skippers will be on the start line, and you could be too.

Several members enjoyed the 2008-2009 edition in the form of "Virtual Regatta" racing. This took a lot of committment to ensure your perfect trajectory around the world, waking up in the middle of the night and changing sails etc.

Eleven French sailors came from Cherbourg (sounds like a song, doesn't it?) to enjoy the sunshine in Weymouth as the first leg of their south coast cruise last week. Yours truly provided the guided tour of the town, including the Georgian bathing machine which they found fascinating, and the cannonball in the wall next to the Ship Inn. This was followed by what I can only call an extended lunch on board one of their two boats. The visit heralded a much bigger invasion to follow, however...

This Sunday 16th September the Marine Conservation Society are holding a coastal cleanup.

Volunteers are needed to lend a hand at Newton’s Cove, Weymouth, on Sunday, September 16 from noon. They should meet on the prom by the bridge.

The charity MCS campaigns for clean seas and beaches, sustainable fisheries, and the protection of marine life.

It is thought to last for about an hour or so and remember to bring suitable clothing.

Well that's it summer over, no more evening races. The YOBs finished their last evening with the second evening of a mini Squib series. With the help of Alan McDine who got together a team of Squib owners who not only risked their boats for the YOBs to helm but they also crewed for the youngsters. Irene Robinson was Race Officer for both evenings, setting Olympic standard courses.

‘Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May/ and summer’s lease’, as the Shakespeare sonnet famously puts it, ‘hath all too short a date’ – though this week’s ‘Indian’ summer weather gives the lie to the Bard, at least for the moment. Does this happen every year? Is the weather noticeably changing? And can you guess the time of year these photos were taken?