Ace Cup Winner 2017
Ace Cup Winner 2017


Youngest dinghy sailor
Youngest dinghy sailor


Frostbite dinghy sailors
Frostbite dinghy sailors


Frostbite cat sailors
Frostbite cat sailors


Helm of the Year 2017
Helm of the Year 2017


SSC 2017 Year End sailing, Laying Up Supper and prize giving

SSC News – 2017 End of Season sailing, Laying Up Supper and Prize Giving.

The final series’ races for Storm Petrel and Frostbite cups are keenly fought with strong fleets for most races.  The often challenging weather conditions that are part of our autumn are welcomed by those who clearly don’t want the sailing season to end.  The Storm Petrel series saw winds ranging from Force 2 to brisk NW choppy Force 5, with a catamaran fleet of 9 boats and 2 or 3 dinghies still battling for first place.  KevinD with various crews on his Tornado took honours for the cats and DavidC a worthy winner for the dinghy fleet.

Before the Frostbite series began there was a chance for an early cruise, at sunrise just after 7am on 15 October.  The Swale is home to the wintering flocks of geese which gather each year. 10 boats sailed in a gentle breeze amongst the unperturbed flocks busy feeding near the shoreline. This was a photo opportunity not to be missed.

The Frostbite series almost didn’t happen, with winds of 30-40mph at the end of October.  However, by 4 and 5 November the weather had improved to give a great last weekend of sailing for 17 sailors on 13 boats in a chilly north westerly wind. Thanks to the Duty teams especially on the Patrol Boats who supported some tough sailing with fierce competition right to the end.  Fittingly, the Saturday PB duty team won the races on Sunday giving them the cup for the series, and DaveC again won the dinghy trophy.

The Laying Up Supper was organised this year by Sasha and Zoe with a band of willing volunteers supporting them to feed over 50 people from age 3 to 83+….!    Needless to say the evening was a great success, aided by the girls’ sense of fun.  Teams of 10+ were called between courses to sing sea shanties, nobody cared who won it was a case of who sang the loudest!  A slide show of our season’s activity on the water was prepared by DavidC, with photos supplied by several club members, thanks for entertaining us David, a good reminder of happy memories afloat.  We were pleased that our newest members also joined in the fun and look forward to helping them start sailing next year.

The trophies were presented by John H and Judy W, who in several cases were awarding trophies to themselves, well done!  Cup winners were, for the cat sailors, predominantly Kevin D and Dave O, Tornado sailors, but with a few new names to add for keen competition next year, JohnB and other Dart 18 sailors, and Sprint 15 sailors PaulS and AndyC.  Dinghy trophy winners were almost a “family affair” with teenager Henry C now taking trophies which grandfather David C has won in previous years. Keen lady Laser sailor Judy W also featured frequently winning several trophies.  David A, from the Pico fleet was also a worthy cup winner.

At Seasalter the Discretionary awards are eagerly awaited by the audience at the end of the evening.  Not all the trophies are awarded for serious sailing effort, other factors influence the judges’ choice of winner.  This year the winners were:

Volunteering Award: Rob S and Caroline P for organising a week of sailing and other events in the school summer holidays.

Novice Cup:  Freya F for making excellent progress in her first year sailing a Laser Pico at Seasalter and choosing sailing as her subject for her Duke of Edinburgh Award challenge.

Junior Cup: Rachel A for successfully gaining her Duke of Edinburgh Award, choosing sailing as her challenge, keenly supported by her father Dave A.

Lady Helm: Joan W, continuing to sail competitively whenever possible and enjoying tough sailing conditions.

Duck Award: Sasha M.  This was for trying so hard to make everything go right when it just wasn’t going to happen.  Sailing without a bung, searching for a replacement, it didn’t fit, boat sails away on its own!  A passing swimmer obviously thought this was the club for him, so was offering to sail it back!  A valiant effort by Sasha to get new members to join SSC!

Legends Award:  Jo Jones, a strapping 6ft + catamaran sailor decided to sail a Laser Pico, why ? who knows?  We all became disorientated and lost count after watching him capsize 20-25 times, he was a man not to be beaten by a Laser Pico!  Of course the Patrol boat was there offering assistance, but he was determined to finish the race unassisted!

Most Improved Helm: David A, who in addition to winning many fiercely competitive races in his Pico, has successfully encouraged his daughter Rachel to achieve her D of E award.

Crew of the Year:  This ward had to go to Karen B.  A new sailor at SSC who has chosen to crew on Dart 18’s, Tornados and Sprint 15’s.  She has sailed in the most challenging weather and given helms no excuse for not trying hard to win!

Helm of the Year: This was won again by David C, who has continued to lead the way, sailing every race that he could and providing inspiration for those who needed encouragement.

Congratulations to everyone.

We hope that Seasalter will continue to provide the excitement and enjoyment of sailing in 2018.

 

J


Seasalter Sailing Club,
Faversham Road, Seasalter, Kent, UK, CT5 4BW
Phone: 01227 261022
General Enquiries: enquiries@seasaltersc.org.uk
Membership Enquiries: membership@seasaltersc.org.uk
Webmaster: webmaster@seasaltersc.org.uk

Design by Island Webservices
An Inspired Facility RYA affiliated sailing club
Facebook