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At the Mid Week Lunch on Thursday 16th November there was a great turn out with 7 past commodore's present!!  quite a record I think.

It was also Ken Harrison's 90th birthday last week and Jonathan Payne's 80th this week so  Bridget made a cake for them and this seemed to go down very well.  

The dates for next year are: 

January 18th

February 22nd

Much 21st

April 18th

May 16th

June 13th (Tea on the Terrace)

RYA Training @ MLSC

Improve your Navigation and Seamanship skills and gain a valuable qualification by enrolling on one of our RYA accredited Courses

Yacht Master Theory – 8 week course

8 evenings: Tues 21 Nov, Tues 28 Nov, Tues 5 Dec, Tues 12 Dec,

Tues 9 Jan, Tues 16 Jan, Tues 23 Jan, Tues 30 Jan

 1800 to 2100 hrs

plus Sat 3 Feb, 0900 to 1700

and Sun 4 Feb 1000 to 1600

Tuition fee: £330, includes all course books and charts.

 Prepayment required

All Courses include all RYA materials

 and temporary membership of MLSC. 

Contact: hon.training.mlsc@gmail.com or visit www.mlsc.org.uk for more joining details

Early booking is advised as places are limited

Maldon Little Ship Club, The Hythe, Maldon, Essex CM9 5HN

Champagne sailing conditions graced our flagship event in the racing calendar.

Following on the heels of a successful Cadet Week for youngsters, Club Week saw competitors aged from four to over 80 taking to 128 boats to compete over six days, topped off with the standalone Regatta.

Summer 2023 finally delivered, with warm sunshine and perfect sailing winds providing sailors with ideal conditions and some memorable sailing on the upper reaches of the Blackwater Estuary.

Vivien Whitchurch and Chris Briggs race the Sprite

There were 11 fleets in Club Week, run from 13 to 18 August, ranging from Optimists to Fast Cruisers. The largest fleet was Medium Handicap boasting 32 boats, followed by 23 Lasers, 15 Wayfarers, 14 Mirrors, nine Sprites and eight Fireballs.

The Club excelled with the logistics of launching, starting, finishing and returning them all within the confines of the tide.

Those not worn out by the sailing could enjoy a host of social events, from a quiz night to a 70s disco.

Sailing Secretary Steve Perkins said: “The week started with a gusty south-westerly Force 4 to 6, offering some challenging conditions, thrills and spills to keep our safety fleet busy, a few masts collecting mud from the bottom of the river, and lots of smiles and stories at the bar once ashore.

“Monday was slightly easier, steady Force 4, which pretty much stayed with us for the rest of the week, albeit from a different direction every day, keeping our Race Teams on their toes all week, working their way through the portfolio of courses!”

Rob Carver and Clem Evans in the B14

There was close racing all week, with the winners of each class competing for the 'Cock of the Club' in the Club's recently-purchased Zest dinghies. Short races were set in front of the clubhouse, with participants cheered on by the crowd, each supporting their own class champion. The overall winner was Finn sailor Dan Dixon, showing once again his infamous ability to make any boat go that little bit faster!

The Regatta on Saturday 19 August finished the Week with a total of 61 boats in 11 classes, including Optimists, Mirrors, Toppers, Teras and Fevas, Fireballs, Medium Handicap, Lasers, Wayfarers, Sprites, Fast Handicap plus Fast and Club Cruisers.

While the boats were out racing, the crabbing competition saw 25 crabs caught, a few fish, jellyfish and a sea gooseberry. This was followed by the legendary greasy pole, which tested participants’ balance; the open water swimming race, which tested their stamina; and the cork race, which tested their sportsmanship. The day finished with a hog roast and music.

Sheena Berney, Vice Commodore, said: “The Regatta was a fantastic family day for everyone and many thanks to all the volunteers who made the day such as a success.”

Going for the flag at the end of the greasy pole

Everyone seemed to enjoy the evening and get into the spirit of the 70's

Nearly 150 young people aged between eight and 18 enjoyed a packed sailing, racing and social programme at our annual Cadet Week.

The week gives Cadets of all abilities the opportunity to sail and race, learning from a team of voluntary instructors who give tuition covering all levels and stages.

Lake racing

For those new to sailing, tuition starts on our training lake, while those more experienced sailors – some of whom have been enjoying great success in international competitions – took to the estuary for a full calendar of 65 races. There was river racing in over 50 boats from five different fleets and a team racing event.

Toppers sailing to Maldon Promenade Park in the rain

Cadet Skipper Rob Carver said: “All in all, it was a fantastic week despite the challenges of the weather, running races every day, getting dozens of Cadets through their RYA levels, and enjoying almost all of our planned off-the-water activities.”

The Week also had a bursting programme of social events organised by the Cadet Committee - including a fancy dress competition, disco, quiz and table tennis tournament - with a huge undertaking by the voluntary galley staff to provide catering throughout.

Fancy dress competition

Cadet Week raises money for charity with a raffle and silent auction making a magnificent £1,700 for the Cadet Commodore’s chosen charities – the Thames Barge Sailing Trust and Teenage Cancer Trust.

Series winners: Laser Radial and Cock of the Cadets Nick Evans; Laser 4.7 Jess Welch; General handicap Lucy Shelter and Jess Haigh; Topper/Tera Josephine Bernard; Feva Flo Evans and Katherine Carver; Optimist Callum Marshall.

Wayfarer Nationals at Dabchicks SC.

The Wayfarer Nationals took place on 29^th June to 2^nd July at one of our neighbouring clubs on the Blackwater, Dabchicks with an entry of 28 boats. We had a strong contingent of four boats from the Blackwater SC taking part. The first thing to say it was really windy on all three days, but all our club boats managed to finish all nine races. There were some spectacular results with the Blackwater winning several of the trophies. The winners of the National Championships were Andrew Wilson and Tom Wilson from Datchet Water SC.

The Blackwater SC won the trophy for best club overall, which is amazing as the Medway SC has won this for many years.

Graham Hoy won the best newcomer trophy and with crew Rob Haigh won the silver fleet.

Nick Evans and Bill Huntington-Whiteley won the Junior Trophy.

The overall results were Graham Hoy and Rob Haigh, 2^nd place, this is a tremendous result.

Martin Hare and Dave Evans, 8^th place, this is also a very good result in tricky conditions.

Nick Evans and Bill Huntington-Whiteley, 14^th place.

Alan Hoy and Wills Sargeant 15^th place.

Full results here https://www.sailwave.com/results/DSC/UKWA%20FinalResults.htm

The Coronation Cup races took place on 8th May on the start line at Maldon Yacht Club. There was a good entry of 25 boats for the main race and 10 boats in the short course race, mainly Blackwater boats. The long course took the boats round Osea and Northey Islands and the short course just sailed round Northey. The main race was won by Mike Iszatt RS600 2nd was Alex Williams Blaze and 3rd Dave Nichols Phantom. The short race was won by Andy and Florence Pickering Mirror, 2nd Howard Knott Mirror and 3rd Callum Marshall Optomist. The full results are on the website.

More than 250 people visited our Open Day to try sailing and find out more about our award-winning Club.

Sunny weather graced the event on Sunday 7 May, drawing visitors keen to go out on the water and have a look around our wonderful facilities on land.

Taster sail on the lake. Photo: Anna Lau

Experienced instructors took out many children and their families on taster sessions in Quest dinghies on the training lake, which offers a safe environment for those new to sailing.

Quest dinghies on our training lake. Photo: Ian Barratt

Those wanting to experience the estuary were taken out on powerboat and yacht trips, giving them a feel for the beautiful experience of being out on the water between Heybridge, Mill Beach and Northey Island and enabling them to see up-close the dinghies competing in the Britannia series.

One of the vessels offering river trips. Photo: Anna Lau

The Clubhouse was buzzing with activity and nearly 60 people joined up as members on the day.

Allan Hunt, Rear-Commodore, said: “We were thrilled to have so many visitors to our Open Day. People had travelled in from north London, Chelmsford, Brentwood, Billericay, Colchester and further afield to look around our fantastic facilities and give sailing a go. We’ve had wonderful feedback at the event and on our social media channels.

“I would like to extend a sincere thank you to all our volunteers who helped put on the event. Sailing is such a wonderful past-time and we cater for all abilities, from complete novices to those wishing to compete. We were pleased to welcome them all to our friendly Club and inspire them with the opportunities for enjoying our beautiful stretch of the Estuary, which put on an excellent show in the sunshine!”

The event was held only months after Blackwater Sailing Club was named the Royal Yachting Association’s East Region Club of the Year.