Yeadon Sailing Club

Trip to the 2012 Dinghy Show, 3rd & 4th March

2012-01-22T19:08:00.001Z

Yeadon Sailing Club would like to coordinate a trip to the Dinghy Show 2012. The dates are March 3rd and 4th.

More details:
http://www.rya.org.uk/programmes/dinghyshow/Pages/articlewrapper.aspx?pageUrl=/newsevents/news/Pages/ticketsRYAVolvoDinghyShow2012.aspx

If you are interested in attending either of these dates then please register your interest below. If you buy tickets in advance then please nominate Yeadon SC for the prize draw.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

History of Yeadon Sailing Club, presented by Howard Chadwick

2012-01-22T18:51:00.001Z

Howard will be presenting a history of Yeadon Sailing Club with photos and stories for the clubs history. The evening will start at 7.30pm and will include a Pie & Pea supper. Tickets costs £2.50 and on sale on the door (includes supper, tea or coffee).

YSC club house, Yeadon Tarn, 7.30pm Thursday March 15th. To ensure that we cater for all, please fill in the form below.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

ILKLEY LADS ARE RYA YORKSHIRE YOUNG SAILORS OF THE YEAR 2011

2012-01-09T22:36:00.000Z

Keen sailors, Matt and Ben Lulham-Robinson, from Burley-in-Wharfedale near Ilkley, have had a great year in 2011 and now it has become even better. 14 year old Matt and 13 year old Ben have jointly won the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) Yorkshire Region Young Sailor of the Year Award 2011.

On Saturday 7th January at the London International Boat Show Matt and Ben alongside other RYA Regional Award winners from all over the UK they enjoyed VIP treatment and they had a great time meeting a variety of sponsors and Olympic sailors. Later at the awards ceremony they received their trophies.

“Matt and Ben have had a phenomenal eighteen months,” said Neil McInnes, Sailing Coach at Yeadon Sailing Club. “As well as winning the Junior European Championship in their Mirror dinghy in late 2010, Matt and Ben won their first Junior World Championship title in their Mirror earlier this year. A fantastic result as they were only 12 and 13 years old at the time.”

“We are immensely proud of Matt and Ben,” said the boys’ dad, Peter Robinson. “Not just with their sailing achievements, but with their overall attitude, drive and determination. It’s fantastic when others outside the family recognise and reward the boys’ exceptional qualities and skills through an award such as the RYA Yorkshire Young Sailor title.”

2012 will be another year in the perpetual struggle to juggle sailing and schoolwork for Matt and Ben. The boys have moved on from their Mirror dinghy into another class of boat, the 420 Class. Bigger and more technically demanding, the boys have already shown such promise that they have been selected for the RYA 420 Transition Training Squad, a stepping stone to RYA Youth Squad status.

“We have continued on from our success with our Mirror sails,” explained Matt and Ben, “and with the help of Mum and Dad our bedroom floor has already provided the space to produce two 420 Mainsails, three jibs and 2 spinnakers!!”

“Our school, Ilkley Grammar School, is very supportive,” said Ben. “We have a mentor as well our class Tutor who helps us if we need extensions for homework assignments. You have to be committed to both your sport and your school work and accept as much help from professionals as possible if you want to achieve in both.”

“It would also be impossible to do it without the help we get from sponsors and coaches,” said Matt. “We need to thank everyone for their support, but especially mum and dad, who not only act as chauffeurs, fundraisers, life style coaches etc, but also help us make our sails in our bedroom.”

The RYA Regional Young Sailor of the Year awards recognise the outstanding impact young people have made to UK boating, whether it’s on the race course, at their club, overcoming adversity or through an exceptional achievement.

RYA Chief Executive Sarah Treseder says: “Winning an RYA Regional Young Sailor of the Year Award is a fantastic achievement and I am delighted to recognise the talent of these people and the dedication they show for our sport. Awards such as this highlight the fact that so many young sailors are out there on the water enjoying themselves and achieving brilliant things.”

Over the next two consecutive weekends the boys will be going to Grafham Water near

Cambridge for the 420 Transition Squad training event and they will be expected to undergo a series of fitness tests as well having to take to the water. They have been made aware that being tested to the point of physical exhaustion may be required as part of the programme.

Winter Walk Sunday 5th February 2012

2012-01-03T22:40:00.000Z

Dennis and Jo will be be leading our 2012 winter walk this year. They have kindly done this for a number of years and it is a popular ramble for all the family.

Starting at Pateley Bridge, meet in the long stay car park on the east side of the river NIDD, Grid ref SE159 655, post code HG35NA as for the Windings tea rooms.

The walks starts at 11am and will cover approximately 8 miles, please bring food, drink and clothing appropriate to the conditions. All club members, family and friends welcome.

For more information please email info@yeadonsailingclub.co.uk

Directions
Approaching Pateley Bridge from the east, Summerbridge area via B6165 turn left at the bottom of the hill in Pateley Bridge just before the river bridge signed Long Stay Car Park, passing Wildings tea room and proceed for approx. 400 yds. £1 parking fee for over 4 hours.

Approaching from West, Green Hill area B6265 turn right just after crossing river bridge in Pateley Bridge, pass Wildings tea rooms to long stay car park as above.

New Year's Day 2012

2012-01-03T21:05:00.000Z

This year as the Tarn wasn’t frozen we could have the annual Commodore’s Bottle Race and there was a good turnout of competitors with a good mix of boats. The wind gusts were quite strong and at first the rain held off but then it just poured down! However as you can see from the smiling faces it didn’t dampen the sailors spirits too much (more photographs are available via the Notice Board on this website).

Inside the Clubhouse jacket potatoes were cooking and the table was full of food, (all generously provided by the good turnout of members). Everyone eventually sat down and a very pleasant lunch was had by all.

Bill brought in the New Year with his bagpipe playing once again. He certainly brought in a good year for us last year, let us hope this year will be as good. Thank you Bill please don’t ever stop.

The Commodore presented ‘The Bottle’ to the race winners who were Jo and Dennis Beard sailing in their Heron.

Runners up in no particular order were; Luke in a Pico, Bill in his Solo and Helen and Howard in the National 12.

Thanks must also go to the Race Officers Glenis and Tim for organising the race and bringing the buoys in for the winter.

Tight Finish to Frostbite Series

2011-12-15T14:30:00.000Z

As we go into the last weekend of the Frostbites it is looking like it is going to be a very tight finish between Howard and Helen/Jo in the National 12, Bill in his Solo and Denis and Jo in the Heron. Two good results in the two last races on Sunday would mean that any of the three boats could take the Series and the glory !

If you are not sailing yourself come down and watch the final outcome, racing at 12.00 and 2.00.
I hope someone is good at working out tie breaks !
And let’s hope the weather does not spoil the fun !

Action from last Sundays racing

Stop Press - Success for Matt and Ben

2011-12-05T23:22:00.001Z

A letter arrived this week at the L-R household from the RYA telling them that Matt and Ben have been selected as the RYA Young Yorkshire and Humberside Sailors of the Year 2011 !

This is as a result of a phenomenal 18 months for the boys in which they have achieved the following :-

Selected for the RYA Mirror National Squad. 2009 / 2010

European Junior Champions – Mirror – August 2010

Selected for the RYA Mirror National Squad. 2010 / 2011

World Under 16 Junior Champions – Mirror – January 2011

National Under 15 Champions – Mirror – August 2011

Overall Winner of the Mirror Nationwide Travellers Series – 2011 Season

Currently the boys are taking part in selection trials to see if they get into the RYA 420 Transitional Squad – Their next big challenge !

It hasn’t all been racing in big events and the boys have helped with (and participated in) our Tuesday Nights Training Evenings throughout the season. Also they helped out at Otley SC Summer Junior Week (the other Club they are members of).

Taking part in Junior Race 5 at the Club

The award will be presented at the Boat Show in London on the 7th January 2012.

This is a great achievement and "Well Done !" from everybody at the Club !

Members Survey 2011

2011-11-23T12:27:00.002Z

It's your club and you are the direction and inspiration for our planning. So let the committee know what you think by filling in the club survey:

www.yeadonsailingclub.co.uk/survey

Thanks

Tim B

Junior Team Racing Development Day

2011-10-26T17:55:00.000+01:00

Take 25 young sailors from 5 local clubs, 8 Picos, involve their parents, a sunny day on the Tarn and introduce them all to Team Racing

Results :- Lots of sailing activity, loads of smiling faces and great interaction between everybody

This is the third year that the Club, with the help of Otley, have run a Junior Team Racing Development Day. This year the sailors from Yeadon and Otley were joined by sailors from Ripon, Beaver and Yorkshire Dales Sailing Clubs

The aim of the day is to introduce young people with a mixture of racing experiences to a different form of dinghy racing and as they come from a different clubs to each other as well and to a different place to sail, as well as having some fun!

Preparing the Picos in the morning

Heather had the unenviable job of putting the sailors into ‘equal’ish teams, each team having a more experienced junior sailor as Team Captain with then a balance of experienced and less confident or experienced sailors. This immediately mixes everybody from the difference clubs and sailing circuits and very soon everybody was chattering away and early nerves quickly vanished.

After bacon sandwiches and lots of boat sorting the day started with a short briefing to make sure that everyone understood the format of the day (including the Organising Team!), the short races, the differences between team racing and the more normal fleet racing and a recap of the basic sailing rules that were likely to be evoked. Some of the accompanying parents from other Clubs were co-opted to assist with the various organisation tasks to get them involved in the whole day too

The racing was held in Picos which are a great leveller for all the sailors, but rewards good utilisation of basic techniques. In the morning every team raced each other in a mini league and within the first couple of races people seemed to get the idea and were starting to race as a team together. Once everybody had raced each other we then had a quick lunch stop for pizza and chips, wonderfully prepared by Head Chef Gerard, with Sharon and Louise keeping him in check. We used the league positions to determine the knock out stages to determine the overall winning team. At this point it started to get a little more serious, after all chocolate was at stake !!!!

Close racing occurred throughout the day

The racing for the final stages was very close which kept the spectators, and by this time the club sailors turning up for the afternoon’s club racing, enthralled. All the races had tight finishes, none more so than the Final between Callum’s team and Matt’s team in which the last three boats finished within a boat length giving overall victory, and the chocolate, to Callum’s team.

Once ashore everybody mucked in and got all the boats packed up and the Otley boats on to their trailers before the Prizegiving. As well as for the winning team sweets and chocolate was distributed throughout the competitors. Callum completed his final role as the winning Team Captain and thanked everyone on behalf of the competitors for organising and running the event, before everyone departed off for home tired but smiling, after meeting lots of new people and having a very good day.

Junior Team Racing this Saturday

2011-10-17T21:18:00.000+01:00

Hi, just to let you know that this Saturday we will be holding our annual Junior Team Racing event. Junior sailors from a number of local clubs including Yeadon, Otley, Ripon and Yorkshire Dales will be taking part.

Come down early and see all the action.

Racing from 10.30 'till 14.30 - hopefully with minimal distruption to the normal afternoon's Club races.

Action from last year's event

National 12 Open at Yeadon Sailing Club

2011-10-17T21:07:00.000+01:00

Apologies for late publication !

An enthusiastic fleet arrived at Yeadon for the 2011 open meeting to be greeted by a warm welcome but a very light and variable to non-existent breeze.

Despite the conditions race officer Bill Wilson and his intrepid team managed to get the racing off almost on time and it was local boat N2769 Barrow Boy sailed by Howard Chadwick and Helen Nicholson who prevailed in the difficult and light conditions with N3499 Out of the Blue sailed by Philip David and Katie McInnes in hot pursuit finishing second whilst N3356 Squidgy Bits sailed by Austin and James Flather finished third with Brian Herring and Ros Stevenson N1673 finishing fourth and first vintage in the race.

After an excellent lunch provided by Sarah, Margaret and Cathy the course was changed and the breeze had picked up but only slightly and race two was started. Philip and Katie were taking no chances this time and were manoeuvring against Howard and Helen even before the start, a move which worked well and allowed Philip to take up the lead and hold it to the end. Howard and Helen recovered to second place and N3468 Pillow Fight finishing third closely followed by Austin and James Flather in fourth.

Brian and Ros were again first vintage in N1673 whilst N2335 Saskia sailed by Tim Gatti and Ben Palmer was 2^nd vintage in sixth position. John and Sue Nixon in N3514 had travelled up from Carsington but unfortunately had only brought their winged rudder and found that the shallow water and (uncharacteristic) weed at Yeadon were making their Feeling Foolish very difficult to sail so they called it a day after race 2 vowing to come back without wings in 2012.

In race three Austin and James made a great start and led the fleet, however Philip and Katie again got through whilst the positions behind them were changing frequently. As the breeze finally picked up Tim Gatti was in second place and a close dual was fought between Howard and Tim over several laps whilst Austin and John were never far away. Eventually Howard got past Tim and at the finish it was Philip first, Howard second and then Tim. Tim’s hard fought 3^rd place in this race allowed him to take the overall first Vintage on a tie breaker.

1^st	N3499	Philip David	Katie McInnes	2 points	Double Bottomed
2^nd	N2769	Howard Chadwick	Helen Nicholson	3 points	AC- single bottomed
3^rd	N3356	Austin Flather	James Flather	7 points	AC- single bottomed
4^th	N3468	John Cheetham	Alison Cheetham	8 points	Double Bottomed
5th	N2335	Tim Gatti	Ben Palmer	9 points	1^st Vintage (clinker built)
6^th	N1673	Brian Herring	Ros Stevenson	9 points	Vintage
7^th	N3216	Neil McInnes	Rachel Dean	14 points	AC- single bottomed
8th	N3514	John Nixon	Sue Nixon	15 points	Double Bottomed (winged rudder)

Marcus completes the trip of a lifetime

2011-09-13T13:49:00.000+01:00

Club member Marcus Patrick safely completed Leg 1 of the 2011-12 Clipper Round the World yacht race on the 4th September. The leg comprised two races - the first from Southampton to Madeira and the second from Madeira to Rio de Janeiro - in all covering around 5,500nm. Marcus was one of 16 crew members on board the 68 ft Edinburgh Inspiring Capital yacht and although he was disappointed with the team's race positions over the leg (10th and 9th place respectively) he clearly had a great time. "Despite the many challenges of sailing across the Atlantic (whales, tides, gales, oil rigs and other crew members!), the whole experience was amazing and has really developed my sailing skills. I am now really looking forward to getting back in the Laser at Yeadon".

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has another 7 legs to go and finishes in Southampton in July next year.

HIGH WIND ALERT

2011-09-12T21:51:00.001+01:00

The current high winds are taking a toll on the dinghy park ! See photos below, with some boats blown over and covers flapping in the wind.

As of Monday evening, before dark, the blown over boats were roughly righted and tied down again.

Please can you come down and check your boat (and the boats next to you) and assuming it is safe make sure they are all tied down and covers are securely on !

PS The new container has arrived and has been positioned on the foundations constructed on Saturday and the new lights are effective.

Thanks to everyone who was able to help with the Working Party !

Matt & Ben's Summer Sailing 2011

2011-09-12T13:34:00.000+01:00

An Update from Matt and Ben about their Sailing over the summer, including 420 training, Bass Week, Otley Junior Week and the Mirror Nationals. It quite remarkable what you can get up to in the School Holidays !

Matt & Ben's Summer Sailing 2011 Blog
"Sorry we haven’t been able to keep you updated before now but we’ve been so busy sailing over the summer!

We started off at the end of July at Poole YC with 3 days of 420 training. Although light winds prevailed on all three days we were able to work on our techniques and routines which can be difficult to do in stronger breeze.

Our coach ,Matt Rainback, was brilliant and shared lots of detailed tips and information with us. He kept us out on the water for as long as possible each day so we had a great opportunity to really put into practice his theory input.

We test ran the new prototype Spinnaker and Jib which we had made and they worked really well. We certainly up to speed in the mini races which we did as part of the training.

Ben is now properly hooked on trapezing and we both enjoy the increase in speed in the 420 compared to our Mirror!

Sailing the 420 earlier in the year at Poole

Next we went to Bassenthwaite week in the Lakes where the Lulham-Robinson team were coaching all week.

We had a great time racing our 420 against a huge range of dinghies and small keelboats, even though the winds were still lighter than we would have liked.

It was good to get some time on the water to put into practice the things which we had learned at Poole YC.

We even came home with some glassware prizes!

The week after, we managed to fit in some time at home to do some sailmaking for our customers as well as start to make a mainsail for our 420.

It was fun to help out at Otley Sailing Club Junior week for 3 days an meet up with people who we have seen every year since we were 5 and 7.

We helped out in teaching people how to fly spinnakers properly and also how to improve their basic boat handling.

However, swimming to the island and jumping off the diving board after sailing was the most important part of the day.

Junior week was immediately followed by travelling to Restronguet SC near Penzance to compete in the Mirror dinghy National Championship. We had a couple of days while dad was coaching to get familiar to our Mirror again after not sailing it for over a month.

Preparing for the Nationals

For the majority of the event, we experienced light winds and very shifty conditions in the Carrick Roads. Only 8 out of 10 races were sailed due to the lack of wind. On the Lay-Day, There were different boats to have a go in such as: a 29er, Laser Radial & 4.2, a 420 and 3 Topaz 14s. We had a great time messing around in what ironically was some of the best wind all week! I even managed to terrify myself on a Dart 18!

We came 6th overall out of 78 boats which was a reasonable result although we think we could have done better. We came home with 4 trophies: Winner of race 7, Under 15 National Champions, Overall Winner of the Nationwide Series and we were presented with the Junior Mirror World Championship trophy which was finally tracked down.

With the Nationwide Travellers Trophy - Try fitting that in the car at the end of a busy week !

Back home now to finish building our 420 mainsail before we go back to school and get practicing in our 420 to try and get into the RYA Transitional Squad. We will need to compete in selectors between now and December when the 420 Transitional Squad will be selected. "

It sounds like the rest of the year will be just as busy.

It was good to see them out on the Tarn recently joining in the Junior Race Series demonstrating their skills at the beginning of September !

Good luck Boys for the rest of the season !!!

Summer Successes

2011-09-02T17:14:00.002+01:00

Yeadon sailors have had a good summer in various National and International events !

As previously mentioned Luke qualified for the Gold Fleet in the Topper World Championships for the second year running. This year’s event was held in Ireland with 178 entries

Matthew and Benjamin came 6th overall out of 78 boats in the Mirror National Championships at Restronguet SC, near Penzance, and were the Under 15 National Champions. They also won overall the Mirror Nationwide Travellers Series for the year

Coming off a crowded start line at the Nationals

And finally Howard and Katie won the Shotgun Trophy at the National 12’s Burton Week. The Shotgun Trophy is for the highest placed vintage boat (the boat being vintage, not the helm or crew !) in the championships

Well done to all !

Marcus gets closer to Rio

2011-09-01T23:51:00.002+01:00

Club member Marcus Patrick is close to the finishing the 5500nm journey to Rio de Janerio aboard the Edinburgh Inspiring Capital currently in 8th place for leg 1 of the Clipper Round the World Race. You can follow the progress of the Clipper Race here: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/index.php/follow/race-viewer/

We look forward to hearing about the trip from Marcus when he gets back. Another person you may recognise who is taking part in the race is Liz Wigglesworth from Yorkshire RYA. Currently her boa,t Derry-Londonderry, is in last place, but its a close run thing.

The Yorkshire boat has had an excellent race in leg 1 coming 2nd.

There will be some literature and a poster in the club house for those interested in the race, recruiting is underway for 2012/13 so get inspired!

Stop Press !

2011-08-18T13:20:00.000+01:00

Luke has qualified for the Gold fleet in the Topper World Championships for the second year running.
The Sovereign Ski 2011 Topper World Championships are taking place at the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire, near Dublin this week. There are 174 entries for the Championships. After the first two days racing the top 60 boats, including Luke, have been separated off to form the Gold fleet - It now gets really tough !

Best of luck Luke for the remaining races !

For the latest see the event website
http://www.nyc.ie/sovereignskitopperworlds2011/

or via the Yachts and Yachting Website
http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/

New Training Sessions in September on Saturdays

2011-08-04T13:19:00.001+01:00

Those that have been attending the Tuesday night training will be aware that we will be holding 4 additional adult training sessions in September, Saturdays 11.30 until 2pm.

The sessions are designed to help non racing members take the next step from Tuesday Sailing to racing. The first session will be a skills brush up, then after that we will help you acquire the basic skills and give you the confidence to get racing.

If you are interested in attending and haven't already done so, then email Tim Burnett on info@yeadonsailingclub.co.uk

Racing members will be welcome to help and offer advice to the newer members. Plus we would welcome some additional adult support for the session on the 17th which will be run by Luke.

Tall Ships in Whitby August 20th and 21st

2011-08-04T13:13:00.000+01:00

The Tall ship Lord Nelson, will be in Whitby on Saturday August 20th and Sunday August 21st, and she will be open to the public 10.00-12.00 and 14.00-16.00 each day. If any members of your organisation (or anyone else!) would like to visit the ship and hear more about the opportunities to sail with the Jubilee Sailing Trust, you would be very welcome. The ship will be located in Endeavour Wharf, on New Quay Road, which is near the Tourist Information Centre on the west bank of the river. There is no need to book, and there is no charge.
The ship is fully wheelchair accessible, and has many other design features to enable people with other physical disabilities to participate fully in sailing the ship. No previous sailing experience is required to sail on board, and crew members can be any age from 16 upwards (there is no upper age limit), able-bodied or physically disabled.

http://www.jst.org.uk/

Two good weekends for Luke

2011-07-21T23:27:00.002+01:00

Luke has had two good weeks racing his Topper in recent North East Traveller Events.

Firstly at Yorkshire Dales SC on a sunny but windy day he won 2 out the 3 races despite suffering from gear failure at the start of the second race to win that event.

Then the next weekend at Beaver, in lighter winds but rain (ugh!) 23 Toppers turned up to contest the Northern Championship. The lighter winds kept the fleet close together and each race was very competitive with a number of sailors getting to the front at times however in the two races after lunch Luke got to the front when it really mattered – at the Finish to win this event also !

The leading boats going up the beat

Calum, Luke’s swimming, sorry sailing partner in the RS200 on Tuesday Night pushed Luke really hard in the event to take 2^nd place.

Going into a summer break from the North East Travellers Series, Tom Clayton and Luke are locked together at the top so it will be interesting who comes back from the Nationals and Worlds in the best form and does well in the remaining events of the series.

See yachtsandyachting.com for the full write ups of the two events.

http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/?article=158341

http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/?article=158433

Thanks to Ian Escritt for the articles and the photos

The start at Beaver SC

Free Olympic Tickets for 18 - 26 year olds

2011-07-20T22:34:00.001+01:00

Dear Sail for Gold Activator

I am delighted to be writing to you as a Sail for Gold club in connection with the London 2012 Ticketshare scheme. This gives young adults (18-26 years) the opportunity to attend an Olympic Games event for free.

What is London 2012 Ticketshare?

The Ticketshare scheme allows people to attend the Games for free, through a levy on London 2012 Prestige Ticketing hospitality packages. The British Olympic Association is one of the stakeholders that can access free tickets and their distribution is outlined below. You can read all about London 2012 Ticketshare at http://www.london2012.com/visiting/tickets/ticketshare/ .

Who can benefit?

The Ticketshare scheme seeks to inspire young adults to pursue their sporting ambitions. The RYA has been allocated 80 tickets for young adults, aged 18-26 years, from Sail for Gold clubs. Successful applicants will receive a single ticket to go to an Olympic Games event and that person will go to the event in a group with other successful nominees from other sailing clubs. Certain groups may be accompanied by a British Olympian.

How do we apply?

The scheme will be publicly announced on July 29. Prior to this, please give your club members the information and guidance on nominating individuals for the free tickets.

· Nominees must be a bone fide member of the club and be aged between 18 and 26 years old.

· Suitable candidates should be nominated by your members, who should write 100-150 words on how the nominee already ‘lives’ one or more of the Olympic Values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect.

· Please select one winner and email to celia.edgington@rya.org.uk with the nominees’ contact details and the written entry statement.

· Nominations close on 16 September.

· The RYA will select 80 successful nominations at random to receive tickets to an Olympic Games event. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

· The successful nominees will receive ONE ticket which includes free transport within London zones. Transport outside of London and accommodation must be paid for by the individual.

· Tickets must be used only by the successful nominee and are non-transferable.

· Successful nominees will be announced in early 2012 and tickets distributed soon thereafter to the winners.

· Terms and Conditions apply. Please see here for more details: http://www.london2012.com/visiting/tickets/ticketshare/london-2012-ticketshare-terms-and-conditions/

Ticketshare scheme the young person needs to be aged 18 to 26 years inclusive on the 27th July 2012

Yeadon Ladies and Junior Race 2011

2011-07-07T22:36:00.000+01:00

Dear All,

Well done to everyone who braved the almost zero wind conditions to take part in the third Junior Race (combined with the Ladies Race) last Saturday.

Vanessa realised what the conditions were like and stayed very close to the start boat during the countdown and in consequence lead the combined Junior and Ladies fleet off the line. Light wind techniques were very much in evidence ( boats heeled over, helms sat well forward and down to leeward and no sudden movements). Hannah and Ben kept swapping places throughout the race as one got the wind and the other didn’t, while Phil Kitchen sailing with his young son (sorry didn’t get his name !) followed on. On the tricky beat between 3 & 4 (tricky ‘cause there was definitely very little wind around there) Vanessa got overtaken by Gail and Jo racing for the Ladies Trophy. In view of the light winds and the fact that it had taken the leaders 30 mins to complete the first lap the OOD was kind and he shorten the course as they came through. Gail lead across the line but Jo in the Mirror was close enough to take the (Ladies) race on handicap. Vanessa was next as 1st Junior and third Lady, whilst Hannah and Ben continued battling with Hannah coming second and Ben third.

In controversial circumstances Jo Beard retired from the Ladies Race as her crew Denis (a man !) at one point touched the helm to ensure they avoided another boat and the OOD had threatened before the race to disqualify any Lady who how had any male help in the race. The view from the gathered spectators was that the OOD was definitely a meanie !!!!

This Sunday (10th July) at 2.30 pm it is next Junior Race of the series, held within the normal Club racing. I believe the two current front runners may not be able to get down to race so it could be an ideal time for the rest of you to win a race !

Hopefully see lots of you out on the water on Sunday.
Neil
Hon Sailing Coach

Yeadon sailors get on board !

2011-07-05T13:07:00.000+01:00

4 juniors sailors from the Club joined in the OnBoard Regatta on the Tarn being run by Leeds Sailing and Activity Centre and the RYA last week.

Over the preceding weeks a number of pupils from Priesthorpe School and Leeds Grammar have being attending OnBoard courses being run by LSAC and the Regatta was a fun way of concluding the courses.

Everybody entered into the spirit of the fun competition and there was lots of encouragement for each of the sailors even when a certain Yeadon sailor tried towing the turning mark back to the jetty !

Run by the RYA, OnBoard is a grass roots programme which introduces sailing and windsurfing to young people aged 8 to 18, through schools, youth groups and training centres.

Over a ten year period OnBoard aims to introduce a minimum of 500,000 children to sailing and windsurfing in the UK, converting over 10% of them into regular participants. So far it’s nicely on track.

For more information about how to get involved in sailing visit the RYA’s website www.rya.org.uk or the OnBoard website http://www.ruob.co.uk/

2011 COMMODORES WEEKEND 25th & 26th June

2011-06-17T11:23:00.000+01:00

Starting at Saturday at 12:30

Free sailing / boat swapping / picnic lunch
Junior race – prizes not necessarily for first
Yeadon Olympics – some water based “ team” event
Charity race for Cancer Research - £2.00 min entry fee
Club Barbeque – bring your own food and drink
21.00 – 22:00 ‘Midnight Race for the Candlestick Trophy

SUNDAY from around 11: 30

Raft Building/Canoe Racing ,
Commodores Lunch
Post lunch games and race
Afternoon tea
The famous ‘Bottle Race’
Prize giving

There will also be an informal sailing gear “bring and buy”. Please bring any unwanted sailing items labelled with your name and a suggested price – we’ll set up a table (or two) over the weekend.

YEADON SAILING CLUB - LASER OPEN - SUNDAY 15 MAY 2011

2011-05-21T08:55:00.001+01:00

The forecast had been for strong winds, similar to the previous day, when no sailing took place. Regrettably, Paul Hudson was wrong, and we found (very) variable wind, Force 2/3 initially, very cloudy albeit without the forecast rain. We had 6 local boats and 3 visitors.

Race 1. Pete Slingsby, an old stalwart, Yeadon trained, took an early lead, with a newer Yeadon man, Simon Broome, and a new and welcome visitor from Pennine, Emily Stevenson, some 16 years of age, in pursuit. Our young friend, however, was soon overtaken by grizzled veteran John Southall. The gaps between boats gradually lengthened, a little jousting took place, during which period John established himself into 2nd place and Martin Barrett of Ripon accelerated into a worthy 3rd.

Race 2. The wind eased slightly. Martin Barrett took an early lead, but with variations of up to 15 knots, local experience came to the fore, Pete took up his rightful place in front, and there were exciting interchanges, especially when, half way through the race, significant gusts arrived (through the buildings). Martin held on grimly behind Pete, but much to his chagrin Mick Bower, who had fought hard all through the race, and made a supreme effort in the last lap, was eventually rewarded with second place, forcing Martin to accept 3rd position.

Race 3. Wind still very variable, with the conditions forcing many of the old brigade to miss out the last race, so we had only 4 contenders. Our strong man, Mick Bower, took an early lead, with Simon Broome and Andrew Cowling in pursuit, young Emily Stevenson bringing up the rear. More capsizes, perhaps due to fatigue, tired these stalwarts, and perhaps forcing Andrew to retire; Simon just could not catch Mick, so he finished 2nd, and a well deserved 3rd place to Emily.

Final Placings. 1st Pete Slingsby, second Mick Bower, and in 3rd place Simon Broome.

An interesting observation was made to your scribe by a Yeadon Sage, to the effect that a little less “macho” and a little more “playing” of the mainsheet would have perhaps obviated many of the capsizes……..

Final Role Call:

1. 185701 Peter Slingsby Yorkshire Dales

2. 166406 Mick Bower Yeadon

3. 196657 Simon Broome Yeadon

4. 157569 Martin Barrett Ripon

5. 166512 John Southall Yeadon

6. 189200 Emily Stevenson Pennine

7. 160687 David Statman Yeadon

8. 187497 Andrew Cowling Yeadon

9. 182540 Helen Phillips Yeadon

Juniors Sailors 1 – Rest of the Club Sailors 0

2011-05-16T09:08:00.000+01:00

The junior sailors had a good training session on Saturday, then that was followed by the first Junior Race of the season. The race was an exciting affair in the gusty conditions with everybody demonstrating their capsize techniques at some point in the race.

Vanessa held on for the race win despite breaking her kicker and downhaul, Will sailing steadily overhauled Matt on the last beat to take second place.

After the race we were looking forward to seeing how the more experienced club sailors would cope with the conditions only to find out that they had wimped out and didn’t want to race !!!!!

Well done to the Junior sailors for getting out on the water, enjoying themselves and showing the rest of the club how well they coped with the conditions !

Open Day, this Saturday!

2011-05-05T21:30:00.000+01:00

YSC welcomes members of the public to come along and give sailing a go, for free at our annual Open Day on May 7th.

Come along between 11am and 4pm and our experienced sailing members will take you out for a spin on the tarn.

What to Bring
To save time on the day, please fill in and bring with you a consent form. You will also need a windproof and hat, sometimes it can get a little chilly, and a spare change of clothing (just in case).

No experience required!

If you can't make the Open Day, or can't wait, then come along for a taster session on a Tuesday evening from 7pm (April 19th to August 9th).

Tuesday Night Training Sessions in full swing

2011-04-26T12:56:00.000+01:00

The Tuesday Nights Training Sessions restarted with a superb warm, sunny evening with a pleasant breeze. After a brief introduction in the Club House we soon had everybody out on the Tarn either being introduced to sailing for the first time, or re-finding their sea legs again after the winter lay off

This is the mainstay of the training we run for Club members and it is great for improving your confidence on the water and it is fun to get involved either with the training or helping out with the sessions.

The start of the session in the Club House

The sessions continue every Tuesday evening until the 9th August, between 7.00 pm and 8.30 pm

On the water

Be down changed, boats rigged and ready for 7.00 !

Ingenious Sailing

2011-04-19T13:35:00.000+01:00

This season’s Adult race training day was entitled ‘Ingenious Sailing’. The purpose was to take a day out of the racing programme to allow us to think about our sailing and racing techniques and to try things as a group and hopefully for everybody to improve their sailing and racing. A lively group of 15 Club members attended and we had the benefit of a bright sunny day with a breeze straight down the Tarn

To start with we looked at trim and balance and the use we make of our rudders.

Pete showing the force on a rudder as it passes throught the water

Peter gave a very simple demonstration of the effect of rudder drag whilst Luke showed us how good his stomach muscles were whilst showing position in the boat, sitting out and sheeting

Luke demonstrating sitting out

On the water we had some fun with sailing with tethered or lifted rudders looking at the effect of varying the trim or the balance to steer the boat which proved to be very informative to everybody who tried it.

After lunch we looked at mark rounding techniques and how using trim and balance could assist you with that. That was practiced on the water by sailing round a simple windward / leeward course which gave people the chance to practice, but with a number of boats sailing together it introduced a racing element to it.

Close sailing approaching the leeward mark

Then we finished off with 3 short races. These proved to be highly competitive with a different boat being first over the line in each race and with a short race the benefit of getting a good start was demonstrated on each occasion.

Action from from the first short race

Helen showing how fast a Laser Radial can go in the second race

Many thanks to the John, Pete, Andrew, Luke and Clive, who helped me run the training session and provided everybody with valuable insights and assistance throughout the day.

Neil
Hon Sailing Coach

Tuesday Night Training Sessions are about to restart!

2011-04-18T13:52:00.000+01:00

Tuesday Night Training sessions begin on the 19th of April (7pm until 8.30pm). These are for both juniors and adults who are either new to sailing or wanting to improve their existing sailing skills. This is the mainstay of the training we run and it is great fun to be involved. We will provide you with a bouyancy aid but bring something warm to wear and a change of clothes (just in case you do get wet or you choose to participate in the capsize drill).

Be there: changed, club boats or own boat rigged ready for 7.00pm start!

There is no charge for people trying sailing out for the first time.

Adult Race Training Day

2011-04-08T09:50:00.000+01:00

Yeadon Sailing Club, Ingenious Sailing
Saturday 16th April – 11.00 am to 5.00 pm

This a day out of the racing programme to allow us all the chance to think about our sailing, to try things to improve our general sailing and racing and hopefully to have a bit fun as as well !.

Trim and Balance – Why are these important ?
Rudders – Who needs them ?
Mark rounding - Don’t lose it an the corners !
Sheeting in– Just how long is your Mainsheet !
Plus the Simms ‘Laser Sheeting In’ Challenge

Be changed and ready (boats not launched) for 11.00 am - Bring your lunch

First Weekend of the New Series

2011-04-01T11:29:00.001+01:00

Saturday, the day was cold and grey with light winds which occasionally dropped to nothing and then return with unexpected gusts. Out on the water there was a good mix of Lasers and Streakers followed by a Topper and a Pico. John had the pleasure of the first capsize of the season, Alan lost his hat in a gust whilst Helen was helped back by the safety boat so she could reattach her clew! Before the second race an impromptu game of tig was had when Graham found a tennis ball floating in the water. Peter S. sailing as guest showed the rest of the fleet the way round the course, but retired from both races so as not to affect the series results. It was Alan though who made it first past the winning line and just to show it wasn’t a fluke did it again in the second race.

Sunday, a brighter day but with light shifting winds. Eight boats made it out onto the water for the two races. They were a mixture of lasers, streakers, a solo and toppers. Young laser sailor Alex continued to show promise by taking an early lead and despite the difficult conditions he held his position right until the end, when John’s experience secured him first place. Bill now on the water for the second race, showed however that Solo’s have the advantage over Topper’s in low winds and took his first place of the season.

Slipway Update - Work complete

2011-03-25T15:07:00.000Z

Access to the slipway should be fine as the work has now been completed. Please use with caution, there is reported to be a slight dip.

Tim B

May 7th Open Day - Non Members are invited to come along and give sailing a go!

2011-03-23T13:08:00.002Z

Open Day 2011 May 7th.

YSC welcomes members of the public to come along and give sailing a go, for free at our annual Open Day on May 7th.

Slipway Upgrade

2011-03-21T21:50:00.000Z

The slipway is currently under repair, we have been told that it should be ready for Saturday. We will update you later this week as to the progress, looking at it tonight it appears to be close to finishing. We have a contact number for the contractor and will be in touch for an update.

Olympics Update

2011-03-16T13:54:00.000Z

Tickets
This week tickets have gone on sale for the olympic games, you have until April 26th to apply for tickets which will be distributed on a ballot basis for events that are over subscribed. The maximum number of tickets you can apply for is 4, but see the website for further information: http://www.tickets.london2012.com/

Sail for Gold

The RYA have launched their 'Sail for Gold' in support of the GB Olympic and Paralympic teams. Leading up to the games and during there will be a number of national events designed to promote the sport of Sailing. Yeadon Sailing Club will be taking part in these events both in support of our national teams, but also to help promote our club locally and nationally.

Events include:

Sail for Gold Regatta medal race (June 11 2011 and 9 June 2012)
London 2012 Open Weekend (July 22 to 24 July 2011)
Push the Boat Out (21 July 2012)
Passage to Portland (2 to 5 June 2012)
Have a go sessions (throughout 2012)

Exactly how we participate in these events is to be decided, mainly as the the RYA launched this after we set our calendar, but your support will be requested, big and small.

The 2012 Olympics offers us a fantasic opportunity to promote the sport we know and love and enhance or club profile.

For more information, please visit: http://www.rya.org.uk/programmes/sailforgold/participate/Pages/participate.aspx

Working Party, 1 down, 1 to go, join us on March 19th

2011-03-13T07:14:00.000Z

Course Information: Portsmouth Yardstick Course and a First Aid Course

2011-03-09T14:21:00.000Z

Ripon Sailing Club are hosting the following events:

Puzzled by Portsmouth Yardsticks? The RYA have released updated PY listings for 2011. There are changes to some very well established classes and it's likely that all our clubs will be affected by these changes. On Weds 30th at 7:00pm Bas Edmonds (RYA Technical Committee) will give a Portsmouth Yardstick talk in the clubhouse. Using results from 2010 racing at Ripon he will describe how the RYA determine Portsmouth Yardsticks, the role of clubs in this activity, and explain why clubs should adjust PYs. I'm sure that he will also be prepared to answer questions on the recent changes so if you want an explanation come and hear it from the horse's mouth (so to speak).

First Aid Course
We are running an RYA First Aid course on 26 March 2011 and have spaces available - if anyone is interested please can you let me know?

Contact: Jennie Clark, Commodore, Ripon SC

Working Parties, 12th and 19th March

2011-03-07T22:48:00.000Z

The new sailing season is here, and to help get ready for this we need as many members as possible to help get the club and the facilities ready for the new season.

All members are encouraged to come along and help out, all skills are required, we ask people to spare are much time as you can give.

Lunch will be served and equipment provided. The club bosun has complied a list of big and small jobs that are needed to get the club ready.

Please come and help.

RYA Volve Dinghy Show, 5th and 6th of March

2011-03-03T12:46:00.000Z

Just incase you have a spare weekend then why not pop down to your local RYA Volve Dinghy Show at Alexandra Palace, London. http://www.rya.org.uk/programmes/dinghyshow/

Bolton Abbey Winter Hike

2011-02-07T13:19:00.000Z

Once again Jo and Dennis lead the way on the annual winter hike. This time the walk was in North Yorkshire and started at Bolton Bridge, near Addingham. Ten club members turned out, appropriately dressed for the expected winter conditions, only to find out that it was very mild but windy day. After a quick exchange of news we set off alongside the very swollen and fast flowing River Wharfe. We walked alongside the river, up towards Bolton Abbey and noticed the catkins on a willow tree, a first sign of spring! Further along the waterfall near the footbridge was very impressive due to the recent heavy rainfall. We crossed over the bridge as the adjacent stepping stones were nowhere to be seen due to the river level been so very high. We passed the Abbey, crossed over the main road and began climbing up onto Addingham Moor. The wind became stronger as we climbed higher up the valley side but a high stone wall provided us with shelter whilst we had a very pleasant picnic lunch. There were fine views of Simon’s Seat and Beamsly Beacon in the distance. After lunch we passed the Barden Reservoirs and their wind farms which power the water pumps that pump the water up into these reservoirs where it is then stored until it is needed. At this point, the rain started, although it felt more like a hail storm than rain because the wind was blowing it horizontally right onto our faces! The views of the hills disappeared and the clouds closed in around us. Thankfully after climbing over a few slippery stone wall styles and crossing a couple of fields the rain stopped and we could look around at our surroundings once again. Everyone somehow managed to remain cheerful and we carried on walking and chattering as though the rain had never fallen. As the weather improved still further Fairfield Hall could be seen at the bottom of the valley through the trees. We came down off the higher ground into a more sheltered area and we walked through the Hall’s livery yard much to the delight of the horse lovers amongst us. As the Fairfield Quaker Chapel was nearby we made a small detour to visit it and its grounds some of which were covered in snowdrops. The chapel which hasn’t been used for religious services for many years now is in the care of the Historic Chapels Trust and open to visitors. From here we followed the popular Dales Way for a short while until we reached the lay-by where we had parked our cars earlier in the day.

Thanks go to Jo and Dennis for taking us on another very pleasant walk.

VHF training course

2011-01-31T21:22:00.000Z

Ripon Sailing Club are planning to run two VHF training courses and may have spaces which they are able to offer to other clubs. The courses will run on 19 February and/or 9 April and there is a maximum of 6 places available each day. The course will cost £75 and delegates will be expected to know/learn the phonetic alphabet in advance of the course.

If anyone is interested contact Jennie Clark on 01904 705126.

Former Yeadon Sailing Club member honoured with a knighthood for his services to the Royal Navy

2011-01-19T23:02:00.001Z

Vice Admiral Richard Ibbotson was born and brought up in Rawdon before joining the Navy in 1975 after finishing university. The 56-year-old was honoured with a KBE (Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire ) in the New Year’s Honours List. Vice Admiral Ibbotson, who is effectively fourth in command of the entire Royal Navy, says he is proud to be the son of a Yorkshire miner and has not forgotten his West Yorkshire roots. He is tremendously honoured and flattered to receive the award and considers it a privilege.

He has had five sea commands during his time with the navy. The most eye-catching was during the Gulf War in 1991 when as commander of the minehunter HMS Hurworth he led his ship through dangerous minefields in the Persian Gulf. The ship cleared safe routes to the Iraqi coast for British and American forces and Vice Admiral Ibbotson was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his work. Whilst commanding this ship he received a renewal of membership letter from Margaret Huskisson who was then the Membership Secretary of Yeadon Sailing Club. Margaret’s letter asked him to confirm the details of his boat and Vice Admiral Ibbotson wrote back to her, much to her surprise giving her full details of the minesweeper. He did however conclude the letter to her by saying that as it was longer than 14’ he wasn't planning on bringing it to the Tarn.

Richard sailed a National 12 with Bill Chadwick for many years. He was also a great pal of Donald Aklam who is sadly no longer with us. Richard's last sail at Yeadon was in 2006 when he sailed with Bill in Donald's boat Saskia in the National 12 Open Meeting for the 70th anniversary of the class. His friends believe it was from sailing National 12's that Richard developed his love of water.

I would like to acknowledge that the initial part of this article appeared in a more detailed form in the Airedale and Wharfedale Observer.

Yeadon Success Down Under

2011-01-19T13:17:00.001Z

Following on from last week’s Stop Press I am pleased to confirm that the three young sailors from Yeadon have all done magnificently in the Mirror Worlds Championships in Albany, Western Australia.

Conditions were difficult all week across the 15 race series with the boys having to contend with strong winds and big waves as well as competing against the 61 other boats. The Mirror class is fairly unique as the boats are raced equally by junior, youth and adult sailors alike, but then to make things difficult the fleet included a number of Olympic and professional sailors.

Matthew Foster, in his second year of sailing, came second in the Youth Category (U 18) crewing Ed Grayson of Beaver SC. They came 19th overall and their best result was a 6th in one race.

Buoyed by a great result at the Europeans Championships in Ireland over the summer Matthew and Ben Lulham Robinson had secret hopes of doing well in Australia too. At 13 and 12 they were one of the youngest teams in the Championships and very soon they had most of the older sailors watching out for them. They were extremely consistent, 9 races out of the 15 sailed were top 10 finishes, with their best result being a 4th. By the end of the week they had a huge lead in the Junior Category (U 16) and were 10th overall. The results were so tight in the overall standings above them that they could have been 8th if results had been marginally different on the windy last day. However all in all it was a great result and there are not many sailors who can say they are European and now World Junior Champions ! Even fewer can say it when they are 13 and 12 !

A great series of results from the three of them, and an inspiration to us all. It just shows what you can do when you start sailing on a small Tarn in Yorkshire.

"Well Done Boys !" from every body at Yeadon SC

Also lots of credit is due to the support and help the boys have had from their parents, Steve and Sharon, Peter and Heather in all this to help them on their way.

(I had hoped to add some more photos from the last part of the event and the prize giving but none have appeared on the Worlds Website - Sorry !)

Stop Press - Worlds Success

2011-01-07T20:18:00.001Z

See email below sent from the Lulham Robinson’s

-----Original Message-----

Sent: Fri 07/01/2011 16:44

Subject: Matt & Ben L - R are Mirror Junior World Champions!

Matt and Ben have won the Under 16 Junior World title at the ages of 13 &12!

They achieved 10th place overall against other junior, youth and adult

sailors including Olympic and professional sailors.

It has been a gruelling series of 27 x1 hour races in strong winds..(.an

estimated 40 hrs on the water) and their minds and bodies need a well earned

rest for a few days.

The L-R familly also won another trophy in the form of a pearl necklace...the

event raffle prize.

Heather is very pleased that the prize was jewellery and not a boat!

Regards

Heather , Pete , Matt & Ben

Full report to follow in due course !

Australia Update

2011-01-05T22:00:00.000Z

More great news from down under !
With two days of competition left 3 young Yeadon sailors are in great positions at the Mirror World Championships in Albany, Western Australia.
Racing in a fleet of 70 boats, after 10 races sailed :-
Matthew Foster and Ed Grayson, of Beaver SC, are in 16th place overall and are the 2nd Youth Boat overall.
Then Matthew and Ben Lulham Robinson are in 8th place overall and they are the Leading Junior Boat overall !

Fantastic results for both crews and their support teams !!!

Matthew and Ed fast reaching early in the event

Matthew and Ben showing good rounding technique at the leeward mark

A close finish to Race 9 – Arctic Donkeez in an Irish sandwich

B-limey approaching the finish close behind Artic Donkeez in Race 9

With thanks to the Mirror Worlds Website / Anthony Galante for the use of the photos

Keep a check on the exciting finish to the Championships on the Mirror Worlds Website

http://www.mirrorworlds2011.com/

Laying Up Supper Now Saturday 19th February

2011-01-04T14:20:00.001Z

The new Laying Up Supper date has been set for Saturday 19th February. All other details will remain the same, see below.

If you brought tickets and are unable to now make it then please contact the person you brought the tickets from. Keep hold of them and your money will be refunded.

So we can determine numbers, please let the person who you got the tickets from know whether you are going or not, they can in turn let Jo know. If you need assistance then contact webmaster@yeadonsailingclub.co.uk

Tickets can still be purchased!

7pm - Welcome

7.15pm - 2010 Prize-giving

8.15pm - Sumpstuous buffet served by Cranberries of Adel

9.30pm - An evening of family entertainment with the Rear Commodore

Yarnbury Rugby Club, Brownberrie Lane, Horsforth

Great Company ... Great Food ... Great Time

Ticket: Adults £12, Children £6, Family £30

If you would like a local distributor to come to you then email using the contact form with you name, address and how many tickets you would like.

View Larger Map

Update from Oz!

2011-01-01T19:51:00.001Z

Matt and Ben Lulham-Robinson and Matthew Foster have been preparing for the Mirror Worlds in Albany, Australia by competing in the Australian Nationals Championships this week.

After a full range of wind conditions ranging from 3 to 25 knots Matt and Ben finished a very creditable 13th overall in the 11 race series with Matthew (crewing for Ed Grayson) finishing just one place behind in 14th out of 64 boats.

See the full results at

http://www.mirrorworlds2011.com/upfile/45th%20Australian%20Mirror%20Championships.pdf

Hope they can keep this form going in to the World Championships that start tomorrow (2nd Jan).

You can follow their progress on the Mirror Worlds blog at http://worlds2011.blogspot.com/.

Best of luck boys!

New Years Day 2011

2011-01-01T19:01:00.002Z

Although the frozen Tarn forced the cancellation of the New Year’s Day race there was still an excellent turnout of club members with their families and friends for the annual get together.

David provided hot jacket potatoes for everyone and the members filled the spaces on the table with festive food. All around was the sound of people swopping news and some were already making plans for the coming year.

In traditional style Bill entered the club house playing the bagpipes to the delight of everyone who cheered him on and encouraged him to play a second tune.

Thank you to everyone for coming and contributing food to the buffet and to Bill for playing the bagpipes.

Winter Walk - Sunday 6th February

2011-01-01T16:51:00.000Z

Join Dennis on a 2011 Winter Walk this February. Check back for the meeting place about a week before the walk, but get the date in our diary and dust off your walking boots.

The walk will cover about 8 Miles and will start at 11am.

More details to follow.

Yeadon Sailors down under !

2010-12-24T09:07:00.000Z

Hi everybody,
The Lulham-Robinsons and the Fosters send their Christmas wishes to every body at the Club. They are sunning themselves in Albany, Western Australia as they get ready for the Mirror World Championships which are being held straight after Christmas. They even made the local TV news – see attached link

http://albany.igwn.com.au/index.php/news/prime-news/sailing-regatta-in-albany-video

Peter has set up a website so you can check on their progress

http://lulhamrobinson.webplus.net/

or keep a check on the Mirror Worlds Website

http://www.mirrorworlds2011.com/

Or look for updates on the Yachts and Yachting Website.

Hope everybody has a great Christmas and hopefully see lots of you at the Club on New Year's Day for a fuddle and perhaps some sailing, ice breakers at the ready !!!!!!!!
:-)

New Years Day Gathering and Race

2010-12-22T09:07:00.000Z

Club members are invited to come along on New Years Day to welcome in the year, and if you have a boat built like an ice breaker, maybe do some sailing.

The first race will start at 12noon, and then we'll have lunch at 1pm. If you have any leftovers then please bring these along.

Merry Christmas!

Tarn frozen for a second week

2010-12-09T12:54:00.000Z

A frozen tarn prevented sailing in the Frostbite Series for a second week !

The ducks had managed to keep a very small area of water to swim on but it wasn't be enough to sail on. We shall have to see what this weekend brings, a thaw is rumoured but who knows !

To recognise outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing Neil McInnes is given by HRH the Princess the RYA Volunteer Award

2010-12-04T21:39:00.000Z

On the 18th of November Neil McInnes attended a ceremony in London and he was presented by HRH The Princess Royal the RYA Volunteer Award to recognise the outstanding contribution he has made to the sport of sailing.

Neil has encouraged many new members to take up sailing and has enabled them to learn and gain confidence in a safe and secure environment. Existing members have also benefited by becoming involved in training and further developing their own skills. Most especially, Neil has developed the junior members of the club – rapidly getting them to a stage of being able to race – further developing their skills and encouraging them to become involved in regional race series, zone squads, etc.

Most of the club members, committee members and officers put in many hours for the club, however few have put in the sustained effort Neil has since joining the club and, in particular, over the last 18 years. His impact on the development of the club and its members has been extremely beneficial, however his impact on the junior members has been exceptional.

Postponed: Laying Up Supper

2010-12-01T18:03:00.000Z

Due to the current weather conditions, it has been decided to postpone the Laying Up Supper until further notice. Please retain your tickets. Please inform anyone who you sold tickets to.

Froestbite racing stopped by early extreme weather!

2010-11-29T22:30:00.005Z

Hoping against all the odds keen Frostbiters arrived ready for an afternoon of racing and jacket potatoes only to be met by a frozen Tarn.

Not to be deterred John began breaking up the ice with his bare hands. The plan was to clear a hole that was big enough for a boat to be launched into and then the boat could be used to break up the ice. But it was to no avail as the ice was 3/4" inch thick!

In true Yeadon Sailing Club spirit cheerfulness prevailed and members spent the time chatting, packing up boats and walking around the frozen Tarn before saying their good byes and going home for an afternoon in front of the fire.

Sailing Secretary's Report (From Newsletter)

2010-11-20T08:34:00.001Z

By the time you read this we will have finished our summer series and plunged headlong into the icy waters of the Frostbite. Those of us hardy enough!
In terms of activity on the water the season has been mixed: Wednesday and Sunday being slightly down on recent years. Saturday is slightly up. Full graphs will be circulated for your confusion at the AGM. Similarly the Laser, Streaker and National 12 open meetings were well attended but disappointingly few Topper, Mirror and Solo sailors visited.
We will hold a Fleet Captains brainstorming meeting sometime in December so if you have any ideas that might help get the numbers up let me know. (Or if you would be prepared to act as Fleet Captain...)
Thanks are due both to non-racers who turned up to do their AOOD duty and to the frequent-racers who stood in when there was a gap that needed filling. I hope that 'first time' race officers witnessed how non-intimidating the racing is at Yeadon and will consider taking part themselves sometime in the future.

Patrick Gaunt Hon. Sailing Sec.

Club Survey 2010 - Please take part

2010-11-17T19:00:00.000Z

We would welcome your input to help your club grow from strength to strength.

Please take part in the club survey... follow the link below, you could win a prize!

Launch Survey >

A message from your commodore (Autumn 2010 Newsletter)

2010-11-09T07:55:00.000Z

Another summer's sailing season is nearly over with just a few weekends left before we start our 'Frostbite' season on 7th November.
Each year I promise myself I will do each and every single frostbite race, and each and every year so far, I've missed more than I've attended, however, this year I have set myself a target to miss only two - one Sunday because I am acting in a play and have a dress rehearsal that day, and the other Sunday is reserved for that one day, I don't know exactly when it will be, but it will be the same day when it is really, really cold, possibly even raining, with no wind.
There may be fog and Mrs Kennedy will have found a dozen jobs for me to do at home, jobs that I can normally put off, but won't because I'd rather do the DIY than squeeze my rather large body into my shrunken wet and clammy wetsuit. Then slide my frozen sail onto my frozen mast, drag my frosty boat down to the water, crunching over the frozen grass and tarmac.
Finally breaking the ice on the tarn so I can launch my boat onto the windless calm frozen water of Yeadon Tarn to once again be beaten into last place by people who are much older than me.
I know I must be mad, but somehow, just writing about it, seeing it down on paper (or on the screen) I'm starting to think that sailing on such a day won't be all that bad. In fact, it could be a lot of fun. This year I've had a great time at Yeadon Sailing Club. although, I haven't raced as often as I would like, I have done quite a lot of sailing, and watched a lot more.
The Tuesday night sessions have been great fun this year. We seem to have a lot more adults taking part than in previous years, and there seems to be more people taking part overall. I especially enjoy taking people out who have never sailed before. Sometimes, they get really scared and scream a lot, but the kids are usually a lot more relaxed and just enjoy the thrill of being pushed along by the wind blowing through the sails.
We bought a new training boat this year and called it 'Free Spirit' in memory and celebration of a dear friend who passed away in early June. Yvonne McInnes had been a member of Yeadon Sailing Club for many years and will be sadly missed by her many friends.
I sailed 'Free Spirit' a few weeks after she arrived and found her to be great fun. I know that we will all receive a lot of pleasure from seeing her take onboard new and existing members all of whom are keen to learn how to sail and then to improve their sailing skills by sailing in her during the coming years.
Quite a few of our Junior sailors have been doing rather well this year and I must congratulate them all on their wonderful achievements and wish them well for all their future events especially the boys who will shortly be setting off for Australia (more elsewhere in this publication).
It has been a terrific year for me as Commodore of Yeadon Sailing Club. We have a wonderful little club, but it still takes a lot of organising, and we couldn't do it without our Committee who have all been a tremendous help this year. My thanks go out to all our com-mittee members (too many to name here) and to the many ordinary members who tirelessly give up their time.
My personal thanks must also go to David Statman for being a wonderful role model, great storyteller, and a great friend who wasn't feeling well one day and I somehow managed to beat him.
David also happened to be the person who took my son and I out on a boat on the Open Day way back in 2001. If it wasn't for David we wouldn't have joined, and I would have missed out on so much. So thanks David you're a star - and see you at the Frostbite - the DIY can wait.

Gerard Kennedy
Laser

Laying up supper tickets on sale!

2010-11-01T23:01:00.001Z

Tickets for the social event of the year are now on sale.

Saturday 4th December 2010

7pm - Welcome

7.15pm - 2010 Prize-giving

8.15pm - Sumpstuous buffet served by Cranberries of Adel

9.30pm - An evening of family entertainment with the Rear Commodore

Yarnbury Rugby Club, Brownberrie Lane, Horsforth

Great Company ... Great Food ... Great Time

Ticket: Adults £12, Children £6, Family £30

If you would like a local distributor to come to you then email using the contact form with you name, address and how many tickets you would like.

View Larger Map

Call for New Committee Members

2010-11-01T22:29:00.001Z

Would you like to contribute to the running and continual development of the club, then why not become a committee member?

We are looking for keen and enthusiastic club members to spare a little extra time and help out with the running of the club. Committee members are voted in to post on the committee and are asked to attend monthly meetings, and attend club organised events.

Its an excellent opportunity to put something back in to your club and the experience can help enhance an individuals personal development and look good on their CV.

If you are interested in joining the committee at the up coming AGM then contact the club secretary at the following address:

secretary@yeadonsailingclub.co.uk

Greetings from Keith Wear, former Commodore 1975

2010-11-01T21:42:00.001Z

An ex YSC commodore from 1975 called into the club to wish the YSC and its members well. Keith Wear sailed Heron 108 Fidget which he is pleased to see is still at the club.

Keith now lives in North Lincolnshire and if any old friends would like to get in contact, please email Tim Burnett at the link below.

Keith's eldest son, Peter, now lives in France on the Riviera and Phillip lives in Lincolnshire.

webmaster@yeadonsailingclub.co.uk

Team Racing Development Day

2010-10-13T23:32:00.000+01:00

28 young people were greeted by grey cloudy, breezy and cold conditions as Yeadon SC held its second team racing development day on Saturday. The day attracted sailors from across Yorkshire with strong support from Mirror Squad sailors, sailors involved in club training at Yeadon SC and at Otley SC and sailors from the Yorkshire Dales SC’s GYBE scheme. This was an introduction to Team Racing for those who have not haven’t done it before, while for those who have team raced before it was an opportunity to practice this branch of sailboat racing.

With a wide spectrum of sailing experiences within the group the teams were pre selected to try and evenly match the teams and to give a mix of experienced racers, club racers and those new to racing in each team. With a number of people new to racing taking part some of the more experienced squad sailors were appointed as team captains and we asked them to manage their team, to make sure they were around at the right time for their races, understood what was going on and were incorporated into the day’s activities. Hence it was also an exercise in working together and to mingle and mix for all the young people from a variety of clubs and sailing circles.

In addition, certain jobs to assist in the running of the day had not been manned up in advance in order that we could also include a number of the parents who had come down with the sailors and get them to be involved in running a sailing event.

With 28 sailors taking part we formed 6 two boat teams (4 or 5 people to a team) and each team raced each other in a round robin league. For those with 5 in their team the team captain had to also ensure everybody got a fair turn. The event was raced in Picos which were a great leveller for all the sailors. The boats were from the Yeadon and Otley training fleets and Yeadon members own boats as well and we are indebted to those people and to the Clubs for the use of the boats.

There was close racing all day

Everybody mucked in to get boats sorted, fuelled by bacon butties and we then held a brief introduction training session to explain about Team Racing and the Day’s programme. At the end of the session the team captains were introduced to their team and to their team colour / bib colour (which for some teams didn’t quite match – Dark blue and purple are almost the same, aren’t they ?) Then it was time to get on the water !

There was some initial teething issues first with the course and then with very enthusiastic team racing manoeuvres. The OOD team on the water sorted any confusion with the course and the team captains were reminded about giving ‘time and opportunity’ and to consider that most boats had someone new to racing in them as well so the helms had to ensure that their crews understood what was going on as well the other boat so they could react as well!

Downwind action

The OOD set a good course for team racing with a beat, broad reach, beat, run and short reach to the finish. The sailors soon got in the swing of it and good to see tactics and the rules being used to good effect in all the races. Most races were closely fought with defeat being occasionally snatched from the jaws of victory when people forgot that Picos don’t respond and accelerate like some of the race tuned boats they may normally sail !

The Beachmaster team did well keeping the teams informed on where we were in the programme and who was sailing next, or when they could have a food and warm up break in the Club House.

It was especially encouraging to see how the team captains, Ben Lulham-Robinson, Ed Grayson, Emma Grayson, Matthew Lulham-Robinson, Oli White and Will Hide took to their roles and organised their teams and generally helped things run smoothly.

In the end it was Ed’s team, sailing with Vanessa, and crews Edward, Ellie and George who came out on top with 5 wins, then Will and Oli teams tied on 3 wins with Will taking 2nd on tie break.

To finish the day off we ran a race for the team captains and their choice of crews. We formed 2 three boat teams loosely based on the final order of the main event and with 2 pairs of siblings being kept on opposite teams there was more than pride at stake ! The race didn’t disappoint and as could be predicted the sibling pairs battled for family honour all round the course. In the end the result couldn’t have been closer with the team of Will, Emma and Matthew just beating Ed, Oli and Ben by 10 pts to 11 pts.

Judging by the smiles and the chatter, all in all it was a great days sailing, racing, mixing and making new friends, enjoyed by the sailors and everybody who helped out run it, whether volunteering before hand or co-opted on the day - It looks like we will have to do it again next year !

:-) Neil and Heather - The organising team

Two cold OODs

The bacon butty team - They were great !!!

National 12 Open Meeting

2010-10-06T12:57:00.001+01:00

Heavy rain did not deter a good fleet of National Twelves from launching for the National 12 Open Meeting this weekend despite some crews talking about garden centres and other less wet distractions.

Race one got underway in a North Easterly shifty breeze, two boats were recalled but local crew Neil and Katie McInnes made a clean break in N3216 to reach the first mark in the lead hotly pursued by John and Allison Cheetham (N3468) also drawing on their local knowledge then, Brian Kitching and Gale Kaye sailing N3356. Philip and Helen David in N2545 having recovered from being over the line powered their way up to the leaders and as the breeze died and returned the fleet positions were constantly changing, John and Alison were the winners with Philip and Helen close behind followed by Brian and Gale.

With the bad weather race 2 was due to run back to back with race one however the bad weather turned into horrendous weather with heavy squalls, bouncing rain and the wind doing circuits and bumps! A start was made as soon as the weather settled slightly and Brian and Gail were first to the first mark but after more major wind shifts and some confusion about the course the race was abandoned in favour of lunch.

Race 2 restarted after lunch with the wind still very light and constantly shifting direction so race officer Bill Wilson and his team opted for a shorter course and the hope that at least one leg would be a beat. Howard Chadwick made a good start on port with John and Philip further down the line but in more wind a strategy that paid off well as John took the lead. At the second mark however John stumbled during the gybe and capsized creating a hazard against the mark and allowing Howard to re take the lead closely followed by Brian and Philip. Philip took the lead for a while but John was soon back in the hunt and as Philip chose a backing shift John pulled through to lead with Howard in second, positions which they held to the end.

In race 3 John headed for an early shower with two wins in the bag and the rest of the fleet, now down to five boats went out again to yet another wind direction and another course. Neil got another excellent start and was first at the first mark with Philip second and Howard third. Philip however managed to break through and pull away leaving Neil and Howard to fight it out, seldom more than two boat lengths apart. On the last lap Howard and Vanessa managed to get an overlap on Neil and Katie at the start of the last beat and they held this position to the end.

A great days racing in atrocious conditions! Thanks are due to the race team for making the best of the constant wind changes, David Hinks for his notes for this report and especially to the catering team who kept us going with hot food and didn’t complain when we dripped water all over the clubhouse floor!

Overall Results

1st N3468 Pillow Fight John and Allison Cheetham
2nd N2545 Little Meg Philip and Helen David (Also 1st Vintage)
3rd N2266 Triarda Howard Chadwick and Vanessa Kennedy
4th N3356 Squidgy Bits Brian Kitching and Gale Kaye
5th N3216 Twice Shy Neil and Katie McInnes
6th N2359 Shotgun Angus Beyts and Patrick Gaunt
Locals Denis and Jo Beard finished a creditable seventh place in their first ever National Twelve Open Meeting having borrowed an ageing Paper Dart N2769 Barrow Boy.

Furthest travelled prize went to Angus Beyts who had come down from Scotland picking up his borrowed boat in Derbyshire and returning it before going home to Scotland, runner up was Brian Kitching who only came from Bristol.

Photo by Brian Herring “John Cheetham giving the fleet a chance”

Howard Chadwick 4-10-2010

Shorebased Sailing courses at Otley Centre - Leeds City College

2010-10-04T23:47:00.001+01:00

If you are looking to expand your sailing knowledge, then why not take part in a shore based course at Otley College.

Courses on offer include Costal Skipper, Day Skipper and Marine Radio.

Hurry as some start in November.

http://www.leedscitycollege.ac.uk/courses/?s=rya

Blue-green Algae Update

2010-10-01T09:36:00.000+01:00

The blue-green algae risk is now believed to be low. The recent weather conditions should have helped reduce the amount in the water. Sailors are requested to review the situation before sailing and take precautions not to swallow the water. Sailors are also requested to avoid the concrete T jetty where the algae was last spotted as a precaution.

Please also remember to wash your hands once you leave the water. Further information on Blue-green algae can be found on this environment agency leaflet:

http://www.pawsonthelevels.org.uk/public/for_info-blue_green_algae%5B1%5D.pdf

Streaker/Solo Open Sunday 26th of September

2010-09-30T23:23:00.002+01:00

YEADON SAILING CLUB

STREAKER/SOLO OPEN SUNDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER 2010

A cloudy, cool day with a northerly wind, gusting Force 4/5. A good turnout of boats, with 5 visitors and 8 home contestants who competed alongside the two Solo contestants.

Race 1.Nick Lovell, who had travelled all the way from Kings Lynn, got off to a wonderful start, and held that lead throughout the race. David Butler, from Welton, trailed him all the way to the finish line, but could not catch him. Yeadon’s John Goodyear established himself in third place for two laps, with Chris Wright from Ripon on his tail. But Peter Tyerman from Pennine was gaining ground (or water) rapidly, and took a well earned third place.

Race 2.The wind veered, and lessened somewhat. Peter Tyerman had a better start, and behind him a duel began between David and Nick, with Nick gradually achieving second place, and eventually forging his way into the lead, which he then held. David had to accept second place, with Pe

ter in third.

Race 3.The wind then backed, a Yeadon prerogative, and making our visitors think hard. Nick and David established themselves first and second from start to finish. S.J. Chilton from Yorks Ouse fought bravely into third position, only to be overtaken by Peter, who kept that place until the finish.

FULL ROLL CALL

11541Lovell NickOuse Amateur

21618Butler DavidWelton

31586Tyerman PeterPennine

41374Wright ChrisRipon

51470Goodyear JohnYeadon

61481Southall John “

71527Beard Dennis “

81621Chilton S. J.Yorkshire Ouse

91482Hattersley TimYeadon

101367Smith Trevor “

111597Crossland Rob “

121471Metcalfe Paul

131563Hinks David “

Race Officer Howard Chadwick

Domestic Report

As is often the case, the heroic efforts of our local heroes often go unsung, eclipsed by the necessity of formulating our Race Reports for national exposure, mainly for the benefit of our most welcome visitors, who are often almost full time sailors.

So what happened at the back of the Fleet?

The star was without question John Goodyear, who, in a borrowed boat, achieved 5th place throughout the three races. What a pity we had visitors!

Denis Beard showed great promise, until he tried to jibe his boat like an Enterprise. He must enter again next year, and be more careful.

John Southall, in spite of his great age, showed great consistency, and came 6th. It’s time he sold that Laser.

Tim Hattersley started off very well, but lost ground as the wind abated.

Trevor Smith was also very consistent, a bit like Ben Ainsley.

Paul Metcalfe was also very persistent, but perhaps the initial gusty conditions did not suit him.

Rob Crossland started off nicely, had a bit of a rest in the second race, but attacked the third with renewed energy.

And David Hinks was just settling down to it in the second race, then perhaps fatigue prevented him from doing all three.

The most significant feature was that most of our local lads were not proper Streakers, but sailing in borrowed boats, and so must be congratulated on their performances, even if they were coerced into entering, at great cost!

Well done, Chaps!

The Solo Open was once again poorly supported. This year it clashed with the Northern Series meeting at Leigh. Our one visitor, this year from Hollingworth SC, gave Bill Wilson some good competition until he capsized in the first race. The flukey winds after that were not kind to him.

Bill retains the Solo cup for the third year running. Peter Appleby came third having sailed only two of the three races.

Blue-green algae warning

2010-09-29T20:38:00.000+01:00

Traces of blue-green algae have been located in the tarn. Although there is no indication that the levels are dangerous, tests have been conducted to ascertain whether the tarn is safe to use. The results will be published once they have been received. Please consult the YSC website for further information.

Please follow standard procedures when using the tarn:

Avoid swimming in the water.
Avoid drinking the water.
Wash your hands before consuming food & drink, and wash them after you have finished on the water.

If you feel unwell following activities on or near the water please consult a health professional and notify a member of the committee. If you have any concerns or have a medical condition which may increase the risk then please do not use the tarn until the all clear has been given.

Neil McInnes is to be given RYA Volunteer Award for Lifetime Commitment to the Sport of Sailing

2010-09-27T22:33:00.002+01:00

It has recently been announced by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) that Neil McInnes – Sailing Coach at Yeadon Sailing Club – is to be awarded an RYA Volunteer Award for Lifetime Commitment to the sport of sailing.

The RYA Volunteer awards are the MBE's of the sailing world and recognise outstanding contributions made by volunteers throughout the UK. The award will be presented by the RYA President, HRH The Princess Royal, at an awards ceremony to be held in London in November.

Neil’s award is in recognition of his long term contribution to the training and development of sailors at Yeadon Sailing Club. Through his commitment Neil has encouraged many people to take up sailing and the training that he provides enables new members to quickly reach a degree of competence that allows them to feel confident and enjoy sailing on the tarn and participating in club races.

Most especially through Neil’s encouragement and enthusiasm many of our juniors have quickly progressed from learning to sail, to racing, to competing in regional, national and international competitions. This year five of our juniors qualified for regional and national training squads and competed at National, European and World Championship level.

Neil has been YSC Sailing Coach since 1997 and over that time has taught many people to sail and race. He has made a significant contribution to the sport of sailing in this region and the award is well deserved.

Working Party / Junior Training / Get new members out on the water / Racing / Free Sailing Session / Barbeque / Social Evening

2010-09-08T22:52:00.000+01:00

Dear All, just a quick reminder about this Saturday – It’s going to be a busy one !!

From 10 am please come down for a working party to help tidy up the club and the grounds or help Gerard with the bacon butties !

The juniors, from 12.00, can legally escape the work party as we are running a Junior Training session 12 till 2, so it would be good to see lots of you down for that showing the Adults how well you can sail.

In the afternoon we will be holding the afternoon races at 2.30 and 4.00 as normal, with the last Junior Race of the season incorporated into the 2.30 race. With the afternoon’s races what we want to do is get members who have previously just sailed on Tuesday Nights teamed up with other members and take part in the racing so come down and get out on the water !.

After racing we shall leave the safety boat out so if anybody wants to have a free sailing session they can do while we shall get the barbeques fired up. So bring down something to cook for tea and we shall a social evening too !

See you there !!!!!!!!!

Mirror Success in Europe

2010-08-27T13:46:00.003+01:00

After a week’s racing at Sligo Yacht Club in Ireland Matthew and Benjamin are European Junior Mirror Champions !

Matthew and Ben, who are also the current North RYA Volvo Zone Champions and Scottish Mirror Champions, were surprised to claim the title, as crew Ben explains: “I don’t know how it feels [to win] really, we were quite surprised how well we did – we were probably expecting to come top three junior and tenth or fifteenth overall. Our plan was to try and get the kite set quick go the right way up he beat and get constant results really and that obviously worked!”

In the overall event there were 75 entries and they were 5th overall. They were improving all week ranking impressively well against the senior competition in the fleet. The last day was blown off due to too much wind but they won the last race sailed the day before so they may have finished even higher if racing on the last day had been held ? They were also the only non Irish boat to win a race ! Helm Matthew added: “We’re really, really pleased to win the junior title and come fifth overall. We’ve been working for this for a long time so it’s good all the works paid off training with the national squad over the winter. It was quite difficult and we had to work really hard to get the result all week. Training for a variety of conditions so we could be sure we could cope with anything that happened helped.”

RYA Mirror National Junior Squad coach Catherine Putt was bowled over their and a number of the young Zone and National Squad sailors performances, she said: “This has been a fantastic display of what great talent we have in our Junior and Zone squads. Matt and Ben did fantastically well – they have trained really hard over the winter and it’s all clicked together for them securing such a good results against some real adversities too which was great.”

This could, of course, end being quite costly for them (Well, at least for Peter and Heather !) as the next major event is the Mirror World Championships which take place just after Christmas in Albany, Australia !!!!!

Other Juniors from the Club did well also. Matthew, sailing with Ed from Beaver SC was 25th overall and Will, sailing with Oliver from Ripon SC were close behind in 26th place overall

A great series of results and well done to them all !

Photo of Ben and Matthew at the Prizegiving

with the first Junior girls Emma and Rachel from Beaver SC who were 13th overall

With thanks to Steve Wilkinson, the RYA and Yachts and Yachting.com for the quotes and photo

The End of the Wednesday Night Sailing

2010-08-26T13:43:00.002+01:00

The Wednesday Night Race series came to quiet conclusion this week. As the sailors gathered OODs Phil and Tim were desperately looking for the wind, Paul and John tried to help by launching early, but sailing in the same direction with one running and one beating everybody knew it was going to be one of those nights. The OODs decided the most consistent wind direction, set the course and 14 boats decided to take up the challenge. Some miss judged the time it took to get from the shore to the start so the second start was busier than it should have been, meanwhile Vanessa was still looking for a bung for the Topper !

It was a pleasant drift around in the diminishing light, except for trying to get round mark nos 6 and 1 where the wind was generally weird and very light and and would catch boat and keep them stuck there for a while. Attention needed to be paid to the burgee as the wind direction would flip 180 degrees and you needed to tack the boat over without changing direction to keep the sails filling and prevent the boat stalling.

Bill, of course, managed to keep moving throughout and lead the fleet by a country mile, while Rob kept the pressure on the Lasers in front of him to be ahead of them of handicap. At one stage it looked like Bob in his Otter was going to be well up as well but he seemed to lose time towards the end. Paul from Tuesday Nights joined in the racing in a Pico and was doing well but was progressively getting slower and lower in the water until a shout came from the OOD box “Have you got your bung in ?” Ooops !

Thanks to the OODs Phil and Tim, ably assisted by Glenis and Becky

As the boats were taken off the sky was turning a fantastic pink colour – “Red Sky at Night, .... ” and all that !
What do we do on an evening now ?????

National 12 'Ribbie' Sailing

2010-08-20T22:51:00.000+01:00

he fleet of 5 Ribbed National Twelves dating from 1936 to 1953 gathered again at the Club on Sunday 15th August for the 3rd ‘Ribbie’ event of the season. The previous event 6 weeks before had to be curtailed due to fairly strong winds, one bent (metal) mast and an unwillingness to find out the extent that wooden masts can bend! This time the assembled sailors were greeted by sunshine and a light northerly breeze. Tim Gatti had worked hard getting the boats ready (four of these boats belong to him) and sorting helms and crews for the event (not helped by it being the holiday season and injuries to some of the regular teams).

Each competing team was allocated a boat for the first race and five short races of approximately 20 minutes each were to be run. After every race crews change boats and all races count for the day’s results thus each team has equal chance of success. Ken Goddard and Ann Britton from Trent Valley SC had come up for the day to experience ‘Ribbie racing’ for the first time, whereas the rest had participated in at least one of these events beforehand.

The Race Officers Neil and Rachel set a short course with a 3, 2, 1, Go! start sequence to keep things moving, however the first start was slightly delayed whilst cordial relationships were maintained with other users of the Tarn (fishermen and the Model Boat Club) and the course adjusted to suit

Howard Chadwick and Helen Nicholson sailing in N341 Mat, an Uffa King built in 1938, led off the first start and looked to have the race in the bag but John Cheetham and Gail Kaye sailing N711 Sinner, a Gnome design built in 1949, kept pushing and got inside berth at the last leeward mark and held a slender lead to the finish. On the first leg Ken and Ann sailing N1183 Tessa, a Procter Mark 2 built in 1953, managed to find a major hole in wind at the windward mark and trailed the rest in!

What should have a quick turnaround between races was somewhat extended while Tim Gatti and Vanessa Kennedy played with the steel centreplate on Sinner to get it to hang properly.

After a brief delay the now slightly damp pair rejoined the rest of the fleet and race 2 got underway. This time Philip David and Tace Morgan sailing Mat won the start but John and Gail sailing Tessa got the shifts right as they closed the windward mark to take the lead, closely followed by Howard and Helen sailing N493 Laughter, a 1945 Holt 500 design. Philip and Tace caught Howard by the windward mark the second time around and they held that order down to the leeward mark finish.

Some frantic balling was required in all boats to empty them before a quick turnaround for the third race. The practice of two starts already meant that everybody was on the start line with John and Gail getting the best start in N2 Goldcrest, a Barnt Green design built in 1936. Tim and Vanessa, sailing Tessa tried to find more wind on the other side of the tarn to the rest and for a while it looked promising but when they tacked back in they arrived mid fleet. Philip and Tace sailing Laughter chased Howard and Helen in Sinner. The remaining three had a close race all the way round with John and Gail just crossing ahead of Tim and Vanessa and Ken and Ann sailing Mat on the last tack.

A quick break was held because by this point we were running out of time to get the next two races in before normal Club racing was due to start at 2.30. Unfortunately the wind hadn’t read the script and it went light and patchy.

Ken had halyard issues, but that gave everybody else chance to do more bailing before the start of the fourth race. Tim and Vanessa sailing Goldcrest were too eager and were over the line at the start so they had to chase the rest in a dying breeze. Philip and Tace, sailing Sinner, coped with the conditions best and lead the fleet round to the finish.

With the Club fleet starting to get ready for the afternoon’s racing the turnaround for the last race had to be a quick one. Luckily for the OOD the breeze returned for the start of the last race but went again by the time the fleet got to the windward mark. Tim and Vanessa sailing Mat lead round the windward mark but then for some reason ended up spinning around as the wind did something strange to them. This allowed John and Gail sailing Laughter into the lead. Philip and Tace, in Tessa, managed to slide past the other two at the windward mark, and then glided past Tim still trying to get Mat pointing in the right direction! By the leeward mark the fleet closed up again. The beat had become a fetch but John and Gail managed to maintain their narrow lead and lead the fleet round the next two marks to finish the race which was shorten at the wing mark. This allowed the bare minimum time for Neil and Rachel to be able to finish the Twelves, and then set up the start for the Club Race a few minutes later!!!!

Big thanks to Tim for organising the event and for keeping the fleet in fine condition, to Gerard Kennedy and Ian Morgan for feeding us bacon butties and mugs of tea and to Neil and Rachel for managing to get the 5 races in just before the normal Club races were due to start.

Unfortunately the final event of the season due for October has had to be cancelled as Tim is due to start his boat building course shortly and will be spending most of his time over the coming months either in Lowestoft, or travelling between Lowestoft and Bradford, and every body wishes him the best of luck with that!

The Results

The Crews:-

1st John Cheetham and Gail Kaye 9pts

2nd Philip David and Tace Morgan 9pts

3rd Howard Chadwick and Helen Nicholson 12pts

4th Tim Gatti and Vanessa Kennedy 21pts

5th Ken Goddard and Ann Britton 24pts

And for the Boats:-

1st N711 Sinner – Gnome design

2nd N493 Laughter – Holt 500 design

3rd N1183 Tessa – Procter Mark 2 design

4th N341 Mat – Uffa King design

5th N2 Goldcrest – Barnt Green design

STOP PRESS

2010-08-19T08:57:00.001+01:00

Mirror Europeans at Sligo Yacht Club
After 3 days of racing and 7 races completed in the Mirror European Championships at Sligo in Ireland Matthew and Benjamin Lulham Robinson are lying in 8th place overall in a competitive fleet of 73 Mirrors.
Also Will Hide sailing with Oliver Williams of Ripon are in 26th place and Matthew Foster, sailing with Ed Grayson of Beaver, are close behind in 29th place overall - Well done to them all !

For further updates see http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/

In Memory of Yvonne McInnes Yeadon Sailing Club launches ‘Free Spirit’ its new training boat

2010-07-22T20:46:00.000+01:00

The thunder and lightning accompanied by heavy rain on the evening of the 20th of July had been dreadful but then just at the right moment the storm stopped and Commodore Gerard Kennedy with Mary Dawson were able to name the new boat, a beautiful blue Wanderer, with a name that had been especially chosen for it in remembrance of Yvonne McInnes.

Yvonne had been a member of Yeadon Sailing Club for a very long time and recently lost a brave fight against cancer. The boat was duly doused with brown ale by Mary and named ‘Free Spirit’ as these are the words that remind us of Yvonne. The boat was then launched onto the Tarn by Gerard and taken for its maiden voyage by Tim Burnett and Felix watched by a cheerful crowd of onlookers.

The Wanderer, a perfect training boat has been purchased with the aid of a grant through an initiative promoted by the Royal Yachting Association called ‘More Adults Sailing More Often’. The idea being that more adults will continue to sail and practice their sailing skills after they have completed their initial sailing lessons. The boat that can accommodate two to three people will be mostly used on a Tuesday evening as this is when the club’s main training sessions are held. Sessions run from April through until August although the Wanderer will also be available for other training events.

Thanks go to local RYA representatives Suzie Blair and Liz Wrigglesworth who are from the Yorkshire and Humber region as they kindly assisted us with the completion of the equipment grant application form.

Thanks also go to Hartley Laminates who supplied the boat and allowed us a discount as the boat has been purchased specifically as a training boat.

YSC Awarded RYA Grant for New Boat

2010-06-09T21:42:00.000+01:00

YSC have received the fantastic news that we have been successful in applying for a grant for £2000 to fund a new boat for training. The committee took the decision on behalf of the members to purchase a new Wanderer, which will be ideal for taking out adults and juniors for training and open days.

Well done and thanks to all those who helped in preparing the application and thank you to RYA and Sport England for the grant. We look forward to launching the new boat on its arrival in mid July with the traditional brown ale launching ceremony. The new boat will be a welcome addition to the club fleet.

Enter the competition to name the new boat at the Commodores weekend 26th and 27th June.

For more information on the boat visit the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanderer_(sailing_dinghy)
http://www.wanderer.org.uk/

For more information on the grant, visit:
http://www.rya-yorkshire.org/documents/RYA_Small_Grants_Programme_Guidance_Notes_and_Application_Form__Final_Version_.pdf

Ribbed Boat Racing in the Sunshine.

2010-05-24T22:39:00.001+01:00

A fleet of Ribbed National Twelves dating from 1936 to 1953 gathered at Yeadon Sailing Club on Sunday 23^rd May to be greeted by glorious sunshine, bacon butties and a gentle breeze.

Five boats assembled with crews from Yeadon, Ripon and Winsford Flash, four of these boats belong to current National Twelve Owners Association Chairman Tim Gatti who had been working hard to get his boats to the club for the event as well as coordinating entries etc.

Each competing team was allocated a boat for the first race and five short races of approximately 20 minutes each were run. After every race crews change boats and all races count for the day’s results thus each team has equal chance of success. The Race Officers Howard Chadwick and Ian Morgan set a short course with a 3, 2, 1, go start sequence to keep things moving and as soon as the bacon butties were devoured racing commenced.

Race 1 saw John and Cathy Cheetham in excellent form sailing N493 Laughter, a 1945 Holt 500 design, to victory hotly pursued by Neil McInnes and Rachel Dean in N341 Mat, an Uffa King, built in 1938.

Race 2 began as soon as boats were swapped and was a closely fought battle with John and Cathy in N711 Sinner, a Gnome design, built in 1949 and Tim Gatti and Vanessa Kennedy sailing Mat closely followed by Bernard and Ellie Clark sailing N2 Goldcrest, a Barnt Green design, built in 1936. As the winds shifted Bernard went out to the opposite side of the course on the final beat pulling off a master stroke taking him from 3^rd place to a comfortable first place.

Race 3 was slightly delayed by some frantic bailing as the boats had dried out over the winter and some were getting very full indeed. Although all boats had bailers only two had pumps which were being shared! The jetty briefly resembled a formula one pit stop area. Once underway Bernard and Ellie were the dominant pair in N341 Mat, however John and Cathy now sailing N1183 Tessa, a Procter Mark 2, built in 1953 were chasing hard and finished second. Tim Gatti pulled up the minute he lost at the start through sharing a pump to finish 3^rd with Neil in 4^th and Brian Herring struggling slightly with N2 and making derogatory remarks about her being better for moving flour, like a barge, than racing.

After a brief lunch and more bailing crews were back on the water for race 4 where Bernard and Ellie were again the pair to beat, this time sailing Laughter, Ellie’s favourite, although Tim and Vanessa in Sinner were a close second followed home by Brian and Katie in Mat.

Race 5 began after yet more frantic bailing and on a new course to match the shifting breeze. Brian and Katie McInnes were fast off the line this time in Laughter and Brian used all his 75 years of experienced coupled with Katie’s nimble crewing to stay ahead of Bernard and Ellie, now sailing Sinner and Tim and Vanessa now in Tessa. Brian managed to maintain and then increase his lead to claim victory in this the last race, which finished only 20 minutes before the first of the club’s afternoon races was scheduled to start.

The event was once again a great success and had created much interest amongst club sailors in addition to being thoroughly enjoyed by all the competitors. The final team positions being as follows:-

1st	Bernard Clark	Ellie Clark	8 Points
2nd	John Cheetham	Cathy Cheetham	13 Points
3rd	Tim Gatti	Vanessa Kennedy	17 Points
4th	Brian Herring	Katie McInnes	18 Points
5th	Neil McInnes	Rachel Dean	19 Points

Thanks to Howard for the article

and Howard and Mike for the photos

N12 Ribby Event at Yeadon SC on Sun 23rd May

2010-05-20T23:58:00.001+01:00

Here is confirmation of the details of the National 12 Ribby Event at Yeadon SC on Sun 23rd May, the first of a series four events throughout the season:

Weather forecast currently looking very good with warm weather and a gentle breeze predicted (westerly at 5 -8mph). Perfect for these older boats !

5 Ribbed 12's will be taking part
N2, N341, N493, N711, N1183

And 5 carefully selected crews !

Programme - approx timings
09.00 - 10.45    Rigging and set up 10.45 - 10.55    Pre -race briefing and launch
11.00 - 12.30    3 x 20 min races with quick turnaround/pump out etc
12.30 - 13.00    Refreshments (please bring a packed lunch)
13.05 - 13.55    2 x 20 min races
13.55 - 15.00    Pack boats away

Ribbed' National 12s are the earliest boats within this development class, built of ribbed construction, or, to use boat building parlance, 'clench laid and timbered'. The boats involved have all been kept sailing through the hard work of their owners and large quantities of copper nails, brass fittings, varnish and a lot of loving care!

Spectators are more welcome and we look forward to seeing you all again on Sunday for a fun-packed morning.

Remember to bring a hat, shorts and your sunscreen.

Tim Gatti

Laser Open 16th of May 2010

2010-05-17T22:02:00.000+01:00

LASER OPEN - SUNDAY 16th MAY 2010

In brief: Wind, South West Force 4/5. Dull but fine. Ideal for Laser sailing, at least for the strong men. The Star of the day was undoubtedly Adam Simms, closely followed by Dad John. It was such a pity that our principal visitor was Ian Jones, of Dovestone S.C., who is a most formidable sailor, who, of course, won. Adam and John came 2nd and 3rd. The other lads all did well, but it was very windy, and there was much capsizing.

Full Report:
Race 1. As we have come to expect, Ian Jones, of Dovestone, established an early lead, with a new (and welcome) visitor, Steve Barrett, from Bolton, in hot pursuit. Adam Simms, our up and coming “young sailor”, chasing them. The Simms family must have been trained in relay races, because old Father John eventually showed his local knowledge, wresting second place from the two of them. Pity that he just had to practise his capsize drill half way through the race, allowing young Adam to supplant him, but still finishing nicely at third place.
Race 2. Ian Jones was first away again, but was given a hard race by veteran John Simms and Steve Barrett. This proved a good race for Steve, until he was eventually forced to retire, which fate also befell Adam Simms.

Pete Slingsby, another grizzled ex-Yeadon veteran, utilised his local knowledge to force his way through the fleet to take third place.

Race 3. The wind eased slightly, but its gusty nature continued to take a heavy toll. Adam Simms, perhaps fresher from his enforced respite, got off to a brilliant start, and held the lead until Ian Jones woke up, and took over his rightful place. Pete Slingsby again pushed his way forward, but the years must be taking their toll, and he was eventually replaced by John Simms, who was determined to give of his best today. But as the wind was dying (relatively), it was not possible for him or Adam to catch the leader.

Final placings, 1st Ian Jones(Dovestone), second Adam Simms (Yeadon), and in 3rd place, John Simms (Yeadon).

EPILOGUE

And what of our local luminaries?

Our rising star Adam Simms (chip off the Old Block?)………..put in a splendid performance (in a tough wind), and but for the presence of the big star from over the border………………..It’s certainly tough at the top!

Old Father Time (sorry, Timms) excelled himself……………and no doubt had trouble getting out of bed on Monday morning.

Mick Bower is getting better all the time, and all he needs is the experience.

Richard Barker was very steady, and did particularly well in the second race.

Daredevil David, (it was his sort of wind) fought well in the middle of the fleet, but your correspondent wonders whether he should be getting to bed earlier on a Saturday night.

Simon Broome improved his performance in the 2nd and 3rd races, so it’s just a matter of time…………..and perhaps concentration?

Well done, lads, on a very windy day!

And don’t forget that Ian Jones keeps getting new boats – that does make a difference!

FINAL ROLL CALL

1. 182990 Ian Jones Dovestone

2. 182623 Adam Simms Yeadon

3. 121822 John Simms “

4. 176533 Steve Barrett Bolton

5. 185701 Pete Slingsby Yorkshire Dales

6. 187091 Ben Mursell “ “

7. 166406 Mick Bower Yeadon

8. 131945 Richard Barker “

9. 197704 Tim Lulce “

10. 160687 David Statman “

11. 196657 Simon Broome “

Cold for the first weekend in May !

2010-05-02T22:53:00.000+01:00

Sunday at the Club brought a return to the cold North Westerly winds.

A dedicated bunch of sailors took to the water to race in the gusty bracing winds while Tim and Carmen sorted the shore side of things out. Between the races the sailors and the spectators enjoyed Yvonne's birthday cake.

A reduced fleet took to the water for the second race, either due to the cold or too much birthday cake, I'm not sure.

Hidden away around the edge of the tarn the first broods of ducklings could be seen, confirming despite the cold that we are moving from Spring to Summer, just hope it warms up soon !

Appeal for RYA Sailability

2010-04-20T14:48:00.001+01:00

Appeal from the RYA
Help create more opportunities for disabled people to enjoy the sport we all love by sponsoring RYA Sailability Ambassador Major Phil Packer as he walks the 25th mile of the Virgin London Marathon in aid of RYA Sailability.

Phil will be walking each mile of the Virgin London Marathon with a support walker, for a different charity. He will set out at 10am on Saturday 25 April and aims to have completed the 26 miles by 12pm Sunday 26 April. The 25th mile is dedicated to raising funds for RYA Sailability, when he will be accompanied by, Paralympic SKUD sailor, Alexandra Rickham.

About Phil
Phil is a truly inspirational character. After sustaining a spinal cord injury during operational duty in 2008 he has worked to raise funds not only for his fellow injured personnel but the wider disabled community.
“I have now realised that whilst in hospital, the support from many people assisted me through the dark times. The question that I keep asking myself now is “What if I did not have this support; what if I went through this when I was younger?” I am now committed to ensuring I give as much as I can to those young people that need support through those dark days.” Phil Packer
Phil was introduced to sailing during his rehabilitation through Help for Heroes and fell in love with the sport; particularly as it is such an easy sport for people with disabilities to get involved in.
In 2009 Phil undertook three gruelling challenges; rowing the Channel with Al Humphreys, walking the London Marathon over 14 days and hauling himself up El Capitan with a support team of some of the country's best climbers. Phil inspired millions and gained unexpected National recognition, including Fundraiser of the Year at the Pride of Britain Awards and the Helen Rollason Award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

RYA Sailability is the leading UK charity for disabled sailing and is the official charity of the RYA. Through RYA Sailability over 20,000 people with a disability have been able to experience sailing and sail regularly. Registered Charity Number: 1084351.

For more information on Phil's remarkable challenge, visit www.philpacker.com

Adult Race Training Day

2010-04-18T19:07:00.000+01:00

This year’s Adult Race Training Day was a Class Self Help Day !
16 members took advantage of the training day at the Club on Saturday. Neil and a team of 6 ‘Class Experts’ run sessions off and on the water during the day.

On shore we looked at the set up of everybody’s boat so that each of the boats were best prepared, control systems work and tips and advice exchanged.

Then on the water, racing in fleets we looked at tacks and gybes, going slow (only at the right times), mark rounding (wide in, tight out) and finding the best route to the next mark.

For the first time in many years of running a Race Training Day in April the weather was glorious, with bright sunshine and a south westerly force 2 to 3, giving good sitting out conditions and the occasional gust to get the boats planning. A good day for being out on the water

Thanks to the Fleet Captains for rallying their fleets to attend and to the ‘Class Experts’, Topper – John Simms, Streaker – Clive Wood and John Goodyear, Laser – Pete Slingsby and Adam Simms and Honorary Solo – Howard Chadwick for helping out throughout the day.

John demonstrating how climb over a streaker after it has fallen over !

And the prize for the largest fleet turn out, was won by Mike Bowers and the Laser Fleet with 9 boats out on the water ! Luckily they did share the sweets with us all at the end !

Adult Race Training Day - Class Self Help Day

2010-04-11T18:35:00.000+01:00

This years Adult Training Day on Saturday 17th April is going to be a Class Self Help Day !

The idea being if the Fleet Captains could rally their fleets to come down on the day then we could work with each fleet with the help of the Fleet Captain and / or a ‘Class Expert’ for the day to get the most out their sailing, racing and preparing for any up coming Open Meetings.

The morning session to be spent on shore checking everybody’s boat set up, sail controls looking at RYA best technique details on the Coaching DVD (Laser, Topper and Mirror) as necessary, swapping advise and tips and the like.

Then after lunch we can get out on the water and do some short course fleet racing with separate starts for each fleet to represent ‘Open Meeting’ type conditions and see where we go from there.

John Goodyear and I are gathering a fantastic group of ‘Class Experts’ to help out on the day. So currently the team for the day will comprise of the following ;
Topper – Adam Simms
Laser – Pete Slingsby and Adam
Streaker – Clive Wood and John Goodyear
Solo – Bill Wilson
National 12 – Howard Chadwick
Herons / 2 man boats generally – Howard Chadwick
Handicap fleet – Neil, plus support from others depending on the type of boat

Hopefully it will be an informative day and everybody will get something out of it !

Programme :

Morning session 11.00 to 12.30
On shore : checking everybody’s boat set up, sail controls looking at RYA best technique details on the Coaching DVD (Laser, Topper and Mirror) as necessary, swapping advise and tips and the like.

Lunch 12.30 to 13.30

Afternoon Session 13.30 to 16.30
On the water – We shall run some short course fleet racing with separate starts for each fleet to represent ‘Open Meeting’ type conditions and develop things from there

Debrief and Review 17.00

Come down and support your fleet !
And there be a prize for the largest fleet turn out !!!!!

Rules Night at Rotherham SC

2010-04-06T22:09:00.000+01:00

Rotherham SC have let us know of a Rules Night they are having.

If any members are interested in attending a Rules Night to be held at Rotherham SC on 22nd April, places must be booked in advance, Please see their website for more details.

http://www.rotherhamsailingclub.org.uk/

Easter Fun

2010-04-06T17:50:00.000+01:00

The second weekend of the season proved very busy at the Club ! The good weather on Saturday saw a lot of people down and the varable winds caused some interesting mark rounding as the fast fleet converged at the end of the some long down wind legs !
Luke sailed his Dad's Laser and demonstrated some good technique to master the varable conditions to sail away from the rest of the Lasers in race one while there was frequent place changing behind !

A good test of your knowledge - Mark Room ! Please....................

Sunday was very windy and as a consquence the racing fleet was smaller and the specators many. Katie demonstated how fast a well sailed Topper can go in those conditions by keeping ahead of most of the fast handicap boats for 3/4 of the race !

Thanks to Yvonne for the photos.

The New Season Starts !!

2010-03-29T17:57:00.000+01:00

The new season started on Saturday and good number of competitors and spectators turned up at the Club in the bright weather for it. OODs Howard and Rob set some good courses to test everybody after the long Winter layoff, however an open window did cause the Toppers some confusion which was quickly rectified once realised !

The sunny, but gusty, conditions did lead to some brave souls testing the water temperature but whether that was due to the wind or they were just being been keen and wanting to check the buoyancy of their boats for the new season I’m not sure ?

Sunday was equally bright but much windier with white caps on the waves. The keen ones turned up and milled around a bit but no one was eager to make the first move and get their boats ready ! In view of the conditions and due to the lack of enthusiasm Clive, the OOD, waited until he was sure no one was going to race and then cancelled the races. The potential sailors didn’t seem too disappointed !!!!!!

Let’s hope for better conditions next weekend.

Pre Season Warm Up Weekend

2010-03-24T21:37:00.001Z

It was a busy weekend at the Club as we got ready for the new season.

On Saturday 10 club members attended a RYA First Aid Course at the Club.

Within a short while they were learning how to deal with patients who had many conditions such as being unconscious and not breathing or suffering from hypothermia, as well as the more ‘normal’ incidents such as dealing with cuts, etc.

The course was subsidised as part of the RYA ‘More Adults Sailing More Often’ Programme which is putting regional support into the clubs to get more people out on the water. So if you any ideas on how to encourage more Adults to get out on the water (both existing sailors and newcomers) please let us know and we will see what we can organise (email to training@yeadonsailingclub.co.uk ). Also email if you are interested in doing the first aid course later in the year if we can organise a repeat course ?

Thanks to Adi Benson for the instruction and to Liz from the RYA for organising the course.

Then on Sunday everybody had the chance to get out on the water, check their boats over, familiarise themselves with the safety boat, if they wanted, and have a sail as well. Luckily the weather was reasonable which encouraged many people to come down to sort their boats out.
Most people wanted to get out on the water and find their sea legs and we had 12 boats out on the water. So once people had an initial sail around to get used to sailing again after the long winter lay off we ran some short races and practice starts to really wake people up .

Sarah especially appreciated trying to hold her Topper on the line for the 2 minute period before a start ! Whilst Trevor was kind and capsized, allowing David to get some safety boat practice in.

All in all I think everybody enjoyed the day and don’t forget the new season starts on this Saturday. See you at the Club !

Sunday Pre Season Warm-up is ON

2010-03-19T14:15:00.001Z

Sailing will go ahead this Sunday based on information received from the Environment Agency and the LCC Parks Department.

Due to concerns over the quality of the water due to a number of fish dying, there were some questions about whether or not the Pre Season Warm-up on Sunday was on.

The Environmental Agency have tested the water and issued the results to LCC Parks Department. They haven’t been able to determine a cause for the fish dying. The Parks Department have confirmed the results received are in line with the water testing that has been carried out over the last 24 months.

Therefore it is OK to sail following the standard guidelines of:

1. Thoroughly wash hands directly after completing activities in the water.
2. All cuts to be covered by waterproof plasters.
3. Avoid gulping water down if you become immersed in the tarn.
4. Do not contemplate water based activities if unwell or still recuperating from an illness.

Jo and Dennis's South Pennine Winter Walk

2010-03-01T23:22:00.002Z

Members of Yeadon Sailing Club enjoyed a very pleasant walk on the last day of February. The group met at the National Trust car park near Hardcastle Crags just two miles from Hebden Bridge. The walk began along a beautiful wooded valley alongside Hebden Water. The path crossed streams tumbling down from the valley sides and waterfalls could be seen pouring over the millstone rocks. Just before reaching Gibson Mill the walkers crossed the river using the well balanced stepping stones and used the composting toilets which were actually very pleasant. After crossing the toll bridge we walked past the 19th Century former cotton mill that is now a National Trust Visitor Centre. The walk continued along the mill pond that is still used today to drive the mill’s water wheel, enabling electricity to be made from two hydro electric turbines.

After having a picnic lunch in a sheltered spot the walk continued through the woods and passed the famous Hardcastle Crags which were actually very well hidden from view by plentiful undergrowth and trees.

The path then began to climb up the steep valley side and we came out onto New Laithe Moor. In the valley, now below us, we could see the old stone supports that were all that remained of a 32 metre high viaduct. The viaduct had been built mostly of timber and it had carried the railway track that had been used to assist in the construction of the Walshaw Dean reservoirs. The reservoirs could be clearly seen from the path along which we were walking. The path continued onto Wadsworth Moor and for a short while joined the Pennine Way. In the distance to the North, Withins Height could be seen and just behind the hill was Withins ruins, made famous in a novel written by Emily Bronte.

As we gradually climbed onto the higher Shackleton Moor we found ourselves walking on snow! In the distance we could see the stout Stoodley Pike war memorial on the prominent Stoodley Pike. After a little bit of snow fun we gradually came down off the moorland, past another reservoir and then onto farmland which eventually lead us back into the National Trust owned woodland of Hardcastle Crags.

A big thank you to Dennis and Jo for leading the walk and providing the historic background information that made the walk interesting as well as pleasant.