Newsletter 15 10 25
Published 21:00 on 15 Oct 2025
Welcome to WKSC Newsletter |
| A round up of Club news this week... including sailing, training and upcoming social events. Also included are links to the Galley on Friday menu and current boats for sale. ..# |
| A View from the Bridge |
A nice sail on Saturday was thwarted by the idiosyncratic nature of shipping, so I had to cry off. Luckily Anna Ledingham was close at hand to take my place (probably better for everyone really!) alongside Sophie and Mike in Hawkeye. The cousins Mike and Mal fought hard at the front of the Falcon Fleet, end result, one a piece so honour was upheld! Still winding down from the after effects of the Ball, we managed a very different Saturday night out with the RNLI Fish & Chips. Food from the Seafood Shack and Shanties lead by West Kirby Lifeboat Crew. The night raised a fantastic £746 for West Kirby Lifeboat! Thanks to all who supported and sold the event out. And where would we be without Ben who organised the night.  Hopefully the rest of the boats will come up over the weekend of the 21-22 Oct, as the tides are not quite right for this weekend. Have a great week. Chris |
| News & Notices |
Club Trophies - Time to return. Please would all you talented trophy winners return them to the Sailing Club as soon as possible so they can be engraved prior to the prize giving on 22nd November. Please leave them in the office or behind the bar. Thank you Debbie Lowndes Beryl and Mylo's Party TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AT WKSC Beryl and Mylo cordially invite you to: The Last night of the Pomms The Venue: West Kirby Sailing Club. Date: Sunday 2nd November 2025. 1600(4pm) til 2000 (8pm) Reason: We are emigrating to Australia on 9th November 2025 to be with our families Bar will be open and there will be some eats Hope to see you there. End of an Era For us anyway!!!!! Snooker  Fixtures 22 Oct Wallasey YC Home 29 Oct Hoylake SC - Home 26 Nov Dee SC Away 03 Dec Hoylake SC Away (Billiards) 07 Jan Wallasey YC Away 21 Jan Hoylake SC - Away 04 Mar Dee SC -Home 18 Mar Hoylake SC Home (Billiards) Wednesday Winter Quiz returns - Every Wednesday 8pm  Absolutely everyone is welcome. Get a new team together or turn up and join one. The quiz is a great way to stay social over the winter months, so please try and support it. Bill Williams Trophy - Have you been cruising this year? As the season draws to a close I think it's time to think about the Bill Williams Trophy. The trophy is awarded for "the best log submitted for a cruise or cruises under the WKSC burgee in 2025". Never submitted a log before? Have a go this year. Submit the log to the President who is the adjudicator. If you want more information or guidance ask the President. He is always keen to help. Closing date for entries is the 5th December and the trophy will be presented at the AGM. Helen's Sunday Roasts are back - 26th October - Sign up at the bar.  Merchandise Some of our older stock is currently on sale. Pop down to the Club and see if anything takes your fancy. Also Christmas is coming.... get your presents at the Club! |
| Galley |
The Galley on Friday  Seafood Shack is providing a delicious menu this week. Click here for the menu |
| Sailing Matters |
Please return trophies… First another plea to anyone holding a WKSC trophy to it or them into the club ready for engraving and the Annual Prize Giving to be held Saturday 22/11/25. Boat parking … And another plea that if you have a dinghy in the boat park and you arent planning to sail it through the winter then please consider taking it home. We really need space. Not only are cruisers coming ashore but we have a waiting list of folk who are keen to race through the winter and need a space for their boat. Introduction to Racing Saturday 11/10/25 Perfect conditions for the Intro.to Racing session last Saturday. This was the session where the group had their first experience of racing and it all went according to plan. Whats the plan? you may ask. One part of the plan is to give folk the opportunity to feel what its like on a start line in a real race and repeat until the expectations become normal. Two races were completed many more to come in future sessions. Intro to Racing - Mike DSP coaching  Intro to Racing #4  Intro to Racing #4 Waiting for the start  Intro to Racing #4 Perfect conditions  Intro to Racing - perfect conditions  Intro to Racing #4 Saturday morning  This includes the blind panic where one cant remember how to sail never mind remembering anything that Old Tony said about flags and sound signals ! All this in controlled and perfect weather conditions. Just wait till there's some weight in the wind. Another useful element of the above plan where it is possible is to have an experienced crew in a two person boat. If you are an experienced sailor and you would like to help in this process please let the Sailing Secretary know. Its good fun and its not going to be every Saturday …. The weather is never that reliable! That brings me onto : SITUATIONS VACANT Administrative Assistant to Sailing Secretary. Voluntary position - Attributes: Good communication skills, IT savvy, a committed sailing enthusiast. Contact the Sailing Secretary. You may remember seeing this in last week's newsletter. I only had one application. It came from someone who I've known for sometime. He's not not that reliable (I wouldn't trust him making a cup of tea) but I'm desperate so after agreeing to double the pay rates for this voluntary roll which Kay isn't going to be happy with I've reluctantly taken him on. Which means effectively, that the situation is still vacant ! Go on apply right now ! SPECIAL TIDAL EVENT Saturday 11/10/25 The idea behind 'Tidal Sailing' and 'Special Tidal Events' in the handbook, was to have tidal events not part of any series, and that could be 'free form' in what they comprised of dependant upon the weather and demand (= what folk want). There was recognition that this concept might take a while to gather momentum but it sort of worked on Saturday. Twenty three sailors competed in thirteen boats comprising 5 x Falcons, 4 x Lasers, 1 x Finn, 1 x Heron, 1 Macregor 26, 1 x Laser Fun over two races. On an 8.9 Mtr tide in a light breeze. The actual wind speed was better than forecast though inconsistent in direction. The wind swung from NW to NNW for the second race which turned the beat into a better beat. Unfortunately the Sunday racing didn't happen. There wasn't a forecast for wind movement ! After agonising over whether to move the racing onto the lake (because the were no Falcons planning to compete on Sunday) I eventually decided to can Sunday's racing. Of course the wind filled in after the decision was made. In my own defence, it was meant to be a 'Special Tidal Event', so part of me really didn't want to move it onto the lake and I'm not sure we would have had a successful race in a very light wind against a tidal flow. Mike Hartley, Sophie Gatenby and Anna Leadingham (Falcon 57) won overall with Steve Ferrington (Solo) 2nd and Ioannis Koutsokeras (Laser), 3rd. Special mention for Mike and Anne De St Paer (Heron) who came 2nd in the first race... slow boats rarely get a chance to achieve top places in tidal events (usually in light winds its a challenge to even move forward over the ground against an adverse tide) but by getting a good start and suffering only a short beat against the tide then a longish run with the wind and tide, gave Mike and Anne the opportunity to beat back up inshore in less adverse tide. By the start of the second lap the tide had eased and the final beat it was with them giving them a well deserved 2nd place on corrected time. Special mention also to Emlyn Law in his Laser Fun and Hannah Dufton-Kelly (Laser) both in their early days of racing but having a go on the tide when conditions are suitable. Good on them. Special Tidal Event Sat  Special Tidal Event Sat - Picture Alan Jenkins  The forecast for Sunday the next Tidal Special is for too much wind again but its too early to trust the forecasts ! WKSC JUNIOR TRAVELLERS LOG BOOK TROPHY Our President Peter Bramley and Sally Bromilow (Assistant Sailing Secretary) have both reminded me about this trophy poster attached. Any Junior's report on their sailing experience(s) will be considered. Drawings encouraged. Go for it !!  My time is up. The press is rolling. Lots of exciting stuff to tell you about the Mirror Project but that will have to wait till next week unless of course it can go into 'Sailing Matters' on the website.. Yeah Go on Tone put it on the website. OK.... I'll try. Tony Martson Sailing Secretary Click here for the link to the SAILING MATTERS section |
| Sailing and Club Calendar |
|
What's on this week:
Thu 16 Oct 12:30 15:00 Ladies Lunch Thu 16 Oct 14:00 Radio Sailing Class Fri 17 Oct 14:00 Illusion Class Sat 18 Oct 09:00 12:00 Saturday Mornings Adult Sailing Course. Training Sat 18 Oct 10:00 13:00 Training Training Sun 19 Oct Special Tidal Event All Classes Club Racing Mon 20 Oct 20:00 23:00 GC10 Committee Wed 22 Oct 12:30 14:00 Gentleman's Lunch |
| Training |
Courses planned for next year will be updated soon. |
| Events |
Thursday Talks and Tunes Everyone is welcome. Just turn up on the night, grab a drink, take a seat and enjoy the evening. Following the success of Thursday Talks last winter we're back with a bang (literally)! We've introduced music to the mix. Music Night is experimental - so if you play an instrument bring it down, you can play on your own or with friends, or just see who's in the room that knows whatever you're playing. You can sing too and join in. Or simply enjoy the live music with a drink and friends. Sea Shanties is a bit of fun with raucous singing (or shouting!) and a trip down memory lane. Don't worry if you don't know the words; our shantyman (Ben) will sing a line, and everyone else will (hopefully) respond in unison. Talks - Come down and learn more about your fellow members; with Topics from our English Language to Outer space! Keep an eye out for the posters telling you what is on each month. First talk Thursday 23rd October - Chris Gatenby - Musings (and amusings) of a Liverpool Pilot.  Halloween - Saturday 25th October - Tickets on sale behind the bar. The Boatshed of Horrors returns! A fantastic party for all our Juniors. All welcome. Tickets are on sale behind the bar, make sure you get yours early as this event sells out!  Fireworks - 1st November  WKSC Christmas Fair - Saturday 15th November 12-5pm Our Christmas Fair returns this year. A great event to shop local and get some fantastic early Christmas presents. Junior Christmas Party with Santa's Grotto - Save the date! - Saturday 13th December Father Christmas will be paying a visit to WKSC. |
| Other Information |
| Boats for Sale |
Boats for sale - Click here to view Boats for Sale |
| If you would like something added to the newsletter please contact newsletter@wksc.org.uk |
Last updated 12:47 on 16 October 2025