Newsletter 15 04 26
Published 19:00 on 15 Apr 2026
Welcome to WKSC Newsletter
A round up of Club news this week... including sailing, training and upcoming social events. Also included are links to current boats for sale
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A View from the Bridge
A weekend of Star and Hilbre Parties, which were both fabulous, although my liver is still not speaking to me.
We have a number of events coming up.
Firstly, we have the 125th Presidents Race(s) next Saturday - there will be two this year - due to the large tide. We're keeping an eye on the weather there.
After the Presidents Prize Giving we shall have the unveiling of the refurbished cannons! Sounds like a good excuse to have a drink?
A week on Sunday is the Wilson Brunch. Definitely one to stick in your diary. A fundraiser for the Wilson Trophy. This is a really good affair, food and fizz all in the aid of a good cause! Book a table and bring your friends and family along, a great start for any given Sunday!
We are still looking for members who might be able to put a few people up at the Wilson this year. Remember that the teams staying in members houses is one of the things that makes the Wilson so unique and special. If you have a spare bed, camp bed or floorspace, let Kathryn know on 07896 945267. Many thanks in advance.
Chris
Sailing and Club Calendar - What's on this week
W3 Fast Handicap Wednesday 15 April, 19:00
W3 Novice Handicap Wednesday 15 April, 19:03
W3 Slow Handicap Wednesday 15 April, 19:06
Radio Sailing Thursday 16 April, 14:00
W3 GP14 Thursday 16 April, 19:00
W3 Lightning Thursday 16 April, 19:03
Illusion Friday 17 April, 14:00
Let's Launch 2026 Friday 17 April, 16:00 - 18:00
W5 & W6 Optimist & Junior Handicap Friday 17 April, 18:00
W5 & W6 Mirror Friday 17 April, 18:03
Saturday Morning Juniors (First Course) Saturday 18 April, 09:20 - 12:00
PRESIDENT'S RACE All Classes (T) Saturday 18 April
Spring 1 & 2 St/Hi/Fa Sunday 19 April, 10:50
Spring Tide 1 & 2 Fast Handicap (T) Sunday 19 April, 11:00
Spring Tide 1 & 2 Slow Handicap (T) Sunday 19 April, 11:03
GC4 Monday 20 April, 20:00 - 22:00
W4 & W5 Solo Tuesday 21 April, 19:00
W4 & W5 Laser Tuesday 21 April, 19:03
W4 & W5 Illusion Tuesday 21 April, 19:06
Gentlemen's Lunch Wednesday, 12:00 - 14:30
W4 & W5 Fast Handicap Wednesday 22 April, 19:00
W4 & W5 Novice Handicap Wednesday 22 April, 19:03
W4 & W5 Slow Handicap Wednesday 22 April, 19:06
News & Notices
Boat Fees and Lake Licences - 1st April 2026 - 31 March 2027
Dinghies and Falcons: Invoices are being sent out in the next few days for berths in the yard and lake licences where applicable. If you are intending to remove your boat from the yard please email boatstorage@wksc.org.uk as soon as possible. Please note that the club has an en bloc lake licence agreement with the Council for the year to 31 March 2027 and has sole responsibility for collecting lake licence fees for members boats. We have been able to hold the licence fee at the same level as last year which we hope will help sailors. After payment you will be issued with a lake licence which we kindly ask you to display on your mast. If you need a lake licence but have not been invoiced or have any other queries please email boatstorage@wksc.org.uk.
Cruisers, Hilbres and Stars: invoices will be issued in due course.
As always, the yard will be very congested in April so please bear with us and do not bring your boat down until you intend to sail.
Boat Storage Manager
Once payment has been processed your lake licence sticker will be available to collect from the pigeonholes.
Any queries please speak to Jill Marsh in office
Presidents Race
Junior Travellers Log Book Trophy
Radio Sailing News
It's good to see that evening sailing on the lake has resumed, so I thought it important to say that we radio sailors have been in action for the last four weeks. We sail on Thursday afternoons at 2 o'clock and we opened the season with 10 boats on the water. We are now well equipped with automatic starting equipment our own buoys, and the use of a rib to lay courses and act as safety boat.
We aim to sail eight quick races over about two hours, and this permits two discards. Enabling competitors to haul out and tune et cetera.
These are not toy boats, and are sufficiently challenging for the RYA at Weymouth to provide a number to their Olympic hopefuls to keep them sharp and stimulated. So to anyone in West Kirby starting racing please don't hesitate to come along and talk to us. Watch all the facets of racing at close quarters, far better than any computer simulator.
Martin Whittingham-jones
77th Wilson Trophy - Help Needed
The Wilson Trophy is regarded as the premier team racing event in the world, attracting the most skilled exponents of the discipline, along with many fleet and match racing world champions and Olympians. This is the event that so many other disciplines are trying to recreate but West Kirby have been doing it, and excelling at it, for 77 years. With close to 300 races being run over a three-day event, the Wilson Trophy is revered for its fierce racing, famous socials, live commentary and breath-taking skill which all make for one unforgettable event.
The being said, the 77th Wilson Trophy is just around the corner and I'm on the lookout for some help across the weekend…
Catering
BBQ helpers for the evening of Friday 8th May
Breakfast BBQ teams for Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th May
Lunch teams Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th May
Beach Party
The beach master and team would welcome any additional help leading up to the Wilson and throughout the weekend
Hosts
Teams that consist of 6 people will arrive on Friday 8th May and will leave on Sunday 10th May and so will require x2 nights of accommodation.
There is no obligation to host a full (6) team, half a team (3) is also a fantastic help.
All teams are asked to bring sleeping bags, pillows etc... with them so they only require floor space.
Teams are out of the house from 8am until roughly 6pm once sailing has finished and will come back to get ready and then head back to the Club.
All meals are provided by the club, so they don't need feeding.
Lastly, if you know of any businesses or own a business yourself and would be interesting in providing sponsorship support for the Wilson, please get in touch using the details below; we have some great packages available.
If you have any questions in regard to hosting and would like some more information or can offer any other help mentioned above, please contact Kathryn Sandall Mobile: 07896945267 or Email: kathryn.h.brown@hotmail.co.uk
Don't forget to also grab some Wilson Brunch raffle tickets!!
The Galley
Paul and Helen are serving a delicious Asian menu this week - Click here for the menu
Sailing Matters
COMING UP (TIDAL SAILING):
PRESIDENTS RACE on Saturday 18/4/26 HW12:07 9.56 MTRS START 11:00 ALL CLASSES.
The full Sailing Instructions will be available at the club and on line by Friday evening but these are the essentials:
- Committee Boat Little Arvor
- Starting between Little Arvor and an orange / pink spherical start buoy
- Rectangular course using 4 x large pillar buoys.
- Cross through the start / finish line pwind on each lap.
- Average lap time racing. Continue racing until S flag flown.
- Class Flag at start = Code Flag W
- Starting Sequence 5,4,1,GO
- 2 x Races - both races to count.
Start of the seasons Tidal Racing on Sunday 19/4/26.
Also Coming Up:
The GRAND MIRROR DAY Saturday 25/4/26: (NOTE: If there is a consistent forecast for bad weather for 25/4/26 is still in place by Thursday 23/4/26 then a decision to postpone to Saturday 23/5/26 will be made and communicated).
This is the day (Saturday 25/4/26) when, if the weather permits, we plan to have at least 15 x Mirrors on the lake.
More details to follow but the simple plan is to gather at WKSC in the morning and rig up. A number of Mirrors have been stored in garages around West Kirby. It may take some time to get them all to the club and rigged.
In the afternoon we will go sailing. There may be a race or two. A record will be taken of all those present, be they adults or juniors, sailors or non sailors, friends and relatives. Photographs may well be taken for publicity purposes.
If you are not in any way connected to the Mirrors at WKSC but you are a member of WKSC you are also invited to come to the BBQ to be held late afternoon to give your support.
If you intend to sail please email results@wksc.org.uk stating :
MIRROR DAY, Sail Number, Your name, email address) Crew name (if any) Crew age if a junior).
If you havent got a Mirror but would like to have a sail in one please email:
results@wksc.org.uk stating:
Id like to have a go in a Mirror, Name and email address, age if <16.
SAVE THE DATE REMINDER:
FRI 17/7/26 ROUND HILBRE RACE
SAT 18/7/26 DEE SC REGATTA
SUN 19/7/26 WEST KIRBY SC REGATTA
MON 10/8/26 - FRI 14/8/26 WKSC SAILING EXTRAVAGANZA WEEK
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THE WEATHER
Its pretty normal early season to get some gales blowing through and thats just what weve had. Almost three weekends worth of sailing blown off… well nearly. We managed to get Sundays scheduled lake racing in. Easter provided many with the opportunity to go away for a break. They certainly didnt miss much at home and that showed up in low numbers for sailing activity.
The forecast for this coming weekend is more promising though a good brisk breeze for
Saturdays PRESIDENTS RACE might deter some and the Sunday forecast for very light wind might just mean a call for all hands to help launch as many tidal boats as possible whilst those insisting on racing in very light winds get to race to Sallys Cottage and back BUT ONLY IF IT IS VERY LIGHT….. thats not for definite and we must wait to see what the actual weather is on Sunday morning.
THE WEEK THAT WAS....
Wednesday 8/4/26 Evenings Handicap Racing was conducted in light airs for a change compared to the recent prevailing conditions and attracted 8 x boats in the fast handicap division and 6 x boats in the PY High (Slow Hcap). Liz Potter (D-Zero) won the Fast HCap and Mike & Anne De St Paer (Heron) won the PY High.
Thursday 9/4/26 GP & Lightning - Too windy - No Racing
Friday 10/4/26 Optimists, Junior HCap and Mirrors - Too Windy - No Racing
Sunday 11/4/26 Spring Lake Handicap
Breezy and raining. 5 x Boats covering Fast and PY High. A win for Owen Chambers in R1 and Stuart Dawson in R2, both sailing ILCA6. Peter Davenport sailing a PICO won both races in the PY High. (Peters first wins - well done Peter).
Tuesday 14/4/26 Evenings ILCA, Solo and Illusion attracted 15 x ILCAs but no Solos or Illusions. Conditions were OK at the start but the wind increased and then the rain started. No excuses really … the ILCA sailors all enjoyed it - so it was reported to me !!
Reporting on this last weeks racing didnt take long - such was the weather at West Kirby !
WKSC MEMBERS RACING ELSEWHERE
Phantom & Contender Open event last Saturday & Sunday
Liz Potter reports from Oxford SC on the Phantom & Contender:
Madness at Oxford. Gusts of 37 kts on Saturday and over 30 kts on Sunday. I did some swimming but came 12th. Survival conditions but hopefully prepped for the Presidents race on Saturday !
Conditions for our Liz Potter at the Contender Open at Oxford SC- Farmoor Resevoir, last weekend.
RYA Youth Nationals 2026 April 7th to 10th: Our 420 Sailors Take on Hayling Island!
Stephen Bromilow reports on RYA Youth Nationals at Hayling Island SC.
WKSC 420s Take on Hayling Bay at the 2026 RYA Youth Nationals
A huge congratulations to our West Kirby Sailing Club 420 sailors who recently competed at the 2026 RYA Youth National Championships, hosted by Hayling Island Sailing Club! While some fleets split their time, the 420s spent their entire event battling the open waters and rolling waves out in Hayling Bay. The challenging mix of conditions—from heavy breeze to tricky light airs—proved to be a fantastic test of skill and resilience.
Our WKSC competitors delivered strong performances across a highly competitive fleet of 39 boats. We are incredibly proud of their teamwork and dedication on the water. Congratulations to Olivia, Isobel, Edie, Eve, and Tom for doing WKSC proud on the national stage!
Harry George (Lymington Town SC). & Olivia Creasy (WKSC) at Hayling Island SC last weekend in the RYA Youth Championships.
Looking Ahead: The 420 Spring Championships & 470 Ranker
We look forward to seeing that momentum carry through the rest of the summer season, starting right away! This weekend, Olivia, Patrick, Eve, and Neil Marsden are heading back down to the South Coast for the 420 Spring Championships at Weymouth. This event is also combined with the 470 Olympic Double Handed Academy Ranker, where WKSC's David Bromilow and Arwen Ffleur will be competing.
Best of luck to all our sailors heading to Weymouth!
Junior Logbook Trophy-Tell Your Sailing Story!
The Junior Logbook Trophy, presented by the Club President, is back for the new season! As summer events get underway, junior sailors are invited to capture their experiences from any away event theyve attended this season. This could be a diary entry, a logbook, a report, or even a drawing; anything that tells the story of your sailing adventure. Entries should be handed in to Jill in the office, and the President will judge them to award the trophy to the standout submission. Well also be sharing some of the entries in the newsletter, so everyone can enjoy your stories; wed love to see lots of creative submissions, so get writing (or drawing!) and share your sailing adventures!
ILCA CLASSES & PY HIGH HANDICAP (formerly Slow Handicap) & NOVICE HANDICAP
The following notice will be made on the relevant WhatsAp Groups and on the clubs website:
Please complete a sign on sheet which will be available in the main room of the club house for all racing from henceforth giving:
Date, Class, Class Sub Divisions (eg ILCA7, ILCA6 or ILCA4), Sail Number, Helm & Crew Names (First name and last name).
The reason for asking you to comply to this is to enable the Results Team to provide accurate results in a timely manner.
Race Officers will be made aware of this requirement on competitors.
Tony Marston
Sailing Secretary
Training
New Activity - Let's Launch
Click here to book your Training Courses
Events
Wilson Brunch - Sunday 26th April
Other Information
| Boats for Sale & Wanted |
Boats for sale - Click here to view all Boats for Sale on the website. |
| If you would like something added to the newsletter please contact newsletter@wksc.org.uk |
Last updated 20:02 on 15 April 2026