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Newsletter 03 06 26

Published 16:00 on 3 Jun 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

We had a flukey old day for the Presidents Race — no wind to start with, but a lovely breeze filled in for the last few hundred yards of the final beat and brought us home in style as the tide turned. Great to see so many boats out on the water, and the Presidents smile was something to behold.

It was also fantastic to welcome so many new faces on Friday for the Sailing and the (very difficult!) quiz. Clearly I didnt cover myself in glory on that front. Seafood Shack even ran out of food — which, in its own way, is a very good sign.On the subject of new faces, I had some lovely feedback from an old friend who is a nonmember. Theyd been signed in as guests on Friday night, and one of the House Team came over, introduced herself, and told them a bit about the Club and what were up to. They were so taken aback by the warm welcome that they came to find me afterwards to say their family will be joining. Keep up the good work — this is exactly the spirit that makes WKSC what it is!

In other news, are delighted to announce that 7 sailors from West Kirby have been selected to represent Great Britain in the upcoming 420 World Championships in Biscarosse. This is the most sailors from any one club within the class in the whole of the UK!

We are incredibly proud of Patrick Bromilow, Edie Rogers, Isobel Sandow, Eve Bromilow, Tom Underwood, Olivia Creasy and Neil Marsden and wish them the best of luck in a true West Kirby Style!

Best Regards,

Chris

Sailing and Club Calendar - What's on this week

X7 & X8 Fast Handicap Wednesday 3 June, 19:00

X7 & X8 Novice Handicap Wednesday 3 June, 19:03

X7 & X8 Slow Handicap Wednesday 3 June, 19:06

Radio Sailing Thursday 4 June, 14:00

Calday CCF 2026 Thursday 4 June, 16:00-18:00

X7 & X8 GP14 Thursday 4 June, 19:00

X7 & X8 Lightning Thursday 4 June, 19:03

Illusion Friday 5 June, 14:00

Let's Launch 2026 Friday 5 June, 16:00-18:00

X7 & X8 Optimist & Junior Handicap Friday 5 June, 18:00

X7 & X8 Mirror Friday 5 June, 18:03

Saturday Morning Juniors (First Course) Saturday 6 June, 09:20-12:00

Spring Lake 7 & 8 Fast Handicap (L) Sunday 7 June, 11:00

Spring Lake 7 & 8 Novice Handicap (L) Sunday 7 June, 11:03

Spring Lake 7 & 8 Slow Handicap (L) Sunday 7 June, 11:06

Monday Nights Adults First Course 2026 Monday 8 June, 18:30-20:30

Calday Grammar School Tuesday 9 June, 16:00-18:00

X9 & X10 Solo Tuesday 9 June, 19:00

X9 & X10 Laser Tuesday 9 June, 19:03

X9 & X10 Illusion Tuesday 9 June, 19:06

Gentlemen's Lunch Wednesday, 12:00 - 14:30

News & Notices

WKSC 125th Anniversary Merchandise - Coming Soon - Keep an eye on your inbox

Click here to see all WKSC Merchandise available to buy online

WKSC 125th Anniversary Friday Boatshed Games - Friday 12th June 4 -9 pm

Everyone welcome including guests. Friday racing will still take place. Wristbands will be given out to allow people to come and go from the Boatshed from 4 - 9pm.

Click here to book online or pay on the evening.

WKSC 125th Anniversary Summer Cocktail Party - Saturday 13th June

Everyone welcome including guests.

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Click here to book online or tickets can be bought at the bar.

WKSC 125th Anniversary Afternoon Tea - Sunday 14th June

Everyone welcome including guests.

Click here to book online or tickets can be bought at the bar.

WKSC Snooker Players

The Galley

Helen is serving a delicious menu this week - Click here for the menu

Sailing Matters

SAT 13/6/26 LONG DISTANCE RACE

SUN 14/6/26 Tidal Racing Start of Summer Series + LASER OPEN MEETING

All lake races as per Sailing Programme in handbook

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Ver are ze sausages?

I was greeted with this question at 08:30 on Sunday morning. Seated by the window in the clubhouse were the Race Officers, Steve Jardine and Thomas Teubner, for the the Solo Open Event and the dinghy tidal racing last Sunday. It took me a moment to understand what Thomas was getting at and then it came to me. The organisation behind the recent GP Open Event was such that there were sausage or bacon batches available for all the competitors that morning, not just the GPs. This led to Thomass expectation of sausages! Fair dos. Now to be fair to the Solos, there was coffee (or tea) and doughnuts.

You see this is what Open Events do. They raise the stakes… better competition, greater challenges, grab new ideas, meet new faces, meet old friends, MORE SAILING ACTIVITY…. and maybe sausages!

Yes - its hard work, yes - it requires planning, but the rewards can be immense and essential to class and club alike. Both the GP and the Solo Open Events were successful. The weather was good for both events. For both classes the visitors were a great bunch of people. It was good swapping experiences of clubs, boats and venues. One of the Solo visitors asked if I remembered him. I didnt. He explained he used to buy fittings off me when I was at Perrys in Birmingham in 1974! Another told me, when we got on to the subject of the WKSC Mirror project, that he won the Mirror National Championships in 1978. The visitors get to see us in action as well. Our youngsters and new members can get inspired, they deserve at least the opportunity to gain from the commitment to and enjoyment from open events.

Last week in review:

Wednesday 27/5/26 evening handicap racing.

Wind up yet again. What is it with Wednesdays? Good on the 7 boats that competed in ESE gusty, shifty conditions. Im ashamed to say the nearest I got it was watching from the prom but there were some good performances. Jean-Louis Simons and David Bromilow looked good in the GP, getting the wind shifts right and powering through the gusts. The 420 girls Isobel Sandow and Edie Rogers looked to be handling the conditions well upwind but their boat speed couldnt quite make up for not pointing as high as the GP on the lake. Short tacking in a trapeze boat requires a good skill and these girls are getting there. Liz Potter (D-Zero) got caught in one of those beasterly easterly gusts just rounding up for the start and capsized. It was Glyn Purnell who won on handicap in his ILCA6 (Laser Radial) but only by 4 seconds on corrected time from the GP in the first race and by just 2 seconds in the second race…. same GP second. Stuart Dawson (ILCA 6) third in the first race and Liz Potter third in the second race.

Thursday 28/5/26 evening GP & Lightning & JUNIOR FIREFLY RACING

Kieron Inman and Paul Jenkins had two wins in increasing breeze from Jean-Louis Simons and Hollie Marston in the first race and Simon Harding and Paul Daniels in the second. Robert Thompson and Alan Jenkins were third in the first race. Only two finishers in the second race. One of the retirees reported various issues on board with spinnaker sheets tangled with jib sheets, ramming a mark and language problems - s**t happens.

Amy Watkins was first home in the Lightnings with Judith Carter second. The second race … no takers.

This from Steve Bromilow on the new initiative to get Firefly Racing re-established:

A Huge well done to all who got out on the water last Thursday! The absolute main event was simply seeing a fleet of Fireflies back out racing on the marine lake where they belong—everyone did a brilliant job handling the boats particularly as the wind picked up towards the end!

Don't read too much into the official scores as it's about building the fleet. We had a few creative navigation routes out there, a legendary tactical 'comfort break' from David and Theo, and some highly illegal 'mainsheet lassoing' downwind between David and Patrick. Apparently, penalty spins are optional on Thursdays!

A quick note on how we are scoring:

You'll notice everyone is listed as an individual on the results. Weve set the software up this way deliberately so we can completely swap and change helms and crews every single week. It lets the sailors mix up pairings, try out different roles and boats, and still keep tracking their individual points!

Fireflys back racing on Thursday evening.

Looking ahead to this Thursday:

We are keeping a very close eye on the forecast. It is currently showing gusts up to 25 knots, which might stretch things a bit too much for the fleet. Well monitor it closely over the next 48 hours and make a final call on whether we are on or off closer to the time.

Friday 29/5/26 Illusions, Optimist, Junior Handicap & Mirrors

The Illusion Super Cup was held on Friday afternoon. 5 x windward leeward races with 1 discard allowed. All nine Illusions raced. Worthy of note was a young super star David Bromilow sailing Peter Bramley's boat.
Martin Hartley won with 3 firsts and two seconds.

Martin Hartley winner of the Illusion Super Cup for the second year running.

Theres a bit of a catch up from Matt Geddes in this weeks report (see below) on the Optimists. And while I mention Catch up I am on a catch up regarding results, its like my old school reports …'can do better.

Last week:

Oppy reporting was hijacked by my work load combined with half term!

Theo, Alice and Mollie raced. With Charlie also out, making it to the start line but deciding to just go for a fun sail, he was later joined by Henry also out for some practice sailing.

Mollie was deservedly awarded the Oppy Helm of the Week trophy. She lost out to Theo in race 1 but ran away with race 2!

This week saw some of the regular racers missing but joining Daisy, Mollie and Theo for the 2 races were first time racers Seb, Ted and Henry. The first race proved tricky for the 3 newbies and some words were had between the "old hats" and Henry re his approach to starting!

By the second race all 3 had learnt lessons and carried them into race 2 with real enthusiasm and determination.

All managed to get around the required 2 laps of the course.

Mollie and Theo had some really close racing at the front of the fleet trading the top 2 steps of the podium throughout. Mollie came out on top...just....in both races. Well done to both for some really close clean racing which was brilliant to watch.

This weeks Helm of the Week award really did have to go to 1 of the 3 newbies for a great first effort. It was a really tough decision for the judges and we were back and forth before landing on Henry who did a great job in race 2 with less coaching input required.

Congratulations to Henry but a big high 5 to Seb and Ted too. Final well done goes to Daisy, 2 solid 3rd places to add to her tally.

Junior Handicap

Amber Price and Beatrice Parey Pharaoh were in the first Pico and Harry Shepherd in the second. Welcome Harry to Friday night junior sailing.

Mirrors - No takers this week.

Saturday 30/5/26 The Presidents Race take 2

It was coincidental that the weather pattern experienced for a Tidal Sailing event last year which was the advent to the Coastal Dash in this years Sailing programme was the same. As we werent wedded to the Coastal Dash we had another a go at the Presidents Race which was blown off in April. This time it worked and despite the very light wind nearly everyone who stated, finished. It was a one lap race for the twenty competitors on a rectangular course. The trick was to figure out which way to go up the beat from the Caldy area; inshore against the last of the flood tide or offshore to pick up the first of the ebb. Steve Jardine (ILCA7) took the latter and picked up some more breeze. Despite the holes in the breeze waiting to trap the unwary Steve found a way and he won.

A running start with the tide and hardly any wind gives high PY boats an advantage (its usually the low PY boats that have the advantage in handicap racing in tidal conditions). This was the case for the Stars of Nick Leadingham and John Dowler (crews Caroline Moscrop and Jackie Snell for Nick and Zoey Starbuck-Jones for John. They came 2nd and fourth respectively.

Kieron Inman and Paul Jenkins (GP) battled through the quiet patch to a third overall and another GP sailed by John and Mollie Elliot came fifth. Last of the prize winners in 6th place was the 420 of Eve Bromilow and Tom Underwood.

Our President and Race Officer, Peter Bramley, his team Nigel Bramley and Roberta Perrodi managed to get the race completed despite the light winds and only a 8.25 M tide just before running out of water. A walk ashore became a necessity for the the race team and most of the tidal boat sailors. The sun was shining though!

The President presented the prizes at the prize giving after everyone had recovered ashore and taken refreshment.

Light air for the start of the Presidents Race

The start of the Presidents Race - some were line shy!

The President Peter Bramley presents the first prize to the winner of the Presidents Race Steve Jardine (ILCA7)

2nd in the Presidents Race Star Capella sailed by Nick Leadingham, Caroline Moscrop and Jackie Snell.

Kieron Inman and Paul Jenkins 3rd in the President's Race

Sunday 31/5/26 Solo Class Opens Event, Tidal Racing for Tidal and Dinghy Handicap Spring Series 7&8

More breeze than the day before; in fact champagne sailing conditions.

The Solo open Event

The Solo Open Event was planned to have two races on the tide and one on the lake in the afternoon. Although the sailing condition were nigh on perfect, once the ebb set in and the wind freshened the sea conditions chopped up and at one point there were three capsizes which the RIB teams had to keep an eye on.

Steve Denison, who has raced with us at West Kirby on a number of previous occasions, won both races on the tide in the morning. Philip Barnes from Budworth SC had two seconds and Andy Carter Leigh & Lowton SC two thirds.

After lunch on the lake places changed giving a close final result. Steve Denison won overall on 2 points, discarding a third on the lake. Philip Barnes came second overall on 3 points, winning the lake race and discarding a second and Andy Carter came third on 5 points with a second on the lake discarding a third.

Nine visiting Solo sailors, four from Budworth SC, three from Shropshire SC, one from Leigh & Lowton SC & one on RYA membership.

Solos leaving the beach on Sunday morning

Steve Dennison winner of the Solo Open Event

Tidal Racing

Falcon: Jonathan Atkinson and team had a comfortable win in the first race but a clam cleat failure in the second race resulting in no mainsail outhaul pushed them back to 6th place. Mal Jones and team were second in the first race and won the second race. Meanwhile Jonny Cross and team had a third and a second. Eight Falcons competing.

Star: John Dowler and team won the first race and Nick Leadingham and team the second race. Dave Fitzhenry and team had a second and a third. Four Stars competing.

Hilbre: Peter Bramley and Arthur Kemp had a win each with Chris Booth taking two seconds in the Hilbre racing. Jemima, Chris and Nick Riley having won the series took to manning a RIB for rescue duties… much needed with such a busy days racing. Three Hilbres racing.

Dinghy Handicap: Eleven dinghies competed in the last two races of the Spring Tidal Series. In conditions to his liking Al Alston (International Canoe) won the first race with Eve Bromilow and Tom Underwood (420) second and Jonathan Behan (ILCA6) third. Jonathan won the second race from Ioannis Koutsokeras (ILCA6) second and Andrew Potter (Phantom) third. The first three places of the second race was the same as that for the overall series though applause for Jonathan Behan for winning five of the eight race series. Peter Davenpport was the lone high PY sailor in a Pico. Whilst completing one lap a capsize and gear failure resulted in a trip back Pico and all on a RIB.... but he had a go.

Tuesday 3/6/26 Solo, Laser and Illusion Blue sky Force 4 to 5 WNW

This was great spectator sport. 18 x Lasers of which only 2 didnt capsize ! The water was warm, shouted one sailor as he swam, towing his boat from the old baths area back to the lake apron … his kicking strap block having come away.

Plenty of capsizes in last nights Laser Racing

Lasers last night running down to mark 3

It was Andrew Bells weather and he took two wins while Lee Matthews took two seconds. Tony Clark had a third and a fifth, so did Gavin Roberts but the other way round. Only Bob Mosedale braved the elements in the Solo class and just for the first race. Illusions there were none this evening.

Starting go write this on Tuesday evening - guess what I had for dinner? .... sausages.

Until next week then.

Tony Marston

Sailing Secretary