Newsletter 01 07 26

Published 22:00 on 1 Jul 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.                                                                                 

A View from the Bridge

Another belter! The Hilbre Cocktail party looked like it was great fun, judging by the hushed tones the participants were talking in the next day!
Lots of training going on, introducing the new ranks of those afflicted with the Sailing bug to our fold...
Sunday was exceptional. I'll leave the Sailing side of it to Tony, as he's far more qualified than I to talk about it. The Club side, however I can wax lyrical about....
West Kirby Lifeboat Crew and guests took over the Main Room to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of their founding. Before the Boat took up residence on the Prom, it was stored in the boatshed at WKSC. Whilst no study has been done I would think that a good 30% of the former crew were WKSC Members at sometime or another. Possibly more.
We have always had a link. The majority of our Boatmen have also been crew members and the first casualties rescued were WKSC members - although to this day they deny they needed rescuing, Harry Jones just wanted to test the boat (my preferred story!)!
The dwindling number of members who remember my father, Pete Gatenby, will know how proud I was to welcome everyone into WKSC to start the proceedings as Commodore of this great Club and as one of the more Senior Helms on West Kirby Lifeboat Crew.
The Padre of the RNLI Church, St Hilderburghs, Revd Canon Michelle Goodrich gave a lovely sermon which brilliantly set the tone for the day. With John Curry and Jono Dodd giving fantastic speeches there were a few dry throats and itchy eyes throughout the event.

After the Service there were Photos taken by the Brilliant David Edwards - with the centre of them being the three original crew members, John Curry, Rob Lydiate and of course Hoppy! The other star of the show was the aforementioned Jono Dodd. For those that didn't already know, Jono has been made an MBE by His Royal Highness King Charles (sounds very posh when you out it like that!). Jono was given this for his untiring efforts as a Helm and Training Coordinator on West Kirby Lifeboat. For those that don't know, the RNLI has recently changed its training system and the new system is hard and very demanding. Jono has worked his way through the system and now keeps the whole crew on top of their game with a gentle reminder here and there and setting up exercises to keep them in date. This is no small feat. I am comfortable in saying, due to Jono's efforts, WKLB is one of the most efficiently run in the UK.
It is also the first National Honour awarded to anyone on West Kirby Lifeboat for Lifeboating (Harry Jones and Taffy got them for other deeds).
Jono's mum Pam, wife Michelle, son Jay and daughter Amelia are rightly exceptionally proud of him! I'm sure you'll all join me by giving him a huge congratulations from all at WKSC. If you'd like to buy him a very well deserved pint, you can join me in asking Tim to put one on his card for him!

Thence we retired to the BBQ, extensively prepped by our heavy hitting House Team and run Adie Gregan and Stu Cockram.
A fabulous win for WKSC in the Tug o' War against the Lifeboat (the first win for WKSC in 6 years!). One team member did say, 'I feel a bit guilty beating them in their 60th year.'
I wasn't going to be the one to ask Simon Pollitt to drop a Pull to make the Lifeboat feel good about themselves! All's fair in love and war (I was also in the envious position of having a dog in both fights, so to speak - or more politely, I was Switzerland).

Once the Pulls were finished the Band, My 11th Toe, did their set. They were joined on Bass by Laser Sailor WKSCs very own Emlyn Law. Well, it is fair to say, they blew the house down. People were dancing on the Terrace outside. They are a truly phenomenal band (Give me a shout if you want their details!).

That's enough for one week. Don't forget to buy Jono a pint!

Chris

Sailing and Club Calendar - What's on this week

Radio Sailing Thursday 2 July, 14:00

Calday CCF 2026 Thursday 2 July, 16:00-18:00

Y5 & Y6 GP14 Thursday 2 July, 19:00

Y5 & Y6 Lightning Thursday 2 July, 19:03

Illusion Friday 3 July, 14:00

Let's Launch 2026 Friday 3 July, 16:00-18:00

Y5 & Y6 Optimist & Junior Handicap Friday 3 July, 18:00

Y5 & Y6 Mirror Friday 3 July, 18:03

Star Classic Boat Challenge Friday 3 July

Saturday Morning Juniors (Second Course) 2026 Saturday 4 July, 09:20-12:00

Private 80th Party Saturday 4 July, 19:00-23:00

Summer Lake 3 & 4 Fast Handicap (L) Sunday 5 July, 11:00

Summer Lake 3 & 4 Novice Handicap (L) Sunday 5 July, 11:03

Summer Lake 3 & 4 Slow Handicap (L) Sunday 5 July, 11:06

Summer 4 St/Hi/Fa Sunday 5 July, 13:45

Lightning 368 Open Meeting 2026 Sunday 5 July Book online

Let's Launch 2026 Monday 6 July, 18:30-20:30

Monday Nights Adults Second Course 2026 Monday 6 July, 18:30-20:30

Calday Grammar School Tuesday 7 July, 16:00-18:00

Y7 & Y8 Solo Tuesday 7 July, 19:00

Y7 & Y8 Laser Tuesday 7 July, 19:03

Y7 & Y8 IllusionTuesday 7 July, 19:06

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

Y7 & Y8 Fast Handicap Wednesday 8 July, 19:00

Y7 & Y8 Novice Handicap Wednesday 8 July, 19:03

Y7 & Y8 Slow Handicap Wednesday 8 July, 19:06

News & Notices

Click here to see all WKSC Merchandise available to buy online

Wristbands and key fobs - Order yours now - Click here for fobs & wristbands

Radio Active ---- Hot news from the radio sailing group.

The past couple of weeks have been difficult, even in the hot spell, winds were abnormally strong. Those lucky enough to own a C rig (the smallest) were able to out sail the overpowered B riggers. Andrew, David, Paul showed us the way.  As always great care is needed when setting up before racing,

Our old friends Budworth SC now have a fleet of 22 df95s. We are hoping to invite them over in the near future and renew rivalries going back to cadet and firefly days.
Radio sailing is growing country wide.

If anyone is interested in joining our Radio Active fleet contact Martin Whittingham-Jones or pop down to the racing on Thursdays at 2pm.

Star Classic Boat Challenge - Rescheduled

The Galley

Paul and Helen are serving a delicious 4th of July, USA inspired menu this week - 

Click here for the menu

Sailing Matters

Coming up (Sailing very soon):

FRI 3/7/26 Star Classic Boat Challenge 

(this was the reserve date but now the second attempt)

SUN 5/7/26 Lightning Open Event

AWAY EVENTS:

4-5 /7/26 Lord Birkett Trophy Ullswater YC 3 x ICs from WKSC competing.

Coming up in July:

FRI 17/7/26 ROUND HILBRE RACE

SAT 18/7/26 DEE SC REGATTA

SUN 19/7/26 WEST KIRBY SC REGATTA

SAT 25/7/26 Grand Mirror Day #4

All lake races as per Sailing Programme in handbook

SAVE THE DATE REMINDER: 

MON 10/8/26 - FRI 14/8/26 WKSC SAILING EXTRAVAGANZA WEEK

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July already - lots of events both home and away. This week Sailing Matters picks up on some of the stories from our sailors who are at or have been at championships elsewhere in the UK and abroad. Sailing in National Championships may seem unlikely for those just starting out on their sailing adventure but its amazing how adventurous you can be quite quickly if you sail frequently gaining experience all the time. Maybe next year if you put the time in - you never know!

Before I get into all that Ill start at home with the Stars and Hlbres. This from Nick Ledingham:

As you may have noticed from the handbook, the Stars and the Hilbres hold a dozen or so tidal cruises each year. These are generally held on weekdays but that often suits people who work part time or work from home. Those involved usually walk out to a boat on the moorings a couple of hours before high water and are then picked up by a club rib shortly after high water and taken ashore. That means that you are out for a maximum of three hours.

The main objective of the tidal cruises is just that cruising around the estuary, spotting seals and practising playing boats! No sailing experience is needed but on the other hand if you sail a different class of boat and you would like to try helming one of the Stars, then you would be more than welcome.

There is a separate WhatsApp group for the tidal cruises and if you would like to join us, whether or not you think you have the time to go out in the near future, then please contact Sarah Rees on 07852 988234 and she will add you to the WhatsApp group. Alternatively try and catch Sarah or Nick Ledingham down at the club. 

As I have been writing Sailing Matters this week there has been one such cruise going on. Some pics follow. 

And to follow that a reminder of the Star Classic Boat Challenge this coming Friday

Tuesday 23/6/26 SOLO, ILCA and ILLUSION

Solo

Very light winds last week for Tuesday evenings racing. Martin Hartley had two wins, John Dixon and Bob Mosedale had a second and third each. Five boats racing.

ILCA7

Interesting results in the light stuff for the ILCA7s: Ioannis Koutsokeras won the first race but 6th in the second. Simon Johnson was consistent with a 2nd and a 3rd, Jonathon Behan had 3rd and a 4th. Tony Clark was 4th in the first race but won the second race. Now Lee Matthews suffered a 10th in the first race but then 2nd in the second race 15 x boats competing.

ILCA6 & ILLUSION

Just two ILCA6s and two Illusions racing; In the ILCA6 Richard Neale won the first race, David Caldwell the second and in the Illusion, Peter Williams won both races from David Pontin.

Wednesday 24/6/2 HANDICAP RACING

FAST

The light winds again suited Glyn Purnell (ILCA6) who won both races, Owen Chambers (ILCA7), 2nd in both races and the Scott Family (Laser Vago) 3rd in both.

The start of the Fast Handicap Class - Wednesday evening

High PY

Four Mirrors made up the High PY fleet. Tony M. and Oliver Adams won both races, Sheena Davis and Rory Adams had a 2nd and a 3rd while Mike and Anne St Paer a 3rd and a 2nd.

Mirror Orion  Tony M and Oliver Adams in the Wednesday evening handicap racing

Sheena Davies and grandson Rory Adams in the Wednesday evening Handicap racing.

Thursday 25/6/26 GP, LIGHTNING, FIREFLY

GP

The wind was back. Kieron and Paul Jenkins won both races from Simon Harding and Paul Daniels. 3 x boats racing

Lightning

Only Amy Watkins made it out on the water in the Lightning Class but didnt finish the race. I think the reason being that she suffered a minor injury whilst launching her boat but was back on the water in the days following.

Firefly

Sadly I cant find a write up from my usual source and therefore I can only go from the results. David Bromilow and Olly Nixon had a win and a 2nd, Patrick Bromilow and Harry Shepherd had a 2nd and a win. A special mention to Chris and Charlotte Kameen who came over from Wales to join in and had two 3rds. Five boats racing.

Firefly Thursdays

FRIDAY 26/6/26 OPTIMIST, JUNIOR HANDICAP, MIRROR

Optimist from Matt Geddes

MISSING PERSONS APPEAL!

Only 2 oppies out on Friday and we're not yet in the peak holiday season. Please report any sightings of our missing sailors to the Friday night team!

Joking aside, it was a little breezy but manageable for most. 

Theo and Seb hit the water for the 2 races.

Excellent showing from Seb who is still undertaking the Saturday morning beginners training but throwing himself into Friday night racing nevertheless!

The first race was a tough one for him but by race 2 it had started to click and his determination paid off with both laps being completed in good time and with relative ease. Well done Seb, especially in avoiding the mayhem unfolding between a slightly out of control Feva and Pico at the bottom mark!

Theo secured both wins, his greater experience supporting this in breezy conditions. 

In addition to Seb's improvement from race 1 to race 2, a hi-light had to be Theo reaching along the wall, letting out a "whoohoo!" as he managed to get his oppy to plane whilst exchanging thumbs up with a passing windsurfer!

Fingers crossed for a bigger fleet this Friday.

Junior Handicap

First race: Phoebe and Sophie Gatenby (Feva) 1st, Harry Shepherd (Pico) 2nd, Esther Hayrynen and Freya Longmore (Feva) 3rd. Second race: Harry Shepherd (Pico) the only starter and finisher. …. well done Harry !

Mirror - No starters. 

SUNDAY 28/6/26 TIDAL RACING

One early race with a 09:00 start time in a brisk NW breeze of 12 to 22 kts. 

Falcon

Jonathan Atkinson, Tom Price and Matt Melling won with John Burthem and team 2nd and Lee Mathews and team 3rd. 7 x boats competing.

Jonathan Atkinson and team, the winning team on Sundays Falcon Summer Series race 3

Lee Matthews and team racing Coopers Hawk in Sundays Summer series

Hilbre

Jemima, Chris and Nick Riley were first in the Hilbres, Chris Booth, Ian Clarke and crew no.3 2nd.

Fast Handicap Dinghies

Andrew Bell (ILCA7) 1st, Jonathan Behan 2nd - 4 x boats racing (all ILCAs.

There was only one race scheduled but these ILCA boys werent satisfied with just one race - oh no! Joined by those who are keen but couldnt get out of bed earlier enough for the first race, 7 x ILCAs started the second race. Glyn Purnell (ILCA6) won Jonathan Behan 2nd and Tom Green 3rd (that cant be right!! Tom Green on the tide? Yes - its correct.

ILCAs made up all of the Fast Handicap fleet on Sunday.

Tuesday 30/6/26 SOLO, ILCA and ILLUSION

As far as I know the boys gave up the idea of racing last night on account of there being no wind and an imminent spell of rain.

CHAMPIONSHIPS:

Liz Potter competed in the D-Zero National Championships. Here is her report. Dont skip it; its worth reading.

Liz Potter sailing Zippy Zero her D-Zero in stormy conditions on the Firth of Forth last week at the National Championships. 

Liz Potter sailing Zippy Zero

Heres the story;

36 boats arrived at Dalgety Bay, East Scotland last Thursday for a 4 day Nationals.

I travelled up on Tuesday in the heatwave and rigged up for a pleasant sail around Incholm Island as a warm up on Wednesday. That night, the Gods turned on a spectacular opening ceremony with a huge thunderstorm, complete with forked lightning onto the estuary. Day 1 started with thick fog, or Harr, the sea mist. From the North Sea. It cleared mid morning and a fresh wind became strong for our 2.5 mile reach over towards Edinburgh for our afternoon start. The first beat was over a mile and was hard work for the lighter weights. However the fog rolled back in to force the fleet home after one long race.

Day 2 was set to be light winds, but the Forth was not listening. The wind freshened again to 15-20 knots and 4 sprint races were completed by most. Zippy had a momentary lie down on the final leg, ejecting the daggerboard, before turtleing, which made recovery a bit tricky. 

The rescue came over to assist, raising the upturned hull on its beam, so I could do some scuba practice and get the daggerboard back in the upturned hull. After 15 mins in the icy waters, I settled for 40 minute beat home. 10 of the 36 boats went on to complete the 3 bridges race as an optional non- counting extra. There were tales of huge waves, dramatic capsizes and sea serpents.

Day 3 was forecast to be the 30 plus knots day. It was 20-30 early on and the RO set a postponement til 2pm. The wind moderated and the fleet went out on its half hour beat towards the bridges, only to be caught as the real storm came in. Top winds of 42 knots were recorded. I set off in a gust of 20 knots, which rapidly built to 30. I was knocked flat in one big gust and the boat rapidly turtled. I could only right the boat to windward, so it kept flipping over and instantly turtling to restart the cycle again. After 6 rounds, the rescue appeared and held me head to wind, so I could get upright. From there it was a short plate up, sail out glide down wind to the slipway, where the rest of the fleet started arriving en masse after the abandonment of racing.

Luckily no damage to boats or helms.

Day 4 planned to get in 3 races. Once again, it was strong winds, but I completed all 3, finishing in 29th overall.

It certainly was a challenging event, which was won by the famous and talented Nick Craig.

I can hear you wondering why I bothered? Well, the truth is that travelling to championships, or just a regatta or open is rarely all about the racing. Its about learning more about your boat from those who have other experiences and about challenging yourself. Its about wanting to learn, to be better and most importantly to build those friendships which last through shared experiences.

420 & 470 WORLDS & EUROS

The Bromilow and Sandow convoy of 420s  headed off to the ferry to cross the channel at the weekend for the 420 World Championships that start on 3/7/26 at the Centre Nautique Biscarrosse Olympique in France. The best of luck to Eve, Tom, Edie, Isobel, Pat, Neil and Olivia.

David and Arwen are off to Gdynia, Poland for the Junior (U24) Worlds and then to Nida, Lithuania for the Junior Euros, David is setting off driving a RYA van with four 470s on Friday from Weymouth….again the very best of luck to them.

This coming weekend - Good luck to the Lightnings for their Open Event on the lake on Sunday. 

I am off up to Ullswater YC to spectate, from the Ullswater Steamer, the Lord Birkett Trophy. There is a full entry of 230 x boats and a waiting list incase anybody drops out. Good luck to Steve Fleming, Dan Skinner and Al Alston competing with their International Canoes. 

Tony Marston 

Sailing Secretary

Training

New Activity - Let's Launch

Click here to book your Training Courses  

Events

Grand Mirror Days Out

Lightning 368 Open Championship - 5th July

Menai Strait Regattas 27th July - 8th August 2026

WKSC 125th Anniversary Away Ball - Saturday 3rd October 2026 - BOOK NOW!

To book tickets click here or go to the website Book Online

You must be logged in to purchase tickets but you are welcome to book for non-members, the more merrier! 

Menu

Starter - Pork Terrine, with Pineapple Salsa, Slaw & Pork Scratching, Cajun Style Dressing. 

Main - Slow Cooked Featherblade of Beef, Celeriac Puree, Fondant Potato, Green Beans, Red Wine Jus. 

Dessert - Sticky Toffee Pudding, Butterscotch Sauce, Clotted Cream.

Vegetarian and other dietary requirements available.

Other Information

Boats for Sale

Boats for sale - Click here to view all Boats for Sale on the website.    NEW - Kayak - Knysna Genius CLK Surfski £600 NEW - Wayfarer

If you would like something added to the newsletter please contact newsletter@wksc.org.uk

Last updated 08:13 on 2 July 2026