Sailing Matters 2nd September 2026
SAILING MATTERS 020926
Did you have a good sailing summer ? The Newsletter including SAILING MATTERS went on holiday just after the Regattas and is struggling to get back into the groove. Autumn is here so while some reflection on the holiday season is due and is important, looking forward too is also important. I will try to give them both my best shot but it might take a couple of weeks to get there.
Lets start with the here and now. I'm going to the club in a minute to see David Potter who is down from Cumbria for the morning to sail DF95s with or DF95 boys for the 11:00 racing and then to demonstrate the Radio 6M model that he has recently built and launched together with Martin Whittingham-Jones who also has been building and developing a R6M.
For those of you who don't know our David, he makes model yacht sails and rigs and supplies them all over the world. He's an accomplished model yacht sailor having won many events in the DF65s, M Class (Marbleheads) and Ten Raters. He used to sail a Finn at WKSC when he lived here and before that a Laser. He sails a Solo at Bassenthwaite SC which is just four miles up the road from Workington, where he now lives. Of course he used to sail a Mirror a long time ago ! (Everyone should sail a Mirror sometime in their life!)
Moving on to Firefly Thursdays…. we are getting to the end of the normal season as daylight hours reduce. That should trigger some serious thinking on how this great initiative progresses through the winter months. It coincides with the Universities getting back to team racing in Fireflies through the winter. I read a great article in Yachts and Yachting on line yesterday Return of the Doublehanders Return of the Doublehanders. It draws on the encouraging fact that both the Firefly National Championship this summer at Tenby and the Abersoch Mirror Dinghy Week attracted big entries, considerably more than last year. There is a lot of magic in both classes.
Yachts and Yachting article - Return of the Doublehanders
It doesn't feel that long ago when doublehanders seemed to be going out of fashion. There was a new crop of singlehanded dinghies, led by the RS Aero, and it felt like everyone was sailing on their own.
For our worldwide readers, this will seem a bit UK-biased, but I know that many countries look on with envy, and quite a bit of bewilderment, when they cast their eye over the British dinghy scene and its plethora of classes.
For the rest of the article click the link
https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/299348/?source=facebook
I was intrigued by a conversation between Jamie Marston and Chris Kameen after the Firefly Championships. In answer to a question by Jamie to Chris on how many clubs have class racing for Fireflies Chris thought none but wasnt certain. This is an interesting question which needs more research. Class racing has been a great strength for WKSC over many decades. It would be good if Firefly racing could re-establish itself at WKSC again. Ill return to this subject in weeks to come.
The 2027 Sailing Programme is top of my priority list at the moment along with results for the season and prize giving and I mustn't forget the Falcon Championships coming up in just over a weeks time for which I am RO. The sight of 16 x Falcons lined up on the shore awaiting the tide for West Kirby Regatta, is strong in my mind as I look forward to the Championships. 20 x Falcons is possible if we get lucky with the weather. Now that would be really something.
We got 20 x Mirrors on the lake for Grand Mirror Day 1 in April. There's been steady progression with the Mirror project during the season but as with the Firefly Thursday initiative, there's much work to do to keep things moving forward.
I've run out of time and must stop this ramble now and get to the lake.
Tony Marston
Sailing Secretary
Last updated 22:57 on 3 September 2026