August 2016 Sailing and Social Events at Seasalter

August saw the beginning of our annual summer camping week for club members and their families. This year we organised a week of fun, led by Caroline, Rob and their family visiting from Germany.

Monday 1st. Kids sailing & water games with Patrol boat cover (free sailing for grown up kids!). This was followed by stone tower building and beach games.

Tuesday 2nd. Free sailing for big kids! (no patrol boat)

Wednesday 3rd. It may have been too windy for the children to sail but it was still great fun in the water. 5 adults and 17 children enjoyed the day’s activities afloat on whatever they could find, canoes, body boards or dinghies. We tried to sink a Pico dinghy, but with 12 aboard it was still afloat! Thank you to John and Mark in the tower & well done to Bob and Alex for braving 34mph gusts when free sailing.

Friday 5th. Pirate Day! Aaaarrgghhh! Sheppey raid. Suitably dressed and with faces painted, 10 boats with 20 sailors aboard set sail for the Isle of Sheppey (Judy and Mark manning the patrol boat). After finding the locals to be friendly and not much “plundering” to be done, we set sail again, spotting seals in the Swale on our way back home. The BBQ of Roast Parrot burgers and Dead Man’s fingers washed down with grog was very popular, (tasting much like chicken and sausages with a beer!). Thank you to all who contributed to the day.

On this day other SSC sailors were preparing to fly the flag for Seasalter SC and forge links with Whitstable YC and Tankerton Bay SC. They sailed to Tankerton, joined in the weekend hospitality and BBQ party on Saturday evening before sailing on Sunday in one long race marking the end of the Whitstable Town Regatta.

JaneB and friends watching said: “Just watched the sailing at Tankerton Slopes. Ian, Jo, Rob, Caroline, Paul,Kevin, David and Mark (not sure if we spotted James out there in Judy's boat) all sped around the bay in gusty wind and a choppy sea showing everyone what our SSC sailors are made of. It made for a great backdrop to the Lions Regatta. Congrats to Kevin and Dave who came first on the water despite a spectacular capsize right near the beach which gave many people something interesting to watch. Our SSC boats sailed off into the distance to catch what tide will be left at Seasalter. I know TBSC are very interested in getting together in the future with our club. Thanks to all SSC members who supported the event yesterday, last night and today. John and I had a fab time. Jane B”

They all did well with photos in the local press to prove it!

18 August. A sailing visit by Whitstable YC cadets. A fantastic effort from the Cadets to make it from Whitstable to Seasalter for a well earned picnic lunch. A testing NE 20 + mph wind made beaching a challenge with onshore waves along our shoreline. The 12 dinghies were supported by 2 patrol boats and sailors arrived in Toppers,Topaz Taz, Lasers, Mirror’s and Wanderers, mostly sailing 2 up. After their picnic in the club and before the tide went out again they set off back, some under tow, not surprisingly as conditions were still tough. Thanks especially to Jo for assisting in launching the 12 dinghies, waist high in waves while youngsters jumped aboard. We heard later that they even want to come back again!

21 August Annual Dinghy Regatta

Three long races, lots of tired sailors. Well done to those who stayed up-right, those who broke and swapped boats, those who capsized and got going again and those who sailed the course to only retire 100m from the finish line, you've got to love them all. The prizes capped the day off perfectly.
Winners? Everyone!

A big thank you to SarahM for providing a super “afternoon tea” for everyone, complete with smoked salmon and cucumber sandwiches, followed by cake, and more cake! All this while also looking after the children while Jason was out sailing!! He did win a prize though : )

23 August. 2 Tide Cruise. Early tides mean that keen sailors get up at the crack of dawn, some having camped at the club and set sail for a day afloat. This day there was a brisk north easterly wind. However, they rigged a Hobie, 3 Sprint 15s, a Weta trimaran and a Tornado and set sail. They didn’t quite make Minnis Bay but provided an opportunity for an adventure for junior sailors Charlie and Henry who said it was awesome!

Towards the end of August we had weather to match any Mediterranean destination, with azure blue skies and hot sunny days. The beach at Seasalter was filled with holiday makers. Those club members able to snatch some time off were treated to some beautiful breezy sailing opportunities, a perfect way for many to end the summer break. A group of club members even managed a chilled out camping week in the field, along with our resident surrounding wild life, chickens, geese, sheep etc.

3rd September. “Fly the flag for Seasalter SC”. Time to “Put SSC on the map” again! The Forts race, organised by Whitstable YC is a long distance challenge for larger catamarans, the smallest allowed being Dart 18s. Intrepid SSC D18 sailors, IanM and JaneB, JohnB and PaulS, PaulC and SashaL-V were joined by Tornado sailors KevD and DaveO and MattO and JoJ. They sailed to the Forts and back then to Herne Bay pier and back. The Tornados carried on sailing other legs with Kev and Dave gaining an amazing 2nd place. SSC D18 sailors were2nd,3rd and 5th, all within a minute or so of each other, close racing.

Exhausted but pleased with their efforts most returned to SSC on an ebbing tide, ready for the SSC Fowley Island race on Sunday.

4th September. SSC Club Fowley Island race. This long distance race along the Swale estuary to the mouth of Conyer creek is an annual challenge due to the variable conditions which prevail…. why? We are not sure, but it is nearly always very windy, the seas are extremely choppy and moored boats are an additional hazard, or fun to dodge, depending which way you look at it!

Fowley island is traditionally always rounded to starboard, i.e the difficult way when the wind is a westerly force 6. You become expert at tacking by the time you round the island. This year the Tornado sailors Kev and Dave sailed from Whitstable straight through the start line at SSC and completed the race in 75 minutes. They had a major pitch pole capsize near the island while both out on the trapeze but recovered without breaking any bones or, more importantly boat bits! The remainder of the fleet, mostly sailing 2 up on cats finished in around 2 hours. The only dinghy finishers took a heroic 2 and three quarter hours and were cheered over the line. They were also the chefs for the BBQ so were giving instructions regarding starting the cooking whilst on the run home!

We were all grateful for the support of the duty team of 3 patrol boats and a cruiser/yacht moored off Faversham creek, who kept a watchful eye on sailors throughout the day.

Thanks to Julie and SteveL, Siggy and others the day ended with a superb BBQ.

Another fantastic sailing weekend at Seasalter SC.