Clubhouse repairs
I am delighted to be able to confirm that the long awaited remedial work needed to make good the concrete structures of our clubhouse started on Thursday and the initial work should complete over the next day or so. After searching so long for a contractor to undertake the work this is a great step, and hopefully we should now rapidly be able to move onto the next phase of the work, which will include beefing up our balustrades around the club to meet modern building regulations and, in so doing, remove the unsightly barriers that have blighted us over the last year+. So, step one complet(ing) with others to follow in the coming months.
Lake and Cake 3rd May
A cake from a previous meeting, but this is a good one!
The next Lake and Cake is on Saturday 03-May-25 and Hilary and I are looking forward to seeing you all at 13:45 rigged and raring to go!
The forecast is 13 degees, 11 mph winds and sun/cloud with a small risk of rain, a great forecast for a sail to work up an appetite!
Thursday evening sailing starts on 08-May-25
(Safety cover from 6pm)
Includes Improvers and Start Racing,
details below
This is a great way for all to develop your sailing and try a little low key racing in a fun, friendly and sociable group
There are 3 ways to participate:
1. Have a lovely sail on our lovely lake
2. “Improvers” (you can sail but maybe have only just learned or haven’t sailed for a while)
You might like some help with rigging, a bit of advice or suggestion of an activity on the water.
An experienced sailor will be on hand from 6pm- meet by the flagpole.
3. Start Racing,
For anyone interested in taking up racing or looking to build a bit more confidence to race, this is for you…
The start racing sessions kick off on Thursday 29-May-25 and run over 5 successive Thursday evenings providing an informal and relaxed introduction to racing at Chew.
In the sessions we aim to include:
revisiting the five essentials
starting the race – slow speed control, holding position,
upwind and downwind legs of the course – sail efficiently, look for gusts and shifts
mark rounding- thinking ahead, control when changing direction
mini-regatta
Meet at 6pm, rigged and changed, for a short briefing, ashore by 8pm, debrief and bar open.
To get the most out of these sessions, please try to attend at least one Thursday session before 29-May-25 to refamiliarise yourself with your boat.
No need to book, just turn up as and when you can. You’ll need your own boat or access to a club one – any class is fine.
If you have any questions, do contact us
Helen Martin helen.martin@sandsfoothouse.co.uk
Chris Meredith cncm63@gmail.com
James Williams sailing@chewvalleysailing.org.uk
Chew Choppers
The grounds team have been out and about wielding various power tools to control the scrubby areas of the club grounds… although we did have to leave one area so as not to disturb nesting ducks!
A quick reminder to members that they should keep their boat space(s) tidy and free from brambles and larger weeds and saplings. ( I wonder whether we should get a battery powered sturdy grass trimmer for members use – about £290 – although I will try the club petrol strimmer to see if it works)
Chew Choppers – Simon Chapman, Andrew Martyn-Johns, Pete Alvey, Jo Cudmore (not pictured) and myself.
Cruising News
There is a great deal of fabulous cruising activity that takes place both on the lake and by members across Europe. For those of you with a sense of adventure who may want to broaden their horizons, here’s a few bits to tempt you to participate.
You might know about the annual trip to Falmouth which has been happening for over 20 years because it is such a
fabulous sailing area. Maybe you don’t know that over the past couple of years we have been to Brittany, Ireland, Holland, Windermere and Poole. This year will be Denmark, the Lakes, Lough Derg and Lough Erne. We tend to use Wayfarers of all the different
incarnations as these dinghies are so robust but this does not exclude other classes of dinghies as long they can safely handle the conditions likely to be encountered. Equally it does not exclude those of you who don’t have a suitable craft.
There is a big step up to prepare a boat suitable for lake sailing to one that can handle the rigours of dinghy cruising but this does not need to be a barrier. You could either crew on another boat or we do have a spare Wayfarer World that is not only fully kitted out but tried and tested in different locations and conditions.
So, if you fancy a change to sailing around the cans on the lake, pleaser had on!
Falmouth 2025: 14th – 21st of June 2025 hosted by the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club (RCYC).
Due to an unforeseen cancellation, we have a twin bedded room and a double bedded room in self-catering accommodation available. The cost per person would be £300-350 for the week including all the launching/recovery fees and temporary RCYC membership. A bargain
just add food!!
For more detail on either of the above please contact Phil Pemberton. Phillippemberton@btopenworld.com
Lunch on the Lake returns.
Saturday 03-May-25 sees the return of Lunch on the Lake, weather permitting of course.
Bring your boat, anchor (ask if you don’t have one) and your lunch and we will pick a spot on the lake to have a lazy lunch at anchor. If this is something you have not done before or you would like to but don’t have access to a boat then do speak to Simon Conway ( sailingskismo@gmail.com ) We usually sail in the morning ( optional ) then meet up briefly in the Southern end of the car park to agree a lunch location. Bring a packed lunch, a galley prepared lunch or for the more adventurous, fire up that galley box and cook your lunch afloat.
For those building, or interested in knowing more about making/using boom tents then this is also the perfect opportunity to delve into that niche activity too. Anyone interested in dinghy cruising whether you’re just at the enquiry stage or are a seasoned veteran then do please come along and get involved. We all learn something new each time.
RYA Assistant Instructor Course
Congratulations are due to Rowan, Dylan, Leo, Alyssa and Anna (pictured, L-R) who have taken the first step on the instructing ladder. And thanks are also due for what they will give to the club and the sport in volunteering to help deliver our ever-popular Chew Crew programme this year.
They completed the course at the club over the weekend 12/13-Apr-25 and, to meet the RYA’s requirements for the award of the AI qualification, this will be consolidated by a short period helping qualified Dinghy instructors deliver training sessions.
I always encourage experienced sailors to consider becoming an instructor, and the AI qualification is a relatively quick, simple and cheap way to do so without committing to the more testing, full DI course. More details from the RYA website, or from me.
Dave Orme, RYA Principal and Chief Dinghy Instructor, training@chewvalleysailing.org.uk
RYA PB2 Course Success and upcoming training
On Saturday 19-Apr-25 we had a busy day with 9 people completing the RYA PB2 course and 12 completing the RYA first aid course. Well done to all of them.
We have another RYA PB2 course coming up on Saturday 31-May-25 and Sunday 01-Jun-25, we decided to try something new and run it over one weekend instead of two, only one space left so visit Webcollect and book today.
Our next RYA First Aid course is on Saturday 7th June, still a few places left visit Webcollect and book today.
Any questions please ask jeffstratford@btinternet.com
Wednesday Evening Racing
Racing on Wednesday evenings is already showing its deserved popularity, with a range of conditions across the first few weeks and already some strong turnouts. A reminder for those racing if you can let Ben in the Galley know before you go afloat if you want to stay for food it helps ensure there is enough cooked for everyone without any wastage.
The days are getting longer and the temperature warmer all the way to summer!
Members Travels
More and more open meetings are being run as we head through spring towards the summer months, and our members have already travelled far and wide.
The symmetric double handers have already been to championship events, with Ian Cadwallader crewing for Ian Pinnell to 3rd overall, including 2 race wins and Bill Chard / Josh Preater in 5th overall at the Flying Fifteen Inlands at Draycote. (pictured below)
Ian switched to the back of an Osprey for their Welsh & Midland Championships at Tata Steel SC, again finishing 3rd overall.
In the single handers, Ollie Allen Wilcox once again represented the ILCA7 fleet in the 2nd National Open at WPNSA, with a best result of a 2nd in R3.
Below: Ollie fighting it out on the start line
Closer to home, James Colls was first 4.2 rig at the South West Topper Traveller at Durleigh Sailing Centre.
The RS200s and RS400s sailed at a joint open at an extremely shifty Bristol Corinthian, with the 200 fleet on their South West Tourrepresented by James Williams / Ruth Kenyon, David Sweet with Anna Mason and Martyn Stubbs / Yvonne Smith. Paul and Anna Smalley sailed in the RS400 fleet as part of their Southern Tour.
Andy Jones
Commodore