To all Members:
After more than a year of planning, grant applications and waiting, our new RS Tera fleet of 8 dinghies with Sport sails is here and ready to use. Lots of helping hands did the unloading and unpacking on Tuesday, and more willing hands rigged and prepared the dinghies yesterday.
These dinghies will provide a huge step change in what is available for our young sailors. For young beginners the smallest Minisail will be ideal, for slightly older sailors growing in height, weight and confidence, the Sport rig will be great. For the older, heavier youths we have the Mylar Pro sail and race kicker set up; these expensive sails will be reserved for the keenest of racers competing locally and nationally.
18th August will be the first day of Felpham Youth Regatta. At 10:30 we will be holding a special celebration to mark the entry into service of our new fleet. We will splash some bubbly stuff on the front of the dinghies, have a couple of short speeches, witness a fleet launch and the parade of Teras in “follow my leader” formation.
All club members are invited to join the celebration. Do come a little early as the event will only take around 20mins max, and it will be very busy. The event will be held on the prom.
Representatives of our sponsor organisations and supporters have been invited as well.
Please note that this year we have over 50 young people taking part in Youth Regatta, and there will be around 30 parent volunteers; with six powerboats out, all of our training fleet rigged and ready to go, this will be a very busy morning at FSC. The priority will be to start Youth Regatta, hold the celebration and then get the Youth Regatta Fleet sailing. The kitchen will be open and the Regatta volunteer cheffing team will be at full strength but they will have a lot do preparing lunch for an estimated 85 covers, so please be patient at the hatch when asking for a mug of tea or coffee!
Besides celebrating our new Tera fleet, we will be marking the introduction of our new Pico called “Happy Soul” (sponsored by Co-Op Funeral Services) and breaking the flag for the first time recognising our recently awarded status as “RYA British Youth Sailing Recognised Club”. This year is a significant milestone in the history of Felpham Sailing Club and we should all be justifiably proud of our collective achievements. All club members are invited to come and join in the celebration.
Our new Tera fleet has been sponsored or supported with grant aid or funds from Sport England, the Eric Twiname Trust, the John Merricks Sailing Trust, West Sussex County Council and Tesco, with additional funds from FSC. Both Eric Twiname and John Merricks were internationally renowned for outstanding racing performance and sadly died far too young. Their Trusts continue their work to perpetuate the memory of two great sailors. Look them up on line for more information.
Fingers crossed for more fine weather!
Roger