Thursday night Social Sailing and Top Tips 2026

A gallery of photos from the 2026 Thursday night season can be found towards the end of this page.

23 April

Great first Thursday night Social Sail/Top Tip session. Nearly 30 people enjoyed a fabulous curry then heard about the opportunities available to all members on a Thursday night. Great to see potential members, those that are returning to the club, those that sailed at the club in the 50s/60s as well as our current sailors What a great year we have ahead of us. Thanks to Louisa Moxey and Casey Grainger for prepping the great curry.

30 April

What an excellent evening for our first formal session. 20 sailors arrived to learn a bit more about Launching and Recovery the boats as well as the role of Beach Duty. Thank you to Siân Bray for leading the session and Penelope Luke, Paula B, Ethan, Lara, Bray and David Rowe for supporting the activity. Photos by Louisa Moxey and David.

7 May

Another perfect evening for our Social Sailing/Top Tips session.
22 sailors out in their own boats or using club boats. Terrific support from Lara, Bray, Sophie, Eleanor, Ethan, Paula, Charlotte and Simon instructing or providing safety cover, and Louie, Oscar and Oscar who buddied up in their ILCAs to support other ILCA and RSAero sailors.
Great experiences had and improvements seen.

14 May

Rain and lightning stopped the sailing, but didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the group.
Theory and practical activities still went ahead with the Top Tips focussed around tacking, upwind sailing, rules of the road and knots. Over 20 sailors attended the evening’s activities.
Thanks to Siân Bray, Paula Bentley, Sean Peter for leading the sessions, and Bray, Lara, Eleanor, Ethan, Louie and Oscar for offering their support if we were to go out sailing.

21 May

What a near perfect evening for sailing
As our lead for the evening, Paula said
“Well done everyone. Sailing last night was a tale of two halves, extremely light winds with everything you have learnt so far not making sense, well the sea was like a mirror and then the wind filled in so we could practice the stopping with an occasional stop by the man overboard. What a lovely evening”
Thanks Paula, great job.
20 dinghies were out, with 22 sailors developing their skills.
Thanks also to Louie for leading the advanced group around the trapezoid course, Sian for instructing two brand new sailors in the 2000, Bray for supporting new sailors in their boats such that they had a go sailing solo, and Ethan and Simon who provided safety support with Jo and Sean on beach
2 graduates including newly reburbished “Lukes of Hazard”, 3 RSAeros,
the 2000, 4 fusions, 5 picos, and 6 ILCAS including the first outing for the recently refurbished “Black Magic”

28 May

Another great evening, with over 30 attending, either providing support or going sailing.
As you can see from the photo, there was very little wind! However, this was a chance to make sense of some of the useful tips given to us by Steve Sampson, who led the evening with a talk about the importance of using the sail.
Two groups went out and sailed (floated) around a trapezoid course or the figure of eight, searching for where the wind was and looking out for the seal who came to join us. Some also had a go at capsize practice. Great job Jim, Tracey, Nigel B, Steve C, on your first capsizes.
Thank you especially to Steve S, Sian, Penny, Ethan, Louie, Nigel L, Jonathan, Mike, Ifor, and David all who supported the sailors.

4 June

Thursday Social Sailing/Top Tips
So even bad weather doesn’t stop this intrepid group from learning about sailing, and having fun!
Knowing the forecast made sailing impossible we planned to have four activities based on our Top Tip for the week – How to sail downwind.
Thanks to Siân Bray who led the practical session on dry land gybing using a pico in the club house;
Paula Bentley who led the discussion on how to sail downwind, how to prepare the boat for rounding marks and what to do with the sails and daggerboard (part of the 5 essentials);
Chris Whitney Photography who brought along his model yacht together with a large fan to demonstrate how a sail works, and what the wind does to the sails when sailing downwind;
and Roger Belton who showed us how to set the powerboat up for use, and particularly the two most important things to remember – use of kill-cord and use of two hands when driving – one on the steering wheel and one on throttle.
This was then followed by lovely meal of jacket potato and selection of fillings, plus salad prepped by Louisa Moxey.
Thanks everyone for your contribution. Next week we hope to put all this knowledge on the water.

11 June

So for a second week running, very windy conditions meant sailing for the adults could not go ahead. The high tide and cold conditions also meant doing any type of water based activity was out of the question.
As a number of people could not attend, we finally resolved to have a sailing quiz followed by a virtual dinghy race using the club floor. This gave us the perfect opportunity to discuss what we have learnt so far.
Let’s hope next Thursday gives everyone a chance to go back onto the water to practice the skills learnt.
Don’t forget there is Social Sailing at the club tomorrow afternoon from 14:00. The weather looks promising

18 June

What a beautiful evening for a sail. Although the winds were light it was sailable.
Two graduates, 2 RSAeros, 3 ILCAS, 2 fusions and 4 picos, took to the water following a great talk on the 5 essentials of sailing by Chris Whitney Photography.
Building on previous learning all the sailors headed out to demonstrate their skills, and practice new ones. It was great to see the development of the group, some of whom have only started sailing this year.
Huge thanks go to Chris Whitney, Paula Bentley, Ifor, Ethan, Bray, Sophie and Louie who provided coaching on the water, safety and/or beach cover.
Earlier in the day, some of the other adults had taken part in additional 1:1 training to brush up on their sailing skills.
Great job everyone.
Now for an excellent weekend of racing in the Club Regatta

25 June

What a fabulous evening with 17 boats on the water including the maiden voyage of HAPPY DAZE, our newly purchased Hartley 12.2. It had been a long wait for it to come but it was wonderful to see her out. She is spacious in width, depth and the boom height makes it especially comfortable for the taller sailor.
The plan for the evening was to put all the learnt skills including the rules of the road and launch and recovery strategy together, particularly as we had a gusty forecast, and high tide.
It all worked really well and with extra support from David R, up to his shoulders in the sea, gathering the boats one by one as they approached the shore, sailors had a great end to their adventure. Everyone pitched in, helping each other land and be taken up the ramp. What excellent team work.
Special thanks go to those that supported the sailors: Paula, Sian, Ethan, Simon, Lara, Louie, Eleanor, Mike and David.
Another great evening.
If you’re interested in learning more about sailing, just want to have a taster, or want to have lessons, or just want to refresh your skills please DM me

2 July

What another terrific evening. Perfect sailing weather with a lovely F3 from the north.
20 boats took to the water and split into two groups
The ones still learning their 5 essentials skills around a figure of eight were well led by Paula, and supported by Mike, Terri and Sian. Great to see such progress. The extra bit of wind gave a different experience and the northerly breeze brought its own challenges for landing.
The second more experienced group joined Martin to learn more about starting to race, everyone looked great. Lots of new skills were learnt and fun had. Thanks also to Nigel L who supported.

9 July

Another fun evening at Thursday’s sailing session, albeit in very light conditions. Even when there’s virtually no wind there’s lots to learn – finding where the wind is, how to set the sails to capture what wind there is, as well as getting the balance and trim right, and practising capsizing!
Well done everyone, you did exceptionally well.
Thanks to all our helpers this week, including Tom who gave a little talk in Start Racing, Paula Bentley, James S, Siân Bray, Penelope Luke, Keith, David R, Bray, Lara, and Scarlett. We couldn’t run these sessions without you.
Great to see two Graduates, the Hartley, three ILCAS, Fusions and Picos out, all looking very colourful in the evening light.

16 July

Well done everyone. That was exhilarating, fun, exciting, challenging, exhausting, tough, all at the same time.
The wind built up even as we were doing the briefing, so huge credit to everyone for “dipping your toes in” and giving it a go, even for the shortest of times. That’s when the best learning takes place.
We’re very proud of everyone
With over 20 boats out on the water split into two groups, the evening was all about resilience, determination and grit. Using skills learnt over the past few weeks our sailors all had a go.
Two graduates, the 2000, the Hartley, four ILCAS, one Solo, fusions and picos, all took to the water after Top Tip briefings by Paula Bentley and Chris Whitney.
Terrific support again from
David, Sian, Martin, Matt, Liz, Bray, Lara, Ethan, Theo.

23 July

30 people were involved in the sailing activity last night, helping rig, launching and recovering, coaching, and even ordering take away. We’re building an excellent team around our new and novice sailors, all who are keen to develop their skills and get more involved in the club.
Tonight we had the Buzz out, together with ILCAs, the Graduate, the Hartley, the 2000, a Solo, Fusions and Picos.
We set two sailing areas, one where the basic skills were practiced, and another much larger area where a racing course was set, tactics considered, and speed over water sought.
It was great to see, not least when the returning sailors arrived ashore with huge grins.
Enormous thanks to Paula, Sian, Martin, Ethan, Bray, David, Keith, Eleanor, Lara, Sophie, Oscar N, Theo.
Thanks to Paula, Andrew and Holly for the great photos.
“Wow! Wow – what a session. Chuffed to bits”
“Thank you to everyone for your encouragement “
“A lovely evening sailing”
“Fab evening! Loved it! Thanks Team Felpham”
“Thanks for a fantastic evening of sailing, fun and friendship”

30 July

What an excellent and fun evening it turned out to be.
With the winds looking quite spicy, many arrived for the session a little apprehensive, however after a chance to share feelings as well as provide a few options to choose from, all ended up out sailing either on their own or having a joy ride with our excellent helms in the club Fusions. Louie provided a great talk on aspects relating to racing for some of the group. We even put in additional activities including practice capsizing recovery, balancing in the boat and swimming in a buoyancy aid in the shallower water which everyone seemed to enjoy.
Well done especially to Steve C in the pico, Keith N and Jonathan in the ILCAs and Andrew in his Solo.
Huge thanks to all who made this such a packed, fun and safe evening, Paula Bentley, Siân Bray, Ethan, Louie, Mike, Graham, Seb, Oscar N and Izzy.

6 August

Well done everyone.
We had 13 boats out for a great sail. Forecast and reality were at odds with each other , but in our favour.
With all boats allocated, and rigged we had two excellent briefings from Louie and Paula on racing and upwind sailing. Sailors could choose which group to join, depending on their confidence and skill level.
Next to the launch.
Despite the rather large waves breaking through every so often, launching was very successful largely to David, Sian⁩ and Jim’s terrific support.
With all launched it was down to the two coaching/safety boats to encourage and guide the sailors in their activities (Paula Bentley⁩, Louie⁩, Oscar N, Bray and Lara)
It was great to see Sam in an ILCA modelling good practice for the racers, James Stanbridge⁩ and Carolyn leading the way in the Hartley and Andrea and Holly⁩ demonstrating good sailing in the fusion.
From the shore the boats looked purposeful and focussed with their respective activities.
A safe return in an offshore breeze, involving a little towing ended the session.
Thank you to everyone who took part and supported another great evening.
Comment from Andi:
“It was a lovely evening sail, I haven’t been to a Thursday session for a while and was hugely impressed with the progress made by the Thursday night crew in that time Fantastic to see so many enthused sailors on the water”.

13 August

Another good evening with a real mixture of boats and experiences out on the water trying to find the wind – again.
Two graduates, RSAero, ILCAs. Solo, Scorpion, Hartley, 2000, picos and fusions.
Great lead from Sian, Paula and Louie with support from
James, Andy, Ethan, Oscar, Sam, Seb, Lara and Scarlett
The focus on racing, gybing and downwind sailing quickly turned into capsize and towing practise! All worthwhile skills.

27 August

So the conditions were always going to be on the top end of what we would have liked, however with a forecast suggesting the wind was going to reduce a little, it was worth heading out in the force 3/4.
22 boats were out in three groups. The buzz, two graduates, four ILCAS, a topper, the Hartley, the 2000, four fusions and 8 picos.
We had a less experienced group out under the watchful eye of Paula and James, the racing group who were competing for the Nigel Lester and Cindy Bloor trophies, and the new or returning to the sport group led by Sian and Seb.
Paula, Sian, I together with the excellent support team are so proud of everyone for giving last night go. Everyone has progressed so well over the season.
My big shout out for last night goes to all the people that enabled everyone to sail in such conditions, and stretch their skills.
To Paula, and James who expertly led the less experienced sailors, and helped right boats, supported exhausted sailors, towed boats home and so much more.
To Alfie and Nigel who did an excellent job in Tyger overseeing the fleet, speedily getting to capsized boats, setting the course for the racing, fixing a few issues on boats, and even sailing boats ashore.
To Terri, who started off in the committee boat but who then offered to join the Tyger midway through to ensure sufficient safety cover when Alfie helped sail a boat. Terri’s flexibility and willingness to get stuck in to a range of roles was superb. I think she even surprised herself with her versatility.
To Rosemary, one of our newest sailors, who did an excellent job on Diamond, keeping a watchful eye on all the boats to ensure we had sufficient cover, and helped run the racing.
To Louie and Oscar who, after an exhilarating time in the Buzz, were able to get back and get Whaley out to ensure we had additional support on the water so we could run the race.
To Sian and Seb, who calmly carried on taking four adults out in the Hartley and 2000 ensuring they had a great experience. All four who were new to the Thursday group came back smiling.
To Penny who, whilst still recovering from knee operations, did an extraordinary job on the shore, receiving early retired sailors, coordinating the launch of Whaley and communicating with us nd keeping a watchful eye from the shore in case we missed anything.
What an amazing team effort and what a fantastic experience everyone is having. So much progress with both the sailing and support team, so much coordination, teamwork and willingness to get stuck in.
Thank you everyone, it has been a wonderful season.