Hi everyone, and welcome to this week’s Jibsheet. With the beautiful weather we have been having it hardly feels like the start of Autumn, but then the darker evenings soon remind us! Hopefully you have been able to make the most of the lovely sunshine and getting out on the water. We’ve had several more events taking place at HSC. After training finished last Thursday, the weekend was about the Yare & Bure Open (you can read the report here and a further update from Fleet Captain Liz Goodyear below), Club racing took place on the river on Sunday in very light winds, and our final paddleboarding session finished on Monday evening, with a stunning evening and fantastic turnout!
This coming weekend is the Broadland Youth Regatta at Norfolk Broads Yacht Club, with a team of our young sailors representing HSC – good luck to you all and we cannot wait to hear how it goes! We also have club racing on the Broad on Sunday (full programme below) and with the fantastic forecast, why not bring your paddleboards for a social after sailing? There will be no Sundown Series this weekend.
Commodore’s Update
Last weekend I attended the White Boat open social event, it was a lovely sunny & warm evening, my thanks to Liz Goodyear & helpers for a very nice array of food, with Pimm’s also.
Sunday racing saw little to no wind, with the boats struggling to get to 1 and back - well done to the perseverance of the sailors who took part.
Monday was also a lovely evening with the last paddleboarding session, which saw 18 people take to the water. There was a lot of fun up on the Broad before returning to the Club. Rose Herring took to her kayak, paddling herself all the way to the broad & back again - well done, a fantastic achievement!
Moving on to this weekend, I shall be attending with the team HSC are taking, to take part in the Broadland Youth Regatta that is being held at NBYC Wroxham. We wish them all well, GO TEAM HORNING! Please do come down to support your Juniors, and let’s hope we get some wind.
On Sunday Abbey & myself will be at Ely Sailing club, where Abbey is representing HSC @ the ITCA GBR Topper Traveller.
With the current heatwave don’t forget hats, sunscreen & keeping hydrated.
Have a great weekend,
Will – Commodore HSC
Vice Commodore’s Clew
Last week I wondered if we would have an ‘Indian’ summer, and here it is. Not much wind for sailing though. However, I do need to start you thinking about our autumn activities. In the next few days your Entertainments and Management Committees will be meeting to finalise our plans for the next few months, with perhaps a few changes to the normal routine.
As far as the social scene goes, we will have the End of Season Supper in the Clubhouse on 14 October and the Prizegiving Dinner at The Old Rectory in Crostwick on 28 October. The EOS will be themed as Oktoberfest. The booking forms for these events will be coming out within the next 10 days, so put the dates in your diaries now. If you are lucky (or skilled) enough to hold a trophy, now is the time to get it out for a clean and polish before returning it to the Club ready for presentation on 28 October. Enjoy the new summer while it lasts.
Rear Commodore’s Update
Just a short update this week to say keep your eyes peeled for an email about an extra work party on 23rd September – more information to follow!
Lorraine & Izzy
This weekend’s sailing:
This weekend’s sailing programme is on the Broad as follows:
Series 1:
10.30am Reedlings
10.33am Yeomans
10.36am Rebels
10.39am Yares & Bures
10.42am Juniors & Allcomers “B” & “C”
10.51am Cruisers (continue into series 2)
Series 2: Start 11.15am earliest
Series 3: Start 12.00pm earliest
The later series will start at a time determined by the OOD. Starts will be separated by a 3 minute interval, except Cruisers with a 9 minute interval.
After racing on Sunday, we have one of our ‘Social Sundays’ and it would be great to see members continuing to enjoy the Club into the afternoon. So why not come down, enjoy yourself, have a social sail/paddleboard if you wish – and just enjoy spending time with friends – especially as the forecast looks so promising!
By way of reminder, you can download the full racing programme from the HSC website here.
Training update – reminder – from Andy Barnham
Hi Everybody,
Just a short note to remind you all that Saturday 16th September is our Junior Regatta and we would like as many of the children from the Training Centre as possible to attend. There will be 4 races & then the Prizegiving & Certificate Presentation, all followed by a BBQ for the competitors. Tickets for the BBQ will also be available for everyone else to purchase for £2.50.
Lunch & usual Galley fare will be available throughout the day. Spectators are welcome.
If your child needs to borrow a boat, please can you email me in advance so we can have them on trolleys ready. training.centrehsc@outlook.com
Hope to see you there
White Boat Weekend Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd September 2023 – Liz Goodyear, Fleet Captain
It had been my intention to write something after Horning Week, but somehow, possibly because we were looking after my grandson immediately afterwards, it never got written. However, my recollections are of a good week’s sailing with some close results and well distributed trophies, even if it was a bit windy at times!
Horning White Boat Weekend forms part of the Yare & Bure One Design Traveller Series, with open events held during the summer at Wroxham, Barton and finally Thurne on the 23rd & 24th September. Despite a lot of excellent publicity, the turnout was a bit disappointing, with just nine boats actually entering, but it was lovely to see a couple of visiting boats. It has seemed that every weekend this year has been windy, but this all changed for the White Boats, with Saturday dawning sunny with a gentle breeze. Holly has already written the sailing report so I don’t need to repeat it all again here and we definitely won’t mention the White Boat that managed to hook their mainsheet around the finishing line triangle and take it for a sail! Luckily the winning boat was still some distance away at the time!
After racing on Saturday we enjoyed Pimms and Nibbles in the lovely late afternoon sunshine at the Clubhouse where everyone was able to just have a good natter! Several times this summer, the forecast would say gentle breeze and it would be completely wrong and a third crew was necessary, whereas on Sunday it said light winds and this time it was absolutely correct! Race officer Stuart Bailey set a very short course for the first two races on Sunday and even that proved quite difficult to complete for some. Most of the White Boats had moored on the river side of the Broad and all allowed plenty of time to reach the start line which was near no. 1 mark. As the start gun went, I believe only one boat was actually on the right side of the start line but very slowly all the boats were clear; even Chris Bunn and Niki Tansley in Fox were over, but it didn’t take Chris long to creep back into the lead and win the race. Everyone was bit more careful before the second race of the day and stayed on the right side of the start line! I missed the third race as I needed to make sure we were ready for the Prizegiving but I am told the breeze did pick up - but it didn’t help me get back to my mooring – it was very slow going!
Finally after racing on Sunday, we enjoyed tea, cake and sandwiches with the Prizegiving. The Tortoiseshell Tankards were won by Chris Bunn with Niki Tansley crewing in Fox, and Class Captain Simon, and Fil Daniels in Silver Blue coming second. It was commented that it had been a very lovely weekend and those boats that didn’t come, definitely missed out!
A lot of organisation goes into making this a successful event - I would personally like to thank Stuart Bailey and his family for running the line (and taking lots of photos) and all the rescue boat crews (also taking photos). Vikki, Anya and Ella in the galley for helping me prepare the food on Saturday as well as carrying everything over the bridge and providing the sandwiches on Sunday. I returned on Saturday to find that Lorraine had set everything up for me. Anne Wagstaff, Holly and Kath Mason (Class secretary) helped with the publicity and I mustn’t forget to thank all the unnamed individuals who helped carry everything back over the bridge to my car on Saturday evening, as well as doing the washing up! Thanks to those that provided cakes on Sunday and finally I must thank Ella, my crew for the weekend, for all her help as well. I couldn’t have organised any of this without you all and apologies if I have forgotten anyone? I’ve just remembered I should also thank my husband for doing all the shopping - oops!!!!
What do I do now? By Tom Roberts
I have just completed by Keel Boat level one training which I have loved. Getting out of work and rushing from Wymondham to Horning in time for a six-o’clock start was entirely worth it to be out on the river and the broad. Sometimes the weather was kind to us and pushed the boat along swiftly in the late evening sun and sometimes it was less kind – leaving us becalmed in the middle of the broad to be drenched from above by a summer downpour.
While I have been doing the course I have sailed in a Rebel, a Yeoman, a Reedling (thanks to Bob Hancock) as well as watched the youth section enjoying the manoeuvrability and instability of dinghy’s and helped man the line for a race which included graceful cruisers which seemed to blend into the Norfolk surroundings they were made for.
This summer has reminded me how much I love to be on the water and how I enjoyed sailing when I was younger. The question I am grappling with now is what do I do from here? Where do I take this rekindled love?
I have asked myself – what kind of sailing do I want to do? , but when the answer is to be a sailing nomad breezing between Caribbean or Mediterranean harbours and anchorages in endless summer bliss, my daydreams are not so helpful. Then the question becomes, what sort of sailing am I realistically going to want to do often, which brings the horizons back down to the boards – at least for now.
I have loved crewing for races with Bob in Siskin. The idea that the decisions about time and route are taken out of my hands gets me over some mental inertia and I am learning by doing. The last race was without any significant wind. Flags only reluctantly moved away from their restful positions next to the pole very briefly and often in contradictory directions. Bob still got the best from the boat and we made it around the course. I learned more about boat balancing, optimum sail shape and course made good. Despite me not having much of a competitive nature I can see that racing will feature in ‘what do I do next?’.
The Downriver race for which I manned the line took us to Thurne for the first time. My wife Nancy and oldest son (16) came along too and while enjoying and learning the task at hand it became obvious that along with the fact that there was a race to be won, this was a lovely sail down the river for lunch in a beautiful place. The idea of days out sailing with the family, exploring the broads by water under the power of the wind has to play a part in the ‘what do I do next?’ question.
I have always been a lover of adventures of one kind or another although I am far from being Bear Grylls and my adventures will be run of the mill to some. I have, however, had my interest peaked by the Dinghy Cruising association and the idea of boom tents and extending the exploration with an overnight stopover, seeing sunset and sunrise from the water and the natural peace that comes with it really appeals.
All of the above (having postponed the dream of sailing nomad) centres around our new membership of Horning Sailing club as a start and finish and it makes me happy to have found such a welcoming place. There will be times, however, when I want to sail in other places. I have always loved the Lake District for example and I have a brother who lives in Southampton, both places where there is water to be sailed on. While I have pushed out the dream of living on a boat in paradise, I would not like to abandon the idea of coastal or ocean sailing one day.
It seems I want it all. I have had a sip and now I want to drink the barrel. In one way that is great – I can make and take every opportunity that comes and it will be fun. My problem is that in order to maximise my time on the water next year I think I want to get a boat and therein lies the problem. What kind of boat can be raced at Horning, provide a stable and comfortable platform for days out for up to 4 adults while being able to be sailed single handed, can offer one or two people ‘Camping’ accommodation for adventures, can be easily transported to other parts of the country (without a tow hitch!?), and will introduce me to coastal sailing when I am ready. I think I know already that one boat doesn’t exist even before I start to introduce more mundane variables like budget and maintenance time/skills.
So now my daydreaming time is spent trying to solve questions like: do I really need our own boat?, If so should it be a keel boat, dinghy or ‘other’?, is now the right time to buy a boat or should I wait until the rest of my family has had more sailing time?. There is no quick answer and it might come down to grasping an opportunity when it comes along and making the most of it.
While I can’t decide where to go from here, I am certain that I need to acknowledge that without the kind support from Bob and Holly Hancock along with Brett, Caroline and the rest of the training team I would not be able to contemplate such things. Thank you all and everyone in the club who makes the magic happen.
Congratulations to Darcy on her solo sail from Salhouse to the New Inn, Horning
Recently, one of our young members, Darcy, sailed solo from Salhouse to the New Inn, Horning – congratulations Darcy – what an achievement!
Get your HSC Club clothing
Some of our younger members have been modelling our HSC Club clothing – if you want to get your own, you can check out what’s available here: https://st-cyr.co.uk/product-category/horning-sailing-club/
Helm & Crew Opportunities
If you are a helm looking for a crew, or a crew looking to get on the water, please contact me (Holly) on holly.hancock@me.com with your requirements and contact details, I will do my best to help with these requests.
Could you contribute to Jibsheet?
Whether you’re just starting sailing, currently sailing or an older member, if you’d like to write an article or share your news/thoughts for Jibsheet – maybe how you got into sailing, your sailing journey so far, experiences or achievements, thoughts on your sailing activities, suggestions for what you’d like to see, or simply information you’d like to share with others - please let me know. You can contact me at news@horning-sailing.club
Holly
Easy Fundraising
If you haven’t signed up yet to support the Club through online shopping, you can do so here at https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/horningsc/ - a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us in this way!
Follow us on social media
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*If you have any news stories or anything you would like included in the next edition of Jibsheet, please email me - Holly - on news@horning-sailing.club by 5pm, Wednesday 13th September 2023.