Posts in category: News

It is with great sadness that the club were informed today by his wife Jemima, that its longest serving Commodore, Gordon Parker, has passed away. Details of the funeral will be made known soon and disseminated via the email system.

Now’s your chance to learn how to sail – or sail better !

Go to the Learn to Sail section of this website.  You will find all the information you need including the dates and costs.  The new 2018 Booking Forms are there for you to download and complete and send to our Bookings Manager, Pat Tolin

We look forward to welcoming you on our of our courses.

David Thomson RYA Principal

Arrangements are now starting to come together for the 2018 Falmouth Away-Sail.

If you are interested in taking part this year &/or want more information please contact Alan Chinn.

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Saturday 10th March 2018 is the date for the Sutton Bingham Icicle Open. This is part of the Southwest Series.

Due to restrictions within the sailing area the event is limited to monohull dinghies with a mast height not greater than 7m (23ft) above the water line including burgee and a RYA PN between 1450 and 900. Entries are limited to 50.

180 Minute Pursuit Race
First Start 12:00
Entry £15.00
Juniors (under 18) £10

Please got to the event page for more details – Icicle Open Event Page

After a record year in 2017 and with great feedback from parents and participants, we’re delighted to publish our Youth and Adult Training Course dates for 2018 which you will find under the Learn to Sail section of the website. 

All the information you need is shown together with a Downloadable Booking Form – please bear with us while this Booking Form is updated from the 2017 version.  If you have any queries, please contact us through  sbsctraining@btinternet.com 

Pat Tolin : Bookings Manager :  01460-73222

David Thomson : Training Principal

Starting on 7th January we are introducing an extra race to our Sunday race programme. The new training race will start promptly at 10.15am every Sunday with a focus on participation and skill improvement. Newcomers to racing are especially welcome to this more informal race, where everyone is committed to helping others improve their performance.

Make it your New Year’s resolution to make the most of your sailing club and improve your skills. Come and join us; either to learn or to share your knowledge.

Duty Officers and Race Officers please note that preparations need to be in place for sailors to launch at 10am.

Photos from the successful “Double-handed novice racing” back in the summer

On Sunday 5 November Sutton Bingham Sailing Club held a special open event in memory of Roger Battersby who sadly passed away this summer, together with their annual fundraiser for the RNLI.

Roger was a long time member of the sailing club and a passionate dinghy racer in a variety dinghy classes.

Roger’s Race held in the morning attracted 25 entries, including nine visitors who knew and had competed against Roger on the racing circuit. The race was full of thrills and spills with testing, gusty conditions giving everyone a challenging competition. When the handicaps were calculated, which make adjustments for the different types of boats sailing, it was Simon Hawkes from Wimbleball Sailing Club that came out on top, sailing a Phantom. Nick Orman from Castle Cove Sailing Club, also in a Phantom, finished second and third was home sailor Richard Frost in his Solo dinghy.

Roger’s parents, John and Margaret presented the new annual trophy at lunchtime, together with vouchers to the leading competitors to spend with representatives of the RNLI who attended with their usual “pop-up” Christmas gift shop.

The RNLI pursuit race was held in the afternoon for the RNLI Shield. The format for this race, as the name suggests, is that the slowest boats start first, pursued at intervals according to their time handicap by progressively faster boats, In theory if everyone sails their boats optimally the whole fleet would finish together. With the wind strength lighter, but still extremely shifty and a variety of sailing skill levels this was never actually going to be the case.

Max Robertson in his Laser Radial was first off pursued a few minutes later by Andrew Frost in his RS Aero 5, father, Richard Frost in a Solo and Andy Roxburgh and Howard Frear, sailing Streaker dinghies. Howard Frear lost lost ground with a capsize early on but caught Roxburgh before the finish. The morning’s winner, Hawkes, sailing his Phantom exceptionally quickly, hit the lead with 25 minutes to the finish and Ian Jay in his Finn closed down the early leaders to move into the runner-up spot with around 5 minutes until the finish hooter. Andrew Frost stayed ahead of his dad to take third and Richard Frost just squeezed out Chris Jones in an RS Aero 7 at the last mark to finish 4th.

The event raised £208 in voluntary donations. £75 in vouchers were given as prizes to spend on RNLI gifts and the club’s galley charity box added another £125, so the total contribution to the RNLI was £408.

Sailors who would like to support the event next year should make a note in their diaries for Sunday 4th November 2018.

Roger’s Race

1st, Simon Hawkes (Phantom)

2nd, Nick Orman (Phantom)

3rd, Richard Frost (Solo)

4th, Howard Frear (Streaker)

5th, Andy Roxburgh (Streaker)

RNLI Shield

1st, Simon Hawkes (Phantom)

2nd, Ian Jay (Finn)

3rd, Andrew Frost (RS Aero 5)

4th, Richard Frost (Solo)

5th, Chris Jones (RS Aero 7)

EUCan Community Group recently assisted us with clearing the top end of the dinghy park and releasing the trailers that had been overgrown with brambles. Part of the process involved moving most of the boats along the back fence.

1. If you have a trailer stored at the club please ensure that it is clearly marked with your name and membership number as any trailers in a state of disrepair will be disposed of.

1. We’ve done our best to ensure all boats marked are secured properly, but double-check that you’re happy with how your boat is tied down.

We’ve had a great year with over 30 adults learning to sail with us.  Nearly all of them progressed from being complete beginners to achieving the basic skills contained within Level 2 of the RYA National Sailing Scheme.  Next year we’ll be running Level 3 courses as well to consolidate and extend these skills.

Are you a parent whose children attended one of our Youth courses and you’re wondering what they were talking about over breakfast : the Five Essentials or what on earth a kicking strap is ?  Is sailing a sport that you’ve always wanted to get in to but thought it was too expensive, too difficult or you’re just not sure where to start ?  Well now’s your chance.  Sutton Bingham Sailing Club is the ideal place to start learning.  We have a team of highly experienced instructors who will guide you through the basics and then take you on to the higher levels.

All the dates and prices for 2018 will be published in the New Year here on the Website under Learn to Sail.

If you’re interested, please contact our Bookings Manager Pat Tolin at sbsctraining@btinternet.com or 01460-73222

David Thomson

RYA Club Training Principal

We have had another fantastic season of Youth courses with over 180 bookings – a record.  A huge thank you to all the Senior Instructors, Dinghy Instructors – many of them in their first year of instructing for us – Assistant Instructors and helpers who have made this season such a success.

We had a very complimentary annual inspection by the RYA and some great feedback from parents and youngsters.  We will now be reviewing everything we do and how we do it.  Dates for next year will be published after Christmas but we anticipate running courses at Easter and through the school summer holidays in much the same way we did this year.

David Thomson

RYA Club Training Principal : sbsctraining@btinternet.com