Stokes Bay Sailing Club Cadets in 2021
by Karen Falcon 22 Feb 2021 07:35 GMT
Stokes Bay Sailing Club Cadets © Lorraine Bugden
"I love the family spirit of SBSC cadets, the informal, formal learning and the fact we have so many amazing top sailing members who love to give up their time to come and coach our youngsters! Cadet week is always the highlight of the year with a similar buzz to a group Ski Trip... manic and exhausting with a panda eye tan at the end of the week!"
Adam Charlsworth is Dad to Jessica, 8, and Daisy, 11, and they love the Cadet programme just as much. Jessica sails a Feva with Polly and "loves playing in the boat and jumping in the sea" and Daisy sails switches between a Topper and a Feva with her friend Eve and "loves playing in the sea, being in Cadet week and having the freedom of sailing with my friends".
The Cadet programme is being led by Gavin Brewer and Bruce Keen who are both Musto Skiff sailors and have children who will be part of cadets. "We cannot wait to start the 2021 season. We have been planning and preparing since last summer when we ran an unofficial cadet season that had a really successful, though different to normal, outcome within the COVID-19 restrictions."
The cadet season starts on May 1st and runs until the end of September. One of the exciting additions this year is the Cadet Championship Series which is being run alongside Sunday club racing and will culminate in the Cadet Champion. The Sunday's in the series are May, 30th, June 20th, August 29th, and September 26th and some of these are being combined with free club member socials such as the 'ice cream sundae' and the 'Sunday cake away' where we are trying to encourage as many members as possible to come to the club (observing the relevant COVID guidelines) and enjoy the sailing, the water, the beach, the members, and the community.
The pinnacle of the cadet programme seems to be cadet week when friendships and familyships are cemented on and off the water. The enjoyment and learning which comes from the week is palpable and there is many a fond memory to be shared by cadets and their families, both past and present. The commodore's challenge is an entertaining watch and I know that Grace Clark is already planning what it is going to be this year! Cadet week 2021 is July 28th - August 1st.
Cadets takes place on a Saturday morning from 10.00 until 12.00 for children aged 6 or more. Most cadets sail Toppers, Opis, or Fevas and use the simulator on the Commodore's Lawn before going afloat. The club has many coaches and willing volunteers to make cadets a success and we know that the relaxed and informal atmosphere of Stokes Bay is a welcoming and perfect location to give children the opportunity to have fun, make friends and learn to sail competently and confidently.
More information about cadets can be found on the club website www.stokesbay-sc.co.uk or the club Facebook page 'Stokes Bay Sailing Club' or by emailing our administrator Debbie on
We are in the process of membership renewals and we welcome our existing and new members to the club. If you join now you may catch the end of the early bird package and the start of the 'spring into sailing' online programme which features a raffle, fleet forums, sailing the bay sessions, new rules sessions, cadet specific sessions, and a talk with INEOS Team UK sailors. The programme has been put together by members for our members to offer something at this time of renewals and lockdown. It has been really successful and within 3 weeks we have had over 80% of our members renew their membership or inform us of their change of plan. We are being pro-active with what we are allowed to do and who we have got in our club.
This is the time to look at what can be done and making it happen. We are thinking long term, aligning our actions to our members, environment and resources and enjoying the benefits of the smart, hard work. What a time to be on a committee... but what a wonderful time to make a positive change in a volunteer led community.
The cadet specific sessions started on Saturday 20th February with a Saturday morning remote coaching session with Helena Lucas, MBE. 24 cadets were engaged with the videos and aerial images that Helena was exploring over zoom. We have two more remote coaching sessions planned and all 2021 cadet members are welcome to attend so if you are thinking of joining the club, do it now so you don't miss out on these fantastic free events. The dates of the free events that are included in Stokes Bay membership this year and are in addition to the fantastic sailing programme and cadet week are:
- Saturday 6th March from 9.30 - 10.15 with Tim Ellis.
- Tuesday 9th March - Raffle with 3 x £5 to be won by cadet members.
- Saturday 13th March from 9.30 - 10.15 with Niall Myant-Best.
- Sunday 4th April - Easter Egg hunt and raffle (Covid depending)
- Saturday 1st May - Cadets launch into sailing (10-12)
- Sunday 30th May - 'Tea and Cake' after cadet and club racing.
- Sunday 20th June - Ice cream sundae after cadet and club racing.