New clubhouse completed at Chichester Yacht Club
by David Brecknell 22 Jul 2009 08:01 BST
18 July 2009
Chief Executive of the Royal Yachting Association, Rod Carr, performs the official opening of the Chichester Yacht Club clubhouse rebuild © Gail Ward
Last Saturday the Chief Executive of the Royal Yachting Association, Rod Carr, and his wife, were the guests-of-honour at Chichester Yacht Club to perform the official opening of the final phase of the clubhouse rebuild – the “Upper Deck” and the “Flybridge,” as the first floor reception room and the balcony overlooking the sailing area have been designated.
The guests were welcomed by Commodore Peter Bovey, who outlined the way the rebuilding programme had progressed over a period of years. Mr Carr reminded the assembled membership of the importance in Club life of those who volunteered for the various duties. He recorded the fact that in Great Britain there are more yacht and sailing clubs than in the whole of the rest of European Union, and they form the necessary basis of our country’s successes in world-wide sailing activities. He also indicated that the clubs like CYC which have the flexibility provided by the inclusion of different sections and interests were in general those which waxed rather than waned in numbers. He was very pleased to declare the final extension open.
Afterwards, Mrs Carr presented the prizes in the Commodore’s Cup series, which had been competed for earlier. The three sections competed against one another in Topper dinghies and in RIBs. The RIB drivers gave a polished display round a tight slalom course just off the Clubhouse, but the near-total lack of wind made the dinghy racing almost farcical, since for the last lap the competitors were reduced to paddling their craft out to the Lake mark and back to the pontoon. The dinghy section were less good at this, and went from first to last place, yielding to the yacht and motor sections! In the motor-boating competition, however, they did better, and over the whole competition were able to “lend” representatives to the other sections to cover gaps, so they were not altogether disgraced.
Over the coming weekend the Dell Quay and Chichester Regattas take place, and on Sunday a big “sail-past” is planned for those competing in the Laser 2000 National Championships at Hayling Island, who intend to sail up to Dell Quay for a Tenth Anniversary Tea before sailing back to start the serious championship racing the next day.