Marconi Sailing Club 2014 Review
by Chris Kirby 4 Nov 2014 20:39 GMT
4 November 2014
Masts down, cruisers recovered and sailing gear hung up. As some hardy sailors vacate the club to take part in Winter Series at other clubs, the majority of members at Marconi may be looking forward to a well earned rest or appreciate the time to pursue other things. Looking back there have been a number of highlights from this year's calendar at MSC.
The beginning of the season saw the passing of the club's President Tony Benn. Having held the honourary position since 2001, he held a long association with the club and his country seat is located on the farmland adjacent to Marconi. His son Stephen Benn has assumed the role of Viscount Stansgate and has since generously agreed to continue in his father's role as club President. A new motor launch constructed by club members was named later in the season "Tony B" in his honour.
Along with "The Tony B" Marconi also welcomed another addition to their safety fleet this year. Following a successful Sport England grant in 2013 a sub-committee were tasked over the winter period to procure a new RIB for the club's safety fleet. The new boat christened "Marconi Greygoose" was first launched at the beginning of the season. The boat has allowed the club to enhance its race offering providing safety for members on the river, develop and improve facilities for its growing Cadet Fleet and also provide training for Powerboat Level 2. To help support this endeavour Marconi has this year been recognised as an official RYA Training Centre which in future will enable the club to provide a number of different training courses.
The first major event held at Stansgate this year was the annual Sprint 15 Traveller. With the help of some mild weather the club welcomed 17 visitors making the total number of entrants 23. The two day event saw a combination of 3 short races on the Saturday and a longer distance race on the Sunday. Club member Jenny Ball took the top spot for the weekend following a close battle with Paul Grattage and Kevin Dutch from visiting clubs who took 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Aside from the Sprint 15s other Open Events held at the club in 2014 included the Kestrels, Toppers and the Solos in September where over 20 helms took part.
Recognising a need to offer alternative activities to normal club racing, Marconi this season introduced a series of organised sail evenings dubbed "Friday Free 4 All." This gave the opportunity for sailors who may not be able to make usual club racing or who preferred the freedom of sailing without objective to take to the water in company with the re-assurance and support of a safety boat. The Friday Free 4 All's were held throughout the season and have proved immensely popular. After sailing the majority of members retired to the galley for an evening meal. It is hoped this will continue in to the 2015 season.
Club racing still plays an important part in the sailing calendar and the biggest, the East Coast Piers Race was held on 6th July. This year, 50 catamarans and 3 dinghies took part in the combined East Coast Piers and Colne Point Races. It was a slow drift for many to the outer distances initially but thankfully the wind filled in to bring the fleets home with the quickest competitors returning in just over 4 hours. For only the second time in the race's 26 year history the East Coast Piers Race was won by club members Mitchell Glynn and Andrew Dowley. As is the case every year, the race is held in support of The Cirdan Trust and Essex Air Ambulance. The total funds raised from this year's event will be published in the New Year.
2014 has been again another busy year for Marconi's Cruiser Fleet. One of the mainstays of cruiser racing is the BJRC series which is chaired by Club Member Peter Ward. The inter-club races are held throughout the season and the Marconi leg was held on 8th June. 13 entrants from the Blackwater clubs took part in the race from Thirslet to Mersea in glorious conditions, overseen by Committee Boat Top Cat. The race was won by Barry Ely on yacht Poohstick from Blackwater Sailing Club. Aside from racing there have been the usual cruises to familiar destinations including, the Heybridge Watercress Run, St Katherine Docks and Ipswich.
In May, Marconi threw open its doors to over 75 guests at an Open Day organised by the club. After having heavily publicised the event, members were overwhelmed by the amount of visitors that turned up to check out the facilities and ultimately take to the water. Volunteers were on hand to offer joyrides to families interested in joining the club. Off water activities and food was also laid on to make everybody feel welcome. The benefits of the Open Day are still being reaped by the club and a number of new members have already since joined.
Cadet development also plays a pivotal role in the sustainability of Marconi. The annual Cadet Week drew a healthy 83 Cadets to take part in 6 days of activities. Camping facilities were available for families taking part and always proves popular. One of the challenges the club had previously faced was sustaining the interest of younger members after they had taken part in Cadet Week. However in recent years under the careful guidance of John Nickalls and Bryan Spencer, they have managed to engage and excite the cadets to foster a longer term enthusiasm in sailing. For the second year, a number of Cadets took part in the National School Sailing Association event which in 2014 was held Downs Sailing Club in Deal. The continued support of the Cadet Fleet will help ensure a viable future for the club. 2014 also saw the club play host to some very special visitors who came to enjoy a day of fantastic fun on the river. A dozen youngsters from the devastated city of Chernobyl, Ukraine came to Marconi as part of a recuperative holiday organised by the Chernobyl Children Life Line Charity. It was clear to see our guests enjoyed their short stay with us and will doubtless take some great memories away with them.
Following the tragic death of Andrew "Bart" Simpson in 2013, Marconi took part in the Guinness World Record Attempt for the largest combined race. Competing against sailors from other clubs across the globe, an impressive 150 entrants from MSC took part on Sunday 21st September. The fleets were separated in to 3 different races held at various points along the Blackwater. Helm and Crew Peter Richardson and Fenella Miller posted an impressive finish of 11th overall – a remarkable achievement out of 30,000 sailors overall. The event coincided with the club's hosting of Dart 16 Nationals and Junior Cat Championships. We are pleased to report that Sophie Savill and David Nickalls took the trophy as National Champions, technically defending their title from 2013.
Looking ahead the annual Winter Dinner Dance will be held at Orsett Hall on 31ST January 2015. Next year the club hope to build on their successes of the 2014 season. For further information or if you are interested in joining please visit our main website www.marconi-sc.org.uk.