Upper Thames Sailing Club Championship
by Debbie Kite 27 Jul 2015 13:36 BST
25-26 July 2015
Investing in the club's future
UTSC Club Championships weekend saw youngsters take a good share of the trophies alongside the celebrations to mark the opening of the refurbished ground floor of the club, part-funded by a Sport England Inspired Facilities grant.
The weekend started with a fantastic sunny and windy Saturday with a good turnout to compete for some of the club's most prestigious trophies. Racing for most of the fleet on Saturday was on a personal handicap basis for the magnificent silver "Gold Cup", and after an exciting and exhilarating three races, five of the six prize winners were young sailors. The winners were Matt Kite (18) and Libby Thomas (16) in Merlin Rocket Reiver, followed by Alex Pausey (15) and Joe Tosh (17) in National 12 Cinzano, and Chris Rathbone with son Dan (12) in Merlin Rocket Exequisite in third place.
Championships weekend was an appropriate occasion for a ceremony to unveil the Inspired Facilities plaque, and to thank everyone for their part they played in getting the refurbishment completed. The project was funded jointly by the club and a significant grant from the Inspired Facilities "Places People Play" scheme, plus grants from the Louis Baylis (Maidenhead Advertiser) Charitable Trust, the Rotary Club of Bourne End and Cookham, Thames Water Utilities Ltd, the Shanly Foundation, and Wycombe District Council.
Commodore Alan Markham spoke to members who gathered on the lawn for a toast to the club's future. He said "We now have splendid new facilities to take the club forward, and to grow and invest in champion sailors of the future. The brand-new changing rooms with reliable heating and showers will make the club much more welcoming and help people enjoy their experience here." He expressed gratitude not just to the committed members of the project team but all club members who had supported club activities during the building work, which had been complicated by flood damage and the age of the building.
The new showers and heating were put to the test on Sunday which dawned wet and cold. Committed racers competed for four further trophies and the day ended with tea and prize-giving. The Silver Burgee final was closely fought and in the end went to Laurie Smart and Vanessa Pilon in Merlin Flipside, ahead of Chris and Dan Rathbone in Exequisite. The Hugh Davis Trophy was won by Terry Palmer in his Solo, and the Lambert Plate by Phil Benton in OK Vector 2. Thames A Rater Tara won the Kearns Cup. Cadet winners were Louise Hughes in the Topper race, and Tom Percival-Stein won the Jim Bassett Trophy.
The weekend's theme of investing in the future was completed by recognition of two very young sailors who had taken part enthusiastically in the junior regatta at half-term. Phoebe Palmer and Alexander Parkinson were given personalised hoodies by Sue Pomeroy, President of Bourne End and Cookham Rotary Club, sponsors of Junior Bourne End Week.