Torpoint Mosquito SC 125th Anniversary Party and Open Day - Preview
by Brigitte Mann 26 Jun 2016 11:57 BST
16 July 2016
Torpoint Mosquito Sailing Club Open Day © Keith Watts
Great entertainment and to showcase and celebrate the club's history and facilities, free water sports tasters on offer for all aged 8 to 80+
To celebrate its 125th anniversary, on Saturday 16 July 2016 Torpoint Mosquito Sailing Club is opening its doors and inviting members, past members and visitors to come along look around the Club, enjoy the varied entertainment and maybe have a go at one of the many watersports it has on offer.
In 1891 when Torpoint Mosquito Sailing Club was formed, the founders cannot have anticipated how successful the Club would be today, 125 years on, as it celebrates the anniversary with a party and open day. With doors opening at 12 noon at Marine Drive, Torpoint, PL11 2EH there will be a whole host of activities taking place during the day including various water sport taster sessions (weather permitting), scuba diving information point, great food and bar, homemade cakes, stalls, face-painting, raffle etc. There will be live music from singer/songwriter Chris Bailey in the afternoon and from four-piece band Sack the Juggler in the evening.
There is no admission charge and the water sports tasters are free. Everyone is welcome but all children aged under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult and you will have to be aged 8 or over to take part in a taster. And if you plan to take part in a water sports taster don't forget that you might get wet so bring a change of clothes, a wetsuit if you have one, a towel and soft-soled shoes you don't mind getting wet & muddy.
The Club has a long history of sailing and racing starting with historic Mosquito class boats – gaff-rigged boats with huge canvas mainsails, lifting iron keels and rudders and rolling head sails. After taking a direct hit by a German bomb during World War 2, which destroyed the clubhouse and many Club records, the Club moved to its current location on the derelict site of the former Western Counties Manure Works! With the grand sum of £800 raised by shares and donations, the new clubhouse was built with many locals helping with the building.
The fifties saw the Club home to a large fleet of Uffa Fox-designed Flying 15s and Uffa Fox became a member and frequent visitor to the Club. Other fleets popular in the fifties including Dolphins, International 14s and Redwings and it was in this decade that TMSC's cadet section was formed. The sixties saw the Club embrace cruising yachts and by the mid-60s, boats were cruising to the Channel Islands and France. In the early seventies, Mirror Class dinghies emerged and - with sponsorship and loans to families - a fleet of 28 Mirror boats developed. In 1978 the Club was refurbished and re-opened by Sir Alec Rose and the eighties saw another famous Club member in the shape of Pete Goss.
In more recent times, the Club's sailing is dominated by modern dinghies and yachts with regular racing and cruising, cadet sessions for young sailors, launch and storage facilities for kayaks and an active social section. The Club has expanded to include windsurfing and scuba-diving sections and in the spring of 2015 it was offered two half-gigs to kick-start a rowing section which goes from strength to strength and is fundraising to buy a full-sized Cornish pilot gig.
In 2013 the Club secured £40,000 funding from Sport England and the Lottery Fund as part of the "Inspired Facilities" legacy after the London 2012 Olympics which allowed it to update changing rooms, provide disabled access and new workshop and storage facilities serving all the water sports run at the Club. The Club boasts over 1,000 members and is a true water sports hub for Torpoint and the local area.
Club trustee Tony Ayers, who has been a member for over sixty years and who regularly races twice a week in the dinghy handicap series, said: "I am proud to be a member of Torpoint Mosquito Sailing Club which is great for families and a friendly club. Our party and open day will let anyone find out how much fun water sports can be, whether you are sailing, windsurfing, rowing or diving, and how easy it is to get involved through Torpoint Mosquito. I hope our current and past members will come along too and join in the celebrations which are for them as well as any visitors. It will be great to renew old friendships".
Party organiser Laurie Ingram said "I am really looking forward to our 125th anniversary party. It will be a family fun day for all. Come along and join in the fun; have a piece of anniversary cake, listen to the music and maybe try a water sports taster. The full programme will be on our website - www.tmsc.club and I look forward to seeing you there."