Please select your home edition
Edition
Hyde Sails 2024 - One Design

Whitstable Week 2023

by Steve Gray 8 Aug 2023 16:35 BST 2-6 August 2023
Race start during Whitstable Week 2023 © WYC

Whitstable Yacht Club's biggest event of the year is Whitstable Week which this year ran from Wednesday Aug 2nd to Sunday Aug 6th.

The format for the event is a ten-race series with two races per day and socials each evening which included a cadet night, a quiz night, an evening that started with commodore's cocktails followed by the amazing WYC music group, and a Summer Ball with canapes and fizz supported by a further band 'Betty and the Swingtones'. Whitstable Week was sponsored by Holidaycottages.co.uk who have kindly supported WYC's major events in 2023 and WYC's growing cadet fleet.

Returning to WYC from his recent emigration to the USA was Race Officer John Boorman, who ran an excellent race series when the weather allowed. Such dedication to Whitstable Week earned John the 'Spirit of Whitstable Week' trophy.

Wednesday was forecasted to be wet and windy which sadly proved to be correct with 25mph gusts resulting in racing been abandoned for the day, but fortunately the bar opened early so all wasn't lost!

The fleet were keen to make up the lost ground on Thursday with a light northerly wind as they launched. The wind then went southerly, south easterly, and just as the RO was considering binning the day, a NE force 4 sprung up under a dark raincloud. The first race was won by Rick and Sarah Perkins from WYC in their Tasar followed by Paul and Bronwyn Ridgeway from Australia and also in a Tasar. Chris Marsh who is a WYC member but sails his Laser/ILCA for Thailand finished third to set a somewhat international tone to the results for the week. Chris won the second race of the day from Rick and Sarah and Millie Lewis from Medway YC in her Laser/ILCA radial.

There were medium breezes on Friday, but rain made for a rather cold and unwelcoming racecourse. The one race held was won by Chris Marsh, with Millie second and the Ridgeway's third.

Saturday saw more wind and rain which failed to diminish the fleet's enthusiasm. The 1-2-3 was the same in both races with Paul and Bronwyn finishing ahead of Rick and Sarah and Chris Marsh on corrected time. Most notable were Adam Whitehouse and Mike Hanson who borrowed Adam's Dads Fireball for the event, capsized with the kite up in race 1 putting Mike through the mainsail, but with the split taped up took 4th place in the 2nd race - not too shabby for a scratch crew!

So, coming into Sunday the points were tight between the leading Tasars and Chris's Laser/ILCA, however Chris had departed to compete in the Under 21 ILCA Open Europeans which left the Tasars to tough things out. Conditions were described as 'a proper foam up' with a brisk northerly onshore wind giving some big waves which made launch and recovery something of a challenge. A single race was held which resulted in a further win for the Ridgeway Tasar followed by the Laser/ILCA of Harry Newton and the Laser/ILCA Radial of Max Hunt both from WYC.

Overall, Paul and Bronwyn took the week and the Tasar prize by just two points from Rick and Sarah with Chris Marsh third overall also taking the Laser and first cadet trophies. Millie Lewis came 4th overall and took the Laser Radial trophy, the Fireball of Adam and Mike the General Handicap class and 10th overall (and submarine trophy for most spectacular capsize), and cadet Joe Barton took the Topper and slow handicap prizes at 14th overall.

Full results can be found at wyc.org.uk/results/Whitstable_week_2023.html

It was a tough week of racing supported by some amazing parties which stretched the brain with a challenging Quiz, showcased the depth of talent in the club's music group and showed that WYC members can scrub up well for Saturday's Summer Ball!

Thanks must go to John Boorman the PRO and his team of volunteers, especially the safety boat crews who braved the worst of the weather whilst keeping an eye on the fleet. Thanks also to our sponsors Holidaycottages.co.uk who supported Commodore's Cocktails and the live band, and Laser supplier Sail and Sport who provided the fizz at the Summer Ball, and perhaps just the odd fuzzy head the next morning!

Related Articles

Wanderer Nationals at Whitstable
No upsetting the weather gods this year! There has been a feeling amongst the Wanderer fleet that someone in the near past has done something to upset the weather gods. We seem to have been experiencing two day events where at least one of the days featured either no wind or far too much wind. Posted on 1 Jul
Whitstable Yacht Club RNLI Pursuit Race 2025
Some great racing with a fleet of 36 boats and a wide range of experience Whitstable Yacht Club held their annual pursuit race last Saturday June 21st in aid of Whitstable RNLI. There was some great racing with a fleet of thirty-six boats who ranged from experts to seven members of the recent Transition to Racing course. Posted on 23 Jun
HolidayCottages Tasar Nationals overall
Moderate breezes and sunshine for the final day After yesterday's three windy races, the evening followed up with a delicious buffet and more live music at WYC. The final day dawned with moderate breezes to give the whole fleet a great final day of sailing in the sunshine. Posted on 15 Jun
HolidayCottages Tasar Nationals day 2
A fresh westerly breeze and warm sunshine after a night of thunderstorms After a noisy night of thunderstorms and torrential rain, the Tasar fleet woke to the anticipated fresh to strong westerly breeze and warm sunshine. Posted on 14 Jun
HolidayCottages Tasar Nationals day 1
Many had not read the script, and ended up on the naughty list The Tasar bandwagon rolled up to Whitstable (Putney by Sea) for a three day championship. A mixture of the current in form runners and riders and some old well-known faces returning to the party to enjoy the atmosphere for the weekend. Posted on 14 Jun
London and Southeast Topper Open at Whitstable
A weekend of wall to wall sunshine and brisk easterly winds Whitstable Yacht Club hosted London and Southeast Toppers over May 10/11 delivering a weekend of wall to wall sunshine and brisk easterly winds. Posted on 13 May
Whitstable YC & holidaycottages.co.uk partnership
Extended for a further year Whitstable Yacht Club is delighted to continue to work with holidaycottages.co.uk as a major sponsor in 2025, our fourth year of partnership. Posted on 9 Mar
Whitstable Yacht 2025 season preview
Including hosting national championships for Tasars and Wanderers Whitstable Yacht Club is looking forward to the new 2025 season with a schedule that includes national championships for Tasars and Wanderers, the Solo Spring Championships, the return of the SE Toppers together with a full programme of 107 club races. Posted on 6 Mar
Whitstable Week
Conditions to suit most classes and sailors at some time for the 53 boats competing Seven All-in-Handicap races were completed with a mix of strong, medium and light breezes giving conditions to suit most classes and sailors at some time for the 53 boats competing. Posted on 8 Aug 2024
Whitstable Yacht Club mid-season update
Annual RYA Discover Sailing open day on June 8th Whitstable Yacht Club held its annual RYA Discover Sailing open day on June 8th supported by our friends at Holidaycottages.co.uk offering the public the opportunity to try sailing or powerboating. Posted on 10 Jul 2024