The holidays are over and it’s back to school!
Summer is a quiet time at the club, with many away on holiday, but we have been ticking along with our regular Friday and Saturday sessions at the Club. The early part of the summer was characterised by a disappointing lack of wind. We spent a lot of time paddling rather than sailing!
Meanwhile, some of our members headed further afield to compete across the country and, indeed, the World, representing the club and their country in Teras, Fevas, 420s, 29ers, Optimists and Toppers. Well done to all our sailors!
Back at home, we finished off the holidays with a session in our SB20 keelboats last Saturday.
The calendar starts to get busier now as we head into autumn:
September 7th
Last Friday Night of the year! The nights are drawing in, so that’s it until April 2019!
Need a racing fix? We will always try to put a race group together on Saturday mornings, subject to numbers and coach availability.
Every Saturday– Youth Club will continue until October half term.
Every Sunday. Get Racing continues until the end of November. Y&J Sailors go on start 6.
RS Feva Grand Prix- there will be many Fevas visiting and competing at the club this coming weekend. If you are thinking about starting to participate in racing beyond our home waters, come and have a look to see what it is all about! Saturday Club will run as usual, but expect the Club to be busy.
September 15th
Topper Midland Travellers Series open meeting. We will be hosting our second Topper event of the year- not as big as the 190 boat event we had earlier in the year, so an ideal opportunity for members of our growing Topper fleet to try racing. There will be 4 races. Entry fee is £15. For more information, take a look at our website here http://draycotewater.co.uk/open-meeting-visitor-information/ or speak to Dave Rowe at the Club.
Club Regatta, including Bart’s Bash Race in the morning and a Youth & Junior Sailing Assault Course after lunch. Bart’s Bash is a huge global sailing event in aid of a very good cause. Learn all about it and enter here: https://www.bartsbash.com/post/15-16-september-2018
In the morning race, juniors who are starting out in their racing career will be competing for the Tom Pearson Trophy, so a chance to get some real silverware on your mantle piece!
In the afternoon, teams of at least 2 in Club Picos must navigate a number of obstacles as they sail around the course. Kids may race with a parent if they like (if the parents are feeling brave enough!)
We’ll also be joined by a former Volvo Ocean Race winning skipper / double Olympic silver medalist!
September 22nd
Youth & Junior Championships. Open to all DWSC sailors up to 18, in 3 age categories. There will be a total of 4 races on the day, 2 back to back, then lunch, then 2 further races. There will be no youth club on this Saturday. We are looking for some parent volunteers to help with the running of this event- in particular, some assistance on the committee boat is needed and possibly assisting in RIBs too. You do not need to be a sailor, and it is a great way to get up close to the action! Please get in touch if you can help.
September 29th
Laser Open Meeting at DWSC. There are plenty of laser sailors in the fleet, so this could be an ideal opportunity for you to try racing in a bigger fleet.
September 29th & 30th
If you fancy something a bit bigger, and sail one of the recognised classes- (Optimist, Tera Sport, Feva, Topper) how about the RYA Youth Championships at Northampton S. C. (about 45 minutes from DWSC, and a lovely venue) Details here: https://www.rya.org.uk/racing/youth-junior/squads/zone/Pages/zone-and-home-country-championships.aspx There is something for the newer racers too- this is not just for the superstars!
October 27th & 28th
RS Tera End of Season Championships. The Tera Fleet return to Draycote for their last big event of the year.
Topper Open meeting at DWSC. Something for the Topper sailors – our 3rd Topper event of the year!
DWSC Toppers on Tour– Some of our Topper fleet will be attending a few one-day events away from the club, at other Midland venues. This is a great way to get into some more serious racing, but at an accessible level. If you would like to know more, please speak to Dave Rove.
Winter in the boat park. Our fleet has grown this year, with many lucky young sailors now owning their own boats. As autumn sets in, then turns to winter, we must look after them! Always make sure that they are tied down well. Not only do you risk damage to your own boat in high winds, but it could blow into boats near you and damage them too. Every year we see boats damaged in high winds around the boat park- don’t let it be yours! One of the great things about our club is its beautiful location. It is a haven for wildlife, some of which likes nothing better than to find a lovely dry boat for shelter. It turns out that sails, when chewed up, make ideal bedding material, so take your sails home if you can, don’t keep them in your boat. Finally, leave your boat so it can drain. Water sitting in the boat can freeze which at worst can damage your boat and at least, prevent those hardy all year round sailors from sailing- for example, ice in the mast socket of a Topper will stop you putting the mast in.
2019 Calendar. Planning for next year is under way. We would love to hear from anyone with ideas for new events, or feedback on how we can improve things. If anyone wants to get involved in helping out with organisation and delivery, we would also be very happy to hear from you. We are extremely lucky at Draycote to have a great team of staff, but most of what we do for the Youth & Junior fleet is delivered by volunteer parents- the more the merrier! There are also opportunities for some of our teenagers to help out too. It has been great to see so many of our young sailors supporting the club training over the summer assisting with courses and running taster sessions for new sailors, both young and old. If you would like to be involved with this, speak with Dave or Matt.
Please join our Facebook group HERE
Feel free to contribute to it too- although we will always continue to send e-mail updates out, this offers a more immediate method of communication. It is a closed group, so you will need to ask to join before you can see the content. Keep an eye on the Club website too, for news and details of forthcoming events. 
Jonathan Hughes
Youth & Junior Fleet Captain