Orford Sailing Club January 2024 Centenary Newsletter Hello Everyone Happy New Year to you all! The days are finally starting to lengthen. The Club’s Centenary is underway. Every club event this year is a celebration of our Centenary. For 47 years the club was Dabchick Sailing Club before changing its name, for the last 53 years, to Orford Sailing Club. The Centenary Logo on this Newsletter has united, with a carrick bend, both the Dabchick and Orford Burgees. Phil Roper has taken his Safety Boat Duties to Dubai and the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club for the winter. Approaching 100,000 NM at sea, former club member and Instructor, James Finney is skippering ‘Zhuhai’ in the Clipper Round the World Race. As of the 6th February ‘Zhuhai’ were leading the current leg, their overall position in the race as a whole, being 3rd. Very well done James Finney. I look forward to seeing you on the water before too long. James Tomlinson, Commodore An exchange of Burgees in Dubai
SAILING 2024 is a special year for the club and your committee has been working hard to produce a Calendar of training, sailing and social events that reflect and celebrate the Centenary whilst maintaining the fixtures and events that define the season. The Easter weekend is the official start of the season with the AGM on the Saturday and the first of the Spring handicap (virtually any boat can enter) racing series, starting then. There are handicap races held most Saturdays throughout the season so do join us. All competent sailors are welcome and it’s a fun (not too competitive) way to get some exercise on our beautiful river. We are always looking for new competitors so do give me a call if you would like to know more about our races and what’s involved. For those of you who kindly volunteer to be Safety boat helms, please book yourself on the OSC Powerboat refresher course slots on the 5th 6th and 20th April. The course is free to members who volunteer for duties and you can book using OSC.sailia.co.uk. To mark the Centenary, the main Regatta will be held this year over two days 17th & 18th August and will combine a mixture of fun events for all ages and the usual races with trophies. The Summer party is on the evening of Saturday 17th August with a marquee and disco. There will also be a Centenary Flotilla picnic to Dove Point on the 26th August Bank Holiday, where we hope to get as many boats as possible (of all kinds and sizes including those with engines) to join us. As ever, the weather will dictate, and we may have to tweak or reschedule some of these events as we go, so do look out for communications from me and the club mailbox. Finally, you will shortly receive the means to offer yourself as a volunteer. Please do so, because without Safety Boat Helms, Crews and Officer and Assistant Officer of the Day, we would not be able to run the fixtures that we do. Look forward to seeing you on the water. Troy Batley, Sailing Secretary TRAINING Over the past few months the training committee have been hard at work laying the foundations for the 2024 sailing season. We are very pleased to welcome Suzy Cooper to the role of RYA Principal at the club. Her enthusiasm and experience will be invaluable to Orford. We are grateful to Sheena for her many
years of hard work in this role and her continued support as Rear Commodore Training. All RYA sailing and powerboat training courses are open for bookings ONLINE. All bookings will go through Sailia, the link for which can be found on the OSC website. There are several new courses on offer this season, some of which we would strongly encourage any new instructors to consider, to up skill before the season starts such as the safety boat course. So, please take the time to have a look at this summer’s exciting offering. The RYA Sailing with Spinnakers course is making a return having not been on offer for several years. If you are looking for a new advanced sailing module to take on and have an interest in sailing double-handed boats then this course just might be the key to you unlocking the full power and potential of boats like the RS Feva. The skills you will learn on this course will also help you step up onto a level playing field with the RS Feva fleet at the Aldeburgh Junior Regatta. The RYA Day sailing course will be a new addition to Orford’s training programme this summer. If you are looking to gain confidence in navigating the river safely and successfully planning day trips for you and your friends and family to enjoy at your leisure, then this course offers you the chance to learn and put into practice the necessary skills required. The final new course on offer for the first time this summer is the Sailing Adventure Week. This is not an RYA accredited course but sailors must have completed their Stage 4 to join the course. Each day can be booked individually and will consist of a different day trip adventure led and safety covered by the club’s instructors. Trips are weather and tide dependent but will hopefully include a round the island and Dove Point picnic adventure and sail to Aldeburgh for fish and chips amongst others! If racing isn’t your thing and your passion for sailing in Orford revolves more around enjoying the freedom of the river then this course may be perfect for you. Miranda Cook, Senior Instructor & Training Administrator CLUB BOATS Just a note to say we would like to sell the grey decked club Wayfarer parked next to the engine shed. And help would be gratefully received around Easter time to get the club dinghies out of the black shed and in to the Dinghy Park! Hugh Kemp, Club Boats Maintenance
CLUB CENTENARY A number of members have been working hard on celebrations for the club’s Centenary this year. Judith Shallow and Fiona Gerard on the June 1st dinner (invitation below), Troy Batley, Chris Gill and Chris Gerard on the Regatta and Mary Goldin, Jamie Roberts and Migs Howard on the Archive project, along with the President and me. CENTENARY CELEBRATION DINNER AND DANCE. Tickets are now available for the Centenary dinner on the 1st June in Orford Town Hall. They will be limited to 100 at £55 per head, which includes a cocktail, canapes, two course dinner, coffee and petits fours. Catering will be provided by Claire BruceClayton, Aldeburgh who will be preparing a special seasonal menu for us. Dietary requirements will be catered for. There will be a pay bar and wine packages for the table can be pre-ordered. There will be priority booking for members and partners until April 1st and tickets can be reserved by emailing Judith Shallow on shallowendorford@gmail.com Guests will be seated at round tables of ten so please mention any requests about seating plans or other queries when booking. Bookings will be confirmed once payment is received. Payment by BACS preferred. OSC Bank details: Account 40677124. Sort code 20-98-07 Please use C100 + your surname as reference e.g. C100Jones. After April 1st, tickets will be available to non-members. Dancing to a live 7 piece band: Hollie B and the Rocketeers. Watch them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS0OGJbv-64 A number of members have been working hard on celeb club’s Centenary this year. Judith Shallow and Fiona Ge 1st dinner (invitation below), Troy Batley, Chris Gill and C the Regatta and Mary Goldin, Jamie Roberts and Migs H Archive project, along with the President and me. Centenary Celebration Dinner and Dance. Tickets are now available for the Centenary dinner on th Orford Town Hall. They will be limited to 100 at £55 per h includes a cocktail, canapes, two course dinner, coffee a Catering will be provided by Claire Bruce-Clayton, Aldeb preparing a special seasonal menu for us. Dietary requirements will be catered for. There will be a pay bar and wine packages for the table ordered. Roaring 20s Centenary Dinner and Dance June 1st 2024 Orford Town Hall Cocktails at 6.30 pm - Charabancs at 11.45pm Tickets £55 per head Dancing to Live 7 piece band Hollie B and the Rocketeers Dress: 'Peaky Blinders meets Gatsby' Tickets : Priority booking for members and partners until April 1st Booking: shallowendorford@gmail.com Further details in newsletter. ORFORD SAILING CLUB 19242024
CENTENARY EXHIBITION With generous support from The Watch House Gallery and much help from the Orford Museum, we will be putting on an exhibition of photographs and artefacts at the Gallery to mark a centenary of sailing at Orford. Further details will be available on the club website. CENTENARY REGATTA 17TH, 18TH AUGUST This year we will be running a special two day Regatta, incorporating the usual cup races, with additional Centenary events. There will be an emphasis on ‘classic’ boats representing each decade of the club’s existence and on Sunday 18th August there will be a Sail Past at 4pm. There will be additional non-sailing events over the two days, based on the 1924 Orford Regatta. Further details will be available in due course on the club website. We hope as many sailors and boats as possible take part in the weekend, which should be of interest to visitors and residents as well. The Summer party and disco will take place on 17th August. Centenary Flotilla and Dove Point Picnic Monday 26th August. Further details will be available nearer the time and on the website. Penelope Murley, Committee
CRUISING It looks like we are not quite out of the grips of the winter season with more snow forecast for February, but hopefully come March and April the yachties will be busy at the boatyards preparing for the season ahead. Despite the weather we managed to host a fabulous Cruisers Winter Supper on Saturday 3rd February with over 20 in attendance. A big thanks to all who contributed their finely made BYO curries, daals, breads and rice dishes. I would like to give a special thank you to Caroline Gill who arranged the hall and set up the room. The table looked amazing. We have some new club members who will be joining the cruisers section with their boats being moored in the summer at Orford and Aldeburgh. A very warm welcome to Andrew, Sarah and Mark. They will be participating in the 2024 Centenary ‘Cruise In Company’ (CIC) events and we look looking forward to getting to know them during the summer as we head towards our first shake-down cruise in May. The CIC dates have been published in the OSC 2024 calendar. If you are keen to take part please make the Cruiser Captain aware. Our first cruise will be a local 3-4 days on the east coast heading down towards West Mersea and Brightlingsea. For the summer cruise we will be looking to get further afield to Oostende, with a stop over in Dunkirk and Ramsgate on the way home. More details will be available as we get closer to the date. Note: We have an OSC Cruisers What’s App Group! If you’re keen to keep up to date on events and the social channel, please drop me a line at my email with your name and telephone number. sailingworld@hotmail.couk Spring is nearly here so see you on the water soon. Simon Abley, Cruiser Captain
CLUB SHOP Embroidered clothing with the Centenary Logo or Club Logo is available to all members from the Club Shop. MAINTENANCE & SAFETY BOATS Usually the winter months here in Orford are dark, cold and quiet, but this winter has been quite busy at the sailing club with on-going roof repair works and the clearance of fallen trees. The trees have been relatively easy to deal with but the roof has been a major undertaking which is thankfully nearing a conclusion, providing that we can find the final pesky leak that only occurs when the wind is from the South West, usually force 5 or 6, and the torrential rain is horizontal. Or 3
The RIBs are all tucked away in the Black Shed, with the exception of Oscar which has gone to have a brand new Selva outboard engine fitted. The clubhouse is all locked up with the water turned off and everything is waiting for the start of the coming season at Easter. Jonnie Howard, Rear Commodore Maintenance Migs Howard, Safety Boat Maintenance
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