Whitefriars Sailing Club - Ladies Sailing Group

2011 Ladies sailing dates are:

26th March
30th April
21st May
18th June
23rd July
20th August
10th September
8th October

All You Want To Know About the Ladies Sailing Group

2010 was another successful and enjoyable year, with 23 members and 8 sailing Saturdays from the end of March to mid October. Average attendance at each day has been 8. We would love to see more Ladies joining us.

In 2010 the Ladies group introduced the Cupcake Race Series; we have purchased a new trophy – a pewter cake stand which was presented for the first time at the Dinner Dance, with a ceramic Cupcake as the winners’ trophy to keep.

The Committee has six members, and we take it in turns to organise the sailing days, attend club committee meetings and share the admin tasks over the year. It works well when everyone gets involved in the group. We also support club events and this year will organise the summer BBQ for new club members on September 11th. This will also be the ladies camping weekend with a Ladies sailing day on the 10th of September.

We end and start the Ladies sailing season with a do. In 2010 Clair Meikle-Taylor provided her house and wonderful food for the pre season meeting and we shared supper at the Priory Inn at Tetbury to end the season. 2011’s pre-season bash is being hosted by Paula Reardon on Friday the 25th of February.

For our sailing days, we meet at 10 am, rigging, launching, and free sailing in the morning. Then, with the help of a coach, a session to improve our confidence and sailing skills. This season we hope to have 1:1 mentoring available. This is followed by a race – the Cupcake Series – open to all WFSC members.

Last year we refreshed basic sailing skills, had some Officer Of the Day training, covered boat tuning tips, racing rules, pre-race planning, race starting and rescue boat refresher. In-between we cruised and practiced sailing skills. We have used our own boats and have access to the clubs Comet Trios.

The weather, well, as ever has been mixed – some perfect days, some windless and others rather too gusty and cool to be completely enjoyable! That’s when coffee and cake breaks come in, followed by “will we, won’t we” discussions.

In 2011 we plan to hold the same number of sessions, and are hoping to have a RYA training/coaching package. We hope this will encourage attendance and new members, and for the (small) number of us who are very wimpy if the wind blows above force 2 we may find the instructor less kind about letting us dip out! Our overall plan is to have a lot of fun sailing and become confident sailors.

The Ladies sailing programme, application form and contact details are on the WFSC web. Or contact Kate Jackson 01453 511141 or Sue Steel 01666 824098 to find out more.

Celia Moule and Sue Steel, Ladies Group Members.