Nearly 30 boats entered the Shearwater and Dart 15 TT at Marconi for the weekend of 20th and 21st April. Billed as a summer TT for both classes, the weather did not quite get that memo! Breezy northerly winds made for an exhilarating, if chilly, weekend of sailing. The race course was set in Steeple Bay against the backdrop of Osea Island and the flat water made for fast and close fought racing. The regatta constituted three back to back races on Saturday and two back to back on Sunday. The long distance race around Osea and Northey Islands unfortunately…
Author: Jenny Ball
Marconi Sailing Club are set to welcome the Dart 15 and Shearwater fleet for their first summer TT of 2024 on 20th and 21st April! A weekend of racing on the beautiful River Blackwater, the event will comprise a total of six races across two days, including the famous long distance race around Osea and Northey Islands. A galley service will be available all weekend, including a Saturday evening meal (pre-booked only) and an evening social in the bar. Free onsite camping is available for visitors and members alike on Saturday night only. We look forward to welcoming a large…
Over forty people took part in the inaugural Christmas Eve Winter Walk at the club. Despite breezy conditions, the group completed a very pleasant 2 mile walk along the seawall to the head of Steeple Creek and then back via Stansgate road. On return to the club, many rounds of bacon rolls were served alongside more traditional Christmas fayre of mulled wine, mince pies, Christmas cupcakes and warming winter drinks. After covering costs, a donation of £50 will be made to the RNLI which is fantastic. A big thank you to those who helped serve the refreshments and to everyone who came…
The Prizegiving for the 2023 Racing Season took place on Saturday 25th November following the club’s Annual General Meeting. Over 130 races were completed across the Cat and Dinghy Fleets over the season – including the Spring, Summer Morning, Summer Afternoon, Autumn Points, Bank Holiday and Wednesday Night Series. Plus the “one-off” races including the Figure of Eight, Mona’s Cup, Pilot’s Cup, Rum, Tub & Bung, Last Fling and Helm of the Year. In addition to the silverware, winners were awarded beautiful coasters with charts of the river as prizes to keep. Prizegiving was compered by Nigel James, Rear Commodore of…
Marconi had a stellar set of results at the UK Tornado Nationals placing 2nd, 3rd and 4th! The Nationals were held at Minnis Bay in Kent in unseasonably warm weather on the last weekend of September. There were light shifty winds on the Saturday and stronger winds on the Sunday plus a tidal stream similar to home waters! The result was a close fought six races over the weekend with lots of changing places and close quarter mark roundings. Minnis Bay ran an excellent event and offered a very warm welcome to visiting sailors. The fleet consisted of a wide age range…
Over 120 cadets, tutors and helpers took part in the 2023 edition of MSC’s annual Cadet Week. Members and non-members alike came down to the club to enjoy a week of sail training, fun and camping. A wide variety of sailing ability was catered for. Experience ranged from the Starfish group, which gave younger cadets their first taste of sailing, all the way up to the Sharks group, which looked at the finer details of racing, and how multi-hulled boats and keelboats are sailed. The adult contingent of the cadet fleet was out in force- with 20% of cadets this…
Seven Marconi boats travelled to the Dart 18 World Championships hosted at Bridlington in early August. The opportunity to compete in a fleet of 140 boats in UK waters was too good to miss! The Dart 18 fleet consists of some extremely talented sailors so it was a great opportunity to sail with them and learn from the experts. To read more about our exploits – visit our Event Report: Marconi at the Dart 18 Worlds The event was superbly organised by the Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club at Bridlington and based from their beautiful sandy beach. A full range of social activities…
Seven Marconi boats took part in the 2023 Dart 15 National Championships at Thorpe Bay Yacht Club. Scheduled as a nine race event over three days, the event attracted a total of forty-six entrants from around the country, including seven previous national champions. Unfortunately, the weather had its own plans with 45 knot gusts cancelling racing on day one and 28 to 35 knot onshore winds caused second day of racing to be cancelled too. However, the fleet and the race management team were not to be defeated and a weather window on day three allowed five closely fought races…
Marconi Sailing Club is gearing up to host the 34th edition of the East Coast Piers Race on the weekend of 8th and 9th July! A long distance race for catamarans and fast dinghies which attracts competitors from all over the UK – the event also raises funds for The Cirdan Trust and Essex Air Ambulance. We are grateful to our supporters including Mighty Oak Brewery, Essex Spirits Co, Majestic Crystal, Allen, Sailing Chandlery and GP Sails for helping us to raise money for these two great charities. Saturday comprises two inshore races for competitors to stretch their sea legs…
Another great day of sail training was held on the Bank Holiday Saturday – making the most of the sunshine and a decent, if a little fresh, breeze. The Seamanship fleet gained additional sailing experience in our larger club boats whilst our youngest sailors did some fun shorebased activities with a short water based session. The Racing fleet honed their skills doing practice races around a course on the far side of the river and the Beginners and Intermediate fleet improved their boat handling and tidal skills down in Steeple Bay. And two of our Intermediate Fleet even executed a…