In this issue

Reminder: the next Wednesday evening race (20th August) will start at 18.30. The last two races of the series (27th Aug. and 3rd Sep.) will start at 18.00.

Europe Nationals 2008

After weeks of uncertain weather and strong winds, the last weekend of July saw perfect conditions for the Europe Nationals 2008.
Competitors started to arrive on the Thursday night and, on the Friday, Mark Littlejohn took a group of 12 boats through a detailed training session, including almost 2 hours of sailing in a force 4 to 5 south-westerly. How to start with a bang! After showering, the Europe sailors gathered in the clubhouse for theory on the white board, and fired questions to the coach. People staying at the club on the Friday evening ordered takeaways and we all sat around a big table, all chatting and having a good time.

Early start for some of us on the Saturday morning, since we had to sail the committee boat from Brighton marina to the racing area. Lighter winds and bright sunshine made this trip the best duty of the year! Once the yacht was placed on the start line, race officer Pete Matthews adjusted the course and launched the first start sequence of the championship. The fleet included 5 entries from Belgium, all of them giving a hard time to their British opponents. At its strongest, the wind was blowing 14 knts over the deck and lighter sailors had plenty of work. Christophe de Blieck (Bel) dominated the results of the day.

In the evening, Karen and John McGrath cooked a delicious barbecue on the beach, complemented with a whole variety of salads brought in by some of our members. The mellow light of a glorious sunset gave the final touch to a perfect evening.

There was no club racing on Sunday, so many of our members decided that the weather was too good to miss and came to play on the water. While the Europe fleet was busy deciding who was going to win, many people made the most of the gentle force 3 to take children out on the water.

After another 3 back-to-back races, it was time to come ashore for a bite to eat and the prize giving. Final results are available in the Results page. A great well done to all competitors!

Yachts and Yachting online magazine has published a report of the event. A photo-gallery is available on this site, in the Galleries page. Warwick Baker also published a gallery of great photos, for sale on www.warwickpics.co.uk.

Finally, several of the competitors sent e-mails of thanks to the whole club, for all the hard work and the warm welcome. See the Feedback section on the Europe page. Thank you everyone, Lancing Sailing Club has loads to be proud of.

 Interim results for Topper league 2008

The Topper league results, updated on 3rd August, have been published on this website. If you'd like to see the league table, please visit the Results page. In short, Nick isn't leading the board this year and Angela's position is firmly anchored in the top slot. In third place, Elodie is leading the Topper Novice trophy but Rob Hedgecock is hot on her heels, as is Robin Kent. Let's see what the rest of the year has got in stock. We'll keep you posted!

 Fun day in strong winds

It could have been sooooooo good! We had it all organised, we had the games and the prizes and the water pistols... We had the rescue crew and the happy sailors.. BUT... we also had buckets of rain in the morning and shedloads of wind in the afternoon.

Of course, a steady drizzle first thing in the morning didn't encourage younger members to come along and join the fun but we had a fair few people on and in the water in the afternoon. The clouds disappeared at lunchtime and the rest of the day enjoyed warm sunshine. Conditions were a bit strong to go sailing and play games with younger people but a few Toppers went out and had a good blast in the waves, with a few wild reaches.

On the beach, Gavin was supervising games, bodyboarding and general splashing about.

Both race events had to be cancelled due to the strengthening wind and the day ended up quite quickly, since no one had signed on for the evening meal. Let's hope the participants will be keener on the coming Have-a-Go day! See you there.

 A&O Regatta and open meetings on August bank holiday weekend

The Derek Atkins Trophy and Owen Memorial Shield is a fast/slow handicap mini-series over the August Bank holiday. It is composed of 8 races. with 2 races back-to-back each morning and another 2 races in the afternoon. The race officer is free to vary the course, depending on the conditions and on the participants.

This year, we are also welcoming 2 open meetings at the same time. The Laser>>s, led by our own national champions Mike and Di Croker, will share the water with a fleet of Streakers. Alan Simmons will be mustering enthusiasm from other Streaker owners in the club (and Frank has been seen on the water recently...). It might be interesting to know that Lancing Sailing Club members will not have to pay an entry fee to take part in these two open meetings. With club racing going on at the same time, it wouldn't have been very fair, don't you think...

For the whole event (open racing and club racing) starts will be given from the committee boat and will follow a 5-4-1-go format. The sailing instructions and notice of race are available below.

• Download Notice of Race
• Download the sailing instructions for the event.

 Copy for Anchorline needed

Now we're at the height of the summer season, we've seen many things happening at Lancing sailing club recently. The Anchorline is our magazine, recalling events for those who couldn't be there, or for others with short memory. Of course, it also contains news of things to come, plus practical advice, interviews and contact numbers. Our magazine editor is going to be busy putting the coming issue together very soon and he'd like to get as many articles, reports, stories and photos as possible.

To send a contribution, email your efforts to Stephen Miller at
anchorline@lancingsc.org.uk

Have-A-Go day coming soon

The Have-a-go day last year was a roaring success, thanks to the combined efforts of Stuart Hart, the Powell clan and everyone who came to help. This year, we'll try to equal, if not exceed, that success by setting a have-a-go day on 30th August.

It's a day open to all members of the public, with of without experience. Just bring clothes you don't mind getting wet, as well as a pair of old trainers. Club members will be ready to take you onboard their dinghies and get you to see what Lancing looks like from the sea. It might suprise you how hard it is to recognise familiar landmarks!

The evening is dedicated to a beer festival, together with pizzas of all sorts. To get more details or book a space, please email Sarah, our social secretary at socialsec@lancingsc.org.uk.

 Final results for the Midsummer series

The Midsummer series came to an end on 20th July and it's been an epic battle right until the end! See the results on the series results page.
In the fast fleet, it paid to sail with your partner, with the first 4 places taken by couples on and off the water. Karen and Pete Matthews managed to beat Karen and John McGrath by the skin of their teeth, while Mark Littlejohn and Kirsty had to count a DSQ. In 4th, it's the Croker pair, never far from the top of the board.

In the medium fleet, the tension was just as intense. Both Alan Simmons and David Trout scored the same number of points, with the first place going to the Laser fleet captain by sheer luck (hehe... yeah, I know, it's that countback thingy, all explained in the rules...).

The Topper fleet was more sedate, with Nick Muggridge being the only competitor to finish the races.

Congratulations to all winners, seconds and everyone else who took part. It's great to see results so close!