News

STOP PRESS …We have 1 place available to race in the prestigious Cowes Week Regatta 2- 8 August

Fancy a longer sailing trip out of the Solent with a chance to explore further afield maybe to the Channel Islands or Northern France? We have two trips on Ariel 4-10 August and 14-17 August.

Later in August both our yachts (Ariel and Prospero) head to the beautiful West Country for both cruising and also racing at the Dartmouth Regatta (27 – 30 August).  Trips available from 17 August to 5 September.

If you want to join a friendly crew on one of these trips then contact Chris, our Crewing Secretary on YachtClub BBC@gmail.com

Prospero is now back in the water and has an exciting programme of racing over the summer. Although some trips are already full there are still a few vacancies for the following events.

Sigma 33 One-day regatta  (Sat 12th July)

After the success of the one-day regatta in April, the Sigma 33 Association is holding another one-day regatta. We will be starting off Cowes and will finish there in the afternoon for some socialising with our fellow Sigma racers. At the end of the day it’s possible to return home or stay on board for a more gentle sail on Sunday.

Cowes Week  (Sat 1st to Fri 8th Aug)

We have one crew space left for Cowes Week. If you aren’t able to commit to the whole week it might be possible subject to the skippers agreement to divide the week up into two, three or four day trips.

Cowes Week is great fun on and off the water and this year we hope to have enough Sigma 33s to have our own start.

Dartmouth Regatta  (Weds 27th to Sat 30th Aug)

This a fun regatta in the beautiful setting of the River Dart. There is full programme of events both on and off the water culminating with a spectacular firework display. After racing there are a number of great pubs, restaurants and tea shops to frequent!

JOG Race Cowes-Poole-Cowes  (Sat 13th to Sun 14th Sept)

If racing around buoys doesn’t appeal you might like to try these longer passage races. We are hoping some other Sigmas will be taking part in these races which will make the events even more social and competitive.

Royal Southern Regatta  (Sat 20th to Sun 21st Sept) 

The finale of Royal Southern’s Summer Series.

Cruising on Prospero

In between racing Prospero is available for cruising in the Solent in July and in Dartmouth from 17th to 20th and 21st to 25th August.

Cruising

We have a few vacancies which need to be filled to enable two imminent trips to proceed. Check your diaries to see whether you could help these to go ahead:

We need more crew members for:

There are also some spaces available on the last cruise before Ariel departs for Brittany:

Racing

There are wide range of opportunities for racing in late May and June:

Training

We have a variety of training opportunities in May:

Build your confidence and learn some new skills on this relaxed race training weekend.

Learn new skills under the guidance of one of our experienced skippers.

Learn and practice boat handling manoeuvres with one of our experienced skippers.

Ariel and Prospero have enjoyed a fine start to the season and lots of you have had some great sailing so far.

Ariel's summer cruise to Brittany starts in mid-June, only about 6 weeks away.  Bookings for weeks 3 onwards have been pretty good (there are still spaces though!) but we are still looking for mates and crew members for the first 2 weeks.

For the newer members, our summer cruises are a great way to enjoy exploring foreign parts and are as much about the holiday as it is about the sailing.  Life onboard is pretty chilled and it's a great way to get to know your fellow members a bit better.  No experience is necessary...just a sense of adventure!!  Getting to and from Ariel is all part of the fun.

Week 1 (Sat 14th to Sat 21st June) - Hamble to Roscoff

This first leg of the trip could call at the Channel Islands as well as some of the very pretty, rustic towns in north-east Brittany such as Lezardrieux, Treguier. At the end of the trip, you can walk to the ferry terminal and catch the cross-channel ferry back to Plymouth.

Week 2 (Sat 21st to Sat 28th June) - Roscoff to Brest

This week offers the pleasures of fine French food and harbours.  L'Aber Wrach, Lanildut or Aber Benoit could be on your route.  One of my favourite stopovers is the island of Ushant, a magical place.

If you can go on either of the above weeks then please sign up as soon as possible.  

Realistically, we need to get Ariel to Brest so that she can continue with the remaining weeks of the summer cruise, all of which have keen and eager members waiting to sail in Brittany.  If we don't get enough takers for the above plans for weeks 1 and 2 then we will have to look at alternative options which could be:

Option B
Week 1...Hamble to Plymouth (making it easier to travel home or you could just do part of the week).  This week could start on Monday 16th June.
Week 2...Plymouth to Brest

Option C
Delivery trip, non-stop, Hamble to Brest (approx 3 days).  This option would probably depart on Monday 23rd June.

If the alternative plans appeal to you then please let the Commodore know as soon as possible via email at CommodoreBBCYC@gmail.com

If you are interested in doing part of any trip then please let us know and we'll see if we can accommodate.

We need to get a plan in place sooner rather than later to ensure the summer cruise goes ahead so do please sign up if you can.  You'll enjoy it!

Also, don't forget to sign up for other weeks of the summer cruise if you can!

Have you ever wondered how to use charts during your sailing trips?

Come and join in the fun at the BBCYC Chart Correction Party where we will:

• Learn about the charts that help you plan and navigate your sailing trips.
• Help update the charts to help you safely navigate your trips around the Southern English and NW French coast. 

Date: Saturday 22nd February, 10.30am onwards

Hosted by: Paul Dawe, BBCYC Charts and Publications Officer

Where: 24 Faber Gardens, Hendon, NW4 4NR - 10 mins walk from Hendon Central on the Northern Line, 5 mins walk from Hendon train station on the Thameslink.

Free parking, lunch and tea provided.

Please join us for an afternoon of navigation and sailing talk. RSVP to Paul at Paul_Dawe@msn.com / 07960 438237.

We’re organising this work party for Saturday, 15th February, starting at 10:30am.

If you are able to join us for this day please sign up by emailing Roger or Charles on: arielbosun@gmail.com

Hello sailors and prospective members,

We invite you to our annual celebration of the sailing season starting in March.  Join us for a fantastic event with the rest of the club community:

Date: Monday 17th March, 6pm till late

Place: Media Cafe, London Broadcasting House, Portland Road, London, W1A 1AA

Bring a photo ID to gain entry if you're not BBC staff. 

Hello sailors, please note that the 1st newsletter of 2025 will be coming to you on Saturday 25th January.