News
February's Fast Cruise to Gins Farm
Yet again the February's Fast Cruise provided plenty of interest and challenges for the participants finishing with International Rugby and a well attended dinner in the clubhouse.
Special LSC subscription offer for Anglia Afloat
Anglia Afloat is a sailing and power boat magazine from Archant publications and its editor, Paul Thomas, visited the Little Ship Club recently for one of our Club Nights.
Anglia Afloat magazine checks out Little Ship Club
Anglia Afloat editor Paul Thomas came to visit the Little Ship Club and was impressed, and we think his magazine is a class act too! Read his picture feature on the Club here. Read on for more details about his article, and an unmissable special offer for members.
RYA to launch 'Go Green' at the RYA Volvo Dinghy Show
On Saturday 5 March at the RYA Volvo Dinghy Show being held at Alexandra Palace, London, the RYA will be officially launching a great new title adding to its already extensive publications portfolio – RYA Go Green!
TV Documentary on Clipper Round the World Race
Now here's some telly you really don't want to miss. A six part series on the Clipper Race by an award-winning doumentary team with unrestricted access, showing all the adventure and emotion, not forgetting the sailing. Clipper chairman and Club President Sir Robin Knox-Johnston put it ".....the TV series captures it perfectly". Starts Wednesday 2 March at 21:00 GMT on Quest.
Tragic end to yacht hijack
The four yachtsmen on the SV Quest, kidnapped on Friday in the Arabian Sea south of Oman, have been shot, in a sudden and tragic end to their capture. Details of events are still unclear, but it appears they were killed by their hijackers during an exchange of fire with a nearby US warship. One of the captured crew had sailed recently with Club member, Malcolm Lewis-Jones on his yacht Amber Sea. (Read his tribute to Phyllis here).
Race to Orkney with RFYC
Edinburgh-based member Patrick Carnie (a fellow Contessa sailor) writes that LSC members who have not quite finished their planning for the coming season, but who are considering heading north this summer, might be interested to know that the RFYC Orkney Race 2011 takes place on Thursday 9th June.
Fitting Out Questions
With tickets for the Fitting Out Supper selling steadily, (don't forget to get yours here), it has become clear that many members would like to put questions about the Olympic Sailing event to Rob Andrews after his talk. With so many questions and so little time on the night the Social Committee has devised a plan...
Record Entries for February
The February Fast Cruise to Gins Farm has had a record number of entries for this winter. The number of boats taking part has equalled December's cruise to the Folly with 12 yachts attending but more people have found crewing places
48 Hours in the Pit and Still in Front
After two days on land, making key repairs to the rig and boat, Virbac-Paprec 3 is back on the racecourse and in pole position this afternoon. Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron (FRA) slipped their lines at exactly 1111hrs (CET) today, having completed the mandatory 48-hours on shore for their technical stopover.
Daylight Hour Changes afoot
There could be good news for winter fast cruisers with the projected changes to the dayight hours.The campaign for extended daylight hours is expected to gain a boost with an endorsement from the Government's official tourism strategy.
Find it at a Boat Jumble?
Need a beveled gear-driven side-shaft timer for 1910 Saginaw twin-cylinder prototype marine racing engine or just some new mooring lines, then a boat jumble might be the very place to find it, as well as being a great day out with a nautical flavour. Boat jumbles are held throughout the year, all over the country, at a place near you.
February's Fast Cruise Course
The course for the Fast Cruise on 26th February is now available.
RORC Caribbean 600 starts next week
When the gun goes at Fort Charlotte, Antigua on Monday 21st February to mark the start of the RORC Caribbean 600, the racing crews will be pumped up with adrenalin to begin a high-speed adventure in arguably the best sailing grounds in the world. Warm breeze, day and night with big waves typify this race, making the central Caribbean a very special place to race.
"This race has it all," said Boogie, the skipper of the Swan 51 Star Chaser: "Lots of wind, no wind, big seas, flat seas, rain and sunshine.
Get involved, your Club needs you!
The Club has approximately 1,100 members and I welcome all of them, however, my best guess is that fewer than 200 participate fully in Club life. I recognise that there are many competing draws on members’ time, you may have a young family, a particularly busy career or live away from London but participating in Club life does not necessarily mean coming to the Club every week or sitting on a committee.
Is AIS a useful tool for cruising yachtsmen?
I’d like to hear from any member who has fitted AIS to their yacht. Have you fitted AIS? If so we’d like to hear from you and maybe those of us who haven’t yet taken the plunge can ask questions or comment on your experience.
Bring the romance back to sailing
It's Valentine's Day so why not give your loved one a break from the anti-fouling and treat her to a romantic night out. No, I don't mean a night with our trainers going through secondary port calculations nor am I talking about a night with Norman doing esoteric astro-nav calculations. Show a bit of imagination and open up your wallet to buy some Janet Reger instead of Mustos...or at the very least some champagne.
Race and raise money for Sailability
If you're looking for a season opener that includes exhilaration, fun and doing something worthwhile, then look no further than Sailability Sunsail Regatta taking place on the weekend of 4-5 May in the Solent.
Tideminders - Parrel beads for mooring warps
Here's a modern take on an old idea - Tideminders are a set of plastic balls to allow your mooring warp to roll up and down a pile in tidal waters. They are like parrel beads as used on gaffers but sized for bigger lines such as your mooring warps, and made of plastic. The solid balls have very smooth holes for the warp, are very tough and are light enough to float.
High tech roll stabiliser
Rolling downwind is the bane of a sailor's life, especially on long passages or when taking non sailors out for the day. Now from the land of high tech (and power hungry) solutions across the pond comes the Seakeeper M8000 Gyro Stabilization system.