Whilst the summer of 2025 will be remembered for being warm and dry and ideal beach weather there have been a couple of times where the weather hasn’t played nicely.
This was the case for the first weekend of sailing in August where Lancing and Shoreham Sailing Clubs meet near the Church of the Good Shepherd and combine our racing. Although the morning started with some promise it soon became obvious that the forecast of higher winds was likely to be the case. 17 boats started on the line and battled against increasing force 5 winds and high waves. Safety boats were kept busy and there were a few capsizes, 3 boats retired with 14 boats managing to finish the first race in difficult conditions. Congratulations to Will Apps in his Aero for being highest placed Lancing helm with a 3rd place overall. Helms from both Clubs showed what they thought about the prospect of sailing the second race as they set course for their respective home clubs.
Conclusion of Wednesday Evening Series
Three days later Wednesday 6th August the trials and tribulations of the Sunday before were forgotten and we saw 22 boats for the Wednesday night personal handicap which was the highest for Wednesday evenings during this summer. The series is based on personal handicap for the sailor giving every opportunity for the more novice sailor to take on those who have had more time to master the sport. There were 14 Wednesdays sailed this summer and results show congratulations to Tom Williams in his Laser/ICLA7 for winning, our senior sailor Alan Simmonds in his Streaker for achieving second place overall. Special mention to 3rd placed Richard Sandy-Renton who having progressed through the Clubs training schedule. He achieved five first place finishes of eight Wednesday evenings he sailed.
Swimming – 5k River Adur Event
On Saturday 9th August we saw some of our members take to the water away from the sailing club as they swum the River Adur 5K. Starting at Upper Beeding the 5k swim followed the river southwards and ending at Shoreham just before the Norfolk Bridge. Amazing effort from Andy Carter and Chloe Barter.
Swimming – Guy Roebuck cycles around the UK
Saturday 16th saw the penultimate training session for the year with our group of newer sailors taking to the water in more challenging conditions but showing that their skills and confidence have improved over the training sessions. There is no doubt that they are all more than capable of taking the leap of faith and joining the racing on Sundays.
Sunday sailing in August was dominated by the Summer B series which was uninterrupted including the Bank Holiday weekend and every race sailed in the series. It saw 2 races being sailed on each Sunday and the holiday Monday. There was some close racing and results. The podium in the fast fleet was dominated by Aeros with Pete Matthews claiming top spot. Tom Williams topped the medium fleet in his ICLA 7 and Barry Simmonds was top spot in the Slow fleet.
The water sports members have made the most of the summer heat wave and calm seas to get out and about regularly on their kayaks and paddleboards.
Unfortunately, the weather at the end of the month deteriorated and we lost sailing on the last Wednesday evening sail and over the Saturday and Sunday of the last weekend when the annual Club Championships were due to be held. Such a shame to lose one of if not the biggest events of the sailing calendar. As if we needed a reminder weather doesn’t always play fairly.
However, all was not lost on the last Wednesday evening and a sell out 35 Greek night celebrated the end of midweek racing. Greek food, Greek wind and beer and a quiz with a difference all made a fantastic evening. The evening also gave us the opportunity to raise funds for St Barnabas. The final total raised is still yet to be announced but we hope that it will exceed £300. We will keep you updated.
We would like to welcome the new members who have joined this year:
Olivia Barter, Jo Crockett, Kate Custis, Fiona Dwyer, Susanna Elks, Jason Hardman, Stefan Hartzhorne, Sammy Henderson-Ford, James Miles, Nicola Morris, Harrison Poole, Thomas Rumball, Nina Sidhu, Oliver Supiot, Francesca Thompson, Oscar Topfer, Kieran Watts