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UKWA Annual General Meeting 2022 – Change of Notice

Due to the Covid-19 viruses in January, we have taken the decision in advance to change the date of our AGM, from Saturday 26 February during the RYA Dinghy and Watersports Show to be virtual again, via Zoom

Please come and join us for our 64th Annual General Meeting

to be held via Zoom on

Thursday 24 February 2022 at 19:00 hrs

Full agenda and papers re published here and a link to this will be included in February e-News.

Our last AGM on Zoom due to Covid restrictions was a great success; it enabled those living overseas and too far away to attend in person, to attend and enjoy the meeting.  We look forward to meeting you all!

If you wish to join, please contact Sarah Burgess for the Zoom log in details.

secretary@wayfarer.org.uk

Take a note of the date – March 25^th to 27^th 2022, and the new venue, Rutland Sailing Club. After a gap of 2 years, and the success of last year’s Conference held on Zoom, we are putting plans in place for what has traditionally been considered as the ‘real’ start to the Wayfarer cruising season!

We are excited to be trying out a new venue, where the facilities look to be able to match or exceed those of previous venues. Those who attended the Wayfarer Family Gathering there in August will attest to the warm reception we had.

This is an excellent opportunity for those new to the Wayfarer, or those with a previous racing involvement, to benefit from members with many years’ experience of cruising the Wayfarer, be that for day sailing, weekending, or longer cruises. There will be a boat clinic where you can discuss modifications and improvements to your Wayfarer with experts, and a packed programme of talks and demonstrations detailing the key things you need to know when cruising the Wayfarer. There will also be a welcome return to ‘Bring and Buy’ stalls where you can pick up some real bargains!

Registration for this event is open to UKWA members. If you know someone who is not currently a member please encourage them to apply for membership by contacting Sarah Burgess secretary@wayfarer.org.uk , so that they too can attend.

If you’re thinking about it, now’s the time to book. To register your interest please email conference@wayfarer.org.uk for a booking form.

We are delighted that our membership is growing and is higher now than it has been for many years.  It is now getting close to 1000 members and, to celebrate this, we are offering a year’s membership to the person that when joining, becomes our 1000th member!

If you have been considering joining us, there has never been a better time to join:  new members joining before 1 April 2022 will be covered for the whole of our 2022 sub year, with no further sub to pay until 1 April 2023.

It has been wonderful to see families enjoy family and day sails during the various Covid restrictions.  We are looking forward to a full sailing programme  planned for 2022, including a variety of cruising rallies (starting with the Brancaster Sea Rally in February) and later in the summer, our extremely popular, fun, family festival in August.  A full National Circuit Series of racing events with our combined National and European Championships being held at Arun YC in August is also on offer.  There is much to look forward to.

The year’s racing starts with the International Championships on Lake Eustis, Florida in early March and our popular, informative, annual Cruising Conference follows later in March at Rutland SC.

We are delighted to be guests on Hartley Boats stand at the RYA Dinghy and Watersports Show at Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre 26-27 February and also to have on show a cruising Wayfarer as part of the RYAs’ cruising dinghy display.  We hope to have demonstrations of reefing and how to put up a boat tent on both days.  We would be delighted to meet both existing and prospective members and welcome them aboard the UKWA.

As well as a warm invitation to join in our sailing programme, members receive our full colour magazine, Wayfarer News twice a year and a monthly e-Newsletter.  Members are also registered for our website and there, have access to the large cruising report library, archive of Wayfarer News and can post questions (and answers) on the Members Forum.  There is also a UKWA Racing WhatsApp group for those interested in taking part.

Many of our existing members, with years of experience, are only too pleased to offer their top tips to those newer to the Class.

We have a variety of Wayfarer merchandise including the new, updated, 6th edition of the Wayfarer Book and popular Wayfarer neck buffs available on the shop on our website.

We pride ourselves on being a very friendly class association and aim to help our members have as much fun as possible sailing their Wayfarers.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email  Class Secretary, Sarah Burgess.

We look forward to welcoming you aboard!

Wishing all our members a very Happy Christmas and healthy New Year with lots of good sailing to look forward to.

Our Winter 2021 edition of Wayfarer News is out now; if you would like to receive a copy and have yet to join the UKWA you can do so quickly and easily here:

Our membership is growing and numbers are higher now than for some years; there has never been a better time to join. New members joining now are covered for the whole of the next sub year, with no further sub to pay until 1 April 2023; truly a bargain!

Any queries, please contact Sarah [secretary@wayfarer.org.uk]

Preview by Tim Townsend:

Wayfarers at Bough Beech © Deborah Maynard

The Wayfarer class is this weekend (13/14 November) looking forward to its final open meeting of the season, the Finale at Bough Beech Sailing Club in the beautiful countryside near Edenbridge, Kent. Looking around the reservoir at the grassy banks and autumn leaves it is easy to remember the words of Hal Borland. “Of all the seasons, autumn offers the most to man and requires the least of him.”

Bough Beech is sometimes like that. The golden trees beyond the reservoir offer much. The sky is often blue. The wind blows usually for one day, sometimes for both. The Club is welcoming and the racing keen. Many of the fleet put this event on their “must-do” list even if their support of other meetings during the year has been, shall we say, patchy. So it is that we expect to see, for the first time this season, Martin and Donna Collen (Contessa 32 National Champions 2021), Guy Marks (Wayfarer National Champion 2015) and John Clementson (multiple Graduate and Mirror Champion), all of whom will make the fleet stronger. ...read more

This open meeting is also the culmination of the Craftinsure National Circuit and Travellers Series 2021 which takes in eight championships or open meetings up and down the country; on the sea, on rivers and estuaries, and on reservoirs and ponds. The series is a true test of all round sailing ability, not just a feat of persistence in obtaining diesel when none seemed available! This year, so far, 48 boats from 15 clubs have competed in one or more of these events. These are encouraging numbers in a post lockdown year where we have had to rebuild our confidence.

Wayfarers at Bough Beech – photo © Deborah Maynard

As we head into the final weekend’s action, the leaders of the National Circuit Series are Michael McNamara and Simon Townsend. They have won every event they have attended this year although they have regularly been pushed hard by Andrew Wilson and his various crew, and sporadically by others. The Travellers Series rewards those who travel most and perform well and this year the leaders going into the final event are Nigel and Belinda O’Donnell, who have fired up their four-wheeled-country-cottage and travelled to all parts of the country supporting virtually every event. Will they hold on for the overall win? We will have to see.

As well as the trophies and glassware to be won, the prize-giving at Bough Beech also takes in the annual end of season draw where sail numbers are drawn from a hat for fabulous prizes such as a year’s free insurance, a new genoa or a new top cover, all courtesy of our generous sponsors, Craftinsure, McNamara Sails and Hartley Boats. The more events a boat has attended the greater its chance of winning one of these prizes. You have to be “in it to win it”.

The forecast for this weekend is 10-18mph from the Northwest on Saturday and 12-22mph from the Northeast on Sunday. Sunday might be a bit damp! The first race on Saturday is scheduled for 1200.

Wayfarers at Bough Beech – photo © Deborah Maynard

Report by Tim Townsend:

Wayfarer Inland Championships at Datchet © Rosie Dolling

Eventually! After two previous attempts to schedule the Wayfarer Inland Championships 2021, Datchet Water SC finally hosted the event over the weekend of 30/31 October. Five visiting boats joined six from the home fleet. Unfortunately, the rescheduling of the event meant that a couple of the usual travellers and some of the home fleet were unable to attend.

As has so often happened in 2021, the weather forecast was looking challenging. The winds on Saturday were forecast to be gusting around 23mph. The forecast on Sunday was looking more windy still.

The drive to Datchet from Canterbury was challenging in itself. Around the Chertsey turn off on the M25, the rain was biblical and the satnav went back to night mode. However, the weather at the reservoir was relatively balmy. The rain turned to drizzle and eventually stopped altogether. The sun came out to play and the Race Officer, after a bit of gentle arm twisting, decided that running an extra race on Saturday might be prudent, given the forecast for Sunday. ...read more

Wayfarer Inland Championships at Datchet – photo © Rosie Dolling

Your correspondent often finds four races back to back quite hard work (walking seems to be difficult the following morning). Nevertheless, the fleet struggled manfully on in what turned out to be lovely sailing conditions, typically 10-15mph, enough to plane on the three sail reaches but not enough for serial capsizes. The results belied the closeness of the racing. Everybody had somebody to race against and the races were rarely processional. At the front, as usual, Michael McNamara and Simon Townsend were having a battle with Andrew Wilson, on this occasion crewed by Sue Rusbridger. Andrew and Sue led on occasions but Michael and Simon were always in front when it counted; at the finish of the race.

A little further back, David Roberts and Mike Bryant, Tim and Jacqueline Townsend, Nigel O’Donnell and Sam Pygall and Paul Hughes and Mark had close racing. Several of these had their moments near the front with Paul and Mark leading the first race for a time and the Townsends very close to the leading pair for a large part of race three. David and Mike had slightly the better day and were in third place overall at the end of the fourth race closely followed by the Townsends.

Saturday evening saw a trip to the Ostrich at Colnbrook for a meal and a few drinks. It was a convivial evening and was followed by a walk (for some) back to the hotel and sleep ready to resume battle the following day.

Wayfarer Inland Championships at Datchet – photo © Rosie Dolling

Sunday dawned and it was howling. The rain was very heavy too. We decamped to the clubhouse at Datchet and waited for the race officer to cast his judgement on whether we would sail again. At 0930 his prudent self-came to the fore and he announced that there would there would be no racing on Sunday. From the relative safety of the clubhouse it was easy to see just how windy it had become and during the briefing news came that some of the Wayfarers outside had been blown off their launching trolleys. A rescue party was sent to sort them out.

So the weather disrupted the racing schedule for the Wayfarers yet again (this has become a common state of affairs in 2021 with several racing days lost during the season). However, four good races around a triangle/sausage course were held on Saturday and I doubt the competitors felt shortchanged. The shifts and gusts around the course were enough to keep competitors on their mettle. Michael McNamara and Simon Townsend left Datchet Water SC as the Inland Champions 2021. Andrew and Sue were runners up and David and Mike completed the podium.

In the race to be the Craftinsure UKWA National Circuit and Travellers Series Champions the competition is hotting up. With just the Finale at Bough Beech in mid-November to come, the National Circuit Trophy winner seems fairly buttoned up but any one of several competitors could win the Travellers Trophy this year.

Many thanks to the race team at Datchet for their good management and course setting and to the Datchet Wayfarer fleet for their hospitality. The Wayfarers will be returning to Datchet Water SC next April for the inland Championships 2022.

Wayfarer Inland Championships at Datchet – photo © Rosie Dolling

This report including the results table is located on the Racing Results page (linked here).

The Notice of Race for the season’s finale at Bough Beech Sailing Club has been published.

The document is available here (opens in new browser tab where supported).

Just in – details of the 2022 International Rally organised by the USWA for mid-March (12th – 17th).

You can view or download the publicity leaflet from this link (opens in a new browser tab, where supported).

Cedar Key, Florida