Splash May / June 2026
Published 07:20 on 21 May 2026
Before we start, a quick thank you to Brian for the amount of effort he has put into the club as Commodore.
We are hoping he now gets a bit more time to relax, and spend more time on the water enjoying his own sailing, rather than trying to organise everybody else's!
HBSC Splash May / June 2026
Recap, news and what's next...
HBSC has shaken off the winter covers and is properly stretching its legs into the Spring.
The slipway laying saw a brilliant turnout, with so many members helping that the sections went down in record time. Thanks to Karl and Peter for somehow organising the chaos into a functioning production line. A little cutting, shuffling and "encouragement" later and it all fitted together perfectly.
Since then the club has steadily come back to life, with Open Sailing, Improvers, Racing and Cadets all now underway.
Training & Safety Boats
Training has also started for the year.
The first RYA Dinghy course ran earlier this season, with Ollie Mills gaining his RYA Level 2 certificate.
The Safety Boat refresher day with Allan, Laurie, and Tony was also a great success, with members practising towing, capsize recovery, manoeuvring and all the other things safety boat crews quietly hope they will never actually need.
Further sailing and powerboat courses are planned through the year.
Open Sailing & Improvers
Saturday mornings have really started building momentum this year, with more boats and sailors appearing each week as the weather improves and people dust the cobwebs off both themselves and their dinghies.
So far we have managed to sail on most planned Saturdays, despite Spring weather doing its usual trick of changing its mind halfway through the session.
One week saw us gently cruising around the pier in warm sunshine with sun cream out on the beach. Another saw everybody making "rapid progress" back to shore when a friendly F3-4 suddenly changed into something more spicy!
The atmosphere in the club(bar) afterwards has been excellent, with usual comparisons about whose launch and recovery was least dinghyfied dignified / most entertaining.
Recent sessions have seen up to seven boats and twelve sailors out on the water, with newer sailors gaining confidence every week.
Open Sailing & Improvers continues every Saturday.
Racing
Sunday racing has already produced some entertaining conditions this season.
Several race days have started looking like gentle drift-fests before turning into full hiking practice by race two. Karl described one Sunday perfectly forecast 8-9 knots, actual conditions 'always fun'.
Congratulations to Charlie for winning a race on his 16th birthday.
Also Ollie, fresh with his Level 2, has been enthusiastically demonstrating 'advanced techniques', deciding it was easier to sail the boat to the slipway on its side to reduce speed, a technique which proved a success.
It has been really good to see newer sailors joining club racing early in the season, with everybody helping each other both on and off the water.
Cadets
Cadets had their Opening Splash at Westbere Lakes and were lucky enough to get some excellent conditions to start the season.
Huge thanks to Janine, Laurie, Jo and the rest of the Cadet team for getting things underway again.
Cadet sessions continue through the summer, with sailing, games and social events all planned as we head towards Club Week later in the season.
Please note there will NOT be a Cadet session on Saturday 23rd May due to the Bank Holiday weekend and lots of families being away.
However, Open Sailing WILL still be running that morning and any cadets already confident sailing a triangle course are very welcome to join in.
Further Afield
Earlier this month members gathered to wave Lester off as he set sail single-handed on his trip around the UK.
Since then his updates have kept everybody entertained, impressed and occasionally slightly concerned!
So far his route has included Lowestoft, Wells-next-the-Sea, across The Wash, Skegness and up into Hull Marina.
His reports have included overnight anchoring, 3am starts to catch tides, large waves, fast flowing water, diesel leaks, emergency repairs and discovering that an autohelm is preferable to repeatedly sprinting across the boat trying to grab the tiller before veering off course.
One particularly lively update from near Wells-next-the-Sea included:
'Left at 3am and straight into massive waves... didn't like my odds on turning around, so I had to keep going.'
Latest reports suggest he is still alive, still sailing and gradually heading north.
Looking forward to an entertaining evening of stories in bar once he eventually returns to dry land!
What's Coming Up?
Saturday 23rd May
* Open Sailing & Improvers 10am
Sunday 24th May
* Early Summer racing series
Monday 25th May
* Long Distance Race
Sunday 31st May
* Cadet Racing
* Summer Series racing
Saturday sailing continues every week, alongside Sunday racing and regular Friday evening bar openings.
Please keep checking the online calendar and WhatsApp groups for updates, weather decisions and volunteer requests.
Finally, thank you to everybody volunteering so far this season whether launching safety boats, helping recover dinghies, running racing, supporting cadets, opening the bar or simply jumping in when things become unexpectedly 'exciting'.
Volunteering is the beating heart of our club.
Every race, training session and sailing day only happens because members give a little time to help each other enjoy being on the water.
Note - We are working in the engine room below decks to get the Splash machine back in service again, as some bits may have fallen off over the winter :)
See you on the water!
Adrian & Ian
Last updated 07:21 on 21 May 2026