Sport In Profile UK Issue 15 | Page 22

Whitby Yacht Club FOLLOW US ONLINE twitter.com/sportinprofile Established in 1992 by Whitby locals and former WYC members Richard and Sue Robinson, Kildale Marine has always been pleased to support the yacht club and has many members as regular customers. As well as large chandlery stock we have an upstairs showroom for sailing clothing, and provide a full rigging service. Involvement Atmosphere She told us, “I joined the Club in 2010. My husband and I had seen an advertisement in the local newspaper for a Welcome Night at the Yacht Club. We went along to find out what the Club had to offer both on and off the water. The members were very friendly and welcoming and we subsequently joined as Associate Crew Members.” “The atmosphere here is very good, as we approach one of our busiest weekends of the year. It is the Whitby Town Regatta and as a Club we race for two Regatta trophies, The Robinson Cup (first presented in 1926 for a race between sailing boats longer than 20 feet) and the Tyler Cup (presented in 1920 for boats less than 20 feet and then for dinghy racing since 1956). There is also a Sail Past where the Commodore takes the salute from his boat moored in the Lower Harbour, the Commodore’s Lunch and prizegivings.” The Role “I am currently Yearbook and Communications Secretary and also the Club Archivist. I enjoy maintaining the records and photographs of all aspects of Club life. There are challenges and one is ensuring that the members are kept up to date with Club affairs. Not all members have access to modern technology and so information is sent by a combination of various methods i.e. Royal Mail, email to Desktops and mobile devices, website, facebook etc.” 22 Issue 15 2017 “2017 has been very good. Out of 52 scheduled races to date we have lost 9 races owing to bad weather. There are another 26 scheduled races between now and mid-October. One of our boats and her crew have taken part in regattas along the south coast of England and had great success with numerous wins. The RYA Push The Boat Out Initiative 2017 was successful in so much that we provided the opportunity for 21 people (including 5 young people under the 15 years of age) to sail in Whitby Bay on sailing cruisers. Some of our cruising members are flying the WYC burgee in international waters and sending regular blogs describing their adventures. On land there have been several enjoyable social events in addition to the normal times that the Club is open.” The Future “The plan is to continue to enjoy my membership of WYC and to support the Club in whatever capacity is required. Our biggest challenges will be maintaining the number of members and the size of the fleet as well as providing a Frostbiting Series for dinghies between November and March. It is our ambition to attract new members and specifically those under the age of 45 years.”