A very warm welcome to Lizzi Thistlethwayte the new owner of #77 Shaula and Rui Ferreira & Anke Eckardt the new owners of #84 Happy Returns.

I have sailed with Lizzi a couple of times when David Copp owned Shaula and look forward to meeting up again on the water and socially now that she is a member. Shaula is in good hands and will, I understand, be based at Aldeburgh.

I look forward to meeting Rui & Anke who, I gather, will be keeping Happy Returns at Ballydehol, Co. Cork. It seems that Happy Returns has benefitted from huge amounts of work and is ready for the next few decades!

Good luck, fair winds and happy sailing to you all!

All the very best,

Peter D, Centaur #100

Sadly there are still a few of you out there who have not got round to paying your association membership fees – they were due in April! Now the last thing I want to have to do is get on my high horse about this, but although I’m sure it is due to an oversight in most cases, it is unfair to those who have paid. We are currently still only asking £15 to cover admin costs and I know that Peter Haldane has sent out several polite reminders so please pay up forthwith! Just to make it easy the bank details are as follows:

Stella Class Association.   Barclays Bank, Plaistow.   Account Number 60020192.     Sort Code 20-67-90

I have noticed that amongst the placed boats at the SYH Classics were several whose owners have not yet paid . Strictly speaking this means that they are not paid up members of the SCA and therefore the result does not count towards the Stella Worlds. As I am still of the opinion that this is due to oversight, I do not intend to apply this sanction provided that fees from the offenders are received forthwith. Going forward, however, this will apply. Put simply, if you are not a fully paid-up member at the time of competing in a points event the result will not count!

Peter D

 

I have just been speaking to Peter Haldane who reminded me that subscriptions are now due. If you could forward your payment to him ASAP that would be really helpful. I’m looking into the possibility of member benefits going forward but clearly these, if achievable, will only be available to fully paid up members. Watch this space…

Peter

Spring 2016 Update

Welcome to the first update of 2016. I’m afraid I must start with an apology for the lack of communication thus far – nobody told me that retirement would be this busy…  I hope you have all kept well over the winter and, having remained free of the bugs that do the rounds, are now enthusiastically preparing your Stella for what I hope will be a wonderful Summer! Although it has seemed quiet as far as the SCA is concerned since the AGM, a lot has been happening behind the scenes.

 

 

Web Site

 

I promised at the AGM that, having been elected as the new General Secretary, one of my priorities would be to update the website, making it newsier, more interactive and essentially our primary means of communication as an organisation. We have done better than that; we now have a whole new website! We have also gone for a new snappier domain name stellaclass.org This should be easier to remember and for search engines to find. Stellasail.org.uk will now link to the new site so will still work for the next couple of years or so. Please go and have a look, I really hope you like it and I would greatly appreciate your feedback – good or bad! Christian Beaumont, our new web designer and member of Tim Wood’s crew on L’etoille, has worked really hard on it and I think it’s going to be a real asset. Christian will look after the advertisement section for us going forward.

 

As I mentioned, I intend us to use the website for of our communication so will post all future communiqués there and alert you by email of anything significant that has been added.  As I intend to keep the site lively however, please visit on a regular basis to keep up with what’s going on. Christian and I have got a lot of ideas on how we would like to develop the site but It belongs to all of us so I really would like to hear from you with your ideas. secretary@stellaclass.org

 

 

Hull Sheathing

 

You will recall that, following a fairly lively debate at the AGM, we resolved that a technical document be produced by a subcommittee in an effort to steer would be sheathers in the right direction. The subcommittee was to comprise The Secretary, The Technical Advisor and one other. The “one other” was Philip Waring, owner of Stardust and we got stuck into the task pretty much straight away, producing the document within the agreed three months from the AGM. This is now posted on the website and will be appended to the rules. I have attached a copy for your convenience and once again ask for your feedback. secretary@stellaclass.org

 

 

2016 Racing Programme

 

Conscious that Spring is upon us, herewith the all-important dates for your diary:

 

SYH Classic Regatta (Stella Worlds 1,2 & 3) 11 – 12 June syharbour.co.uk

 

Mersea Week (Stella Worlds 3,4,5 & 6) 22 – 27 August merseaweek.org

 

HPYC Regatta (Stella Worlds 7 & 8) 3 – 4 September hpyc.com>racing

 

Early Season Social

 

Last year we held a very pleasant Early Season Supper at The Coast Inn, West Mersea on what used to be called the Whitsun Bank Holiday Weekend. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend last year’s event, but I understand it was good. Would you like to repeat it this year, do something similar or something completely different? Let me know your thoughts ASAP and we will get something organised if there is sufficient interest. secretary@stellaclass.org

 

 

 

 

 

A final thought – “There are three types of yachtsmen; those who have been aground, those who are aground and liars…”

 

 

This is what happens when two competitive guys push their luck a little bit too far on a falling tide!

 

 

 

 

 

Good Luck with your preparations for the season – let’s hope it’s a classic. I look forward to seeing many of you on the water and in the bar…

 

All the very best,

Peter

Centaur 100

Autumn newsletter 2015: