Miracle Welsh Area Championship & Shotwick Lake Open Autumn Regatta

Shotwick Lake Sailing hosted the Miracle Welsh Area Championship on 10th and 11th September 2016, combined with the Shotwick Lake Open Handicap Autumn Regatta on the 11th.

Ten Miracle Dinghy sailors arrived for the event (with two arriving Friday evening) and were greeted and introduced to the club facility.
The surrounding club house grassed area had been mown and looked very tidy making it possible for visitors to conveniently pitch their tents.
Saturday arrived with blue skies and bacon baps for all. Ten competitors were rigged and ready for the 12.30 o’clock briefing. The course was set for the 13.00 start but little wind created a slow start. Two one hour races were sailed with a forty minutes interval.

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All contestants stayed Saturday at the sailing club and were presented with an early evening hot meal. The galley tables were set and laid for a banquet, serving twenty four people, of homemade steak pie and gravy, potatoes and assortment of vegetables, with an option of vegetable lasagne. This was followed by apple pie and custard to finish.
Sunday, blue skies with wind gusting to force 5. Three races were planned with separate starts for both the Nine Miracles and ten club boats.

Race 1, nineteen boats racing

Race 2, two Miracles retired, five club boats did not start.

Race 3, six Miracles started and finished, three club boats started and finished.

Miracle Welsh Area Championship Results:

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David Turtle and Zara Turtle (above) were presented with the Miracle Inlands Championship Shield, supplied by the Miracle Association, UK.

Position Club Sail No Helm Crew
1st Shotwick 4026 David Turtle Zara Turtle
2nd Delph 3383 Wayne Atherton Angela Sweeney
3rd Welton 4062 David Butler Ross Flemming

Shotwick lake Sailing Open Autumn Regatta Results:
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Shotwick Lake Sailing member Mark Heaton (above) in his Devoti D-Zero  took the honours in the Club’s Open Autumn Regatta.

Position Club Boat Sail No Helm
1st Shotwick Devoti D-Zero 151 Mark Heaton
2nd Shotwick Topper 16658 Neil Wallace
3rd Shotwick Devoti D-Zero 201 Andrew Jones

All in all the weekend provided exciting racing, and the safety craft was kept very busy on the Sunday.

The competitors were very grateful to all who made the weekend so successful –  The race officers, safety craft crew, galley girls (and the food they prepared!) – also the groundsmen for ensuring Shotwick Lake looked at its best for the event and the camping.

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Tony Forster

As a founder member of the then British Steel Shotton Sailing Club in 1983 I took part in the first beginners sailing course, in an Optimist believe it or not (quite a feat for someone 6' 4" tall!) and then began to help with further courses. My first dinghy was an Enterprise and much sailing in this and coaching by our first RYA Principal, John Swift, resulted in me gaining the RYA Dinghy Instructor award in 1984. In 1985 I joined the committee and over the years moved through the roles of Club Captain, Vice Commodore and then Commodore a position in which I proudly served for about 25 years. During my tenure as Commodore I saw the club become Corus Colors Sailing Club and then starting around 2004 I helped to steer the club towards independence from the Steelworks Sports & Social Club, the formation of the company and charity Shotwick Lake Sailing and the purchase of the lake and buildings. Although I have frequently raced at the club my main interest has been in the development of the club and ,of course, in the training section. In the early years John Swift, Alan Sourbutts and myself managed to get the club recognised as an RYA Training Centre. Then, some years later, on passing my RYA Senior Instructor qualification I was appointed as the RYA Training Principal, a role which I still perform to this day. Over the years I have sailed Toppers, Mirrors, GP14s, Herons, Lasers, Wayfarers, Wanderers and many others and my seafaring has included sailing a Sailfish 18 and a Leisure 17SL which I still own. Over the years I have witnessed massive changes and developments at the club and have cared passionately about its success and future. I have been truly blessed to have been able to serve such a fantastic organisation and to have made so many friends along the way.