Windmill Newsletter - Earlswood Lakes Sailing Club

This time last year I was just setting out as Commodore, 

we were going into our 50 th year, there was a full lake of water 

and plenty of sailors. The first part of the year went brilliantly as 

there was a great training course with 22 adults taking their first 

voyage with the Earlswood trainers. It was an exciting time. We 

were then told of some maintenance work and the need to drop 

the water level. We all know how that story ended.... We did 

have enough water for the 50 th anniversary mega pursuit race 

with our hope of 50 boats taking part, it was to my relief when we 

Grand Splash ~ Sun 18 March 

Laser Open ~ 1st April 

Easter Egg ~ 8th April 

Back on the water coaching 

sessions: Sat Mar 24th 10am 

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1st Training Weekend ~ 

21st and 22nd April 

Windmill 

Spring 12 

Up and Coming 

registered the 51 st boat! 

52 dinghies’ made the start on 

this monumental day and I would like to 

thank you to everyone who took part 

and helped on the day. Despite the low 

water levels and a few days lost we still 

recorded fantastic sailing figures and it 

fills me with confidence as I look 

forward to the 2012 Grand Splash and 

the Saturday sailing season. Our new 

jetty is all but finished, it was made 

slightly more challenging because we 

had to guess where the water level was 

going to be and we seem to have got 

this spot on. There is a full program of 

social events this year with this year’s 

highlight being the Olympic flame 

breakfast. On the Sunday of our 

second training course the Olympic 

flame will pass through Earlswood so 

we will be organising bacon and 

sausage sandwiches for a breakfast 

party. It will be good to see as many of 

you there as possible. 

Darren Layton 

ELSC Bingo ~ 31st March 

Working Party ~ 31st March 

Barn Dance Sat 19th May 

Laser Training ~17th March 10- 

1pm

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The AGM in brief 

� Sailing figures were up on last year despite the low water levels. Low water levels arose due the draining of the 

lakes to allow repairs to be carried out on Engine lake; however problems on the canal network meant that 

water levels did not rise again. 

� The major expense for the year was the new jetty which was paid for out of savings. New lockers & wallet lockers 

had been purchased as part of a facelift for the changing rooms. 

� Training courses had been very full; 12 boats plus juniors in April, good attendance in July too 

� Club land is now fully held in trust by the flag officers of the club. 

� Thanks were also given to Maggie & Mary for expertly cleaning the 

clubhouse despite all the mud! 

� Bingo on 31 st March. The Olympic Torch will be passing through Earlswood 

on 1 st July, day 2 of the training course. Trainees & club members are 

invited to attend a breakfast event & to watch the Olympic Torch pass.. 

� Training income raised more than £4000 Thanks to Alex. 

� There had been a small loss on social events mostly due to subsidised 50 th 

celebrations. 

� Hire of club boats £100 down on previous year probably due to low water 

levels. 

� The bar profit had increased due to less wastage but also to due to refund 

on the return of a CO2 cylinder. The galley had made a good profit. 

� Increase in rates as we had under paid last year due to receiving the wrong discount. 

� Water up due to washing mud off boats? Electricity reduced due to changing to a cheaper supplier 

� Slight increase in expenditure on maintenance & repairs 

Training Update from Alex Layton 

We have arranged a day for members to get back on the water after 

the long winter and loss of water the date is Saturday March 24 th 

starting at 10am. 

Please put this date in your diary, we will have instructors on hand so if 

you feel rusty we can help, or maybe want to try a different boat out. 

The advertised spring training is on: April training 21/22 nd 

We have 4 places for adults and 5 for juniors. (£149 and £119) 

The summer course is: June 30 th July 1 st 

We are also planning to do a stage 3 for juniors in October 

If you need to discuss any training please ring me on 0121-430- 

7521.Also, Alan Wright will be running OD Safety Boat Coaching on 

demand throughout the season. If you are interested in building your 

skills and confidence please ask Alan at alanw-sailaway@ntlworld.com 

Alex Layton 

The club washing machine is broken 

– again!

ELSC Officers 2011 

Commodore 

Darren Layton~01684 275512 

dlayton@uk2.net 

Vice Commodore 

Robert Marshall~0121 705 9711 

robertmarshall@stonebowave.freeser 

ve.co.uk 

ELSC Secretary 

Sandra Boot~0121 745 5593 

sshelo@tiscali.co.uk 

Treasurer 

Steve Perring~0121 744 8821 

sgperring@aol.com 

Sailing Secretary 

Alan Wright~01926 773 786 

alanw-sailaway@ntlworld.com 

Membership Secretary 

Louise Busby~07990 972998 

louise.busby1@btinternet.com 

It’s easier to communicate with you all via email in most cases, so don’t 

miss out and join the Earlswood Lakes Sailing Club email D-List. Very 

useful for OD Duty swaps, finding a crew, finding a helm… the 

possibilities are endless.! 


Post message: earlswoodsc@googlegroups.com 

List owner: James Patterson. 

Notes to ODs: 

Please write the results on the boards in the 

clubhouse. 

Don’t forget – selling tea and coffee and getting it 

organised as early as possible helps the galley 

takings and keeps Maggie happy. 

Tidy results sheets are easier for Alan to read please. 

The weight should be further forward in the boat! 

ELSC Committee 2011 

Training Principal 

Alex Layton~0121 430 7521 

Layton10@blueyonder.co.uk 

Elected Member 

Terry Bridgewater~01564 742513 

terry.bridgewater@virgin.net 

Social and Grounds Secretaries 

Sue Stewart~01564 700 023 

suestewart1@btinternet.com 

Iain McDowall~01564 826486 

iainmcdowall@live.co.uk 

Jenny Parsons~01564 702016 

jparsons957@btinternet.com 

Website and Windmill 

James Patterson~07710 040 556 

james@jamespatterson.org 

http://www.earlswoodsc.co.uk/

Edition 25 - My last 6 years as Windmill Editor 

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444 

I took over as Windmill Editor from Dave Vanes in 2006 and have 

produced four Windmill newsletters a year since then. I’ve decided recently 

to publish as many as I can find online on the website on a “History” page 

linked from the home page. This is my 25 th Edition since taking over, and as 

I’ve looked back through my time in the scribbler’s chair and read back 

through the previous Windmills from the 1960’s, I’ve realised that nothing 

much has changed in the life of the scribe. If anybody has any copies of the 

Windmill or early “Youll Log” I’d be happy to collect and catalogue them. 

Please check your drawers etc. 

I think one of the things that probably is different is the amount of 

people who actively take part in contributing to the Newsletter as it seems 

there was a more diverse editorial selection previously, but I guess people 

are busier now. However, if anyone wishes to contribute or muse on the 

issues of the day then I’m happy to collect your rambles and match them to 

a photo or two. 

Culturally, we have moved on too, as Earlswood used to have an 

active Ladies section with a healthy rotation of coffee mornings, and it was 

definitely the ladies “responsibility” to staff the galley and serve the 

refreshments. I guess to some extent Maggie and Mary are still doing an 

amount of this in the background but clearly the responsibilites are spread 

around the OD’s and AOD’s in terms of staffing the galley. 

I’ve gone through a lot of styles over this time and this latest style 

will probably do well for at least the next 2 years and then, who knows, it 

might be time to pass the torch. Being scribbler in chief also really means 

that I’m photo editor and snapper in chief too as it is hard to tell the story 

with just words. I use Google’s Picasa to manage my photos and with it’s 

facial recognition technology I can easily find a photo to fit a gap. It tells me 

that I hold 155 pictures of Jenny Parsons (cos of prize givings) but only 51 of 

Skip Dufrane. This one being my favourite! 

A picture and a paragraph is the 

newspaper editors maxim all over the world. 

Scribbler 

james@jamespatterson.org

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Spring Sailing Fixtures

Silverware Winners 2011 

Hangover Handicap (NT) ** no race ** 

Icicle Peter Newbery 

Snowflake David Lawrie 

Grand Splash Terry Bridgewater 

Easter Egg (NT) Neil Marshall 

Junior Champion Cup Ellie Boot 

Spring Saturday Mark Cuxson 

Spring Saturday Pursuit Bob Lewis 

Sunday Morning Points Alan Wright 

Spring Class (Merlin Rocket)** no winner ** 

Spring Class (Laser) Robert Marshall 

Spring Class (Enterprise) Graham Bentley 

Spring Class (Solo) Malcolm Clark 

Spring Class (Menagerie) Graham Bentley 

Midweek Steve Perring 

Commodore's Shield Ian Ingram 

Midsummer (NT) Ian Edwards 

Summer Bottle (NT) Peter Newbery 

Junior Series Paisley Hall 

Saturday Improvement Toby Robertson 

Summer Saturday Pursuit Bob Lewis 

Summer Morning Points Toby Robertson 

Sunday Burgee (NT) Graham Bentley 

Novice Series ** no winner ** 

Terry Palmer Trophy Steve Perring 

Twilight Peter Nottingham 

Novice Endeavour Cup Ellie Boot 

King George Fund (NT) Mike Guest 

Brass Monkey Mark Cuxson 

Winter Class (Merlin Rocket)** no winner ** 

Winter Class (Laser) Steve Perring 

Winter Class (Enterprise) Richard Halton 

Winter Class (Solo) (NT) Iain McDowell 

Winter Class (Menagerie) Mike Guest 

Winter Saturday Mark Cuxson 

Saturday Winter Personal James Hatton 

RNLI Paisley Hall 

Frostbite ** no winner ** 

Boxing Day Bottle (NT) Dave Fereday 

Blue Sail (Enterprise) Ian Ingram 

Interclass Cup Mike Guest 

Interclass Vintage Cup Mike Guest 

Best crew Bob Lewis 

Best Improver Mark Cuxson 

Laser Open Peter Newbery 


‘Haul’ of Fame 2011 

New venue, new prize winners, some new attendees and a good time 

was had by all. The Henley Golf and Country Club hosted this year’s 

Annual Dinner Dance and Prize Giving, marking a change from 

previous years where we felt the George had lost it’s edge a little. We 

were rewarded with a bumper turn out, an excellent venue, with 

excellent food. Even the disco seemed to work without Adrian 

spinning the plates. Another triumph of organisation by Sue Stewart. 

Now will the real James Hatton please stand up!

With over twenty boats the Laser fleet is the largest at Earlswood and is continuing to increase in numbers 

(albeit slowly). Points that may be of interest to the Laser sailors (or to those who wish they were Laser 

sailors!!) are: 

Laser Open – 1st April 

Our Open this year is on Sunday, 1 st April with the first 

race starting at 11am. This is a fantastic opportunity 

to test your skills against a complete spectrum of 

skills held by visitors in a Laser-only fleet. In previous 

years we have had about 20 competitors and I 

hope to match that again this year. Pete Newbery 

has won the last two years and it would be great if 

he could make it a hat-trick this year. As well as 

prizes for the top 3 (including a cup for the winner) 

there are prizes for 1 st youth, 1 st junior, 1 st lady, 1 st 

radial and 1 st 4.7. Earlswood’s renowned lunches are 

available for a small cost. 

If you’d like to race but aren’t a Laser sailor I’m sure that there are laser sailors who won’t be entering 

who would be prepared to lend you their boat for the event. Please ask around. 

Laser training – 17 March 

Hone your skills at a training session from 1000 – 1300 on 17 March so you are in tip-top condition for the 

Open with enough time for the aches and pains to disappear before the 1 April. I’ll circulate a proposed 

timetable separately. 

Buying bits for the Laser 

As far as I can tell there are no Laser parts shops to visit anymore so it’s on-line or nothing (unless you know 

better). The ones I use are: 

Laser performance – they’re based at Long Buckby and may have bits if you visit. Their website is 

shopeu.laserperformance.com, and phone number 01327 841600. 

Sailcraft – used to be a shop in Northampton but seem to have moved to an on-line method. Website is 

www.sailboats.co.uk and phone 0845 3100 300. 

Purple Marine – used to be in Walsall but believe they’ve moved to Queen Mother Reservoir in Datchet. 

Website is www.purplemarine.com/dinghy/ and phone 0845 643 5510. 

Rooster Sailing – specialise in replica spares that are cheaper but not class legal. For some items they 

supply the laser official part but not all. The UKLA is trying to discourage use of replica parts on Lasers and 

you won’t be able to use a boat with obvious replica parts (like a sail!) at an official UKLA event (such as 

an open). Their website is www.roostersailing .com and phone 0845 388 0330. 

I find it worth shopping around as they do charge different amounts and have differing stock levels. They 

seem to run out of items quite often but not all at the same time. I recently had to buy a new top section 

(it was bent like a banana so there was no leech tension) – Laser Performance didn’t list it (they’d 

removed it from the website because they were out of stock); Sailboats listed it but were out of stock; 

Rooster only supply replica top sections and Purple Marine delivered one the next day. 

UK Laser Association (UKLA) 


Laser Matters (or Lasers Matter!)

The UKLA is the class association for the Laser in the UK. Membership is £30 pa and gives you the following: 

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� 10% off Laser insurance with Noble Marine. 

� Quarterly magazine with handy tips on going faster (some of which push the rule boundary!) 

� Access to the members section of the website (www.laser.org.uk) 

The UKLA organises the national championships and regional training sessions – entry into either requires 

UKLA membership. 

Midlands Grand Prix series 

This year there are 19 open meetings (ours on the 1 st April). They provide the opportunity to sail on big 

lakes, little lakes, in big winds and in large fleets. The variety helps improve your skill level against a range 

of skills – from the very good (like Pete who is normally in the top three) to the ‘could do better’ (like me). 

This year’s programme is: 

Day Date Location 

Saturday 24 March Tamworth 

Sunday 25 March Chelmarsh 

Sunday 1 April Earlswood 

Sunday 6 May Swarkstone 

Saturday 12 May Blithfield 

Saturday 19 May Carsington 

Saturday 26 May Barnt Green 

Sunday 3 June Ogston 

Saturday TBC Olton Mere 

Sunday 10 June Burton 

Sunday 24 June Hollowell 

Sunday 1 July Rutland 

Sunday 8 July Notts County 

Sunday 9 September Trimpley 

Sunday 16 September Trent Valley 

Sunday 23 September Shustoke 

Saturday 29 September Draycote 

Sunday 30 September Nottingham 

Sunday 7 October Staunton Harold 

If you’d like more information about any of the above (or anything else about the Laser) or have 

thoughts about making our laser sailing even better please give me a call on 07831 170987. 

Best wishes and happy sailing. Robert Marshall Laser fleet captain 

Micro Rules Update! 

An outside boat must give an inside boat room to sail TO the mark and to 

sail her PROPER COURSE while at the mark. 

Under the old rules, as Yellow is Starboard boat, she could have sailed on 

and forced Blue to gybe before she got to the mark. She would only have 

to give Blue room, while they were at the mark. 

However, the new rules include a new concept of mark-room: 

“Mark-Room: Room for a boat to sail to the mark, and then room to sail 

her proper course while at the mark…” Therefore in this situation, even 

though Yellow is Starboard Boat, when she enters the 3 hull length zone, 

she must bear away to give Blue room to sail to the mark.

Windmill Newsletter - Earlswood Lakes Sailing Club

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