We are pleased to announce that, thanks to Volvo Champion Club Sponsorship, Laurie Marsden will be coming to offer coaching to Lochcarron Junior members over the 14th and 15th of June.

Laurie is a member of the GB Sailing Squad and came 4th in the UK 420 Nationals last Autumn. She and her crew were the first girls at the Nationals and she has competed in both Optimists and 420's, gaining a place in the British team in both.  She has been to 3 World Championships and 4 European championships.  Laurie coaches 420's, Oppies and Toppers and was recently awarded RYA Coach of the Year!  

She comes highly recommended by Roy McCubbin, Scottish RYA High Performance Manager -- who arranged for Matt Day to provide a similar weekend of training last year.

Places will be limited and will be available for the Gunn Trophy participants in the first instance and then for others should places still be available.  

Please put the date in your diaries NOW!

This is now scheduled for Sunday 18th May. Briefing at Club House
1400hrs prompt.

Start 1500.

Finish approx 16.30hrs.

Course will be between the islands and Attadale.

Those wishing to enter  should give boat name to Carol plus number of places for crew.

Thanks Doug Angus - Vice Commodore

The next committee meeting will be held in the club house on Tuesday the 13th of May at 7.30pm

Items for the agenda: Please contact Carol

All members are welcome to come along to meetings  or ask a committee member to raise issues on their behalf.

Please note change to Sailing programme:

Race 8 will now be on Sunday 11th May at 13.00

1st Yacht race will now be on Sunday 18th May at 14.00

Apologies for the quality of the photographs, whereas the sailing looked great!

We had a great start to the "Free Sailing Sessions". A really good turnout of 24!! junior sailors on the water this evening. Bright sunshine, good breeze from the South East and only a very few (unintentional) capsizes.

You all made a good job of getting off the beach with an on-shore breeze and we saw some very competent sailing. Well done to you all!

Only one thing --- that was 24 boys!! What about our female sailors -- we know you want to get out here. The water wasn't that cold, and there is plenty of hot water for the showers. See you next week?      Dave.

New this Season  --- all club members will be eligible for a discount of 10% on goods at Caley Marina. This will be available on production of a valid membership card.

All the more reason to join our club!!

Thank you to all the club members and visitors to the club house on Saturday. We had a busy coffee morning, and a variety of items were sold.

The club raised in the region of £200 - thank you for your generous contributions of donations, goods for sale and fantastic home baking!

See you all again soon.

Summer Training Week at Lochcarron Sailing Club. 30th June -- 4th July 2008. 

This is advance notice of our annual training week which will be held as usual on the first week of the school summer holidays. Numbers will be limited and priority is given to club members.

Please note slight changes on previous item re work parties and rigging days.

Other dates for this season ( full programme coming shortly):

Sun 30th March       First race   PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATE

Sun 11th May           1st Yacht Race   

Sun 29th June          2nd Yacht Race

12/13th July               Overnight Yacht Sailaway

Sat 19th July              Highland Games

Sun 27th July             3rd Yacht Race

23/24th August          Regatta

Sun 31st August        Yacht Sailaway

Sun 7th Sept               Dinghy Sailaway

Sun 28th Sept             Last race

Sun 5th October         Final Fling/ de-rigging

Fri 14th Nov                 Laying Up Supper

Work Party 10.30am

 Any help would be greatly appreciated in getting the larger boats turned over onto their trolleys, rigged and ready for the season. The safety boats will also need preparing.

Again help would be greatly appreciated in getting the smaller boats turned over onto their trolleys. The safety boats will also need launching and the racing marks laid.

Questionnaire

Hi everyone, please find below a guide to events for the coming season.

Calendar of events:

 23^rd Feb Work party.

15^th and 16^th March Work party

 22^nd March Rigging Day and bouys 

        back in the water.

23^rd March           1^st Race

16^th April              1^st Wednesday night. 

(Prestwick Regatta May 3/4^th) 

 30^th June Training week

       (LC Highland Games 19^th July).

23^rd and 24^th August. Lochcarron

        Regatta

(5/6^th Sept Gairloch / no race in

        Lochcarron that weekend) 

 (Fortrose Regatta Aug)

(Invergordon Regatta 31^st Aug)

   (Plockton Regatta ?)

The Lochcarron Sailing Club Annual General Meeting will be held in the Clubhouse at 7.30pm on the 12th of February.

All interested persons welcome.

It is with great sadness that I have to report the death of Stan. He passed away quietly on the 9th of January in Raigmore Hospital.

A founder member of our Club, Stan will be remembered fondly by all who knew him. He was Club Secretary and Bosun for many years and in the early years he was the main driving force behind it.

Our first accomodation was provided by Stan's two berth caravan, and it was he who masterminded the renovation of our first club cabin, as well as building many of the fixtures and fittings around the club surroundings. He also wrote a short history of the club which is currently being serialised in our local newspaper "An Carranach".

As he used to tell us, like Ratty in the Wind in the Willows,  he "simply loved messing about on boats" .

My fondest memories of Stan are in the early days when we used to raft up in front of the village and have a Ceilidh with a mix of adults and kids together with soft drinks for them and glasses of Stan's homemade wine for us -- and we all made it ashore safe and sound.

There will be a funeral service on Wednesday 16th January at 2.30 p.m. at Inverness Crematorium. There will also be a short funeral service on Friday 18th January at 6.30p.m. in Lochcarron Village Hall, followed by light refreshments -- and I am told -- some glasses of Stan's homemade wine.

Our thoughts are with Aline, Andrew and Helen at this time.

D Murray.

The club is most grateful to Stewart Graham -- owner and director of Gael Force -- for agreeing to stand in at short notice to be our guest speaker at the Laying up Supper this Friday.

(Unfortunately Matt Day has had to cancel as a result of other commitments.)

Stewart will be well known to some as the owner of Gael Force, but as yet few know about his daring quest to sail around the UK single handed last summer. Come to the supper and hear all about it. Don't forget to bring your dancing shoes!!

(Photo courtesy of Gael Force Marine www.gaelforcemarine.co.uk )