Kestrel Eastern National Championships 2021
Members Articles:
AGM Documents 2023
Kestrel Open Meeting 5th and 6th October 2024
Social Saturday night and Camping Available
Sandhopper Nationals 3rd and 4th August 2024
GP14 Open Meeting May 11th 2023
Video from the Event - YouTube
Open Meetings 2022 Sailing Instructions
YouTube Video and photos of the 2021 races
We extend a warm welcome to all GP14 sailors for our GP14 open event including Southern Area Championships at Maylandsea Bay Sailing Club on Saturday, 28 May and Sunday, 29 May 2022. Racing at Maylandsea takes place from Lawling Creek in sight of the clubhouse, up to the River Blackwater with a backdrop of Osea Island and the town of Maldon. Our location allows for easily adaptable course setting to suit the conditions of the day and the tidal element adds an extra spice to choosing your way around the course. Non sailors can enjoy the views of the estuary from the clubhouse or follow the progress of the racing on foot up on the sea wall. Entrants are more than welcome to come to the club on Friday evening as we have plenty of camping space and the village has a number of takeaway / restaurant options for food. Our well stocked galley will be open for breakfast and lunch over the weekend.
Sandhopper Open July 15th/16th 2023
Maylandsea Bay Sailing Club’s thriving Sandhopper fleet looks forward to welcoming guests to its annual Open Meeting over two days in July. Two races are scheduled each day, with courses, featuring Committee Boat starts, set in the main estuary.
With racing commencing in the middle of the day and the Club providing moorings, trot boat and a launch and recovery service in the days before and after the event this is a great opportunity for guests to enjoy the Blackwater river’s beautiful sailing waters and the clubhouse’s convivial surroundings. Galley and bar services are available and camping space can be provided.
Maylandsea Bay S.C. offers sailing in the area of Lawling Creek and the River Blackwater. Lawling Creek is a sheltered sailing water, which opens out into the River Blackwater giving the opportunity of an uninterrupted area of perfect sailing.
We enjoy joint racing with our neighbouring club H(B)SC. This is mainly for dinghies but our Keelboat fleet are able to enter some of the individual trophy events.
Our dinghy fleet racing is handicap racing and comprises of many types of boat which includes, Solo, Phantom, Finn, Wayfarer, Lark, GP14, Hadron, Laser, Laser Radial, Hornet and Kestrel of which we have one of the biggest fleets in the country. We are not restricted to these classes and every class is welcome.
Series racing normally takes place on a Sunday with other sailing events on a Saturday.
We also host class open meetings through the season and an open winter series, which normally runs from early November to Mid December, this is topped off with the Backwater Icicle as near as the tide allows to New Year.
We have a Laser Pico fleet, of which 4 are club owned boats, they race throughout the season and are the recognised cadet fleet boat but they are not exclusively for cadets. The Pico is also widely used for training (see our Training Page) for both cadets and adults. The club Picos can be used by members who are starting out and don’t yet have their own boat.
Our Keelboat fleet comprises mainly of Sandhoppers but is open to all small day boats, in the past we have had Hunter Europa, Hunter 19, Squib and Flying 15, the later two being somewhat precarious on the soft mud mooring.
The Sandhopper is derived from the Oliver Lee designed Squib. Where the Squib has a fin keel the Sandhopper has a shorter main keel and two bilge keels but to compensate for this has a much bigger sail area.
Added to our Dinghy and Keelboat fleets we also have a cruiser fleet (see cruiser Page)
There are two large dinghy parks for all year round dinghy storage and winter storage for Keelboats and cruisers, along with two concrete ramps for launch and recovery.
Maylandsea Bay S.C. Sail Training
At Maylandsea Bay S.C. we can offer a good dinghy-training package for the complete novice member and to those who want to learn more. You don’t even need to own a boat, as the club has its own training fleet of small dinghies (Picos) along with a small training fleet of larger dinghies (Wayfarers). Added to this, some of our more experienced sailors will be on hand to pass on their expertise. Training is for club members for anyone from eight upwards – we have no upper age limit but you should be able to swim and be confident if you do happened to fall in the water.
A parent or guardian must accompany all youngsters up to the age of 16
Sailing is a great outdoor sport, whether it’s just to learn something new or challenge yourself. Not only can we teach you to sail in a competent manner, as you get more experienced, we can also teach you to race around our short courses, as this is where the confidence grows.
All the on water training takes place in the safe waters in front of the club, safety boats with experienced crews will be watching and offering advice to improve your skills.
To get people started the club can lend people life jackets/buoyancy aids and a water proof top. Some of you may already have suitable clothing but if you haven’t, then the club has an abundance of pre-loved clothing for you to borrow.
The waters are tidal but as we are at the end of a sheltered creek the flow is not as great as you might find in other locations making it a good place to start your enjoyment of sailing. Please note that Lifejackets must be worn at all times near or on the water (we have a number of lifejackets should you need to borrow one). If you are just starting out with sailing, training takes place on Saturdays, (around 7 sessions), with the dates and times shown in the sailing club programme. The normal format of a session is briefing and drills ashore, on the water session, briefing and refreshment break, more sailing and then debrief and pack away. Depending on conditions a session lasts around 5 to 6 hours. The galley is open for refreshments.
We do charge a small fee, to help maintain the boats, prizes of for the regatta in September. however if you wish to try sailing before you join, then this can be arranged.
Our Training officer with many years experience, both as a trainer and sailor is Paul Wilkinson Aka WILKS. For further information contact; Paul Wilkinson
Come down to meet us we’re a friendly bunch, Look forward to seeing you soon
Sail Training
Note; Due to the current situation, please see details of our latest Covid 19 updates on this website