The Colne Yacht Club has added a fouth Sonata yacht to its fleet of training boats thanks to fundraising by the club’s Women on the Water section and Brightlingsea Town Council.
The town council topped up the money needed to buy the second-hand boat, named Kooshtie, as part of its support for local sports activities. Kooshtie – recently-launched after being transported from the Lake District – now sports a BTC crest in recognition of the support from the council.
Other local organisations, including Orsted and RailMarine are also supporting training and sailing activities held at the club, with the Rebel Trust – an organisation dedicated to encouraging young peopleand disadvantaged youngsters into sailing – supporting the cadet section.
The club’s Women on the Water group meets on Thursday mornings, offering the chance for female non-boat owners to get afloat and learn how to sail under the supervision of the CYC Sail Training Centre. The new boat will help meet demand for training, which has increased over the last two years, and will also be used by the recently formed Blokes on Boats and Sunday Sonata Sailing groups.
The four club Sonatas are now part of a growing fleet of 15 based in Brightlingsea, boosted by the club’s hosting of the Sonata National Championships over August 7-10. All four club boats will be competing, including one with an all-female crew and another of senior Cadets. Later in the season the home fleet can be seen racing on Wednesday evenings in the club’s Mid Week League when the tide is suitable.
CYC is taking part in the Royal Yachting Association’s Discover Sailing day on Sunday May 15 between 10.30am and 1.30pm offering short ‘try it’ sessions to anyone interested in taking up the sport. Leave a message on the club’s phone – 01206 302594 – or email colneyctraining@gmail.com if you’d like to get out on the water. Also see the club’s website.
