After months of planning the only thing left to chance for Otter Week 2018 was the weather, but with the country gripped by the longest heat wave anyone could remember it soon became clear that the only thing missing from the action packed agenda might be the wind…and OH how lucky we were!  With some inspired programme changes the Otters were able to make use of the famous Burnham sea breeze and get in the full amount of sailing ensuring a great series of racing together with the maximum amount of fun in the sun!

The hot sunshine lasted the entire week, right up until the celebratory Sausuage and Mash Prize Giving dinner and it was only as the Otter Commodore took to the floor to make her final speech that the thunder clouds appeared and the rain began to fall……

Otter Week Daily Reports from the Otter Flag Officers

Day 1, Sunday – Colette Bacon, Commodore

Today was the first of many more fun days to come this week. Thankfully the wind filled in and we were able to complete three solid races with almost perfect conditions (though the wind may have been a little inconsistent!); followed by an excellent Hog Roast and much fun on the bouncy castles. Thank you all who came to the Commodore’s Reception and I hope that you have all enjoyed today as much as I have.

Day 2, Monday – Sophie Dawson, Rear Commodore

Today we had a jam packed day of sailing, treasure hunting, playing, skating and overeating Izumi. The treasure hunt was brilliant fun, we hope you all enjoyed it. Big well done to Karensa Newcombe for cracking the code! We were lucky enough to get some brilliant wind for racing which meant all the boats were absolutely flying round the race course. Roller Skating was a success with the seniors once again. I look forward to hearing all the stories about Monkey Puzzle from the juniors tomorrow. And as always Izumi left everyone leaving Maldon with very very full stomachs – not complaining of course.

I hope you all really enjoyed today and I look forward to having just as much fun with you all tomorrow!

Day 3, Tuesday – Thomas Rands, Vice Commodore

Day 3 started early for some, with some morning rowing to wake some Otters up! Then came the racing, with some excellent conditions for closer than ever competition. After that came Keeway for our Junior Otters, with reports coming in that they all had a fantastic time! For our Senior Otters a new activity was in store, frisbee golf. Many people quickly learned to duck to avoid the onslaught of frisbee’s.

After the day’s activities an excellent dinner was in store for us, swiftly followed by the President’s Pimm’s party for parents, giving them a chance to breathe halfway through this week.

Bring on day 4: long distance racing here we come!

Day 4, Wednesday – Izzie Corbett, Rear Commodore

The day started off with little wind which caused racing to be postponed for 2 hours, so the Otters took advantage of the delay and participated in activities on the water such as swimming and playing around in oppies. The Long Distance Race soon began with all fleets trying to sail as far into the Roach as possible which sometimes proved difficult as there was little wind and strong tide. The bigger boats made it as far as Yoke’sfleet Creek whilst the younger optimist sailors rafted up by Phoebe at Jubilee bouy. After all fleets returned the Juniors and parents hurried off to the cinema to watch Incredibles 2 whilst the Seniors did their annual raft build and race.

Day 5, Thursday – Scott Ellis, Secretary

To ensure a day of good racing the water games were pushed forward to the morning. All the teams worked incredibly hard to win the most points and everyone got stuck in, jumping in the water. On to the racing – the windiest conditions we’ve experience so far this week and some very good racing from all fleets. Back on shore we saw some incredible fancy dress costumes including a particularly small bikini on Charlie Bacon! After all this and the games night that followed all the kids (myself included) were exhausted and ready for bed. Bring on the last

Day 6, Friday – Colette Bacon, Commodore

Otter Week came and went in a flash! It was a great week and I hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as I did – though stressful at times, I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. I would like to thank everyone again who helped make the week as good as it was – without everyone’s help it truly is an impossible task. I cannot wait for next year and I wish the new Flag Officer’s all the best. See you all again at our last event of the season – Brass Monkey and End of Season on the 10th November – and every Saturday leading up to it. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Thank You to ALL our Volunteers!

Otter Week is run and managed entirely by volunteers who give up their time freely to make sure we have a superb week of sailing and entertainment.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our volunteers for their hard work throughout the week.  Mums, Dads, Brothers, Sisters, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Friend’s, Neighbours, we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts – you’ve given us the most amazing week!

Thank You to our Sponsors & Supporters

Otter Week 2018 was sponsored and supported by Zhik, Yachting Solutions and The Wetworks  – thank you to them for the amazing prizes we received!

The Commodore’s Speech – Colette Bacon

Hello everyone, welcome to the end of another successful (and hot) Otter Week; it has been incredibly busy – but worth it. I hope you have all enjoyed it as much as I have!

Though the wind has proven to be somewhat inconsistent, it is great that we have managed to get out on the water everyday for some brilliant racing as well as ensuring we enjoy every single activity on our hectic Otter Week schedule.

It was lovely to see you all at the Commodore’s Reception on the first day in the Otter room. Judging by the abundance of empty Rose bottles left behind after the event it is fair to say that we started the week off the right way. Followed by good wine we had an excellent hog roast – a big thank you goes out to Chris Dawson and all that helped him for that.

Thank you to all who turned up to the Commodore’s Rowing challenge each morning – I think it is fair to say that waking up for an 8 o’clock start proved more challenging than the rowing itself!

On Monday we had a day of tight racing followed by an evening of Monkey Puzzle for Juniors, roller skating for Seniors and of course, the much anticipated Izumi buffet.

Tuesday saw the Juniors leave for Keeway, organised by Lynne Beale and Will Palmer … Meanwhile the Seniors travelled to Creeksea for some Disc Golf. This was a first for the Otters but luckily James Pitcher was on hand to show us exactly how not to throw a frisbee but I’m pleased to report that there were no casualties. Onto the evening and our President Judy hosted her annual Pimm’s party which, unsurprisingly, proved to be a resounding success.

The following day, we had the Long Distance Race which, I think it’s fair to say, was LONG. After that the Seniors Otters somehow found the energy to get stuck into some raft building while the Juniors watched The Incredibles 2 at the cinema.

Thankfully, we had perfect weather for the water games which were fun as always – I hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as I did. Fancy dress was an incredibly successful event and everyone who dressed up looked great. Special shout out to Johnny Beale, or shall I say…Johnny McEnroe, and to my Mum for being our hosts for the afternoon.

Finally, I would just like to say a massive thank you for all of your support this week. Though a little stressful at times I have enjoyed every single second and it has been great seeing all of you having such a great time.