Some 80 supporters came to celebrate the RCOD’s summer fundraising shindig in the club shed on Saturday night, including many from our sister fleet at the Royal Burnham, which was greatly appreciated. As I write, the money is still being counted, but I think we should touch £3000 after costs, which is a fantastic achievement.  Special mention should go to a keenly contested wine tasting auction, generously donated by Justin Waples, which raised £1,200  after some masterful auctioneering by Stuart Munro; to Valerie Harrison who single-handedly charmed local shops to donate prizes and in turn raised £500 from the raffle and lastly to Philippa Munro who took control of the catering.

Everyone who attended was incredibly generous and the class owes a big thank you to everyone who dipped into their pockets. As you know we are working hard to restore some of the old wooden boats; Coral Nymph being the latest one to undergo work. She needs an extra £15,000 spent on her and we are hoping a loving owner will emerge to take her on.

The party coincided with the RCOD annual regatta and it was excellent to see Corinna being chartered by Jackie McKellar for the weekend. As a reminder Corinna is now owned by the class and is permanently for charter, so if you are interested in taking her out for a race please get in touch.  Some of the RBODs joined us for the Saturday racing and next year we will build on that number.

The sailing conditions were testing in the morning races as we waited for the sea breeze to kick in and a number of crew  – see pics –  took an early dip after hugging the shore a little too closely.  Some tight windward leeward courses ensured some very close racing and mark roundings but fortunately no protests!

The winning boat after seven races and after a countback against CorpoSanto was Justin Waples, Steve and Lizzie Rands in Cormorant. So well done to them.

John Waples