Wanderer Category: Events

Wanderer Class Owners’ Association 40th Anniversary

Looking ahead to the New Year, the 2025 AGM and Celebratory Dinner for the 40th Anniversary of the Wanderer Class Owners’ Association will take place at the RNLI College in Poole on Saturday 1st March 2025 in the Waterfront Suite. (RNLI College, Poole, West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 IHZ)   Members should have received their notification email about this and are warmly invited together with a guest or even making up a group to join us in celebrating 40 years of sailing with friends. Jill Davies, daughter of Ian Proctor the designer of the Wanderer, and Andy Peter, the founder chairman of the WCOA will be our guest speakers.    This promises to be a great event for the Association in a first class centre known for the hospitality and warmth that comes with the life saving mission of the RNLI and for the stunning views of the harbour.

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Wanderer National Championships at Cotswold SC – 28/29th September

Cotswold Sailing Club occupies one of the lakes in the Cotswold Water Park complex south of Cirencester. We have visited on a number of occasions over the years for our Inlands. This was the first time they had hosted our Nationals.It was with some trepidation that the Wanderer fleet scanned the weather on the week leading up to the event. We were wondering quite how big the lake would have grown with the September rain, and if maybe we would have been able to sail over the road and into South Cerney SC. As it was, the lake was only up by a few inches. There was no rain over the course of the event, and the wind (mostly) played ball. 6 visitors from as far afield as Grafham and Whitstable joined 3 local boats on the Saturday morning for a midday start. The wind was a light north westerly,

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WandererFest 2023

Report by John Renouf assisted by Lindsay and Neil Weatherley At the new location this year of Mengeham Rythe SC, Hayling Island, everyone taking part was given the option of sailing with a supported fleet (supported by a RIB) or unsupported fleet, relying on the principle of cruising in company. Most of this article by John Renouf, from his vantage at the helm of the support boat, reports on the larger, supported fleet and the event as a whole. We asked Lindsey and Neil Weatherley to complete the picture by writing about the experience of the unsupported fleet, which Lindsey led. The Weatherleys’ authorship is indicated by the paragraphs in blue type. Thanks to excellent timing, the return of both fleets from their different destinations before the tide fell too far was one of the successes of the new format. Unfortunately sailing was reduced to two days owing to adverse

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Wanderer Nationals at Whitstable Yacht Club

Wanderer Nationals at Whitstable Yacht Club, Saturday September 2nd and Sunday September 3rd 2023 by Tim Barr Ten Wanderers gathered at Whitstable during the last week of August and the first weekend of September. Wanderer East, a series of cruises up the Swale and over to the island of Sheppey was held during the week. On Saturday and Sunday seven of the boats competed for the Ian Proctor Wanderer Nationals and Gavin Barr trophies over four races. Saturday races were held in a moderate force three out of the North East. The first start was into a flood tide with an even start line. W 1819 Helmed by Colin Gilbert and crewed by Geoff Floyd led at the first mark closely followed by 1282 helmed by Tim Barr with Jack Skipper as crew. These two boats pulled away from the fleet with 1819 ho1ding on to the lead until the

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Try-a-Wanderer 2023

by John Renouf Marlow Sailing Club (MSC) is a friendly and laid-back sailing club with a small site on the Berkshire bank of the River Thames a short distance upstream from the National Sports Centre at Bisham Abbey. The site has a good river frontage with a slipway, and sailing here is characterised by the necessity to have long narrow race courses, a steady water flow in one direction, the presence of tree-line banks that have a significant effect on wind, and the continual presence of other watercraft of every type from stand-up paddleboards  and rowing boats to motor cruisers of all shapes and sizes. The day of the 2023 Try-a-Wanderer event (postponed from May due to poor river conditions and a water-logged club site) at MSC fell within the unusually fine and warm spell (for the time of year) of weather in October. MSC had chosen to combine the

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WandererNorth, Ullswater

The Cover Photo for this article was taken by Nigel Lamb from the ridge above Barton Fell, the day before the WandererNorth group met up, showing the northern end of Ullswater (a part of the lake that was sailed by the group).  Ullswater YC is just off the far left of the photo. The campsite visible in the picture is where some members stayed when not camping at the yacht club – a 5 to10 minute walk between the two.  Pooley Bridge, the cluster of buildings covered in trees at the northernmost end of the lake was a cruise destination. Howtown, where members beached on both days, is 3 miles south of the yacht club, roughly halfway down the length of the lake (total length is just under 9 miles). The beautiful weather of that day and after the event, shows how unlucky the group were to be battered by

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