Hi Andrew I am sure we have had this question before! If you look at my trolley (next to you in the boat park) there is some blue nylon carpet on the cups. I have some spare in my garage, which you can have. Otherwise, Geoff Keane carpets in Woodgrange Drive, will have offcuts for free. That will la...

Thanks Ray, Gabriel, Frank, Gordon and others for the kind comments. Glad you enjoyed it. As Andrew says, the hard work was done by the committee of him Howard and Chris, but Liz Austin also put an awful lot of time into organizing the registration. Frank - there are loads of photos of Sat and Sun (...

I see that the Google directions on the web site (and no doubt a few sat navs) direct you thro the centre of Southend to Thorpe Bay. DON'T FOLLOW THEM!! 1) Wherever you are coming from, enter Southend via the A127 Southend Arterial road. ( From the Dartford Tunnel take the A13 then A130 up to the A1...

Hi Charles We have a treasure trail and walk down Pier on the agenda. I am sure you can't cycle down the pier but you can easily cycle, or even walk, to it, but obviously will need a padlock. There are plenty of amusement arcades if you are that way inclined, but they are over a mile away so optiona...

Frank

Bob is right in that it is truly terrifying!

You cannot have witnessed it at the last TT held at Thorpe Bay, and I urge you not to encourage him further now.

The guitar will NOT appear!

Duncan Ford
TBYC 1973

Hi Bob.

A private recital in Kent wouldn't be far enough - it's only 4/5 miles!

Don't worry, we are locking the guitar up and throwing the key away. It will not make an appearance!

Duncan Ford
TBYC 1973

Hi Kevin

I suppose we could arrange a private recital for you. I'll talk to Andrew.

Duncan Ford
TBYC 1973

I see under "Events" on this web that entries for the Nationals have surged over the past day or so. In order to encourage more and make this a record attendance in the Sprint's 30th year, can I just confirm that Andrew Hannah's guitar is being kept under lock and key and will definitely N...

Sounds as if the Sport Nationals weekend was fantastic at NDYC. Thorpe Bay YC have certainly been set a challenge for the Nationals in August, but one we are going to rise to! Howard Hawkes, Chris Maloney, Andrew Hannah, myself and all of the 24 strong Sprint 15 fleet are going to do everything we c...

Silicone will help, but you shouldn't need it. If it goes up 2/3 with no trouble, it sounds as if you may be getting the main halyard the wrong side of the masthead hook, in which case it will get progressively more difficult to hoist, and even more difficult to get down. The hook is offset to one s...

Thanks for putting that in Bob. Sounds a great place to live! My wife has pointed out that, strictly speaking, Shoebury Common Beach, with the coveted Blue Flag award, actually stops about 100 yds from the Yacht Club, where it becomes Thorpe Bay beach which has a Quality Coast award. It is all the s...

My first Dart 15 was 3 years old when bought in 1989 and had a Goldfinch cover. I adapted it for a Sting in 1991 and then used it on a standard 15 again from 2000 until 2002 when I sold it with the boat, 16 years old and still perfectly serviceable! I bought a new Goldfinch cover in 2002 for my curr...

Hi Richard We sail from Thorpe Bay to Whitstable fairly often and need to protect our skegs from the flinty Whitstable beach. Steve should be familiar with the problem there! We carry 2 x 6 ft lengths of plastic gutter across the front beam just behind the mast and tie them down to the toestraps. To...

Just to cap off this string, the info I had on Sting numbers was clearly wrong. Bob resurrected the "Sting Conversion" string, which I missed earlier this year, and Peter (Ewing) obviously is right on the numbers as he was in charge at the time! The info I had came from one of his salesmen...

Hi Peter If it is of interest to you, I've just trawled thro' my Dart file re my old Sting. Laser told me at the Jan 1991 Boat Show when I ordered Sting 1235 that they had been made and distributed during 1989/90 for use primarily in inland European waters, but were now being sold in the UK. The num...